The few of them turned and looked at Nora.
She stood quietly beside Sheril, her eyes drooping a little, making her look very sleepy.
She looked at Sheril casually and said, “I’ll give her a call when she returns to the States and have her come over to the Andersons to give you some guidance.”
“…”
The few of them fell silent for a while.
Caden was the first to recover. He asked eagerly, “Can the Andersons really invite Tanya Turner over?”
He really did like Sheril quite a fair bit.
Among the wealthy young ladies who were there to dance, not only was Sheril the prettiest, but she also had a gentle aura around her.
In particular, she had both a good personality and good values, and had never once looked down on him despite her background.
Even when he bought a necklace worth about $150 with the money he earned from his part-time job and gave it to Sheril to test her reaction, she had immediately taken off the four-leaf clover motif Van Cleef & Arpels necklace she was wearing and put on the necklace he gave her instead.
She liked dancing, but only as a hobby. She wasn’t addicted to it.
Instead, she preferred to stay in the laboratory to carry out pharmaceutical experiments, and was a typical technology geek.
Caden had once taken her to his rental apartment before. It was just a 430 square feet studio apartment that might not even be as big as her bedroom.
But she had sat on the sofa with a cushion, smiled, and said, “A smaller place feels cozier.”
She had such a good personality. Even though she did occasionally show a bit of a rich young lady’s temperament like how she had gotten angry just now when he refused to dance with Nora, she usually cheered up after he coaxed her a little.
Therefore, if the Andersons really were capable of getting Tanya over, why should he make her angry?
But as soon as he said that, Rachel laughed softly. She looked at Sheril with a faint smile and asked, “Sheril, does your cousin not know who Tanya Turner is?”
She looked at Nora again and said dispassionately, “Ms. Turner will only be back in the States for a few days to take part in a dance program’s filming. Her schedule is very packed. Even the Woods only managed to contact her after asking a lot of people for favors…”
Several people next to Rachel who were trying to curry favor with her also chimed in:
“Yeah, do you really think that Ms. Turner is that easy to invite over? When she was overseas, she only held classes for nobles and aristocrats!”
“I heard that even Whitney Lowe invited her to give her daughter guidance during her return to the States this time! Tanya Turner and Whitney Lowe participated in the international ballroom dancing competition together. Tanya was the champion.”
“We wanted to ask Whitney to hold a few classes here, but even she wasn’t willing to, let alone Tanya…”
“That person probably thinks that they can get anyone over just because they are rich. Many of us here are richer than the Andersons, but even so, we don’t make it sound as easy as she did…”
“…”
Amid their chatter, Rachel said, “Alright, let’s not say any more. Sheril’s cousin isn’t from around these parts, so maybe she doesn’t understand how things work in New York… Let’s not gather around here anymore!”
She took Caden’s arm and said, “Let’s go and dance.”
Caden glanced at Sheril again. When he saw that she was keeping quiet with an awful look on her face, he left with Rachel in disappointment.
When the music for the next dance started, Sheril grabbed Nora and led her out of the dance studio.
It was already evening by then.
The streets were full of traffic and neon lights flickered in the dark. The colorful lights at the dance studio’s entrance shone on Sheril’s face, and one could see the tears that she had been holding back finally rolling down her cheeks.
After staring at her for a while, Nora reached out and held her by her shoulders. Her eyes looked a little cold in the light. Suddenly, she turned around and started walking back to the dance studio.
Sheril grabbed her wrist. “What are you going back there for, Nora?”
A displeased Nora said, “I’m going to drag him out here and make him apologize to you.”
Sheril shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Besides, Tanya Turner is all he has on his mind. His heart isn’t even with me anymore!”
Nora said, “Then I’ll get Tanya over. He’ll be willing to come over and apologize if I do that.”
Sheril was stunned. “Are you able to get her here?”
Nora didn’t keep it a secret from her. She nodded and replied, “We’re friends. We met abroad.”
Friends…
No wonder Nora had said just now that the Andersons could get Tanya over!
Sheril gave her a resigned smile and lowered her head. She said, “Even if we get Tanya over and he returns to me, what if it happens again? If he keeps being tempted by external factors all the time, what can I do the next time it happens?”
Nora frowned. She said clearly and bossily, “As long as you desire it, I can help you control him forever!”
When one was strong and capable enough, getting a man they wanted was as easy as ABC.
If being with Caden would make Sheril happy, then they would just need to make it such that he would never be able to leave her, right?
It was just a little troublesome in her case because Pete’s father was Justin.
Had it been someone else, she would have already taken her son with her.
While Nora was secretly thinking about it, she noticed Sheril looking at her flabbergasted as if she was shocked by her theory. “Is that even possible?”
This instead puzzled Nora. She said, “You’re rich and you’re pretty. Isn’t it something easily achievable for you?”
Sheril, “??”
She actually found herself a little convinced!
Seeing that she seemed to be moved by the idea, Nora asked, “Do you want to go back then?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Although Sheril wasn’t crying anymore, she was still feeling very down. She said, “I already know that he’s someone who’ll sacrifice me for the sake of benefits, so why would I still want him? I may be sad now, but I’ll meet better men in the future! Moreover, he isn’t handsome anyway.”
She cheered herself up and said, “Let’s go to the bar, Nora.”
“…”
Actually, what she wanted more was to go home and sleep.
But seeing how dull Sheril’s usually bright eyes were, Nora sighed. “Alright.”
Sheril looked very sweet and docile, and her straight bangs made her look even more student-like.
Therefore, Nora had thought that she would just drink a can of beer at most.
In the end, when they sat on the steps in the park, she instead took out a bottle of vodka and some pairing snacks from the plastic bag of stuff that she bought at the supermarket.
Nora, “…”
She suddenly found her very down to earth.
The night gradually got darker and moonlight shone brightly.
The sky looked as if it were wrapped in a layer of grayish gauze.
Most of the people exercising in the park had already gone home.
Nora rarely drank, so she didn’t know how well she could hold her liquor. After having a couple of sips, she vaguely felt like she was seeing double.
Sheril took a big gulp from the bottle and popped a few snacks into her mouth. Then, she drank again…
A dizzy Nora tilted her head and asked, “Sheril, why are there two of you?”
Sheril chuckled and said, “You’re so terrible at holding your liquor, Nora! You’re drunk!”
Was she drunk?
Nora stood up. She suddenly picked up her cell phone, entered a series of numbers, and dialed it.
Someone quickly answered the call.
Justin’s voice rang out on the phone. “Ms. Smith.”
Nora’s voice was low and cool. She said, “Mr. Hunt, I’m drunk, so…”
Justin had just come out of the bath. When he heard what she said, he paused and asked, “So?”
“Name your price!” The young woman slowly said, “I want to buy you…”
