The engagement cancellation thoroughly infuriated Hamilton, and Tina lost any semblance of freedom.
Though her confinement was over, Hamilton had taken her passport and ID away. Without those, one was practically immobilized. So, she had no choice but to stay put in Capital City.
One day, driven stir-crazy, she took her sports car and headed south, but before she could even merge onto the highway, Hamilton's people caught up with her and dragged her back. After that, her driver's license was confiscated, too.
All her credit cards got frozen. Going out for a meal depended entirely on a rotation of friends picking up the tab.
To prevent anyone from secretly helping her escape, her best friend had also come under tight surveillance at home.
Having suggested to his father that he could marry Tina to resolve the issue internally, Weston, seen as the prime instigator of the broken engagement, received a thrashing, his belt splitting from the force. When the three troubled friends met up, they all sighed in unison.
Pointing to his bruises, Weston said, "Look at what I went through for you."
Tina just replied, "Serves you right."
"Your dad's already looking for another match for you," Tina's best friend mentioned. "What is his name?"
"I didn't bother to remember," Tina slumped in her chair, staring at the ceiling listlessly, "Something like... Meatball Mike."
Her friend quickly searched on her phone. "His name is Alfred Lewis, not Meatball Mike."
Weston clicked his tongue. "Is your dad trying to get rid of you because you're eating way too much at home? It hasn't been long since the breakup, and he's already hunting for the next suitor."
"I'm already twenty-six. If I wait any longer, I won't fetch a good price," Tina said sarcastically. Though Hamilton had always been autocratic, he hadn't neglected her as a daughter. However, her situation wasn' much better than a prized vegetable, just slightly more valuable.
"This Alfred guy..." her friend said, looking at his photo, "isn't as handsome as Phillip."
Weston scoffed, "Since when can good looks come first?"
"You're a bit more handsome than him."
Weston immediately responded, "But good looks are food for the soul."
After flipping through more photos, her friend asked Tina, "What do you think?" "Whatever," Tina said, indifferent to anyone but Phillip.
The topic dampened the moet
her friend quickly changed the
subject "Your favorite artist, Sayaka, will have an exhibition in Capital City. Did you know that?" Content belongs
"That must be fake news," Tina doubted, "She hasn't had an exhibition in nearly a decade."
"It's true. Why would I lie to you?" Tina's friend showed her the gallery's official announcement, "Next weekend. Are we going?"
Tina finally showed some enthusiasm, "Absolutely!"
During the lunch break, the secretary came in to deliver some documents and noticed that the lunch brought in half an hour ago remained untouched. Behind the grand desk, Phillip was reading a book, seated in a leather chair.
The secretary placed a stack of folders on the upper left corner
the desk. "Mr. Richardson, you get
meeting is in ten minutes. Would you like me to warm your lunch?"
Phillip finally looked up from his book, glanced at his watch, marked his place with the book's paper bookmark, and closed the book to set it aside.
"No need," he said, picking up a
document to sign, and instructed, "Ask the international business department to send over last
month's settlement report ASAP. Did you apply for the flight to Capital
City this weekend?"
The secretary's gaze fell on the book cover. "The Bible of Photography Colors."
Not hearing a response, Phillip looked up, prompting the secretary to snap back to reality and quickly reply, "Yes, it's all done."
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