Chapter 46 Manor Party
Jerry smiled faintly, gave Angela and Wendy a quick once-over, and said to Lillian, "Mrs. Sinclair, are you busy later?"
"Mr. Nelson, please, just call me Lillian."
Lillian felt his use of "Mrs. Sinclair" was supremely ironic.
Jerry, nonchalant, said, "But you are married to Alexander now, calling you Mrs. Sinclair is hardly excessive."
No sooner had he spoken than his phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, he showed Lillian the screen, "Speak of the devil, it's your husband calling." He then answered the call without leaving.
"Lillian, is this a friend of Alexander's?" Wendy asked quietly.
Lillian nodded silently.
"...Yeah, I've spotted your wife here, she's dining with friends...right..." Jerry snitched to Alexander on the phone.
Lillian couldn't help but admire the indifference of these wealthy people. Jerry had clearly interrupted her meal with friends and yet didn't care at all, able to chat merrily on the phone next to her, while she, on the other hand, felt exceedingly awkward.
"Does he still want to talk to you?" Angela asked, sipping her juice.
"I don't know."
However, Jerry seemed not done yet, "...You can't just not show up...okay, don't worry, I'll make sure she gets home safely, what? Lucas wants to talk?"
"Hey, baby, did you miss me?"
Lucas spoke up on the phone, "I don't want to talk to you, I want to talk to Lillian."
Jerry felt slightly embarrassed and muttered, "You little rascal!" before handing the phone to Lillian.
"Lucas wants to talk to you."
Lillian spoke softly, "Lucas, it's me."
"Lillian, where are you? I'm going over to Jerry's estate to hang out with Alexander. You should come too, Alexander agreed."
Lillian furrowed her brows slightly. She was still on a date with her best friend. Why would she want to go to the estate? Instinctively, she didn't feel like going.
"Lucas, I think—" Lillian began, but Angela kicked her under the table, interrupting her.
Angela assured the caller, "Don't worry, Lillian will be there."
"Yay! I'll be waiting for you, so hurry up and come with Jerry!" Lucas said joyfully before hanging up.
Lillian returned the phone to Jerry and asked, "Do we need to leave now?"
"No rush," Jerry replied. "Doris and Theodore haven't come down yet. I'll wait for you in the car."
After he left, Lillian turned to Angela, "Why did you say yes for me?"
"What else could I have done? Would you have us refuse in front of Mr. Nelson, denying Alexander's request? Wouldn't that upset him? Don't make things awkward for yourself. Go on, get along with his friends, it'll be good for you."
Through the window, Wendy watched Jerry get in the car. Resting her chin on her hands, her eyes shimmered with envy. "Mr. Nelson is so handsome. If only my blind dates could be half as good-looking as him, I'd be set."
"That's enough," Angela scolded, waving her hand in front of Wendy's eyes. "If you're interested, perhaps Lillian could introduce him to you."
"Really?" Wendy asked excitedly.
Lillian couldn't help but give a wry smile.
Just then, someone came downstairs; it was Doris and Theodore, who also spotted Lillian.
"Lillian," Doris waved at her.
"Lillian, Jerry told us everything," said Theodore with a smile. He approached Angela and Wendy and suggested, "How about you join us? It's more fun with more people."
Angela turned to grab her down jacket and politely declined, "No thanks, we've got other plans. Have fun and please take good care of Lillian."
As she put on her jacket, a subtle fragrance wafted through the air. The women seemed unfazed, but Theodore paused for a moment.
They all exited the restaurant together, with Lillian and her two good friends apologizing for their abrupt departure.
"Don't apologize. Just have fun," Angela and Wendy said before getting into their car and driving off.
Jerry and Theodore had both driven their cars. Knowing the relationship between Jerry and Doris, Lillian instinctively headed towards Theodore's car, opened the door, and got in.
"Hey!" Doris greeted her from the back seat.
"Didn't you ride with Mr. Nelson?" Lillian asked in surprise, pointing in his direction.
"I don't want to ride in his car. He's always hemming and hawing, which is super annoying," Doris leaned back comfortably and said, "Let me catch some sleep. Just wake me up when we get there."
Lillian pulled the seatbelt across and buckled up, thinking to herself how on earth those two ended up engaged — they seem like such adversaries.
The car smoothly merged onto the main road.
Glancing back at Jerry, who was following behind, Lillian said sympathetically, "Mr. Nelson must be fuming."
"He's used to it by now," Theodore chuckled. "If Doris doesn't ruffle his feathers every now and then, he'd probably feel off."
What's his deal? Is he a glutton for punishment?
Lillian hardly knew Theodore; they had met only a couple of times before. After this brief exchange, the car fell silent.
Eventually, Theodore broke the stillness, asking casually, "Were the two from earlier your friends or co-workers?"
"Best friends. We've been together since high school. We're really close," Lillian said proudly.
"That kind of friendship is really rare," Theodore remarked, "What do they do?"
"One's family owns a hospital, and the other is a civil servant," Lillian replied. "Both are more successful than me."
A spark of interest flickered in Theodore's eyes.
"Don't sell yourself short. You're doing fine," he reassured.
"Thanks for the pep talk, Mr. Wellington," she said with a playful smile.
They were heading towards a suburban area. Jerry owned a large estate out there, and whenever vacation time came around, he would invite friends over for a bit of fun.
On the way, Lucas didn't stop texting Lillian, incessantly asking how far out she was. Lillian, looking out at the rows of bare trees, replied that she was close.
After a two-hour drive, they were nearly there.
Doris slowly sat up in the back seat, rubbing her eyes, and asked, "Are we there yet?"
"You woke up just in time," Theodore said.
The car pulled into the estate, and Lillian's mouth dropped open in awe. Today, she was fortunate to visit an estate the likes of which she'd only seen on TV; it was quite an eye-opener.
Alexander's car was already parked off to the side. Lillian followed the group into the estate, and when Lucas heard them, he ran out and hugged her, exclaiming, "You finally made it."
Lillian let him hug her, moving into the living room together as if they were conjoined twins. Alexander was lounging on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, scrolling through his phone without even glancing up.
"Lillian, let's go. I'll take you upstairs to change into some clothes, and we can play games together", Doris said, pulling her towards the elevator.
Lucas, trailing behind, shouted, "Wait for me too!"
