Chapter 1031: What Do You Mean by That?

Timothy picked up the glass of water on the table, took a sip, and after a moment of thought, said, "Alright."

When Timothy arrived, Catherine had already put on her earrings.

The sparkling earrings, framed by her long hair, shone like stars lighting up the night sky.

Even better, the earrings symbolized a smile, with a slight upward curve representing a girl who loves to smile, because a girl who smiles often is said to have good luck.

This was Mary's blessing for Catherine, a pair of smiley face earrings that Mary had meticulously designed for her.

Though the design was simple, it was full of meaning. Timothy found them pleasing to the eye, even though he didn't know much about jewelry; he thought they suited Catherine perfectly.

"How do they look? Do you like the earrings?" Catherine asked as she walked towards Timothy.

Timothy nodded, "They look great."

Catherine looked at Timothy expectantly, "Could you help me put on this necklace?"

Timothy nodded again and picked up the necklace to help her put it on.

Suddenly, Catherine let out a scream. Timothy's hand shook, and he quickly stopped, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just take the necklace off slowly."

Timothy didn't say anything, but with a furrowed brow, he carefully removed the necklace. It turned out that the pendant had a sharp, needle-like protrusion that hadn't been properly finished, and it had scratched Catherine's neck.

As he took the necklace off, a thin, bloody scratch was visible on her delicate neck.

Timothy's face darkened. He went to the cabinet and took out some iodine.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing, just a small issue with the finishing of the necklace. It wasn't intentional," Catherine said gently, her eyes involuntarily fixed on Timothy's serious expression as he treated her wound.

They say a man is most attractive when he's focused, and that couldn't be truer.

As Catherine watched, she couldn't help but secretly take out her phone and snap a photo of herself and Timothy.

"This jewelry has some issues. Don't wear it for now. Even if it gets fixed, make sure to check it thoroughly before wearing it again," Timothy said as he put the iodine away.

"It's fine, just a small problem. Mary didn't do it on purpose," Catherine said softly, her eyes sparkling as she smiled at Timothy, as if she didn't care at all.

Timothy frowned and nodded, "As long as you know. I'm heading back now."

With that, Timothy left, but Catherine was all smiles.

She opened her phone and looked at the photo she had just taken, feeling sweeter and happier the more she looked at it.

Finally, she couldn't help but smile and post the picture on Facebook.

Mary got home early from work today.

Probably because she had finally ended her collaboration with Catherine, she was in a great mood. She even bought some fresh shrimp to make shrimp pasta.

Of course, there was none for Timothy. He was always out early and back late, sometimes not coming home at all, which was a common occurrence.

As Mary was happily serving the pasta, Timothy walked in.

Mary, holding the pasta, walked to the dining room and asked, "Why are you home so early today?"

She sat down and was about to dig into her pasta. Timothy stood there, expressionless, for a long time before coldly asking, "What's up with the jewelry you designed for Catherine?"

Mary was stunned and looked up blankly, "What do you mean? What's up?"

Timothy sat down across from her, his gaze icy, "The pendant on the necklace had a flaw. The sharp part cut Catherine's neck."

"How is that possible?"

Mary was shocked and quickly said, "I designed it, yeah, but I didn't make it myself. I had the production department handle the polishing and processing. They've been with the company for years. How could they mess up something so basic?"

"I saw it with my own eyes," Timothy said coldly. "The pendant had a flaw, and the sharp part was very dangerous."

Mary pressed her lips together and frowned, "The production department is full of experienced craftsmen. They…"

"If you can't do something right, don't make promises to others."

What?

Mary thought she had misheard.

When did she make any promises?

Was he crazy?

From the start, it was Catherine who asked, and Timothy who pressured her. What did she have to do with any "promises"?

She had been forced to take on the task, and now Catherine got a small injury, and she was the villain?

Mary slammed the table in anger, "Yeah, I made the promise, I'm not capable. But who came to me begging for the design in the first place? Who insisted I agree?"

Timothy didn't expect Mary to be so agitated. His face grew even colder. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean? You know exactly what I mean. I never wanted to agree in the first place. I never intended to make any jewelry as a birthday gift for anyone. It was you who insisted I agree. Now that there's a problem, you're blaming it all on me, saying I was the one who started it."

Mary threw down her utensils with a cold laugh, looking at Timothy with irritation. She didn't want to see him at all and grabbed her bag, storming out the door.

The loud slam of the door left Timothy's face as cold as ice.

Mary didn't look back as she left, wandering aimlessly around the neighborhood. Since no one was chasing after her, she decided to take a walk to clear her mind.

She walked through the garden and sat by the fish pond, pulling out her phone to browse the news or watch some videos to distract herself from her bad mood.

But as soon as she opened Facebook, her mood plummeted.

Two hours ago, Catherine had posted a status: "Love is, even if you get a little hurt, you still get bandaged up like a mummy. To Dr. Reed."

The picture showed the two of them, side by side, looking perfect together.

Catherine's gentle smile and Timothy's worried, serious expression pierced Mary's heart.

Mary suddenly felt all her strength drain away. She leaned back in her chair, tears silently streaming down her face.

What was the point of holding on to any hope?

Everything was still the same as before, just her own wishful thinking.

She sat by the fish pond until late at night, finally dragging her hungry body back to her room.

During that time, Timothy hadn't called once, hadn't shown any concern or worry.

So what was there to convince herself that Timothy had any feelings for her? It was all just a joke.