Laura didn't even look up, just snorted. "It's Stuart."
Josephine had already figured that out.
Otis asked, "Should we ditch him?"
Laura said, "Josephine, he hasn't reached out to you before, right?"
Josephine shook her head.
"It's been five years; what's he want now?" Laura said. "Now that you're back, it's easy for him to find you, especially with the kid. Why not talk to him, clear things up, and make him give up for good?"
Josephine thought Laura had a point.
When they arrived, Otis parked, and Josephine went in first. Sure enough, she soon saw Stuart.
"Have a seat." She sat in the corner of the café. "Let's talk."
Stuart sat down, his eyes glued to her face.
"What do you want, Mr. Haustia?" Josephine asked. "You said you wanted to talk. About what?"
Stuart said, "I want to apologize."
"Stop," Josephine said. "You apologized enough five years ago. I've heard it all. Anything else?"
Stuart said, "Josephine, I know I messed up. In these five years, I've realized my mistakes. I don't expect forgiveness, just that you don't treat me like a stranger, okay?"
Josephine said, "Fine, I'll say hi when I see you."
"That's not what I mean." Stuart looked at her. "Josephine, I hope you can give me another chance."
Josephine smiled. "Mr. Haustia, I think I've made myself clear before. It's best if we're strangers."
Stuart wanted to say more, "Josephine..."
"Mr. Haustia, we have no relationship now. Sitting down and talking calmly is already generous of me. If you have more demands, isn't that too much?"
She kept a faint smile, making people feel at ease.
But Stuart only felt sad looking at her.
This was Josephine's attitude towards strangers—polite yet distant. And now, she was treating him this way.
Josephine said with a faint smile, "Since you know how wrong you were and don't expect my forgiveness, then don't say things that make it hard for others, okay?"
With that, she got up without hesitation. "Mr. Haustia, goodbye."
Stuart also stood up. "Josephine, really, can't you give me another chance?"
Josephine shook her head. "We're done, completely."
Laura was waiting outside. Seeing Josephine come out, she quickly asked, "How'd it go?"
Josephine replied, "Cleared things up."
Laura asked, "What does Stuart want?"
Josephine responded, "He wants another chance."
"No way!" Laura said. "Where does he get the nerve?"
It was a rare meeting, such a beautiful moment, Josephine didn't want to spoil it. She said, "Let's not talk about him. Where do you want to go?"
Laura pointed. "There!"
Josephine looked up. Across from the café was a bar, looking pretty fancy.
Laura hooked her arm around Josephine's and walked in. "This place just opened, and there are a lot of good-looking male waiters."
Laura had always been flirtatious. When Josephine left five years ago, she vaguely heard that Laura had some connection with Robin's uncle, Steven Bailey.
Now, Claudia was engaged, but Laura was still single.
Josephine couldn't help but ask, "What about you and Steven?"
"Him?" Laura snorted. "Robin's no good; you think Steven's any better? I dumped him ages ago!"
Josephine asked, "So in these five years, you haven't found anyone suitable?"
Laura brushed it off. "Are the male models at fashion shows not good-looking? Or the waiters at bars not obedient enough? I haven't had enough fun yet! Today, I'll show you the world!"
Honestly, Josephine had rarely been to such places. She always thought bars only opened at night.
It was only the afternoon, but the bar was already pretty crowded. It wasn't too noisy and had a nice vibe.
Laura took her straight to a private room.
Vincent happened to be walking by and saw a familiar face, thinking he was mistaken.
He snapped a picture and sent it to the group chat: [Look who it is!]
He sent a few more messages: [Did I see wrong?]
[Is it Josephine?]
[Is she back?]
[Having fun, huh? She just got back and came here?]
This group of about ten people had grown up together.
Seeing Vincent's message, the group chat blew up.
Everyone had something to say.
But they all held back, not daring to say anything too bold.
If it were before, they might have spoken up. But ever since Stuart and Josephine divorced, Stuart's attitude had changed, and no one dared to speak recklessly.
Someone even asked Stuart if it was true.
Stuart didn't reply because he was in the bar right then.
After leaving the café, he watched Josephine go in.
This bar had opened recently and was quite famous locally because its main clientele was women, especially wealthy women.
Many of the male waiters inside were good-looking and well-built. Strong, sexy, young, pure, shy—there was a variety.
It was just like men going out to have fun, but this time, the clients were women.
As for why Vincent was there, it was because his current business partner was a woman, and he was just accompanying her for some fun.
Who knew he would see Josephine.
After sending the messages to the group, he looked up and saw Stuart again.
Stuart's face was ashen, and he stared intently at the private room Josephine had just entered.
Vincent walked over and handed him a cigarette. "So you knew she was back, huh? I was making a fuss in the group for nothing."
Stuart didn't take it and only asked, "Why are you here?"
"A business partner that's hard to please." Vincent patted his shoulder. "This place isn't exactly a good spot for women."
Stuart's jaw was tight. "In broad daylight, what could happen!"
Vincent said, "Come on; let me show you."
He took Stuart back to his private room. His business partner was sitting in the middle of the sofa, surrounded by some handsome guys.
Some were massaging her shoulders, some were pouring her drinks, some were making her laugh, and one was peeling fruit and feeding it to her.
This scene wouldn't be so jarring if the central figure were a man.
In such places, a group of women serving a man was normal. Stuart had seen it many times.
However, here, it was the opposite. The ones being served were women.
Stuart's face grew darker and darker.
Vincent asked, "Do you think Josephine is doing the same?"
Stuart's face was ashen as he turned and left.