Wesley called Carlos and asked him about Blair. All Carlos said was, "Blair wanted to leave you. I only offered her a little help." His words stabbed Wesley right in the heart.
Carlos was right. If Blair didn't want to leave him, she would have told Wesley that Carlos had offered to help her leave.
But she hadn't. Her departure had come without warning.
Wesley went to England for advanced studies in business. But he quit not long after.
He found himself not interested in business at all. Instead, he chose to take up the position as the leader of a newly-established organization of the country.
Although he was busy, Wesley never gave up on looking for Blair. He had asked his people to search for her everywhere, including foreign countries.
Something really strange was going on. It was like she had fallen off the map.
In A Country
Two women were shopping in the mall, walking hand in hand. One of the salespeople in the store looked at them with admiration and said, "Looks like the two of you are very close.
Are you sisters?"
The two women looked at each other and said in unison, "Yes, we are."
The saleslady then looked at Cecelia and asked, "You are the elder sister, and she is the younger one. Am I right?"
"That's right." Cecelia was delighted by her comments and ended up buying many things from her store.
A rich lady passing by happened to hear their conversation and left the store without greeting Cecelia. She went back home in a hurry and called her friends one after another. "Hey, did you hear? The Li family is in a lot of trouble."
"What happened?"
"Baldwin has a mistress. And his wife has accepted it. I saw Cecelia and the mistress shopping together. They called themselves sisters. The mistress is young and pretty, and it looks like she is pregnant! Her belly is not that big yet, but I could tell from the way she was walking."
"Huh? You've got to be kidding! Baldwin is such an upright man. Besides, he spoils Cecelia so much and everybody knows that he loves her. How's it possible for him to have a mistress?"
The rich lady blew on her nails and retorted, "Come on! No matter how much he loves Cecelia, she is still an old woman now. The mistress is young. She looks like she's still in her twenties. Men like young girls, you know."
"Hmm…you're right."
The rumor that Baldwin had a mistress spread throughout the upper-class community in A Country. If it were some other man in Baldwin's place, people would not have found it strange. But the men of the Li family were all upright and honest. This was unbelievable news. The rumors hit the headlines.
Even Wesley, who was in Z Country, saw the gossips about it on his phone. But he chose to let it run its course.
He called Niles one day. Before he hung up, Niles added, "Mom has recently made friends with a woman. They are close. They go shopping together every day. Mom seldom stays at home anymore."
"Let Dad and Mom solve the issue themselves. You stay out of their matters," Wesley advised. He didn't believe that his father would have a mistress.
"I don't plan on intervening. But Mom is so nice to her new bestie. What if the woman really is Dad's mistress? What if he asks us to call this woman 'Mom'? She is younger than us!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Wesley spat.
"Fine! I trust in Dad too."
"Has she contacted you recently?" Wesley asked.
"Nope." Niles knew that he was referring to Blair, and he was telling the truth. She never contacted him. He was the one who contacted Blair.
Wesley hung up without saying another word.
On Niles' birthday, Wesley called to wish him a happy birthday. But Niles had other stories to tell him. "Mom's bestie gave me a watch for my birthday. I love it!"
'The bestie again?' Wesley frowned. "Who is this woman?"
"Don't worry. Dad had her investigated. There is nothing suspicious about her." If there was something suspicious about Blair, then Wesley would not have been able to get their marriage licenses.
Wesley hung up. He didn't give much thought to his mom's new bestie.
Half a month later, Niles called him. It took him two days to get through. "Wesley, Mom's bestie is pregnant!"
He wanted to personally give Wesley the news. After all, it was his child.
Wesley frowned and said nothing. He was not interested in the woman at all.
When he didn't respond, Niles continued, "Her husband is not home, I heard. I didn't see her big tummy until recently. Mom is taking her on a trip now."
"I don't want to hear this nonsense!" Wesley spat. He hated hearing Niles' stories about "Mom's bestie."
"Fine! By the way, are you planning on staying in Z Country from now on?" He felt bad for his brother. When he was a soldier, he was away from home all the time. Now that he was the leader of this new organization, he had to be in Z Country.
"That depends." Wesley had the right to decide where the headquarters of the new organization should be located.
He had chosen to stay in Z Country because Blair had once told him that she wanted to tour the country. Before he could take her there, she had left him.
He wanted to wait in Z Country, hoping that he would meet her one day.
Soon, it was Wesley's birthday. Niles called his brother and said in a cheerful voice, "Wesley, happy birthday!"
"Mm hmm." Wesley was not happy at all. Without Blair, he felt like the walking dead.
"Mom's bestie asked me to wish you a happy birthday on her behalf."
"Mm hmm." Niles was always talking some nonsense, so Wesley didn't find it strange as to why Cecelia's bestie would wish him a happy birthday.
"When are you flying back home?" Niles asked.
"How's Grandpa?" Wesley asked in return.
"Couldn't be better! He's happy. He eats properly and is in good health." Keith was going to have his great-grandchild soon. He was on the moon with happiness.
Wesley heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. "I'll be back soon."
He hung up.
Niles had been calling him quite often recently. About half a month later, he tried to contact Wesley, but it took three days to get in touch with him. "Wesley, were you on a mission? I have been trying to call you for three days in a row."
"Yeah."
"You need to take better care of yourself." 'After all, you'll be a father soon, ' Niles thought.
"I know."
In order to give Wesley a hint about Blair, Niles tried to talk a lot with him, but Wesley didn't get it and even tried to hang up multiple times.
"Mom's bestie had a 4D color ultrasonic diagnosis today. Wesley, it's a boy!" Niles said excitedly. 'I'm going to have a nephew. I hope this boy tortures his father to his best ability, ' he thought mischievously.
"Niles, are you out of your damn mind? I don't freaking care!" Wesley roared into his phone.
"Easy, man!" Niles shuddered and cast a pitiful glance at the woman sitting opposite him and casually eating an apple. It was Blair who had forced him to update Wesley about the child.
"If you don't have anything important to say, then get lost!" Niles knew that his brother was about to hang up. "Wesley, any news on Blair?" he pried.
The mere mention of her made Wesley angrier. After all, he hadn't seen her in months. "No! Fuck off!"
He hung up angrily.
With his phone in his hand, Niles looked at Blair and pouted, "You heard him. He hasn't had any news of you yet. You can rest easy now. My brother is a smart guy; why is he being so stupid this time? I've given subtle hints so many times, yet he doesn't get it at all. He can't blame me, right?"
Blair nodded, "He can't blame me either. I'm right here, with his family. That means I never left him."
"Yeah!" Niles nodded in agreement.
"I asked you to tell him that I was staying here, didn't I?" she asked.
