The Calls
Raising her heart rate, Hailey is bathing with cold sweat. Vince is waiting for an answer. She looked up at him and smiled.
"It's not important. It was my classmate. Probably he wanted to apologize again regarding what happened earlier. I will talk to him tomorrow at school," she explained.
Hailey ignored Vince's suspicious stare. She picked up her fork and began stuffing her mouth when her phone vibrated again. And once again, it was Bryan.
"Do you want me to talk to him instead?"
It freaks her out. Instantly, she refused and reasoned out. "It's alright! I will send a message that he need not bother about what happens. Since we have the same class tomorrow morning, we can talk about it, even though it's unnecessary. He apologizes already, anyway. So it's not important to talk to him."
Upon saying this, Hailey swipes the RED button to cancel Bryan's call. She then types a quick text.
"I'll message you tomorrow when I'm available. Please, don't call me at the moment."
Hailey then put down her phone and resumed eating. But then she received another call. She glanced at Vince, who looked very curious about who was calling her.
Hailey was about to swipe the red button when she recognized the number calling her. It was her dad!
'Oh, my gosh! What am I going to do now? Dad would be suspicious if I cancel his call!' she freaked out. She can't determine whether to answer it or let the call continue.
'I'm sorry, dad.'
In the end, Hailey only glanced at her phone and avoided an apparent facial expression that she was like on trial. She ignored the call and continued eating again. She picks up the wineglass and gulps the champagne in one go.
Vince is shifting his gaze between Hailey and her phone. It made him concerned about whether it was still regarding her classmate. His head ran wild with thoughts that maybe other people were bothering Hailey, like Zenaida or Howie Gu.
He could not take the suspicion he was having, so he asked Hailey after the call continued. "You want me to deal with him?"
Confused, Hailey processes Vince's words. Later, she understood, and it made her anxious. "Oh, no! There's no need for that! I will ignore it."
It freaked her out. 'There is no way dad should know I'm with a man! Ah! It will be the end of the world when the boys know! They dug a pit after they learned what Bryan did to me. It will be more than chaos once they learn about Vince.'
She's worried. The longer it took for Vince to get his divorce, the more she was in trouble hiding the truth from her family. But Vince seemed to stop chasing the divorce. So what will happen now?
She knew how crazy it was. Other mistresses wanted their men to divorce the legal and original wife. But in her case, she wants Vince to divorce his wife so she gets free from their agreement. How ironic is it?
Meanwhile, Vince could see the trouble lingering on Hailey's face. He looked at her intently, studying her actions. She might casually put food in her mouth while ignoring her phone, but she looked nervous.
Not long, Hailey felt relieved when the call stopped. She was crying inside her head, thinking about her father.
'I'm sorry, dad! I will call you tomorrow after Vince leaves for work!' She muttered inwardly.
But what happens next? Geoffrey and Leo are calling her as well. Her phone never stopped vibrating, and Vince could feel the shaking on the table. And because she was ignoring everyone's calls, they were sending her messages.
This time, James and Kelvin also messaged her. 'What's going on!? Is there an emergency? Why is everyone contacting me?'
And after a while that everyone stopped trying to contact her, but one name shocked her...
Andre? Andre is home!?
Her heart is thumping rapidly. Knowing that Andre attempted to call her unsettles her.
Vince was extremely curious now and could not hold to the query. "What's the matter? Is everything alright?"
"Ah, yes! It was... It's Hazel this time! I think she already heard about what happened, so throwing a fret."
Ah! How a lame excuse! No one would dare to contact her when they knew she was with Vince! "I will message her now."
Hailey picks up her phone and types on it. She has a feeling that Vince only believes half of her lies. But she is more worried about the boys finding out the truth.
"Hi, dad! I'm sorry if I didn't answer your call. I have a meeting with someone today. Might it take a long time before our meeting ends? I'll call you tomorrow! Please, have a nice dinner and rest early. Don't work too much, okay? Love you!"
Hailey pressed the send button. After that, she set her phone to airplane mode. So then, all the calls and messages won't get through now.
"There! We can continue eating now," she declared cheerfully, hiding her tension. "By the way, Hazel wants us to help her choose a dress. So we're going to the mall in the afternoon."
"Hmm... Okay." Vince said flatly.
Hailey glanced at him. She could sense a slight roughness in his voice. 'Is it displeased him when someone keeps calling my phone?' She mused, and it quickly answered.
"Tell me if someone bothers you. I will..."
"It's okay! It's just school stuff! Nothing to be concerned about!" She interrupted whatever Vince wanted to say, which she already guessed the phrasing he used to tell her.
'I will deal with them myself.' That is what he would quote.
It touched her. But a question always arises inside her mind. 'Why is he wasting his time dealing like Howie Gu? Why didn't he look for his wife instead of caring for anyone who troubled me when I could deal with them myself?
Well, she would answer this question herself. 'Vince didn't know my true background.'
Meanwhile, being cut by Hailey, Vince rendered his silence. He senses something is happening, but Hailey avoids sharing anything with him. So he guessed it was a personal matter.
'Could it be her family?' Vince had this thought.
He didn't ask further but finished their food. Hailey, on the one hand, keenly observes Vince's expression. He may ask nothing, but she could feel that Vince was upset again. But she could share nothing with him. Not about her real identity. Not yet until she didn't find Eva and appeared in front of Vince.
Hailey got an idea to lighten the heavy atmosphere that filled the room.
"Um... Can we visit M City Market before we head home?"
Vince glanced at his wristwatch. They still had plenty of time to enjoy dinner and then went to the market after. He has work to finish soon, but he cannot allow Hailey to go there alone. "Okay. There's still time, so don't hurry your food."
Hailey smiled. Vince encourages her to eat at this moment.
They had almost finished eating when Vince's phone rang. He answered it and talked to the other line.
Hailey finishes her food quietly. Later, she sat up and gestured at Vince to go washroom.
"Where are you?" asked Vince.
He looked outside the window of his yacht, then fixed his gaze on the Two Towers skyscrapers he designed years back for the SHEN GROUP: the 'Luxurious Penthouse Project'.