Chapter 100: Do We Have Another Date?
An hour and a half later, I arrived at the exit of the underwater maze.
I hid my swollen, tear-stained eyes behind sunglasses, crossed my arms, and radiated a "stay away from me" vibe.
But even though I tried hard to keep my distance from Lucas, he could ignore my cold expression and talk to me from time to time, even when I didn't respond.
Finally, I heard Ashley and Arthur calling out in the distance.
"Bella!"
"Lucas!"
"There you are! I thought I'd spend the rest of my life in there!" Arthur looked scared, clutching his chest dramatically.
Ashley looked at me carefully, "Bella, have you been crying?"
My expression froze for a second.
Jonas's face darkened as he looked back and forth between Lucas and me, "You cried? Did Lucas bully you?"
I pressed my lips together and denied it.
Arthur clapped his hands, "I know! Were you guys also scared by the underwater maze? Bella, were you chased by sharks too?"
I answered reluctantly, "Yes."
Ashley found it strange, "You entered the underwater maze after us. How did you get out before we did?"
Lucas glanced at me and said, "Because we walked fast."
Kids are easy to fool - they believed it right away.
Arthur poked Jonas in frustration, "If you weren't scared of those underwater ghosts, we would have been out a long time ago."
They had originally planned to get out within an hour, but ended up trapped in the maze for nearly two hours because Jonas got so scared in the underwater shipwreck area that he lost his sense of direction. In the end, a staff member playing a ghost couldn't stand watching anymore and showed them the way.
After hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh.
Jonas spread his hands, "Bella, go ahead and laugh, I don't mind. As long as it makes you happy."
He snorted at Lucas, clearly not as easily fooled as Ashley and Arthur.
Afterward, we continued playing. Jonas tried to create romantic moments at every opportunity, but unfortunately, there were three "troublemakers" around.
For example, Jonas invited me to see the Eternal Stone of the Sea. He said, "I heard that stone is actually very fragile, but because the gods blessed the mermaids so they wouldn't turn into foam when they came ashore, the stone became incredibly hard."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lucas commented, "Although it's a made-up commercial legend, the story is pretty well crafted."
Jonas was annoyed but couldn't refute Lucas, or else he'd look not very smart.
Another example: at the souvenir shop, Jonas excitedly wanted to take photos with me wearing matching couple scarves. Lucas, Ashley, and Arthur burst into the frame wearing the same scarves.
After the fireworks before closing time faded away, we walked out of the ocean park. Ashley kept yawning, and Arthur was already too sleepy to keep his eyes open.
Lucas held one child in each hand and nodded to Jonas and me, "Drive safely, text me when you're home."
Jonas rolled his eyes at him.
I knew Lucas was talking to me. I didn't answer, but Lucas didn't say anything more. He took Ashley and Arthur to the car and left.
Jonas watched them go, kicked the ground in frustration, then turned to look at me with a softer tone, "Sorry, today's date got messed up. Let me take you home."
I took out a commemorative photo from my pocket, "Even though it wasn't the date we planned, I had a great time today, didn't I?"
In the photo, we were on the long ice slide; everyone's expressions were vivid, Jonas's bright smile was definitely not fake, and even Lucas showed a faint smile.
"Ashley and Arthur's personalities are really fun. Acting like kids all day was such a stress reliever!" Jonas nodded in agreement.
After getting in the car, Jonas also dozed off with half-closed eyes. He had completely given up on the idea of a romantic date with me and just played around childishly and happily with Ashley and Arthur.
Jonas's head dropped heavily, and he suddenly woke up, a bit embarrassed. I pretended not to notice.
"Bella, will we have another date?" After the car drove quietly for a few minutes, Jonas suddenly asked.
I nodded, "This one doesn't count as a date. I'll look forward to the next one."
Jonas beamed with joy, but unfortunately, he was flying to Caldrania the next day, so we didn't know when the next date would be.
I found some free time to go shopping at the mall, wanting to give Ashley and Arthur another gift before they left.
I went to Elite Emporium. When I pushed the door open, Julie was organizing the counter. Seeing me, she smiled and came over, "Bella, what brings you here today?"
"I want to pick out two gifts. Do you have any recommendations?"
Julie asked who the gifts were for, thought for a moment, then recommended perfume and a skateboard signed by a popular superstar.
I thought they were good choices. The skateboard would be perfect for Arthur - he'd definitely be happy. But just giving Ashley perfume seemed a bit plain.
"Does Ashley follow any celebrities? I can get some limited edition celebrity merchandise, or concert tickets - best view, VIP section," Julie said.
I took out my phone and showed Julie the celebrities in Ashley's social media posts.
Julie smiled, "No problem, but I don't have the tickets right now. I'll send them to you in a couple of days."
I thanked her and also bought a light camel cashmere scarf, a handbag, and a bottle of elegant floral perfume.
On the way home, I heard that Gale almost got hurt by a crazy gambler while inspecting the casino, but fortunately, he wasn't injured. When Gale came home that evening, I rushed to the entrance as soon as I heard the door open.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Gale patted my head.
When he raised his hand, I smelled a very familiar perfume scent on his sleeve. It definitely wasn't Gale's usual cologne, but a light floral scent, like roses mixed with lilies - exactly the same as the perfume I had just bought.
Julie had been wearing this same perfume today. I thought it smelled nice, so she strongly recommended it.
Could this perfume be very popular? A trace of doubt crossed my mind.
But the problem was this was women's perfume. What kind of position, what kind of contact would leave the scent on Gale's sleeve?
I worried about this question all night.
The next day, when I left for work, Gale was also heading out. I saw him wearing a light blue cashmere scarf around his neck.
Since Gale turned eighteen, he rarely wore such bright, delicate colors. He always wore dark clothes - a stable and dull style.
This scarf was completely different from his usual style, yet surprisingly suited him.
"Gale, I thought you didn't like wearing scarves?" I asked casually.
Gale paused for a moment and said, "It's a bit cold today."
I became even more suspicious. Gale, who goes winter swimming every year and has such a strong physique, actually felt cold? Today was a rare sunny day, warmer than the past few days!
"The scarf looks nice. Where did you buy it?" I asked with a smile.
"I passed by Elite Emporium, Julie helped me pick it out." Gale's voice got even lower, showing a rare hint of awkwardness.
I perked up, and I wanted to ask more questions, but Gale hurried to his car and left.
At the hotel office, I was still thinking about this when James suddenly knocked and came in, "Bella, there's a female guest in the lobby on the first floor who wants to see Gale."
"Who is it?" I knew James wouldn't come to disturb me for no reason.
James's expression was a bit strange, "You should go see for yourself. You'll know when you see her."
I was confused by James's attitude and curiously went to the first-floor lobby. I never expected it would be Gale's ex-fiancée - Brenda!