Chapter 178 The Feeling Between Martin and Charlotte Was Strange
Only when the phone’s ringtone broke the silence, the deadlock was finally broken.
Martin glanced at the caller ID with a gloomy expression, sighed, turned the phone upside down on his thigh in resignation. He turned to Patricia, unbuckled his seatbelt, and moved closer, taking hold of her shoulders.
With a serious and helpless look on his face, he said, "Patricia, I'm sorry, I admit I was too overbearing just now. But I'm being overprotective because I care about you so much, and I don't want to see you getting too close with Hunter."
Care? It was the first time Patricia had heard this word from him.
The anger in her chest dissipated almost instantly, and her tone softened unconsciously. "Hunter and I grew up together. When Debbie and her daughter bullied me, he was the one who protected and encouraged me time after time. He is very important to me. If a condition for remarrying you is to cut ties with him, then I can give you the answer now."
Even without her saying it, Martin guessed her answer, and his face immediately darkened as the pain that had subsided at his heart crept back slowly.
"Is he that significant in your eyes?" Martin asked.
Patricia didn't want him to misunderstand and explained, "I said I would not marry him! I see him as a brother."
Martin emphasized seriously, "But he likes you!"
He never believed that there could be a platonic friendship between men and women.
Patricia sighed, "That's exactly why I need to talk to him and set things straight."
Martin froze, " You're meeting him to clarify things?"
Patricia nodded, "Yes, I don't want this to ruin our friendship. I don't like him that way, so I can't give him any hope. He deserves someone better."
Hearing this, Martin let out a silly chuckle.
"You're right. If there's no interest, you should make it clear and not give anyone false hope!" Speaking of which, he handed her the phone, "Then you call him and ask where he is, I'll take you there."
Patricia was speechless, "Weren't you just saying we shouldn't meet?"
Martin laughed even more foolishly, "We can't interfere with serious matters. Make the call! It's good to clarify!"
Amused by his silliness, Patricia took the phone and dialed Hunter, "Hunter, sorry, something came up just now. Where are you? I'm coming over."
"I’m at the West Rose Restaurant. I've been here all this time, worried that you might come back looking for me."
"Alright, I'm on my way now." Patricia responded.
After ending the call, Patricia asked Martin to continue driving.
Martin drove with a grim expression, grumbling, "Hunter, Hunter, do you have to say his name with such affection?"
Running out of patience, Patricia retorted, "If you keep asking more questions, I'll get out of the car and walk there myself."
Martin gave her a pitiful look and started the car.
Seeing him like this made Patricia feel guilty, "I've always called him that since we were kids! Changing how I address him because of this might make him think I want to keep my distance. He and Jade are equally important to me."
Martin wasn't satisfied with this explanation. Yet, his lips couldn't help but curl up, "Is this your way of explaining to me?"
Patricia's cheeks flushed red as she uncomfortably tilted her head to look out of the window.
The snow was falling heavily, covering everything in sight with a layer of white. Looking out, the world was a vast expanse of unblemished snow, the surface of the river veiled with a white mist, and set against the snowy scene, it was extremely beautiful.
Without a reply from her, Martin took her silence for consent. The corners of his lips turned upward more and more. His smile seemed to overflow from the bottom of his eyes.
Entranced, Patricia gazed out of the window and suddenly uttered, "The day after tomorrow is Christmas Eve..."
How time flies. The three little ones are about to turn five.
Martin had never really celebrated holidays, and although he'd heard of Christmas Eve, he'd never actually celebrated it.
"Do you have plans the day after tomorrow evening? If not, let's take the kids and celebrate Christmas Eve together!" Martin suggested, not particularly interested in the holiday itself, but willing to do it for Patricia.
Patricia was also tempted and almost agreed immediately, but she caught herself at the last moment and feigned indifference, "Let's talk about it the day after tomorrow! If I'm free, we can celebrate together."
Martin looked at her amusedly but didn't call out her act.
Martin dropped Patricia off at the entrance of West Rose Restaurant.
To her surprise, Charlotte was also at the entrance of the restaurant.
It turned out that after Martin and Patricia had left earlier, Charlotte had been waiting at West Rose Restaurant for Martin. After waiting for a while and seeing that they hadn't come back, she decided to head back to the hospital.
Unexpectedly, as she was leaving, she saw an old lady slip and fall. Out of kindness, she helped the old lady to stand up. However, the old lady accused her of knocking her over and even called her son and daughter-in-law.
Charlotte, usually meek and kind-hearted, was at a loss about what to do. Unable to clear up the misunderstanding, she had no choice but to call Martin.
Just as Martin and Patricia reached the entrance of the restaurant, Charlotte saw Martin and ran towards him, crying. She flung herself into his arms, clutching his waist tightly, crying so much she could hardly speak.
"Martin, you're finally here, I was so scared... They wanted to hit me..."
Martin gently patted her back to soothe her. "I'm here, it's alright! Leave everything to me."
Charlotte nodded vigorously, her tearful, appearance looking so innocent and pitiable.
Watching them embrace tightly, Patricia couldn't quite name the feeling inside her. She knew she shouldn’t think about their relationship, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy at the sight of Charlotte. It was truly upsetting.
Lost in her thoughts, Patricia was brought her back to reality by a tender voice calling her name.
"Patricia..."
As his words trailed off, Hunter hurried over, anxiously clutching Patricia's hands tightly. With a concerned look, he checked her from head to toe. "Did Martin hurt you?"
Martin noticed them holding hands and his brows furrowed. Just as he was about to approach, the grandmother's family members charged over.
"So, you're her brother. She knocked down our grandmother, her forehead's all busted open. You have to explain this to us, otherwise you're not leaving."
Following this, a group crowded around, encircling Martin and Charlotte. Martin was forced to stop, watching helplessly as Hunter led Patricia by the hand inside, while he stood powerless.
Patricia followed Hunter into the restaurant, taking the same seats as before. The table was still laid out with the meal she had ordered before leaving.
Hunter invited her to sit and said softly, "It's gone cold, I’ll have the waiter serve a fresh one."
After saying this, he reached out to summon the waiter.
Patricia didn't stop him and didn’t immediately address the issue at hand. Hunter had been here all this time waiting for her, so they had to finish this meal before anything else.
Outside, Martin anxiously stretched his neck, looking at the entrance and growing increasingly anxious as they took longer to come out.
The meal was finished safely and without incident. Patricia, preoccupied and without much appetite, didn’t eat much.
Concerned, Hunter asked, "What's wrong? Are you not hungry? Or did Martin bully you? Where... Where did you go just now? Did he do anything to you?"
Patricia rested her hands on her thighs, nervously twisting her down jacket and biting her lower lip, contemplating how to broach the subject.
"Patricia..." Hunter looked at her anxiously and with concern.
After much internal struggle, Patricia mustered the courage: "Hunter, I... I have something to tell you."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
