Chapter 112
112 112. Goodbye Tokyo
Soft snow showers fell from the Tokyo sky, making the dark night turn brighter because of the pile of thin snow on the streets and roofs of houses and shops.
William and Paula, who were on the way to the restaurant, were quite surprised. They didn’t expect their last night in Tokyo to be greeted with this romantic sight.
“I thought we’d never see snow in Tokyo,” commented William, opening up his palm to the sky to catch the snowflakes that melted as soon as they reached his bare hand. “The weather forecast didn’t say it would be snowy today.”
“Let’s just say this is goodbye snow for us,” Paula said happily. Her left hand clung to William’s arm, while her right hand cleaned William’s knitted hat from snowflakes.
“Baby, I think this is the most beautiful winter I’ve ever experienced in my life,” William said, smiling gently at his wife.
“Oh, yeah? Why?” Paula asked, smiling suspiciously at her husband.
“Because there is a gorgeous snow angel by my side,” William said, smiling widely, showing off cute dimples on his cheeks.
“Gosh! This is so cheesy,” Paula commented, laughing out loud. “If you’re not handsome, I’ll definitely leave you on the side of the road,” he added, hitting his husband’s arm gently.
“Vanessa said the snow pile is thick at home. She is too lazy to go outside,” said William, breaking the news from Vanessa.
.....
“Right. I’ve prepared winter coats for us because Dad said it’s snowing pretty hard in New York.”
Tomorrow, Paula and William would fly back to New York. Robert decided to take his daughter back because the problem was over in Tokyo. Moreover, with the help of young Yamaguchi, AJ Tokyo’s existence could be said to be more stable this year. Paula had already said her objections to her father, but Robert didn’t want to listen.
The new AJ president was Robert’s confidant. He was very confident that there would be no problems after this.
Paula left right after the New Years’ holiday was over. This year would be a special year for all of them.
Arriving at the restaurant where the farewell party was held, Paula was showered with special gifts by the employees. The gifts were custom-made items. Made especially for Paula and William.
In the middle of the party, William received a call. He stayed away from the crowd because the call was about something important. Unfortunately, Paula saw this and followed her husband to the emergency stairs.
Seeing the seriousness on her husband’s face, Paula felt displeased. “You still want to keep what you’re doing a secret?” Paula asked, annoyed. She leaned her body against the wall, looking at William flatly. “Are you aware that you’ve been keeping a lot of secrets from me lately?”
William was slightly taken aback when he saw Paula who was suddenly standing near the emergency exit, looking at him with a suspicious face. He then nodded awkwardly. “You really want to know? This is not something you should be concerned about.”
“Of course,” Paula replied with a deep sigh. “Who knows you spend half a million bucks for another woman.”
William’s heart jumped. Was what Paula said a coincidence, or was she interrogating him because he sent Lea that amount last month?
“What do you mean, baby?” asked William fearfully.
“I meant what I said.” Paula smiled, but her smile was terribly bitter.
William sighed. He finally admitted that he sent half a million dollars to Lea. He also mentioned Lea’s mother who had to have heart surgery immediately.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Paula asked disappointedly.
“I’m afraid you’re jealous-”
“William, this is a matter of life and death! Do you still care about jealousy?” Paula asked irritably. “God, if you tell me, I will definitely help her.”
Paula gave William a disappointed look, but not for long because they had to get back to the party soon. This time, Paula tried to do a good farewell party to leave a special impression on the staff’s hearts.
***
Two days later, in New York, Lea and her siblings were shocked by a surprise visit from an interior design company that suddenly removed all the old furniture from their home. They replaced them with new ones. The luxurious and comfortable ones.
“All of this furniture is the best from our company,” said the bespectacled woman who was in charge of Lea’s house makeover.
“I’m not asking if these things are the best or the cheapest. What I’m asking is, who asked you to mess up my house?” Lea questioned her with an unfriendly tone.
“As I said, this order is under Theresa’s name!” replied the woman who introduced herself as Cindy. “I’m just doing my job.”
Lea’s brows furrowed. She remembered the name Theresa whom she knew was her schoolmate in kindergarten. It was impossible for Theresa, who had been out of touch with her for dozens of years, to suddenly buy a lot of expensive furniture for her.
However, suddenly, she recalled the other Theresa. Dave’s new secretary was also Theresa!
Immediately, Lea called Dave. “Dave, were you the one asking people to fill my house with new furniture?” she asked him frantically. She didn’t even bother to say hi to him because she was so sure of her guess.
“That’s right,” Dave replied casually. “You don’t like it?” asked him again.
“It’s not a matter of likes or dislikes. But you did it without telling me first. On what basis are you doing this? If this is because you are doing it out of gratitude for the baby-”
“Lea, I’m doing this because you said your bed wasn’t as comfortable as the couch in the waiting room. Only that.”
“What?” Lea asked, wide-eyed.
“I don’t want you who are pregnant to get tired, Lea!” said Dave again. “What is the problem?”
Lea was just stunned to hear Dave’s story. He was very sorry that he had said such a stupid thing that the bed was uncomfortable.
Lea didn’t expect that just because of her random ranting Dave would buy her a new bed ... err ... not only new beds but also new furniture, making her house that was like an old hut turned sweet like a new home because the company also replaced the old rotten wallpaper with the fancy one.
They even redesigned the lighting to complement the beauty of the room. Who knew what their mother would say when she came home later?
“If that’s the reason, you shouldn’t change everything,” Lea complained, she didn’t like Dave’s excessive kindness. “It’s too expensive.”
“Come on, Lea. I did that not only for you. That’s a gift from me so that the baby will also be happy. I just change everything. Hope you guys like it. I have a meeting in five minutes. You don’t mind if I end the call, do you?”
Dave didn’t wait for Lea’s approval. He immediately hung up the call because he did not want to argue about unimportant things.
To be honest, Dave really wanted to take Lea away from her old hut because he couldn’t bear it when his baby lived in poverty even though he or she was still in the womb. However, he knew that Lea would refuse the idea. Therefore, instead, he improved the condition of the house, making it comfortable to live in.
Lea sighed. She didn’t stubbornly re-call Dave, knowing he wasn’t going to lie about his schedule just to avoid an argument. She then returned to where her sisters gathered.
The girls then greeted her with sparkles in their eyes. Ciara, who was the most excited, spoke up first.
“I didn’t expect that William was still nice to us, huh!” she said enthusiastically. “Is he planning something?”
Sarah pinched her sister, causing the girl to wince in pain. She then approached Lea and spoke softly in his sister’s ear.
“Lea, you said that William was broke,” Sarah whispered confusedly. She could not hide her happiness at the thought that tonight she could sleep comfortably in a new room that would feel as comfortable as a five-star hotel. “Why is he still able to renovate our house?”
“This was not William’s doing,” Lea replied again. She looked at Sarah with a straight face.
“Who is it, then?” Sarah asked again. Her brows furrowed. “Is this from Mrs. Decker? I even returned all the money from her as you wanted. I also asked her not to send money again next month.”
Lea just shook her head and snorted in response. She was reluctant to tell the girls who had sent these expensive gifts to them. She was afraid that they would misunderstand.
“Could it be, you have a new boyfriend?” asked Tia curiously. “I knew it! He was the man who brought you home two days ago!”
All eyes then turned to Lea. There was only one thing going through their heads at the moment.
“Teach us how to get a rich boyfriend!” Lea’s sisters screamed in unison.