Clarissa hoped that Luana would find someone who truly cared for her, and then she would be at ease.
"Yeah, there will definitely be someone in the future," Luana replied, masking the sadness that flickered in her eyes with a nod, pretending everything was fine.
In reality, there was no future for her.
Albert quickly finished cooking and called them to help bring the dishes to the table. They turned off the TV and stood up.
After the three of them finished dinner, Clarissa went to the bathroom, while Albert walked to the kitchen and answered a phone call.
Luana was packing up the leftover food on the table, intending to put it in the fridge, when she heard Albert's voice just before she pushed open the kitchen door.
"Honey, wait for me for another half month. I'll go back once I've sorted things out. It's too risky to go too often..."
The kitchen door had decent soundproofing, so only this sentence was faintly audible, and the rest was unclear.
Albert was the sales director of the Adams Group. It was normal for him to call clients "honey" to maintain good relationships.
However, the phrase "too risky to go too often" made Luana feel uneasy.
She stood still at the door. When Albert opened it, he saw her. His usually pleasant face froze for a moment.
"L-Luana..."
Albert was stunned for a second but quickly regained his composure, pointing at his phone and explaining, "It's a client. There's a problem with one of our products, and they want to return a large batch. They called me to handle it, but I still need to apply to the company for the return. I can only ask them to give me more time..."
His explanation made sense, but it didn't clarify the part about "too risky to go too often."
Luana didn't plan to confront him directly and said calmly, "Why are you explaining so much to me? I didn't hear anything."
Hearing this, Albert's tense expression relaxed. "I just didn't want you to misunderstand, so I wanted to explain clearly," he said.
Luana walked into the kitchen with the plate in her hand. "I was just about to open the door when you did. What a coincidence."
Seeing her put the plate in the fridge, Albert's doubts were completely dispelled.
She must have just come to the kitchen to put things away, not to eavesdrop on his call.
Albert replied with a "Yeah, quite a coincidence" and left.
Luana looked at Albert's retreating figure, feeling a bit uneasy.
She hesitated about whether to tell Clarissa what she had heard. After all, Clarissa loved Albert deeply and trusted him completely.
If she told Clarissa, it might affect their relationship. But if she didn't tell Clarissa, she would feel like she was betraying her friend.
After thinking it through, Luana decided to send Clarissa a message on her phone, recounting what she had just heard.
She hadn't confronted Albert directly for three reasons. First, she didn't feel she had the right to do so. Second, she didn't want to alert him. Third, Albert had been so good to Clarissa that it seemed impossible for him to do anything to hurt her.
Since there was no concrete evidence, she could only privately warn Clarissa to be prepared.
Clarissa quickly replied, "Okay, I'll check his phone secretly tonight."
Luana knew that Clarissa was always calm when it came to relationship issues, so she wasn't too worried.
She responded with "Remember to tell me the result" and then turned off her phone.
As she left the kitchen, she ran into Clarissa coming out of the bathroom.
They exchanged a knowing glance.
Clarissa usually got emotional when it came to Luana's issues, but she was good at hiding her feelings when it was her own problem.
[$]
Luana watched as Clarissa nonchalantly linked arms with Albert and walked back home, feeling a heavy weight in her heart.
She was worried about what Clarissa might find out. After all, they had just gotten married. If something was discovered, what could Clarissa do?
Luana couldn't sleep and sat on the sofa, holding her phone. She was waiting for a message from Clarissa.
Around two in the morning, Clarissa's message arrived.
"Luana, it's just a client, and he's a man."
"Albert mentioned that going too often would be risky because they had taken some kickbacks and were afraid of being discovered."
Seeing these messages, Luana let out a deep sigh of relief.
She quickly typed back, "I'm sorry, Clarissa. I was too suspicious."
Clarissa replied promptly, "Luana, remember that you're the little girl I've watched grow up since you were little, and you're my family. If you notice anything suspicious, you have to tell me. Otherwise, all these years of my genuine care for you would be in vain."
Seeing this, Luana couldn't help but smile. Clarissa trusted her wholeheartedly and wouldn't blame her for being hasty.
She replied with "Okay, I'll do as you say," sent a goodnight emoji, and then put down her phone, finally able to sleep soundly.
The next afternoon, she was woken up by a dozen phone calls. Groggily, she fumbled under her pillow for her phone.
"Miss Hammond, are you awake now?"