Making plans with someone usually needed a heads-up, but Stuart didn't expect someone else to beat him to it.
Gerald was always swamped and rarely took weekends off.
But this weekend, he wanted the whole family to hit up a hot spring.
The last time they went to a resort with hot springs, everyone was so caught up in Nicole and Josephine's reunion that they didn't really enjoy the hot springs.
Now, with the weather still a bit chilly, soaking in a hot spring sounded perfect.
As soon as he suggested it, the whole family was on board.
This was the first family outing since Josephine came back. No way she could miss it.
Nicole had actually wanted to throw a party for Josephine before. Her daughter was back, and Nicole wanted everyone to know.
But Josephine was always low-key and didn't like that kind of attention. Plus, with Gerald's somewhat special status, being too flashy wasn't a good idea. So, the party never happened.
But Nicole had already planned to take Josephine to some gatherings. So when Stuart asked Josephine if she was free over the weekend, she had to turn him down.
It was Friday, and they were walking Jeffery home.
Stuart was surprised. "You have plans for the weekend?"
"Gerald wants to take us to a hot spring. We'll stay overnight and come back Sunday evening," Josephine explained. Seeing Stuart's unhappy face, she quickly added, "How about we reschedule for next week?"
She thought for a moment and said, "Monday and Tuesday might not work either; I have to go with my mom to some gatherings."
Stuart looked at her. "You're so busy now. Even when work isn't crazy, you still don't have time for me."
Josephine felt a bit guilty. "I'll definitely make time next week."
"What about tonight?" Stuart looked down at Jeffery. "Jeffery, can I borrow your mom tonight?"
Jeffery said, "I don't mind."
Stuart laughed, "Thanks, Jeffery."
He then looked at Josephine.
Josephine smiled at him, a bit embarrassed. "Mom's making my favorite dishes tonight and wants me to come home early."
Stuart got it. Nicole had just reunited with Josephine and wanted to spend more time with her, which made sense. But he didn't want to be left out completely.
Stuart was about to say something when he saw Josephine's pleading eyes and immediately softened.
He said, "Then..."
Josephine quickly said, "I'll contact you if we get back early on Sunday night."
Stuart had no choice but to say, "Alright."
After dropping them off at The Clarence Family, Stuart reluctantly watched them go inside.
Josephine looked back and saw him still standing there.
Seeing Jeffery go in first, Josephine quickly ran back, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Stuart on the corner of his lips. Then she quickly ran away.
Stuart didn't even have time to catch her. He touched the spot where she kissed him and smiled.
Nicole saw this scene from the window. Before going to bed that night, she contacted an old friend she hadn't seen in a while to ask about the details of next week's gathering, specifically requesting that more young and talented men be invited.
She couldn't believe that among so many people, there wouldn't be someone better than Stuart!
She would find the best men in the world and present them to Josephine to choose from. Then Josephine wouldn't only like Stuart.
Stuart didn't know about Nicole's plans. After dropping Josephine off, he had nothing to do, so he went back to the office to work overtime.As soon as Stuart got to the office, Jair called, all worried about how things were going with him and Josephine.
Stuart felt a bit exasperated. "Man, stop obsessing over us. What about you? How's it going with Claudia?"
"Claudia agreed to be my girlfriend. We even went on a date yesterday."
Stuart went quiet, feeling like Jair was just showing off.
"Congrats, no need for the play-by-play," he said.
Jair replied, "I'm not here to give you the details. I'm telling you to step up your game. Don't let us both get hitched while you're still stuck."
Stuart said, "You two getting married? Slow down, you just started dating and you're already thinking about marriage?"
Jair said, "My family's pushing, and Claudia's family is too. We've agreed to date for a few months, and if we're both happy, we'll get married."
Stuart was silent, feeling a pang of envy. "Why is your relationship going so smoothly?" he asked.
Jair said, "Maybe because I'm serious and dedicated to my relationships."
"Are you mocking me?" Stuart felt an urge to punch something. "Are you doing this on purpose?"
"Not really," Jair said. "But you were such a jerk before. Anyway, it's not entirely your fault; it's just fate. By the way, how's Angela?"
"How do you think?" Stuart's voice turned cold. "Shouldn't she be punished for what she did?"
"You took action against her... and The Lopez Family?"
Stuart said, "The Lopez Family had a lot of issues. Even without my intervention, someone else would have taken them down."
"I was wondering why there were such big changes in Hustalia recently. You've been pulling the strings, haven't you? You must be having a good time hiding in Celestia Springs while many people are coming to me."
Stuart said, "You don't need to worry about it."
Jair added, "It's not just The Lopez Family, but also the Kalmien Family."
"The Kalmien Family," Stuart said. "I think Gerald took action against them."
"Todd is deeply regretting it now," Jair said. "They thought they could adopt a daughter and use the Campbell family as their backer. But now, The Campbell Family is struggling to take care of themselves. The once unwelcomed Josephine is now out of their league."
"If he had treated Josephine a bit better, he wouldn't be in this situation," Stuart said. "He brought this upon himself."
"Anyway, keep working hard," Jair said. "I'm at the military base and can't go back often, so I can't see Claudia every day. But you're different; you're in Celestia Springs, which gives you an advantage."
"You don't understand," Stuart sighed. "Josephine's mom, Mrs. Clarence, guards against me like I'm a thief."
Jair said, "Then you'll have to work hard on your own. I can't help you much. But if you need, I can put in a good word for you with Claudia."
Stuart was silent. Silent again. Had he really fallen to this point? Jair had been single not long ago, and now Jair could laugh at him.
Stuart hung up the phone, rubbed his temples, and felt pretty miserable.
Since he wasn't having a good time, some people shouldn't have a good time either.
Not just Angela, but also the main culprit, Robin. Did he think he was safe in prison? He still fantasized about getting out one day. Dream on.
So, Robin's days in prison became even more torturous.
As for The Lopez Family, their funds quickly dwindled, and they soon couldn't operate. Not to mention, their previous project had already drained their resources.
But Stuart probably didn't expect them to do what they did out of desperation.