In the past two years, Gloria’s taste in TV shows had shifted dramatically. She had gone from watching dramatic soap operas to indulging in dating variety shows. The more scripted and exaggerated they were, the more she seemed to enjoy them.
It was clear that Skylar had developed a strong bond with Gloria. Joe’s gaze darkened as he watched Skylar animatedly discuss the participants of the show with Gloria. He had been standing there for some time, but neither of them had acknowledged his presence.
Gloria was the first to notice him. Startled, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “When did you get here? You didn’t even make a sound!”
Skylar glanced at him briefly. Her smile instantly faded, replaced with a polite nod. “I just got here.”
Joe couldn’t help but feel thrown off by Skylar’s sudden shift in demeanor. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it felt like there was something he was missing.
“How could you be working so late on your wedding day? You’ve got so many people working for you, yet you’re still stuck at the office,” Gloria chided. “Maybe it’s time to restructure the company. Go back to Galaxy Villa with Skye. Treat her well, okay?”
Joe just let out a low response, agreeing without further comment.
Gloria shot him a pointed look. “It’s a blessing you even managed to marry Skye. You’d better treat her right.”
Joe frowned. He couldn’t help but be curious about how Skylar had managed to win Gloria over so easily.
“Grandma, I’ve already prepared the herbs for your foot soak. Don’t forget to soak your feet before bed,” Skylar reminded, as if she knew Gloria could easily get distracted by the show.
Gloria nodded enthusiastically. “Alright! I’ll soak my feet now. You’re so considerate, Skye!” she said with a smile, before turning back to the screen.
Joe, left speechless by the interaction, simply watched as Gloria took care of herself. With no traffic on the road, they arrived at Galaxy Villa in under 30 minutes. The drive was silent, each person lost in their own thoughts.
As they entered the house, Joe noticed a small suitcase by the door. It seemed oddly out of place, with a rolled-up painting resting on top of it—something antique in appearance.
“There are four rooms on the second floor. One of them is mine; you can pick whichever one you like,” Joe said as he changed into his slippers.
Despite their legal marriage, Joe had no intention of getting close to her during their three years together. He was still skeptical about her motives, especially after what Paul had mentioned about her.
Skylar nodded in agreement and changed into her slippers as well. She made her way upstairs with her suitcase, and Joe followed. He pointed to one of the rooms. “This is my room.”
“Alright,” Skylar responded quietly and continued down the hall, choosing a room one door away from his.
She could sense that Joe didn’t want to get close, and she agreed. It was better to keep a distance to avoid any misunderstandings.
“It’s getting late, so I’ll rest now. Goodnight, Mr. Martin,” Skylar said before slipping into her room, the door clicking shut behind her.
Joe stood there for a moment, his brows furrowed. Her sudden coldness caught him off guard. He’d been paying too much attention to her today, but then again, her presence seemed to matter to Gloria. Beyond that, he wasn’t sure.
An hour later, after unpacking and arranging her things, Skylar took a quick shower and dried her hair. Then, she sat on the bed and picked up her phone.
There were 99 missed calls and countless unread messages, all from various people. She felt detached after everything that had happened. She had been reborn, married to Joe in a whirlwind, and even reunited with Gloria.
The most frequent messages were from Christopher. He had flooded her inbox with texts and voicemails, his words full of guilt, pleading with her to speak to him. There were also messages from Sadie, Jeffrey, and Maisy.
Skylar clicked on Gloria’s message first. It was a picture of Gloria soaking her feet, accompanied by a voicemail.
Skye, I’ve soaked my feet. It feels so good! No need to reply, I’m a bit sleepy now, so I’m going to bed. Oh, and if Joe mistreats you, just let me know. I’ll teach him a lesson!
Skylar’s heart warmed as she read the message. She quickly typed a thank-you message and sent her a goodnight GIF.
Next, she clicked on Christopher’s chat. The messages from him were a flood of emojis, all showing how upset and sorry he was. He kept begging her to talk to him.
Skylar didn’t listen to any of the voicemails. She already knew what they would say, and the thought of hearing his voice made her feel nauseous. Just as she was about to close the chat, another call from Christopher came in.
With a deep sigh, she answered.
“Skye, why have you been ignoring me all day? I’ve been so restless! You know I can’t live without you, right? Are you mad at me because I told you to apologize to Jeffrey and Sadie? Skye, I’m only doing this for your own good. You’ve just come back to their side, so you need to get along with them.”
Skylar was reminded of how Christopher had always influenced her, pushing her to seek approval from Jeffrey and Sadie. She sneered inwardly.
“Christopher,” she said coldly.
“Yes, babe? I know you can’t stand to see me sad,” he responded, his smugness evident in his tone.
Skylar’s voice grew sharper. “There’s so much to learn in this world, yet you chose to master how to be a jerk! If you don’t want the cops showing up at your office, pay me back 100 thousand dollars in ten minutes.”
She ended the call abruptly, not waiting for him to respond.
A few days earlier, Christopher had claimed that his family urgently needed money, so Skylar had transferred 100 thousand dollars to him without hesitation. But when she found out that he had used the money for shopping and skincare products for Maisy, she was furious.
Now, she demanded the money back. She couldn’t stand the thought of him wasting her hard-earned savings.
Christopher, on the other end of the line, was stunned. How could she possibly make him return the money? He had promised Maisy that they would go shopping on Saturday. He wondered if he had spoiled Skylar too much lately. Did she really think he would just give in to her threats? He laughed to himself, betting that Skylar would be begging him for forgiveness in two days.
He then switched to Maisy’s chat, sending her a reminder: “Don’t forget, we’re meeting at Phoenix Mall’s main entrance at noon.”
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