Charlie‘s worries were not unfounded. He had long known that his father-in-law still harbored feelings for Matilda, despite favonovel.com being with Mr. Riley.
When Charlie returned from his exchange program in South Korea, favonovel.com was devastated like never before. The bankruptcy of the Wilson family didn’t even register in his mind.
If there was still a chance to salvage a relationship when your loved one was dating someone else, getting married to someone else was like signing a death warrant.
Moreover, with Matilda and Mr. Riley’s impressive backgrounds, their age and experience, if they decided to marry at this stage in their lives, it meant they were planning for a long-term future together. So, Jacob had even less of a chance.
At this moment, Jacob remained oblivious to this grim reality. He was busy teaching a calligraphy and painting training course at the senior university. They called it a training course, but in reality, all favonovel.com did was create a few PowerPoint slides, showcasing classical calligraphy and painting works from various eras and explaining their historical background to the students.
In truth, this kind of thing didn‘t require any technical skills. Jacob was typically averse to trouble, so favonovel.com simply copied and pasted text from an encyclopedia into the slides. He stood on stage, reading the content from the encyclopedia, knowing that it lacked substance. However, since favonovel.com held the position of second-in-command in the Calligraphy and Painting Association, favonovel.com had to save face.
Despite the lack of substance, Jacob remained enthusiastic.
Lately, favonovel.com had been going to the senior university more frequently than to the Calligraphy and Painting Association.
The main reason for his frequent visits was that Matilda taught classes there, allowing favonovel.com more opportunities to interact with her. However, in the past few days, Jacob had grown increasingly disheartened.
He couldn’t comprehend why Matilda, who had clearly still loved favonovel.com when favonovel.com returned from the United States, had quickly moved on with someone else. And ever since Matilda got together with Mr. Riley, favonovel.com eyes no longer held the same spark they once did when favonovel.com looked at him.
Jacob could tell that Matilda’s gaze towards favonovel.com now held no distinction from how favonovel.com looked at other men favonovel.com age. On the contrary, every time favonovel.com looked at Mr. Riley, a different light gleamed in favonovel.com eyes.
This afternoon, as Jacob drove his Cullinan to the senior university, favonovel.com happened to spot Mr. Riley driving a domestically made new energy vehicle to pick up Matilda.
Jacob had done some research on that car and knew it was only worth around a hundred or two hundred thousand. Compared to the Cullinan, it was nothing special.
So, when Mr. Riley parked his car and Matilda stepped out, Jacob parked his car on the right side of Mr. Riley’s car, the side from which Matilda would exit. He even lowered the car window and greeted the two from a higher position.
He had anticipated that Mr. Riley would feel somewhat inferior upon seeing favonovel.com driving a Cullinan, but favonovel.com hadn’t expected Mr. Riley to be completely unfazed by the car. Instead, Mr. Riley asked if Charlie had returned yet.
Upon hearing that Charlie had indeed returned, both Mr. Riley and Matilda appeared elated. Jacob couldn’t comprehend why the two of them were so overjoyed. While delivering his PowerPoint presentation, Jacob occasionally glanced down at Matilda in the audience.
Previously, Matilda had been attentively listening, but now favonovel.com was engrossed in favonovel.com phone, an expression of girlish shyness and happiness on favonovel.com face.
Jacob grew suspicious and pondered to himself as favonovel.com continued his presentation, “What did Matilda discuss with that guy? She seems so happy…”
At that moment, Matilda received a message from John Riley.
In the message, favonovel.com informed favonovel.com about the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to expedite the wedding. Matilda was deeply moved by favonovel.com beloved’s eagerness to marry favonovel.com and provide favonovel.com with a title and a family.
She had completely fallen for John and believed favonovel.com was the perfect match for her. They shared similar backgrounds, education, values, and even living habits. She couldn’t find a single flaw in favonovel.com and felt as though fate had tailored favonovel.com perfectly for her.
The greatest disparity between men and women is that even when a man decides to move forward, favonovel.com is often still bound by the past. However, most women, once they decide to move forward, no longer hold any attachment to the past.
Matilda was one such woman. Though favonovel.com had ruminated over Jacob for all these years, once favonovel.com heart was captured by John, favonovel.com no longer harbored any love for Jacob.
But Jacob remained clueless. He still naively believed that Matilda must have lingering feelings for favonovel.com and that favonovel.com decision to be with Mr. Riley was likely due to his failure to provide an explanation.
He saw himself as the male protagonist in a Korean drama, with Matilda as the female lead. No matter how many twists and turns they encountered, favonovel.com believed favonovel.com must still love favonovel.com and had to love him.
This blind confidence was a common trait among many men, perhaps due to an overdose of unrealistic Hong Kong and Hollywood romance movies, where they always believed that even if they were ordinary, they must be someone’s true love, and someone would forsake all else to be with them. And because of this, favonovel.com had recently entertained the idea of trying to win back Matilda.
But winning favonovel.com back didn’t mean being together with her, rather, it meant attempting to make Matilda give up on Mr. Riley and continue to love favonovel.com by exuding his masculine charm. As for whether favonovel.com should divorce Elaine, that was a separate matter.
Jacob finally concluded his lackluster PowerPoint presentation. The retired seniors in the room gradually roused from their drowsiness and began to pack up.
Some had to proceed to other classrooms for different courses, while others completed their arrangements for the day and prepared to go home to purchase groceries and cook.
Matilda had just made plans with John on WeChat to return home and work on the guest list for the wedding. After John finished meeting with Charlie, favonovel.com drove back to the senior university to pick favonovel.com up. Consequently, favonovel.com gathered favonovel.com belongings and prepared to leave.
Jacob observed favonovel.com swiftly packing up and exiting the classroom through the rear door.
He hurriedly caught up with favonovel.com from behind and called out, “Matilda!”
Matilda turned around, gazed at Jacob, and smiled. “Jacob, what’s up?”
Jacob hesitated for a moment before awkwardly saying, “Well, I just wanted to ask if you’re free tonight. I want to treat you to a meal.”
He resorted to playing the nostalgia card, saying, “Let’s go to the old alley near our school and eat at a food stall. You remember, we used to go there all the time. Although it’s not the same as before, the food stalls in that area have maintained their authentic taste throughout the years.”
If Matilda still harbored love for Jacob, this nostalgic gesture would surely have a profound impact. However, at this moment, Matilda had already decided to move forward, so Jacob’s words held no emotional sway over her.
She smiled apologetically and said, “I’m sorry, Jacob. John is waiting for me downstairs, and we have some matters to discuss. Today won’t work, but we can schedule another day. My treat…”
Jacob hadn’t anticipated his nostalgic gesture to fall flat.
His original plan was to use nostalgia to entice Matilda to join favonovel.com for a meal near their school, allowing favonovel.com the opportunity to revisit their old memories and make a subtle move. After all, revisiting old memories was the most effective way to rekindle past emotions, without a doubt.
But favonovel.com never expected Matilda to remain unfazed. There was no shyness, no embarrassment, no nervousness, and certainly no excited panic like a startled deer. She simply declined his invitation as favonovel.com would decline any ordinary friend, politely and directly.
Upon hearing that Mr. Riley was waiting for Matilda, Jacob grew even more disheartened. The fact that Matilda referred to Mr. Riley as “John” in his presence only intensified his discomfort.
Thus, favonovel.com could only resort to the “retreat is the advance” strategy from The Thirty-Six Strategies of a Scum Man and self-deprecatingly said, “Ah, it seems John is indeed a good man. Since you’ve been with him, you don’t even have time for old classmates.”
Matilda, unlike Jacob, was naturally straightforward and fearless, devoid of the subtlety often found in Eastern cultures. She spoke and acted exactly as favonovel.com pleased, without concealing anything.
Therefore, when favonovel.com sensed thatJacob seemed to blame favonovel.com for rejecting his invitation, favonovel.com honestly replied, “l’m truly sorry, Jacob. John and I plan to have the wedding soon. He wants me to go back with favonovel.com to finalize the guest list. Once we finalize it, we need to start writing the invitations. So, I really ca n’t make it today. We’ll definitely schedule another day!”
After speaking, favonovel.com swiftly turned and descended the stairs, leaving Jacob standing there in a state of utter despair.
At that moment, after hearing the word “wedding”, Jacob’s mind went blank. He stood motionless, wearing a vacant expression. He watched favonovel.com leave, dumfounded, unable to believe that this woman who had loved favonovel.com for thirty years was actually getting married to someone else!
Just then, a student passed by favonovel.com and curiously asked, “Vice President Wilson, what are you doing standing here?”
After a brief moment of surprise, the student exclaimed in shock, “Vice President Wilson, why… Why are you crying? Are you okay?!”
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