Chapter 443: Don't Mention Him Anymore (1)

To be honest, after getting together with Dylan Heston, she had always worried something like this would happen. Now that it finally had, she felt a sense of relief. At least she wouldn’t have to worry anymore.

It seemed there was nothing left for her in this city to hold onto, only sadness.

She barely slept a wink all night. The next day, she rushed back to her apartment to change before heading to the company.

Work was slow. Other than a job for Shirley Summers, she had no other tasks on her plate.

However, dealing with Shirley Summers alone was more than enough of a handful.

Shirley Summers’s standards were incredibly high. The initial draft Gwen Gunn designed had already been revised over a dozen times, forcing Nancy to constantly run back and forth.

Shirley was a typical rich girl, her daily schedule completely unpredictable. Sometimes Nancy had to travel all the way to the suburbs just to discuss the drafts with her.

After two weeks of running around, Shirley Summers was finally satisfied with the engagement dress.

While Nancy Hughes found Shirley’s antics annoying, she also couldn’t help but envy her fiancé. He must have such a good temper to tolerate such a high-maintenance woman.

Nancy had seen Shirley Summers’s fiancé once. ‘How should I put it…’ she thought. ‘The man was so inscrutable, as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders… just like *him*.’

As her thoughts drifted to that person, she froze, her mind going completely blank.

This Mr. Tate had never appeared in any of Portmire’s media outlets; he was clearly a very low-profile figure.

It was obvious that this Mr. Tate granted Shirley Summers’s every wish. They must be deeply in love.

Although she couldn’t stand Shirley’s dramatics, she wasn’t in a position to judge someone else’s relationship.

But, rather unexpectedly, she thought she’d once accidentally seen this Mr. Tate with another woman.

‘Or is it just an inherent flaw in rich men?’ she wondered. ‘Do they all like to have a woman on each arm?’

She decided that after this job was over, she would find a place to rest for a while.

So, the moment Shirley Summers’s dress was finished, she submitted her resignation to her team leader without a moment’s hesitation.

She had chosen not to transition to a full-time position right after graduation, so no one could have expected her to resign at a time like this.

Interns only needed to give one week’s notice, so she just had to stick it out for another week.

Nancy Hughes planned to go back and find a job in Homeward.

After she resigned, Julian Caldwell suddenly called to say that Riley Caldwell wanted to come visit for the summer vacation.

Riley’s college entrance exam results were out. He’d gotten into a science and engineering university in the north. It was a good major with excellent job prospects after graduation.

Nancy agreed and went to the station to pick him up on the day of his arrival.

She hadn’t seen him in a while, and Riley Caldwell had shot up. Boys in their teens grow so fast; in the blink of an eye, he was nearly a head and a half taller than her.

“Sis, how did you get even shorter!”

“Tch! Why don’t you just say you grew too fast!” Nancy Hughes shot him a look. Riley just giggled and said, “By the way, why are you here alone? Where’s my brother-in-law?”

At the mention of Dylan Heston, Nancy’s expression soured. Riley wasn’t a little kid anymore; he could read the room.

“What’s wrong, Sis? Did you and my brother-in-law have a fight? Is he not treating you well?” Riley asked with concern.

“No. And don’t mention him in front of me again.”

Riley wanted to ask why, but after seeing the look in Nancy’s eyes, he knew better and shut his mouth.

Riley Caldwell had never been to Portmire before, and he didn’t know Nancy was living in such a tiny apartment.

“Sis, there are two of us! How are we going to sleep?” One room, one bed. And they were different genders. How was this supposed to work?

“What’s the big deal? I’m your sister, not some stranger!” Nancy Hughes put his things on a chair. “What on earth did you bring? This is so heavy!”

“Dad had me bring some local specialties from home. You probably haven’t had them in a long time.”

“…”

Local specialties from Homeward. It was just some flaky pastries and things like that. No wonder it was so heavy. She’d carried it all the way here, and her arm felt like it was about to fall off.

“Actually, I’m planning to go back home to find a job. I don’t want to stay here anymore.”

“Why?” Riley Caldwell asked, confused. “Isn’t it good to work here? This is a big city! I wanted to come here, but I didn’t do well enough on the college entrance exam. Otherwise, I could’ve gone to school here!” Riley said with a hint of regret.

Nancy patted his head. “Go on, call home.”

“I know, I know!” Riley said helplessly. “Sis, can I borrow your phone to make a call?”

Riley was still a student, and since their hometown was poor, he didn’t have a cell phone yet.

Riley spoke to Julian Caldwell in their local dialect, and Nancy could hear him bickering with Lana Caldwell.

When he handed the phone back to Nancy, he said, “Actually, Lana was supposed to come too.”

Nancy was making the bed, still worrying about their sleeping arrangement for the night. “And?” she replied distractedly.

“I don’t know. Dad wouldn’t let her. He told her to stay home and focus on her job.”

“She has a job now?”

“Yeah, you think she’s just going to sit at home all day? Dad said after she works for about six months, he’s going to find a matchmaker at the end of the year and arrange a marriage for her!” Riley spilled everything. “Oh, and by the way, it’s a good thing you had a boyfriend. Otherwise, I bet Dad would be setting you up, too!”

The moment the words “brother-in-law” left his mouth, Riley’s face fell. He’d forgotten Nancy had told him not to mention Dylan Heston.

He clapped a hand over his mouth in terror, but when he saw no change in Nancy’s expression, he gradually relaxed and changed the subject.

He talked about his classmates, for example. Several of them had gotten into university, but none in the same city as him. “Oh, wait, there is one. I think he’s going to the same university as me, but in a different major.”

“Alright, just worry about yourself.”

Riley giggled. “Sis, just wait four more years. I’ll be able to support you all soon!”

‘Students are always so naive,’ she thought. ‘They think that the moment they step out into the real world, they’ll definitely find a good job and make a lot of money.’

‘But when you actually leave school, you discover the world is full of people more talented and brilliant than you, and you’re just one tiny grain of sand on a vast beach.’

Nancy didn’t have the heart to crush his spirits. “Just get through these next four years first.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

During the day, Nancy took him out to buy a cell phone and got him a Portmire SIM card first. “I’ll go back with you when it’s time.”

The brother and sister were shopping, strolling through a mall.

“Sis, are you really going back with me? Isn’t it good to work here?” Riley couldn’t understand Nancy’s reasoning. The pay was so good here; one month’s salary was equal to two months’ pay in their small city.

Besides, there were far more opportunities to make a name for yourself in a big city.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Nancy said, looking at him with a cryptic expression.

“Sis, please think about it again. There are so many more opportunities here. Homeward really can’t compare to this place.”

Even the downtown area of Homeward couldn’t compare to the prosperity here. This was a bustling metropolis full of skyscrapers, a place where so many people dreamed of making their mark.

Nancy took Riley sightseeing. In the evening, she brought him to a restaurant known for its Portmire specialties.

It was the same restaurant Dylan Heston had taken her to before.

Riley followed Nancy inside, looking around the main dining hall. Every table was full.

He whispered in Nancy’s ear, “The outside looked so run-down, I can’t believe it’s completely packed in here!”

“This is a Portmire specialty. In a bit, you’re only allowed to eat, no talking!”

They had arrived a bit late, but they still had to wait for a table.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, it was finally their turn.

They sat at a table in the center of the dining hall and ordered a few signature side dishes.

She remembered the last time she was here, she and Dylan had been in a private room.

Looking at the noisy surroundings, she decided she was much better suited to sitting in a bustling crowd like this.

Over the next few days, Nancy took Riley to see the other sights.

It was the height of summer, and the beach was crowded with tourists.

Nancy stared blankly at the vast expanse of the ocean before her, thinking about how Zane Lennox’s body had been found in the sea.

‘What exactly happened back then? Why did Zane die?’

The police had ruled his death an accidental drowning, but she didn’t believe it.

“Sis, turn around!” Her thoughts were drifting aimlessly when she suddenly heard Riley shouting her name from behind. She turned her head instinctively.

CLICK! CLICK! Riley pressed the shutter button several times in a row, snapping a few photos of Nancy.

In his eyes, his sister was the most beautiful person in the world.

“Sis, I got you!”

Riley ran toward her, showing off his phone. “Hey, let’s take a picture together!”

She didn’t like having her picture taken and rarely had any solo photos. She wanted to ask Riley to delete them, but seeing how excited he was, she decided to let it go.

“Sis, smile! Not that stiff, official-looking smile. A big smile, show your teeth!” Riley corrected her. Nancy stretched her lips to reveal her teeth, and Riley said with satisfaction, “There you go, that’s the one.”

“…” She held the grin, but Riley didn’t press the shutter. “Hurry up! My cheeks are starting to hurt!”

“Sis, your smile looks so fake. You know what, just don’t smile!”

“…” She immediately dropped her smile and put on a stern face.

‘He tells me to smile, then he tells me not to smile.’

He took several more shots in a row, but none of them satisfied him.

“After all that, the first few I took when you turned around are still the best!” Riley said, looking down and flipping through the photos.

“Let me see.”

“Nope!”

As night fell, the temperature by the sea dropped instantly.

“Let’s go back!” Nancy was shivering from the cold. She hadn’t expected such a drastic temperature difference between day and night at the beach and hadn’t brought a jacket.

“Wow, the beach is so beautiful! I’m definitely coming back here with you to watch the sunrise someday!”

“Watching the sunrise at the beach is something you should do with your little girlfriend. Why would you want to do it with me?”

“Sis, what are you talking about!” Riley actually blushed with embarrassment.

“What’s there to be shy about? If you don’t find a girlfriend in college, it’ll be too late!”

Riley was speechless. “…”

By the time they got back from the beach, Nancy’s whole body was stiff from the cold.

Riley was flipping through the photos on his phone. Peeking at his album, Nancy discovered the little rascal had secretly taken a lot of pictures of her.