Anna Hollis rubbed her forehead helplessly, "Acting will just make her despise you even more. No one likes someone who’s extreme."
"Yes." Ethan Grant lowered his sleeve, his expression extremely faint, "She’s told me, she said not to do anything like suicide again. Doctor, does her saying this mean she still cares about me?"
Anna Hollis didn’t follow his train of thought; she swiftly shifted the topic, guiding Ethan Grant’s thoughts elsewhere.
She patiently counseled, providing psychological therapy for Ethan Grant.
The therapy session lasted about four hours that day.
When it ended, Anna Hollis sincerely offered some advice.
She suggested that Ethan Grant slowly try to distance himself from that relationship, from the person in his heart.
Anna Hollis told Ethan Grant that he needed to shift his focus in life and stop concentrating on that person.
Ethan Grant appeared to take it in; when leaving, he nodded with a seeming understanding.
In reality, he hadn’t absorbed a single word.
Away from Talia, he couldn’t manage!
Come nightfall, Ethan Grant suffered from insomnia.
He was still living in the apartment next to Talia’s, but she had already moved out.
The night was quietly serene.
Ethan Grant lay on his bed.
The room was unlit, pitch black.
Ethan Grant closed his eyes, repeatedly conjuring up the image of Talia Rhodes’s face.
Suddenly, a hideous man’s face forcibly intruded on his mind.
Adrian Jennings provocatively smiled at him, cradled Talia Rhodes’s face, and kissed her passionately.
"No! Don’t!" Ethan Grant suddenly shouted, "Don’t touch her! Get away! Go away!" Discover more novels at novel fire.net
Ethan Grant was yelling frantically in the darkened room like a madman.
He repeatedly engaged in self-destructive fantasies of Adrian Jennings and Talia Rhodes being sweetly together, even imagining their uninhibitedly passionate moments.
"Don’t... Talia... don’t..." Ethan Grant curled up on the bed, the room echoed with his suppressed sobs, "Wu wu wu wu wu..."
A man nearing six feet tall, at this moment, curled into a ball, crying uncontrollably.
Talia awoke from her afternoon nap shortly, feeling hungry, when the doorbell rang.
She combed her hair a few times, casually slipped on a creamy white fur coat, and walked to open the door in plush slippers.
"Miss Rhodes, hello, I’m the lady President Jennings hired to cook for you."
Standing outside the door was a kindly-faced woman close to fifty, dressed in a black cotton jacket.
Talia paused, "Please wait a moment; I’ll just ask."
After all, she was a stranger; she couldn’t casually let someone in.
"Alright! No worries, ask President Jennings first, I’ll just wait here at the door," the lady replied with a cheerful smile.
Talia dialed Adrian Jennings’s number.
"Did you hire a cooking lady?"
"Yes, this lady is Granny Wang’s daughter-in-law. Granny Wang is getting too old to come over, but luckily her daughter-in-law has learned her cooking skills. I specially invited her to cook for you, you should enjoy the food."
Upon hearing this, Talia was taken aback.
She remembered Granny Wang.
The former nanny of The Sterling Family.
Her mother Clara Sterling’s culinary skills were learned from Granny Wang. Adrian Jennings had previously taken her to Granny Wang’s home.
At that time, Talia only met Granny Wang and her son; she didn’t see this daughter-in-law because she wasn’t home.
Talia hadn’t expected Adrian Jennings to be so thoughtful, even inviting Granny Wang’s daughter-in-law over to cook for her.
Girls tend to care about these little details.
Talia’s heart softened, like a marshmallow, soft and sweet.
"Alright, understood,".
Talia hung up the phone and politely said: "Please come in, auntie," to Granny Wang’s daughter-in-law.
Through the casual conversation, Talia learned the lady’s name was Rose Palmer, forty-seven, and she had a daughter two years younger than Talia, currently working as a primary school teacher.
"Miss Rhodes, I heard from President Jennings that you love these dishes, so I bought a bit of everything. What would you like for dinner?" Rose Palmer entered the room, carrying two large bags of fresh vegetables and meat promptly purchased from a membership supermarket.
Talia smiled, "Since Adrian mentioned them, I surely like them all, just cook as you see fit."
"Alright! President Jennings specifically instructed to buy groceries from the big supermarket in the West of town. It’s my first time going to such a supermarket, you need a membership just to get in. The items are so expensive, but the labels say they’re imported, and all the vegetables are organic, should be top-notch stuff, safe to eat."
Rose Palmer, warm and genuine, with a slightly familiar personality, Talia rather liked her demeanor.
"Miss Rhodes is all grown up, I wonder if you remember me. I held you when you were little."
Talia was briefly stunned.
With Rose Palmer’s words, she seemed to recall.
Talia smiled, "You don’t have to be so formal, just call me Talia."
Rose Palmer asked: "Alright then, I’ll call you Talia from now on, Talia, where’s the kitchen?"
Talia pointed with her finger, "Over there."
"I’ll start cooking then. President Jennings said he’d return for dinner tonight. How about I fix three dishes and a soup?"
Talia nodded, "Okay."
Adrian Jennings finished his work and instructed the driver to take him to Whispering Waves Garden.
The villa he prepared for Talia was located here.
To avoid the awkwardness of staying over without suitable clothes, Adrian Jennings had someone purchase new daily essentials along with bathrobes, loungewear, and everyday clothes, filling several large suitcases.
At the entrance, Adrian Jennings rang the doorbell.
Talia opened the door and was genuinely startled, "Why did you bring so many things?"
Adrian Jennings raised an eyebrow slightly, a smile tugging at his lips, "To avoid having nothing to wear next time I stay over."
Talia mused inwardly: You don’t need so much; isn’t this akin to cohabitation?
Yet, on reflection, should Adrian Jennings suggest cohabitation, she might not resist.
Seeing him arrive and still ringing the bell, Talia asked perplexedly, "Don’t you have the front door key? Why are you ringing the bell upon arrival?"
"This is the house I bought for you; you’re now the sole owner here. Of course, I need your permission to obtain the key."
Talia amusedly looked at him, "Alright, I’ll give you a spare key later."
Adrian Jennings followed Talia inside while the bodyguard carrying the suitcases trailed behind.
"Don’t leave it until later; let’s do it today. I fear you might forget."
Talia laughed incredulously, "I’m not that forgetful."
Vivian Coleman had been sulking with Ethan Grant lately.
Ethan Grant’s attempt at suicide was triggered by Talia Rhodes, and upon waking, his first question was about Talia’s whereabouts, which left Vivian deeply hurt.
The boisterous bar was lively, lights dazzling, patrons dancing wildly.
Vivian Coleman and her friend Autumn Sterling were seated in a booth, drinking.
Autumn Sterling swirled her glass, "I never realized Talia Rhodes was the daughter of The Rhodes Family in Oakhaven. I couldn’t tell before."
"Heh." Vivian Coleman laughed self-mockingly, "Autumn, do you think I’m just a joke?"
Autumn Sterling awkwardly twisted her mouth.
Truth be told, she did appear like a joke.