Chapter 388
“Beautiful lady, want some candied haws?”
Ashley turned around.
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The plump, vibrantly colored candied haws caught her eye, making her heart stir slightly. She hadn’t had candied haws in ages.
The thought led her gaze to Sam. As she expected, Sam was happily munching on a string of them. And Tanya, inexplicably, was holding a bouquet of red roses. She was nestled close to Chase, chatting with him, while Sam offered her a bite of his candied haw.
Tanya took a bite, then Sam took another before offering it to Chase. Chase shook his head, saying something that Ashley couldn’t hear.
Ashley looked away and said to the vendor, “I’ll take a strawberry one.”
Before she could ask Matt if he wanted one, he said, “Let me get that.” He pulled out his phone, paid, and handed her the candied haws. It was only twenty bucks. Ashley took it, saying, “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
They didn’t notice Tanya and Chase glancing their way, catching sight of Matt paying for Ashley’s candied haws.
Chase’s eyes darkened, the smile fading from Tanya’s face. Ashley and Matt remained oblivious.
The fireworks show, lasting about twenty minutes, continued. They turned back to watch
Aunt Tanya, what are
Sam turned back,
back, asking, “Daddy,
Chase looked away.“Nothing.”
you looking
looking at?”
Tanya offered a strained smile.
A few minutes later, the fireworks ended.
Ashley said to Matt, “Thank you for bringing me to see the fireworks, and thanks for the candied haws.”
“Ready to head back?”
“Yeah, just gotta grab some plants,” she replied.
Matt didn’t press, saying, “Okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Ashley left.
Matt joined the crowd, heading to the parking garage. The next second, he was stopped.“Matt?”
It was Jeffery.
Matt turned.“Jeffery.”
Jeffery approached.“What are you doing here?”
“Dinner with a friend,” he said.“You?”
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Jeffery looked uneasy. “Something like that.”
“I’m going back. You?”
“1-”
Jeffery stopped, his gaze fixed on something in the distance.
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Matt followed his line of sight to Chase and Tanya. They hadn’t left, heading into a coffee shop.
Jeffery remained transfixed.“That boy… is the rumor true? Does Chase really have a son?”
Matt wasn’t particularly interested.
“Maybe,” he said.
Jeffery stood still, his lips pressed together. If the boy was indeed Chase’s son, wouldn’t Tanya face a lot of trouble being with him? And there were rumors Chase was already married. If that was true too… if he and his ex–wife tangled over the child, Tanya would have a worse time. Matt’s phone rang. After a while, he hung up.“I should get going. Wanna join me? Jeffery snapped out of it, his eyes darkening.“No, I’m waiting for someone. Go ahead. We’ll hang out another time.”
“Okay.”
Matt left. Once he was gone, Jeffery headed towards the coffee shop.
He opened the door and bumped into Tanya, who was taking Sam to the restroom.
Both of them stopped.
Tanya said, “Mr. Cooper? What a small world.”
“Yeah,” Jeffery closed the door, scanning the cafe before spotting Chase ordering. He looked away, focusing on Sam. One glance, and he was almost certain he was Chase’s son. He looked just like Chase.
Still, he asked, “Who is this…”
“Chase
Tanya lowered her son.”
He was right.
Jeffery’s heart sank.
Then, Sam spoke, “Aunt Tanya, who’s this handsome uncle?”
Tanya bent down, gently poking Sam’s nose.“He’s friend of mine.”
“Oh…”
Tanya asked Jeffery, “Mr. Cooper, are you here-
She was cut off by Sam.
Seeing Tanya about to continue talking to Jeffery, he tugged at Tanya’s arm, looking urgent. “Aunt Tanya, take me to the restroom!” He’d had milk tea and desperately needed to use the restroom. He even sounded commanding.
Jeffery could feel Tanya was nice to Sam, yet Sam seemed to be bossing her around. He frowned deeply. But Tanya didn’t seem bothered, remaining gentle and patient. She said, “Okay. I’m sorry,
Sam.”
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< Chapter 388
Turning to Jeffery, she said, “I’ll be going now, see you later.”
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Jeffery felt even worse. He had no grounds to say anything, so he said, “I need to use the restroom too, shall we go together?”
Tanya smiled.“Sure.”
Sam couldn’t wait any longer. He let go of Tanya’s hand and ran towards the restroom.
Tanya, ignoring Jeffery, hurried after him.“Sam, wait for me!”
Jeffery felt even uneasier seeing that.
The next second, Sam stopped, glancing to the side.
“Sam?”
Tanya caught up with him. Seeing him stop running, she guessed he might have seen Ashley. Noticing Jeffery catching up quickly, her eyes flickered. She pulled Sam’s hand and said, “Sam, aren’t we going to the restroom? Let’s-”
“Hmm.”
Sam looked around, unable to find Ashley again. Assuming he saw the wrong person, he hurried to the restroom.
Ashley was indeed there, but was blocked from view. Amidst the bustling shoppers, she didn’t notice Sam and Tanya.
