Chapter 2

Henry's eyes flickered with excitement, but he then asked hesitantly, "You're coming with me? But aren't you supposed to go back to Mr. Woods' hometown?"

"He failed to get tickets," Lisa said casually, only sparing me a side glance.

Henry's hesitation vanished instantly.

He tried hard to suppress his excitement, then feigned panic as he let go of Lisa. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Woods, I didn't know that ticket was yours..."

He tapped on his phone and said, "I'll transfer the money back to you. It's $650, right? I'll transfer it right away!"

I didn't say a word, but Lisa stopped him. "Don't bother."

She frowned and shot a glare at me. "That amount is nothing to you. Why make things hard for a fresh graduate?"

But I hadn't even said a word.

Meeting my gaze, Henry hunched his shoulders and hid behind her, head bowed.

Indeed, that amount of money was nothing to me.

And money wasn't what I wanted anyway.

Looking at Lisa, I tried my best to stay calm. "What if my grandma really is critically ill? What will you do then?"

Lisa hesitated for a moment before saying, "You really should stop jinxing your grandma like that. After the holidays, I'll make some time to go back with you and see her."

She still wouldn't believe me.

I just turned around and went back to the bedroom without saying anything.

When I closed the door, the wedding photo on the wall shook slightly.

The engagement party was a year ago, and we took our wedding photos six months later.

But Lisa kept finding excuses to postpone the wedding, so it never happened.

Lowering my head, I opened a WhatsApp chat.

"Come pick me up. Grandma wants to see you."

The other person replied instantly: "I'm coming right now."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Let's just call off the wedding. I seem to be the only one looking forward to it anyway.

When I walked out of the bedroom, both Lisa and Henry were gone.

I quickly packed my clothes and sent them away.

At 8 PM, while I was pouring water, I heard Henry's youthful voice.

"Ms. Jetrow, isn't this a bit too much? My parents are just ordinary folk. Some of these things, they've never seen before in their lives."

Lisa opened the door and deliberately raised her voice when she saw me. "People who live simple, honest lives, without any drama, are actually quite extraordinary."

I could tell she was mocking me.

But since I'd already decided to leave, I wouldn't bother proving anything to her anymore.

I glanced at the dozen or so shopping bags piled up in the entryway, then turned to go back into the room.

Henry suddenly ran over, beaming. "Mr. Woods, I picked this outfit specifically for you. You can wear it when you go back to your hometown."

He was holding a bright red jacket.

The fabric was cheap, the pattern was old-fashioned, and the cuffs even had crooked peonies embroidered on them.

The price tag read: 5 bucks.

My fingers tightened, and my voice dropped a notch. "I don't need it."

Henry's eyes instantly welled up, his voice trembling. "Mr. Woods, I wanted to spend some of my own money to buy you a gift, so I can only afford this cheap jacket. Please don't be mad at me."

Lisa quickly stepped forward and pulled him behind her.

"Don't be unreasonable. Henry is just a fresh graduate. This is the best he can afford."

The best he could afford? Earlier in the day, he could casually transfer $650 to me, but a few hours later, five bucks was his "best"?

I met Lisa's questioning gaze. "My grandma's critically ill. Do you really think it's appropriate for me to wear this back home?"

Her gaze landed on my face then shifted away, as if she couldn't be bothered to argue. "You keep bringing that up, but if you were really that worried, you would've driven home already. Why wait until I agreed to go back with you, then tried to book train tickets?"

I frowned in disbelief. "Are you for real?"

Her back stiffened, and her gaze shifted away.

The first time I got my dad's call, I immediately rushed to get the car.

But Dad said before Grandma fell into a coma, she kept mumbling about wanting to see her granddaughter-in-law.

Grandma watched me grow up. I couldn't possibly not fulfil her last wish.