Chapter 338: Would You Like To Marry Me?
It was about eight in the morning in Rheinsville City.
Wendy did not manage to sleep well the night before.
She had intentionally avoided news from Lake City. However, the internet was flooded with the news of Michael and Yonina’s engagement.
Wendy simply could not avoid it.
Time ticked by slowly.
She watched as the night sky soon broke into dawn.
Ultimately, Wendy pulled her cell phone out and clicked on a link to the live broadcast.
The broadcast played the image of Michael and Yonina strutting out hand in hand.
It was clear that their engagement party was held at a five-star hotel.
That was not unexpected since Michael and Yonina were both big shots in Lake City, so their engagement party could not be held at a shabby venue either.
On her screen, half of the viewers were simply there for the latest gossip, while the other half were gladly giving the couple their blessings.
Wendy even noticed a barrage of questions about where she was.
[Where’s Wendy Stewart? I’d like to know if she was in attendance at the engagement party!]
[Can the cameras turn to Ms. Wendy Stewart for a second, please?]
[Why are you all looking for Wendy Stewart? Under such circumstances, would you show up if you were Wendy Stewart?]
[Even if Wendy Stewart were willing to go, I’m sure the Lucas family won’t send her an invite.]
[Regardless, these two make a lovely couple. Let’s just focus on wishing them a good future.]
.
.
.
Wendy had long known that their engagement would happen today. She had believed that even if she saw the beautiful engagement party, she would not feel much.
Nonetheless, tears welled up in her eyes.
She raised her head and looked up at the ceiling.
Smiling and shaking her head, she mumbled to herself, "Oh, Michael, what were you thinking to have told me to wait half a year? Are you planning to have me watch as you and Yonina Collins get married and start a family in the next half a year?"
She felt like a joke even to herself.
She had even believed Michael’s promise of half a year.
Just then, someone knocked at her door.
Wendy sniffled and prepared herself before calling out in her usual tone. "Who is it?"
Wendy thought that the only ones who would knock at her door at this time of day would be her twins.
It could also be Zess calling her to breakfast.
"It’s me."
At that voice, Wendy stopped for a moment.
’Todd?’ she wondered, ’What was he doing here so early in the morning?’
Wendy wiped the tears off her face and blinked a few times.
Inhaling sharply, she put on a jacket and got off her bed.
Opening the door, she came face to face with Todd. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"
"I..." Todd laughed as he explained, "Weren’t you going down to HG Enterprise today? I’m here to pick you up."
"How did you know that I planned to go to HG?" Wendy replied with a smile.
"My mentor told me about it." Todd’s gaze remained on Wendy’s face. Although she had dried her tears, the rims of her eyes were still red and puffy.
An announcement could be heard from the speakers of her phone.
[What a great speech, Mr. Lucas and Ms. Collins. We would now be welcoming the happy couple with our warmest applause!]
Taking all these in, Todd had figured the situation out.
In fact, he had arrived this early because he knew that Michael and Yonina’s engagement party was ongoing at this time.
Although Wendy seemed unconcerned about this on the surface, she was definitely hurt inside.
Wendy looked down and gave a weak smile.
She did not want to make excuses for herself. However, since she and Todd were now dating, it was only proper that she explained herself.
Inhaling deeply, she said, "I’m sorry, I just happened to click on the broadcast."
Naturally, Todd did not buy this explanation.
Todd looked at the sorrowful look that Wendy Stewart wore. A dull pain hit him in his chest.
His heart ached because of Wendy’s tears.
At the same time, he was jealous that Michael still mattered to Wendy.
Even if Wendy spoke harshly to Michael and drew clear lines between them, she still had a place for him in her heart.
Todd spread his arms wide and wore a brilliant smile despite the hurt in his heart. "Just cry if you need to. You don’t have to put up a brave front for me."
At Todd’s kind words, Wendy broke down.
Her tears flowed freely, and she could not stop.
Her mind was telling her that she should not be crying over Michael in front of Todd, but she simply could not hold her tears back.
Todd gave Wendy a gentle hug and patted her on her back as he sighed discreetly.
Downcast, Todd thought, ’I hope that this is your last time crying because of Michael.’
Todd did not say this aloud, nor could he bring himself to do so.
Since he had begged his way into this relationship with Wendy, he could only remain passive about this.
He feared that if he shared even his slightest demands, Wendy would end this relationship that barely began.
"Is she not up yet?" Zess was on her way to call Wendy to breakfast since she had not seen her up and about.
As she walked over, she stumbled upon the sight of Wendy in Todd’s embrace at the door of her room.
Awkwardly, Zess coughed gently before turning around to leave as though she had not seen anything.
Nonetheless, both Wendy and Todd heard Zess.
Wendy pulled away from Todd’s arms and dried her tear-streaked face.
The twins were on their way over as well, and Zess had to hold them back with a whisper, "Don’t interrupt your mommy."
"Is Mommy not up yet?" Leah asked, eyes glistening innocently. She threw a glance in the direction of Wendy’s bedroom before wondering aloud, "There. Isn’t Mommy up?"
Leah noticed the two adults at the door of the room and was perplexed at why they were taking so long to come over for breakfast.
Jake, on the other hand, seemed to understand the situation. Taking Leah by the hand, he suggested, "Let’s watch some cartoons."
"Can’t we do it after breakfast with Mommy?" Leah replied. "I’m hungry!"
"Well, then you can go ahead and have breakfast first." Jake dragged Leah with him towards the dining room.
"But, Jake..." Leah had no choice but to leave, thanks to Jake.
Zen did take a look at the bedroom as well. She did see Todd and Wendy embracing.
She frowned.
"Let’s eat, let’s eat," Wendy announced, uncomfortable with the dynamics of the whole situation. Stepping back to put more distance between herself and Todd, she said, "The both of you can go on ahead to eat. I’ll come join you shortly after I wash up."
Since the master bedroom had an en suite bathroom, Wendy turned and went back into her room.
The sound of running water could be heard from outside her bedroom.
Todd watched as Wendy disappeared into her room.
Heaving a heavy sigh, he headed towards the dining area.
"Mr. Lewis, I did not expect that you were such a good cook!" Zen wore a wide smile as she studied the spread on the table. "Thanks to Wendy, I get to enjoy this!"
"Didn’t I already tell you that I’d prepare breakfast? Todd, are you trying to put me out of a job?" Zess grumbled jokingly. "Seeing how you and Wendy have come to this stage today, it must not have been too easy."
....
After getting herself ready for the day, Wendy stepped out into the dining room.
Noticing how the others had not begun having their breakfast, she laughed, "Go ahead and eat. There’s no need to stand on ceremony."
Wendy scanned the large spread on the table and asked with a gasp, "Is it a special occasion today? Why is there so much food at breakfast?"
On the table, was a large variety of breakfast items including various types of bread, congee, and side dishes.
It was as though an international breakfast was laid before them.
Such a hearty breakfast was not an everyday occurrence.
"Zess, what time did you have to wake up to prepare all this?" Wendy teased. "Or did you order takeout for us?"
"This isn’t takeout," Zess replied with a knowing smile. "Todd made all of this."
"What?" Wendy was stumped.
She had assumed that Todd had just arrived.
This meant that he arrived even earlier that morning.
Zess continued, "He came over shortly after the clock struck five! He didn’t want to wake you up, so he called me and got me to open the door for him."
That was why despite Wendy staying up all night, she had not heard anything in particular.
Wendy glanced over at Todd, with a look that showed how astonished and moved she was.
"Gosh, Todd..." Wendy trailed off, at a loss for words.
Todd was spoiling her.
His affections for her left her feeling guilty once more.
"Did Uncle Todd make all this?" Leah asked, her eyes glistening in excitement and glee. "Uncle Todd is amazing!"
"Uncle Todd is amazing!" Jake followed with applause.
"Alright now, everyone, sit down and eat," Todd instructed lovingly. He turned to Wendy, "Corrine, would you like bread or congee?"
"I’ll help myself," Wendy replied as she stared at the array before her. She reached out for a small bowl of congee.
Taking a bite, she nodded in satisfaction and commented, "You’re a pretty good cook, Todd! I didn’t expect you to be able to master making such a wide range of food."
"To be honest, I did make food for you a couple of times, but each was a missed opportunity," Todd said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Slightly frowning, Wendy asked, "When did that happen?"
"Sometime a few years ago," Todd began, whose head was bowed as he spoke with a level voice, "you mentioned that you wanted to have some congee and complained that Rheinsville City did not have any decent congee. Because of that, I looked up some simple recipes.
"After I was satisfied with what I made, I wanted to invite you over for dinner.
"However, that day, you worked through the night and didn’t even have time to go home.
"After that, I tried inviting you over again. But at times, work got too hectic for you, other times you were spending time with the kids.
"There was one particular incident that was especially memorable.
"I was on my way to pick you up after work as usual, and we reached my door. At that point, you received a call from a client and had to go.
"After that, you never mentioned wanting to have congee, so I never made it again."
Todd’s words caused Wendy to stop.
She had never known how much Todd did for her.
Her grip tightened on the spoon in her hand as mixed feelings engulfed her.
The air grew heavy.
"What’s with that?" Todd laughed. "I was just being a little sentimental. Corrine, if you’re that moved, would you like to marry me?"
Todd rarely joked.
At his words, the atmosphere got even heavier.
Wendy plastered a smile and handed a bowl of congee to Todd.
Avoiding the topic, she suggested, "Why don’t you have a taste of your masterpiece?"
Wendy trying to avoid Todd’s proposal did nothing to help the tense atmosphere. In fact, it made things worse.
Nonetheless, Todd responded with a smile and a simple word of thanks as he took the bowl of congee from Wendy.
Their relationship was marked by a polite distance.
Perhaps he should have kept those words in his heart.
Of course, Todd was intentional about bringing up marriage at this point.
He wanted to take the opportunity to move Wendy.
He did not expect that it would backfire.
Perhaps, with the current dynamics between himself and Wendy, he was still unable to move Wendy and get her to fall in love with him.
Instead of moving her, she would only feel guilty towards Todd.
He had been too hasty.
After breakfast, Todd and Wendy left for HG Enterprise.
Timothy had called Wendy the day before and suggested that she dropped by HG Enterprise when she had time today to discuss work prospects.
Timothy was still actively trying to get Wendy to rejoin HG Enterprise.
Now New Year’s had passed, Jake and Leah would have to return to kindergarten in two days.
It would not be productive for Wendy to remain at home, moping over Michael Lucas.
She would have to find something to keep herself busy.
It was not a good option for her to join Todd at this stage either.
Moreover, it was a critical time for HG Enterprise. It would be best that Wendy returned to HG to follow up with that important project.
With that, Wendy had agreed to Timothy’s request the day before and was headed to HG to speak with him.
She did not expect that Todd would arrive so early in the morning and prepare a feast for her.
She was moved at first, but as breakfast progressed, she found herself feeling much more than moved.
However, she was not able to give Todd a response on the spot.
Todd walked with Wendy to the reception area of HG Enterprise’s building. Smiling, he waved and said, "If you don’t feel like staying with HG anymore, Lewis Design Company will always welcome you."
Wendy smiled and waved goodbye.
Watching Todd leave, she suddenly hurried over.
Hearing Wendy’s footsteps, Todd turned back.
She reached out and wrapped her arms around Todd.
It was an unexpected hug.
Todd was astonished.
His arms awkwardly hovered in the air as he did not know where to place them.
"Co-Corrine?" Todd stuttered.
"I’m sorry, Todd," Wendy sighed. She closed her eyes as she continued, "I didn’t know you had done so much for me. I’m sorry I can’t give you the answer you want right now."
Todd thought that he had lost points with Wendy with the words he uttered this morning.
With that hug, it seemed like his words had somewhat worked their magic.
Before Todd could respond, Wendy spoke again, "Oh, and, thank you for all that you’ve done for me. I just need a little more time."
She had been entangled with her feelings for Michael for so many years, so she simply could not straighten her emotions out so quickly.
It would take her a while before she was ready for a new beginning.
"Even though I had lost hope, I managed to get through those five years," Todd’s face lit up as he spoke. "Seems like there’s still hope."
While Wendy was full of hatred in the past five years, Todd had been fully supporting her with her career.
With a single mention from Wendy, he learned to cook.
Waiting for her for two to three hours after making her a warm meal was not a big issue to him.
He would even design a unique gift several months before just for Wendy’s birthday.
As long as Wendy liked something, Todd took note of it.
He had thought that his heart for Wendy would be overshadowed all his life.
In this moment, he realized that to have hope for tomorrow was such a beautiful thing.
Todd placed his hand on Wendy’s back and gave her a few gentle pats, as he assured her, "No matter how long I would have to wait, I will wait for you."
