Second Chance: Marrying into Wealth Chapter 122

I didn't have time to respond before the maid arrived.

"Just toss these without opening them. They might be a bit creepy," I reminded her.

The maid gave me a suspicious look but quickly nodded. Working in a villa, she probably knew better than to question the wealthy.

As she was carrying the boxes away, Christopher showed up.

"Are you moving?" he asked, frowning at the boxes in the maid's arms. I could sense his displeasure.

I shook my head. "No, just getting rid of some unwanted stuff."

I didn't mention that they might be from Clara. First, I hadn't looked inside, and if Christopher wanted to see, it might freak him out. Second, I wasn't sure they were from Clara.

Besides, Christopher had already helped me a lot. I didn't want to burden him with everything.

I seized the chance to change the subject. "So, what brings you here?"

Christopher looked at me with a hint of teasing in his eyes. "You didn't reply to my message, so I had to come and get you myself."

I remembered I hadn't replied to him earlier and felt a bit embarrassed. "I just finished up. You didn't have to call me for dinner. I could've just made some pasta."

Christopher glanced at my hand. "Don't you want to keep your hand? You burned it making breakfast for me. Until it heals, I'll handle the cooking at home. I don't want you going around saying I'm stingy."

In the past, when we used to bicker, I might have said something like that. But the me of yesterday was not the me of today.

Now, I only felt gratitude towards him. Besides, he was my boss. I wouldn't dare say such things.

So, I obediently followed him home for dinner.

Tiana wasn't home, and the food on the table was made by Christopher.

I was surprised. The dishes looked and smelled amazing. For someone like him—handsome, successful, and smart—he was already the perfect man. I didn't expect him to be a good cook too.

And the food tasted great. I had once boasted in front of him that I could open a restaurant and do well, but compared to Christopher, it was like showing off in front of an expert. Thankfully, he didn't mock me back then.

I couldn't help but say, "Christopher, is there anything you can't do? You're truly a genius."

Christopher's lips curved into a slight smile, seemingly pleased by my compliment. He even teased, "Maybe... I can't chase after girls?"

So, Christopher really had someone he loved but couldn't get.

I wanted to comfort him but realized I was a loser myself. In the end, I awkwardly said, "If it's you, you don't need to chase. It's the other person's loss."

Christopher chuckled, his beautiful eyes narrowing as he looked at me. "Yeah, they really don't have good taste."

For some reason, I felt like he was talking about me, probably referring to my poor choice in Lawrence.

Alright, I admitted it. It was pretty embarrassing. I lowered my head and quietly ate my meal.

In the following days, including breakfast, I ate Christopher's cooking. I started to feel like I was gaining weight.

I told Paula about it.

Paula laughed. "Melinda, you're so skinny. You should gain a bit. Let's meet after work and see how much weight you've gained."

I knew she was teasing me, but it had been a while since I saw Paula, so we arranged to meet at a restaurant near the office.

Christopher had taken me there once, and the food was good. I was excited to introduce it to Paula.

The restaurant was next to a mall. Because of some traffic, I got out of the car in front of the mall.

As I was walking towards the restaurant, someone rushed out of the mall and bumped into me. Luckily, I was tall and a bit heavy, so I didn't fall.

The person who bumped into me fell, along with her bag, spilling everything. Her lipstick broke into two pieces. It was the latest Dior lipstick, which Paula had shown me recently. 

But the person didn't seem to care and politely apologized, "I'm sorry. I was in a hurry and didn't see you."

I recognized the voice. "Brianna?" I called out uncertainly.

The person picking up her things looked up at me. "Melinda!"

Before I could react, she stood up and grabbed my wrist, her eyes red from crying. "Melinda, what should I do? Clara is missing."

Given Brianna's attitude and my impression of her, I didn't have a bad impression of her. Despite it being about Clara, I patiently listened.

"What do you mean she's missing?" I didn't believe someone like Clara would just disappear.

I couldn't help but look at Brianna suspiciously. Was Clara playing a trick and using Brianna?

"Did Clara trick you into coming to find me? How could a grown person just disappear?"

Brianna shook her head, tears falling. "No, she's really missing. We were shopping, each picking out clothes. When I came out of the fitting room, she was gone. I checked her fitting room, and she wasn't there."

"Did you ask the staff? There are cameras. How could she just disappear?" I replied calmly.

"I asked the staff. She got a call and left suddenly without telling me. I thought she had something urgent, so I left to get the car. But her car is still in the parking lot, and she isn't answering her phone. Something must have happened." Brianna was getting more anxious.

If it was true, Clara deserved it.

I didn't care about Clara's well-being, so I spoke coldly. "She probably offended someone with her sharp tongue."

I wouldn't mind if someone like her met a bad end.

Brianna looked at me bitterly. "She was only like that to you. She's usually very gentle."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting I had something to do with it?"

"No, I didn't mean that. I'm just too worried and ran into you by chance," Brianna quickly explained, not accusing me.

My expression softened. "Then call someone to look for her or report it to the police. It's not my concern."

With that, I walked past her towards the restaurant.

Behind me, I heard Brianna's hurried footsteps leaving.

Because of the delay, I worried Paula might be waiting. I checked my phone and saw a call from Clara.