Chapter 5

Just as Kenny and Opal were about to speak, Sinead answered first. "No one. You misheard."

The two elders looked at her in surprise.

Nelson did not notice his parents' strange looks and pulled Sinead out to the car. "Since you're here and done talking, come with me somewhere."

They rode in silence the whole way.

When the car finally stopped, Sinead realized he had brought her to a luxury store. He told the staff to bring out a huge pile of clothes, shoes, and bags, and had her try them on one by one.

She frowned, baffled. "Why am I trying all of these on?"

Nelson pushed her into the fitting room, his tone clear that it was not up for discussion. "Just try them."

Sinead was about to refuse, but the staff had already closed the door and started unboxing everything.

Every time she finished trying on one outfit, Nelson would take a picture, and then she would be pushed back into the fitting room again.

Sinead tried on more than a hundred outfits over and over until she was exhausted and the high heels had rubbed her feet sore to the point of bleeding.

Finally, she could not hold back anymore. She shoved the staff away, hobbled over to Nelson, and spoke in a low voice. "I don't need you to buy all this to make up for what you did..."

"Wrap up everything except that burgundy evening gown and send it to Ms. Irene Thompson at the Mount Zion villa," Nelson said. When Sinead heard what he had said, she couldn't finish what she was about to say.

She watched him swipe the card without hesitation and asked in a hoarse voice, "You asked me to try all these things on just so you could give them to your girlfriend?"

Nelson nodded nonchalantly, his lips forming a faint smile.

"That's right. I want to give my girlfriend some presents, but I'm afraid they won't suit her taste. You two are about the same size. If you model them for me, things should go fine. Later on, you'll come with me to the dessert shop, jewelry store, and cosmetics stores upstairs. You can try all of them for me. I only want the best things for Irene."

Listening to him map out all of this without asking her, Sinead could no longer suppress the anger in her heart. "Nelson Lane! I'm not your tool for pleasing your girlfriend!"

Nelson had never seen Sinead lose her temper like this. He looked up in shock and saw her eyes bright red.

"Do you know I've never treated you as some kind of buddy? When I hug you, when I kiss you, and even when I sleep with you, I'm serious! You don't have to like me, but you can't treat me like this!" Sinead's voice was trembling as she sobbed.

Nelson froze, feeling a whirlwind of emotions inside. He wanted to explain, but Sinead had already turned and walked away. His gaze flickered slightly as he watched her disappear into the crowd. However, he recovered quickly enough in the next second.

Back home, Sinead took out her suitcase and began to pack.

At the dining table, she kept hearing Jackson and Liana mention Nelson from time to time. "I heard Nelson booked Globe Studios for three days to celebrate Irene's birthday. The roses were even air shipped in from Western Evria. He's really putting his heart into this."

"A few days ago, he even took her back to the family residence to meet his grandfather. He paid out of his own pocket for several sets of antiques and said they were from Irene. The old man was overjoyed and kept praising her."

Whenever the Lane family was mentioned, Sinead stayed silent.

From time to time, faint ripples still stirred in her heart, but there was no pain anymore. She shut everything else out and turned down every invitation to gatherings and dinners where she might run into Nelson.

On a few late nights, Nelson got drunk and messaged her to come pick him up, pretending nothing was wrong between them, but she never went.

When people in their circle drank too much, they would sometimes bring this up, curiosity in their voices. "Nelson, what's going on with that childhood friend of yours? Why isn't she following you around lately?"

Nelson did not take it seriously at all, and his tone was indifferent. "She's just throwing a tantrum. Ignore it, she'll be fine after a while."

But after a long while, there was still no sign of Sinead. In the end, she stopped replying to his messages altogether.

On the day before Nelson's birthday, he finally could not stay calm and sent her an electronic invitation for the party.

This time, Sinead finally replied.

Two words.

[Not going.]