Chapter 2

"Good, you're finally showing some sense, Sherilyn. Just be good and don't cause any trouble. When the time's right, I will marry you. But not now, got it?

"I'm not stringing you along. I'm a man of my word," Theodore declared righteously.

His tone became gentler, and he didn't make me massage Janetta's back anymore. Instead, he left me alone in a room to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I ate the leftover taro cake in the room. The moment I opened the hotel door, Theodore was standing right outside.

He was leaning against the door frame and twirling his car keys. When he saw me, he said in an indifferent voice, "Let's go. I'm sending you home."

I wanted to turn him down since I had driven myself here. I couldn't simply leave my car here and go off in his car.

But when I met his unyielding gaze, I caved in with a muffled grunt.

"Theo, I've been waiting forever! What's taking you so long?" In the parking lot, as soon as Janetta saw Theodore, she rushed up and wrapped herself around him in a tight hug.

He gave her a playful pat on the butt and laughed softly, "Come on, behave yourself. Let go."

Only then did Janetta seem to notice me. "Oh, Sherilyn's here too."

I lowered my gaze and quietly opened the back door to get into the rear seat. Janetta got into the passenger seat without a second thought.

Theodore looked like he wanted to say something, but eventually swallowed his words.

After everyone had settled in, Janetta suddenly pulled a used condom from between the seats and held it up for all to see.

"Theodore, you are so careless! Didn't I tell you to put a trash bag in the car?" she whined.

A used condom? Theodore and I had never made out in his car…

Theodore glanced at me nervously and stammered, "That's… why I was using that as a make-shift trash bag!"

He shot Janetta a warning glance, and she instantly kept quiet.

I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the stabbing pain in my chest. I then started scrolling through my phone.

When he saw no reaction from me, an odd look crossed Theodore's face. He cleared his throat and asked, "Sherilyn, have you secured the porcelain antique my dad wanted you to track down?"

Speaking of porcelain antiques, I did have some connections. Indeed, I had managed to procure quite a number of collectibles for his father, who was an avid collector.

But these things cost a fortune, and I was always the one paying for them.

Even though his father accepted all my gifts gleefully, he never did anything to help accelerate my marriage to Theodore. Yet, every time this future father-in-law asked for something, I had never turned him down.

"This one is harder to get hold of. Don't hold out too much hope." For the first time, I gave a noncommittal answer.

Theodore was taken aback, Apparently, he wasn't expecting such an answer from me.

With my measly salary, I was running out of money. But if I could get married at once, I could claim the inheritance my grandpa left me, and I wouldn't have to work anymore.

I started thinking about the guys I used to know, listing out those who were fairly decent and who might actually be interested in me.

"If push comes to shove, I can sign a prenup with you before we get married. After you get your inheritance, we can divorce. That way, you can still wait for Theodore." A snippet of conversation suddenly floated up in my mind.

Those were the words of Winston Malbert, my grandfather's lawyer.

Janetta quickly directed the conversation back to herself when she saw that no one was paying her any attention.

"What kind of porcelain antique does your father want? If Sheri can't get it, you can always count on me," she chimed in.

Theodore shot her a sideways glance. "You? What else can you do besides party and goof off?"

However, his tone was very affectionate despite the put-down.

While they bantered up front, I sat quietly in the back seat and texted Winston to arrange for a meeting.

When we had almost reached my place, Theodore suddenly said, "Sheri, why don't you come to my place? Janee and I are heading home anyway, so we can give you a ride there. My mom said she misses you."

I laughed with scorn inwardly. I knew she only missed the handmade egg tarts I had promised her earlier.

I nodded and told him to wait while I went home and grabbed the egg tarts that were already prepared.

When Theodore saw the box of egg tarts in my hands, he finally began to relax.

He beamed at me as he said, "You're still so good to my family."

I didn't bother to respond. For the first time, he took the bulky box of pastries from me and loaded it into the trunk himself.

As I watched the shadows of trees flash past intermittently inside the car, I couldn't help thinking back on all the things I had done for this man and his family. I was almost like a daughter-in-law, yet they had never considered me a part of their family.

The Holloways always kept a guest room for Janetta, but they had never once allowed me to stay over, not even after nine years of being on close terms with them. No matter how late it got, I still had to drive myself home.

"Sheri, I know you're Theodore's fiancée, and normally you two should stay together. But our family is more traditional. Until you two are married, it's better for you two to keep a distance," the old man kept reminding me.

Thus, I couldn't even stay over at Theodore's own place.