Chapter 78 What Gift Do You Want
Josephine had been sleeping with Stuart these past few days, and she had seen him reply to Doris's messages more than once.
She wasn't intentionally snooping; Stuart would leave his phone on the table when he went to shower, and the screen would light up with new messages.
The content of the messages was displayed directly on the screen.
Josephine glanced at it casually.
Doris: [I miss you so much, when are you coming back?]
Josephine gave a self-mocking smile.
A few seconds later, Doris sent another message: [I really like the gift you gave me last time.]
Josephine got up and flipped his phone over.
Out of sight, out of mind.
When Stuart came out, he looked down to reply to the messages, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
In the following days, whenever Josephine saw that expression on Stuart's face, she knew he was chatting with Doris.
Stuart had said he was on vacation, but he left suddenly without arranging many things at the company.
After staying at the military base for a few days, he had to go back to the company.
When Doris heard that Stuart was back, she immediately went to his office.
"Stuart!" she called out to him, longingly. When she saw him, her eyes immediately reddened.
At first when Stuart left, she didn't know where he had gone to.
Later, she asked Robin and found out that Stuart had gone to the military base with Josephine.
Robin had said on the phone, "Did you and Stuart have a fight? Why did he suddenly chase after Josephine?"
Doris said, "No, but he's been in a weird mood these past few days."
"Keep sending him messages. If you don't stay in touch, the relationship can easily become distant," Robin said, "You know what to do, right?"
Of course, Doris knew.
So these past few days, she had been messaging Stuart whenever she had free time.
Although Stuart rarely replied, either saying he was training or that he didn't have his phone with him.
But Doris was persistent.
She also felt a sense of crisis.
Previously, she had been full of confidence, mainly because Stuart treated her so well that she felt secure.
However, recently, she inexplicably felt insecure.
Stuart's attitude towards Josephine seemed different from before.
Especially during that time when Josephine had an event at the hospital, And now, Stuart even followed her to the military base.
Something was off, very off.
Could it be that the person Stuart liked was actually Josephine?
It didn't seem like it.
Doris couldn't figure out the reason.
She knew that only by holding onto Stuart could she continue to live a life of luxury.
Once a person was accustomed to luxury, it would be hard to go back to a life of poverty. If she and Stuart separated and had to return to her previous hard life, she'd rather die.
The more she wanted it, the more she could restrain herself.
Doris stood beside him, biting her lip, her face full of grievance. She said pitifully, "I haven't seen you for days."
Stuart looked at her face and was lost in thought for a few seconds.
Then, he smiled. He said, "I'll take you to buy a gift later."
Doris said, "I don't want a gift; I want you by my side. Stuart, are you leaving again today?"
Stuart had a video conference to attend tonight and shook his head. He replied, "I'm not leaving tonight, I have to work overtime."
Doris said, "Then I'll stay with you."
Stuart didn't mind. He simply agreed, "Okay."
Robin also came over. He asked curiously, "Why did you go to the military base? I haven't been there in years."
Stuart glanced at him. He asked, "What, you want to go too?"
"Five years." Robin counted on his fingers. He repeated, "It's been five years."
"Yeah," Stuart also felt nostalgic. He remarked, "Time flies."
Robin looked around. He inquired, "Where's your Doris?"
Stuart said, "Shopping."
Robin said, "You just got back, and she's not staying with you?"
Stuart said, "I have a lot of work to do, how can she stay with me? If you're not busy, leave. I'm busy."
Robin asked, "How intense was the training? Can I go too?"
"Normal," Stuart said, "Very simple."
Robin said, "Simple for you, but not for others. By the way, how is Josephine? She's always been delicate since she was a child. Did she cry this time?"
Stuart was momentarily lost in thought, recalling a little girl with cute pigtails.
She was crying, her white down jacket smudged with dirt.
Seven or eight-year-old Robin was standing beside her, full of disdain. "Crybaby! Clingy! Annoying!" he teased.
He then looked at Stuart. He said impatiently, "Stuart, let's not play with her! She's annoying!"
Stuart vaguely remembered that he didn't find Josephine annoying at the time; he even wanted to comfort her.
However, Robin pulled him away.
When he looked back, he saw Liam holding Josephine's hand.
Stuart didn't know why he got angry, but he ran back and added, "Crybaby! Annoying!"
Josephine cried even louder.
Liam wiped her tears, comforting her.
Stuart angrily said, "If you play with the crybaby, you're a crybaby too!"
Then he and Liam started fighting.
"Stuart?" Robin's voice brought him back to reality.
Stuart frowned. He replied impatiently, "If you want to train, don't come with me."
Robin was puzzled. He asked, "Why?"
Stuart looked down at his files. He coldly replied, "I don't want to see you."
Actually, recently, Josephine didn't get along with Robin.
He didn't want to see them arguing at the military base.
Nowadays, Josephine didn't even show him respect, let alone Robin.
Robin laughed in exasperation. He scoffed, "What did I do to offend you?"
Stuart didn't respond.
Robin asked, "Did Josephine make you angry again? Her temper is really bad. But she seems to be good with Liam. They've been close since they were kids..."
"Shut up." Stuart was annoyed as soon as he heard this. He retorted, "Are you that free?"
Robin said, "After all, my dad hasn't fully handed over power to me yet. Unlike you, who has all the power, you're naturally busier."
Before Stuart could say anything, Robin continued, "You should also put some effort into Doris. Girls tend to overthink."
"What do you mean by effort?" Stuart asked, "Why would she overthink?"
Robin said, "Why is Doris with you? You're married, you have a wife. If you don't treat her well, she'll be heartbroken."
Stuart looked down, frowning, not speaking.
Robin added, "Spend more time with her, buy her gifts, that's just basic."
After Robin left, Stuart finished his documents and picked up his phone to call Josephine.
It was lunchtime, and Josephine answered, "What's up?"
Hearing her tone, Stuart felt uncomfortable.
Suppressing his anger, he said, "I'm coming back tomorrow."
Josephine responded with an "okay."
Stuart continued, "Is there anything you want, like a gift?"
Josephine remembered the messages on his phone and replied coldly, "Don't use the tricks that you use on your lover on me; they don't work."
Stuart gripped his phone tightly. He remarked angrily, "Josephine! You're simply unreasonable!"
