No More Waiting, She Chooses Love

I froze. "What the heck was that all about?"

How come he'd been on the phone with Ernest all this time?

Conrad, having just ended the call, looked at me and said, "Ernest called me just now. I thought he had hung up, but it seems he didn't because he was worried."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" I retorted sarcastically.

It was clear as day that Conrad had intentionally not ended the call, and deliberately asked me if I still wanted Ernest in my life.

Caught out, Conrad didn't try to deny it. Instead, he admitted, "Call it my selfishness, if you will. It just so happened to let Ernest know where you stand, to show him... that Felicia isn't someone who comes and goes at someone else's beck and call." Honestly, I wasn't afraid of Ernest knowing how I feel. In fact, it was better this way; it saved me the effort of explaining myself.

"Thanks for your thoughtfulness'," I said mockingly before getting out of the car.

Conrad followed, starting to fill me in on Dustin's living situation, "This place, Dustin bought it with his own money. He's lived here all four years he's been abroad. You see these flowers and plants? He's been taking care of them all by himself, never once hired a maid or a gardener."

This was all news to me. Dustin had never mentioned it, and even when I was living with the Wagner family, they barely talked about Dustin. On the rare occasions they did, it was just to say that he'd called and was doing fine over here.

less like a son

Dustin had spent those

such a big house, all on his own. Besides his nature

his way of passing those solitary

was also Dustin's own design," Conrad's words

and picks things up fast-way better than

for Dustin was undeniable. Thinking about Dustin's ambitions, it seemed

almost said something but

a smart guy.

Having thrived in the business world for years, he wasn't the

eye for the sake of

up? You've gone quiet," Conrad

talk," I looked around the villa, "it seems Dustin did quite well

assets extend far beyond this house. He has other investments," Conrad

wealth and education,

Conrad used to be fiercely competitive, unwilling to accept anyone being