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It seemed that Sienna quickly finished ordering and handed the menu to the waiter, as if she was afraid Howard might say something unpleasant.
Next, the three of us sat at a table, looking at each other.
There was no way around it; we really had nothing to talk about.
Perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere, Sienna took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Howard, do you remember the little cat on campus when we were in high school?"
Howard immediately showed interest.
"Are you talking about Bella? It's been a long time since I went back, I wonder how she's doing."
Sienna's lips curved slightly, a gentle smile appearing.
"I adopted Bella. If you want to see her, you can come to my house."
Howard instinctively wanted to agree but suddenly realized something.
"I'll bring my wife along."
Sienna didn't get angry, she just continued.
"Back then, Bella was always being fed. She was a nice little tabby cat, but she got so chubby from all the feeding."
Howard rested his arm on the table.
"Yeah, I remember her favorite was cat treats. Every day on my way to school, she would block my path, insisting I give her a treat before letting me pass!"
"Thinking back, I wonder how many cat treats I got tricked into giving her during those high school years!"
Howard talked endlessly about the cat, and Sienna occasionally chimed in. I couldn't get a word in edgewise.
But I wasn't annoyed; I just sat there quietly, drinking lemon water and checking my phone.
A message from Winter came through.
"Kathie, why did you leave? Are you feeling unwell?"
It was followed by a questioning emoji.
I smiled slightly and my fingers flew over the phone screen.
"I was just too hungry, had to go find some food."
After a pause, I thought of something else.
"By the way, Winter, I actually need a favor from you."
Winter replied quickly.
"Kathie, just tell me."
I pursed my lips, the smile fading from my eyes.
"I need Sarah's contact information."
There was a moment of silence, and just when I thought Winter might refuse, she sent over a business card.
"Done! I just asked for her WhatsApp account."
Looking at Sarah's profile picture, a broken heart image, I felt a strange sense of kinship.
I quickly added Sarah as a friend and waited for her to accept.
The two people next to me were chatting happily, and I had no intention of interrupting.
It wasn't until the waiter brought over two steaks that they stopped talking.
Howard belatedly looked at me, and seeing my calm expression, he relaxed and gently squeezed my fingers under the table.
I had just picked up my knife and fork when I saw Sienna fork a piece of steak and place it in Howard's bowl.
"I heard their ribeye steak is great, you should try it."
After placing the steak down, Sienna looked at Howard expectantly.
But Howard didn't pick it up right away; instead, he glanced at me.
Sienna noticed Howard's gaze and quickly forked a piece of steak for me as well.
"Sorry, Ms. Brown, I forgot you were here."
A very basic tactic, and quite uninteresting.
I smiled slightly, picked up my knife and fork, and tasted the steak.
"Miss Cooper, you do have good taste, but since I'm married to Howard, it's not really appropriate for you to keep calling me Ms. Brown, is it?"
Sienna pursed her lips and then corrected herself.
"I'm just used to saying it, sorry, I'll change that."