Chapter 786: Unexpected

On the weekend, Edith was already waiting at the restaurant early.

Colin arrived ten minutes early as well. Seeing Edith sitting there, he paused for a moment.

In a daze, he seemed to see Edith waiting for him outside his studio when they were dating.

She would idly fold a napkin into a flower, then unfold and refold it repeatedly until he finished his work and came out. She would pout and say, "I've folded it twenty times, and you're just coming out now."

At that time, his heart would soften, and he would gently ruffle her hair, coaxing her softly, "Sorry, how about I take you out for a big meal to make it up to you?"

She was always enticed by a big meal.

Now, she was also folding a napkin into a flower out of boredom. The difference was, this time she placed it on the table and admired her handiwork with satisfaction.

Colin walked over, and when Edith saw him, her smile paused.

Colin's eyes darkened slightly.

"This restaurant is newly opened. They say it's very popular. Take a look at the menu," Edith said enthusiastically, handing over the menu.

Colin flipped through it and ordered two dishes.

Edith also ordered two dishes, and then they fell into silence.

Edith felt very awkward, not knowing what to say, her toes curling up.

Colin said, "Congratulations on regaining your freedom."

Edith was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "I have to thank you for helping me find such important evidence."

Colin did not deny helping her. With her intelligence, she would have figured it out sooner or later.

"What are your plans next?" His tone was like that of an old friend, dispelling all the awkwardness between them, and Edith completely relaxed.

"Next, I'm going to focus on my career. The Astor Group has more orders than we can handle right now, so I'm planning to open another branch."

Colin nodded approvingly.

"Colin."

"What?"

"I don't know how to repay your kindness. If you ever need my help, just let me know, and I'll definitely help you," Edith said seriously.

Colin nodded lightly.

She had thought they would never have any relationship again, but here they were, having a meal together.

Edith thought to herself that being friends was also good, as long as Colin's girlfriend didn't mind.

To avoid awkwardness, Edith kept finding topics to talk about work, and Colin occasionally responded.

If knowing that Colin had secretly helped her rekindled her feelings for him, then Colin's cold attitude now extinguished those feelings.

After the meal, Edith and Colin each drove home.

Watching Colin drive away without looking back, Edith's lips curled into a mocking smile.

'I am really crazy. I had dumped Colin back then, and Colin had helped me kindly. Why do I think Colin might still have feelings for me?' Edith thought in mind.

Besides, Colin was so outstanding that he probably already had another excellent girl by his side.

She didn't deserve to go after him. She should stick to her principles and not think about crossing the line.

Don't disturb his peaceful life anymore!

After that, Edith didn't take the initiative to contact Colin again. She put all her energy into her work. With all the orders being produced steadily, she and Theo finally decided on the location for the new branch.

Half a month passed in this busy state, and the investigation into the Murphy Family was coming to an end.

The Murphy Family was indeed not clean.

One investigation into the Murphy Family implicated several unexpected people.

Jasper's father, Milo, was arrested, and many scandalous stories about Jasper were exposed. Jasper's mother, Gemma, was scrambling to raise money to save Milo and suppress Jasper's trending news.

For a while, there were many scandals about the Murphy Family, and as Jasper's ex-wife, Edith was once again brought up by netizens for sympathy.

Jennifer, looking at the news, sighed, "That girl from the Astor Family is really unlucky. Fortunately, she divorced before the Murphy Family got into trouble, or she would have been implicated."

Sophia, laughing beside her, said, "Yes, Edith had bad luck before, but now her luck has turned."

"Edith? You know her?"

"Edith used to be our neighbor."

Jennifer suddenly became interested. "She's so pretty. How's her character? She looks gentle in the photos."

"We haven't seen each other for over ten years. We only reconnected before her wedding. Edith still seems the same as before, a gentle woman." Sophia replied.

"She's really pitiful, wasting so many years of her youth with the Murphy Family," Jennifer sighed.

Sophia said, "Now her hard times are over. I heard she's going to open a new branch."

Jennifer was surprised. "Is she that capable?"

Sophia didn't know if Edith was capable before, as the Astor Family had moved away when she was still in school. But now, Edith managing the Astor Group on her own was impressive enough.

Reporters wanted to interview Edith, but she had Veda turn them all down.

She just wanted to focus on her career quietly and didn't want to bring up anything about the Murphy Family.

The establishment of the new branch was progressing smoothly. Half a month later, Edith suddenly received a call from Colin.

She was in a meeting at the time. When her phone on the table lit up, she glanced at it and saw Colin's name, making her tense up.

'Should I answer it or not? Answer? I am in a meeting. Not answer? Colin is my benefactor.' Edith was thinking.

While Edith hesitated, the screen went dark.

For the next half hour, Edith was distracted.

Finally, the meeting ended. After everyone left, Edith picked up her phone and called Colin back.

"Hello, Colin. Sorry, I was in a meeting just now."

"Do you have time tonight?" Colin's hoarse voice came through.

"Yes."

"Accompany me to a banquet."

"What?" Edith frowned slightly.

Colin explained, "Tonight's banquet requires a female companion. I don't have a suitable person. Didn't you say last time that I could ask for your help if needed?"

Well, she did say that.

"Okay."

"Do you have a dress?"

"Yes."

"I'll pick you up at seven."

"Okay."

Edith returned to her office and, with the remaining time, frantically signed documents, finishing all the work that needed to be done that evening before leaving.

She hurried home and rummaged through her things.

"What are you looking for in such a hurry?" Una came in.

"I'm looking for a dress." Edith pulled out a wrinkled dress from the corner of her wardrobe.

She didn't expect this.

"Do you have an event tonight?" Una asked.

"Yes, I need to attend a banquet." Edith continued searching.

Over the years, she hadn't bought many dresses. Whenever she attended banquets, she would rent a dress.

Seeing that it was almost seven, Edith called the store where she usually rented dresses.

"I'm a bit busy these days, so the store is temporarily closed. You might ask another place."