The lines of his face looked sharper in his black coat, his demeanor exuding a sense of discipline and stability so profound that it overshadowed his handsome features. "Then congratulations," Phillip said, retreating to where he belonged, expressing what he was supposed to. "I'm glad you found someone who meets your standards." Tina realized she preferred his earlier sentiment over the mere 'gladness' she heard.
"Thank you," she replied politely.
Phillip stood a few steps away, his deep gaze lingering on her for a moment longer before he said, "See you around."
He brushed past Tina, descending the stairs, and her eyes followed his figure until it vanished at the gallery entrance, only for Alfred's face to fill her view all at once.
Alfred had some critique about her display of arrogance. "It's okay in private, but in front of my friends, you couldn't spare me some dignity, huh? Where did you run off to on the second floor?"
"Meeting a lover," Tina quipped, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she stared intently at Alfred's face.
Knowing her penchant for jokes, Alfred didn't take it to heart, though her gaze made him self-conscious, touching his face. "What? My looks might not stun you at a glance, but I grow on you. My friends say I've got a bit of charm."
Tina hadn't seen Alfred look funny until he spoke, and she found humor in his words then.
"Good for you. What makes you so confident?"
For Phillip, returning to his life before last summer wasn't hard.
All it took was burying himself in work. Suppressing emotions was a skill Phillip had honed since childhood.
That brief flutter of the heart was like a journey to an uncharted place, and with her departure, he carried his regrets back to reality.
Engulfed in work, he returned to his penthouse for rest, maintaining his usual demeanor so well that no one could guess anything was amiss.
Noting his unchanged work ethic, his friends remarked, "Typical Phillip, always married to his job."
On his occasional business trips to Capital City, Phillip would visit the Watson family as usual, but fate, or perhaps misfortune, ensured he and Tina never crossed paths. S
News of Tina seeing the youngest Lewis son reached Stonebridge, with gossip outlets eagerly spinning tales about how a notorious playboy had outmaneuvered the heir to the Richardson Group. Behind his back, many found amusement in his predicament.
Phillip never paid them any mind.
However, this riled up the family matriarch, Mary.
"Idiots, both of you, letting such a fine woman slip through your fingers. You're wasting the good looks inherited from me!"
"Go hand in hand and wander off! What use do I have for you in this house?"
Unwilling to be lumped with Phillip, Curtis lounged on the couch, texting on his phone. "Losing my wife was my own doing. He's just undesirable. Maybe you should enroll him in a dating class. Phillip's of age and still can't romance. It's embarrassing."
Sipping his coffee, Phillip glanced at Curtis. "You're on the blacklist. Anne won't see a single one of those texts."
Putting away his phone marked with sending failure, Curtis scoffed, "Tina doesn't blacklist you. Why don't you text her? Got nothing to say?" Phillip remained silent.
Twirling his phone, Curtis teased, "Need some help wooing a woman? I could give you some pointers."
Phillip set down his coffee expressionlessly. "Save it for yourself."
Tired of their bickering, Mary dismissed them both. "Enough. A pair of unimpressive roosters!"
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