Chapter 154 Rescue Operation
Mitchell drove the trio back to the Jonah family villa. Mrs. Jonah had long since gone to bed. After Mitchell parked the car, he leaned over to pick up Willow and said to Daniel, "You go ahead and open the door; try not to wake Mom and Dad. We don't want them to worry."
Daniel nodded and hurried ahead to open the door.
As soon as Mitchell entered, he went straight upstairs, carrying someone into Daniel's room, "Get Willow changed into some fresh clothes; I'll go make her some hangover soup."
"Sure," Daniel agreed.
He gently laid Willow on her bed with such tender care that it sparked a daring guess in his heart—could it be...
"What are you waiting for? Find her some clean clothes. I'll go downstairs and cook the soup."
"Right, on it," Daniel snapped out of his reverie and rushed to the closet to find clothes.
Unable to bathe Willow by himself, Daniel settled for bringing a basin of hot water, wiping her down with a clean towel, and changing her into pajamas.
Just as he finished tidying up, Mitchell came upstairs with a bowl of hangover soup. Daniel helped Willow sit up while Mitchell fed her the soup. As Daniel watched his brother's careful movements, he wondered if he should intercede on behalf of his sibling. So he tentatively asked, with a mix of hesitation and probing, "Bro, what's going on with you and Marigold? Are you really going to... marry her?"
Mitchell didn't answer right away. After making sure Willow had finished the soup and was lying down to sleep, he replied slowly, "Maybe." He glanced at Willow, who was now fast asleep on the bed, and thought to himself that it was not likely he'd find someone he liked again. After speaking, he stood up, ready to take the bowl and head downstairs.
Daniel grew anxious, quickly grabbing his brother's arm, "What do you mean you don't know? If you're going to marry her, say so; if not, then say it's not happening."
Mitchell, taken aback by his younger sister Madison's outburst, suddenly chuckled and asked, "Why so worked up? Don't you like Marigold? You're about the same age; you should have things to talk about."
"How can I talk to her? She's fine dining, while I'm all about street food," Daniel retorted, rolling his eyes at Mitchell.
Mitchell couldn't help but laugh at the response. This kid was just like Willow—always keen on hitting up the night markets for street food, so it's no wonder they got along so well.
But Daniel had made a sound point. Although Marigold was about the same age as Willow, her mature style of dressing made her seem older than Willow and her crew. Willow was always seen in t-shirts and jeans, maybe putting on a business suit from time to time to look the part. She didn't look much different than a college student.
Pulling up a chair, Mitchell seemed like he wanted to sit and chat with Daniel for a while.
"Is Willow still waiting for that guy she liked before?" Mitchell asked Daniel outright as he opened the door. Daniel was startled by his abrupt question. What was going on, and why was her brother suddenly asking this? Didn't Willow like him? Did Willow have some secret she didn't know about? Could it be...
Back then, during her senior year of college and Willow's junior year, Mitchell, as a partner, had already been working in the JK Group headquarters office, dealing with a division similar to what he was handling now. She had always known that Willow had a crush on her brother, and Willow had adamantly forbade her from mentioning a word of it in front of him because he apparently had someone he was interested in. When he interacted with Willow, he seemed even more affectionate than with his actual younger sister, Madison.
So she had assumed that Willow had confessed her feelings and been rejected, especially since her brother seemed to have someone on his mind.
That's why, when Willow got drunk at her graduation, she had to drag her home. They happened to run into her brother, who asked why Willow had consumed so much alcohol. She was about to deflect and get Willow into her room when Willow suddenly shouted, "Why doesn't he like me!"
In her desperation, she made up a story about Willow liking a guy from their class who didn't reciprocate the feelings and had gone abroad after graduation, leaving Willow heartbroken and drowning her sorrows in alcohol.
She remembered her brother frowning at the time, not saying a word before he went downstairs.
Daniel laughed awkwardly, reminiscing for a while before she realized whom her brother was referring to—the fictional guy she had invented on the spot.
"I guess so. I'm not really sure," Daniel cautiously replied.
"You two are always together. How could there be anything about Willow that you don't know?"
Daniel chuckled nervously. "Well, these things are never easy to say outright."
"Whatever. I can't figure out what's going on with you two. I'm out, and you should get some sleep," Mitchell said, walking out of Daniel's room with a bowl in hand. Only then did Daniel let out a sigh of relief and sat down on her bed.
Could her brother really be thinking of marrying Marigold? Ah, why is liking someone so complicated?
*
The next day, when Willow woke up, she found herself in clean clothes and realized that this wasn't her room. Gradually, she recognized she was in Daniel's house, in Daniel's room. She had blurry memories of the previous day and knew that Mitchell and Patrick had come to their rescue.
The bedroom curtains were drawn thickly, and the heavy darkness made it difficult to tell if it was day or night. Willow was not in the room, so she must have already gotten up. That meant it was no longer early.
Willow hastily got up and headed to the bathroom to freshen up and change into the clothes laid out for her. The outfit she had worn the day before was likely washed and dried by Willow and neatly placed at the bedside.
After she got ready, she opened her bedroom door and heard laughter and conversation wafting up from downstairs.
Willow froze, her hand gripping the doorknob tightly.
There were guests, and Mitchell was also at home. She heard Auntie speaking to a girl named Marigold with endearment.
Willow took a deep breath and practiced several times before she managed to put on the most natural smile she could muster and headed downstairs.
In the Jonah family's living room, a girl with luscious brown wavy hair and a fitted maxi dress sat conversing warmly with Mrs. Jonah while Mitchell sat across from them, sipping water and keeping company.
The girl's smile was bright, and her stature was tall and graceful. She moved with poise, and her skin was porcelain smooth.
It was her, the girl from the blind date with Jonah.
As Willow walked into the living room, she greeted everyone, "Auntie, Jonah."
Then she gave a slight smile and a nod towards the girl on the couch.
Mitchell noticed Willow had come downstairs in sandals, frowned slightly, and signaled a housekeeper to fetch a pair of cotton slippers for her to change into.
Marigold observed all this without a word, quietly speculating about Willow's relationship with Mitchell.
Was Willow the one Mitchell liked? Having met him only a few times, Marigold knew he was attentive, but she was seeing this subtle care for the first time.
Whether or not Willow was Mitchell's love interest was one thing, but she was certainly someone very important to him.