A Domineering Veto (Part 2)
"What's on your mind so early in the morning?" His lips brushed her hair, and as he inhaled its faint scent, his heart grew calm.
"Jack, I'm bored staying home. I want to go out for a walk."
"Sure. Have the nanny and Skyla help you look after the kids. You can go wherever you want."
"No, I don't want to go shopping or do anything fun."
"Then what do you want to do?" He raised an eyebrow slightly, paused for a moment, and turned her to face him.
"I want to work."
"Oh?" He looked surprised, then shook his head.
Gently pinching the tip of her nose, he said in a tender yet firm tone, "Don't even think about it."
"Jack!" Alison protested, annoyed.
He pulled her close and kissed her deeply, drowning her discontent between their lips and leaving her no chance to argue.
An hour later, after her shower, Alison ran downstairs.
In the dining room, she saw Jack dressed in a crisp suit.
He was holding Sophia's hand in one hand and Ethan's in the other, as he headed out the door.
In the garden, Audrey was waiting by the car.
It was Monday, and she was taking the kids to preschool.
The platinum cufflinks on Jack's immaculate suit glinted in the sunlight, stinging Alison's eyes.
She hugged the children briefly and reminded them, "Be good, okay?"
"We know, Mommy. Bye."
Jack got into the car, and the children followed.
As she watched them drive away from the villa, resentment filled Alison's heart.
Jack had flatly rejected her plan to go back to work.
He'd kissed her until she was weak in the knees.
How could she have had the strength to object at the time?
Three days later.
At 5:30 p.m., the kids came home with Audrey.
Jack called to say he had a business dinner that night and would be home late.
After hanging up, Alison fell into deep thought.
She couldn't shake the feeling that whenever Jack worked late, it was because of Gwendolyn.
She told the nanny to serve dinner early.
After dinner, she put the kids to bed, then checked the supply of breast milk in the fridge.
"Skyla, I'm going out for a walk. The kids are all yours," she said.
"All right, ma'am. There's no need to rush back. You can leave them with me," Skyla replied.
Alison picked up her bag, walked out of the villa, and hailed a taxi to a nearby supermarket.
She went into the restroom, changed into a pink spaghetti-strap dress with a matching short cardigan, and put on sunglasses.
She also transformed her long, straight hair into big, curly waves that fell all the way to her waist.
She hailed another taxi and headed to the Maple Gold Crown Hotel.
Before reaching the main entrance, she pulled out a cigarette, lit it elegantly, and took a drag while walking through the hotel doors.
She sat down at the bar, ordered a glass of fresh orange juice, downed it in one gulp, slammed the glass down on the counter with a "thud," and said, "I'm here to see Gwendolyn."
"Gwendolyn isn't seeing clients anymore, and she doesn't go out with women. You'd better find someone else."
"But I heard she's really pretty. If you've got a pretty girl and you're hiding her away instead of showing her off, I'm not having any of that."
"Um, you might have misunderstood. She's actually just average-looking. But she's been all the rage here at the Maple Gold Crown Hotel lately. Several men are chasing after her. You'd have to wait in line until next month just to catch a glimpse of her."
"Wow, she's in that much demand? Who does she look like?" Alison ordered another glass of fresh orange juice.
The waitress glanced around, then leaned in and said excitedly, "She looks just like the wife of the YD family's third young master. She's so lucky. With a face like that, she must rake in tips every day until her hands ache. Her biggest fan is Jack Winston from the YD family. He treats her to dinner every other day. Rich people sure are generous. A private room fee of 20,00 dollars for one night? I couldn't earn that much in a whole month."
Alison listened with great interest.
Gwendolyn looked like her?
"Do they really look alike? I've seen Jack Winston's wife in the newspaper."
"Of course—she looks exactly like her."
"Huh. Do you have a photo of her that I can see? That would be more convincing."
"Gwendolyn is our best waitress here. Look—her name's on the honor roll over there. You don't even need to ask me about her. Just look for someone who looks like his wife, and I guarantee you'll recognize her at a glance."
"Oh, now that you mention it, I'd really like to see what she looks like. I'll go take a look."
Alison stood up.
Her pink dress made her look charming and alluring, drawing the casual glances of the people around her.
"Whoa," someone whistled, followed immediately by another person adding, "Hey, that woman is really pretty."
Alison walked over to the awards board and immediately spotted a woman who looked just like her.
After checking out Gwendolyn's profile, Alison ordered two more drinks, sipped them leisurely, smoked a cigarette, and then got up to leave.
On the way home, her mood grew heavy.
In the past, she had always chosen to trust Jack.
No matter how late he worked or what rumors she heard about him and Gwendolyn, she chose to believe him.
But now...
Maybe he was treating Gwendolyn to a private room right then.
That room cost 2,000 dollars a night.
She couldn't even get in, let alone sneak a peek through the door.