Chapter 51 You Can’t Tell A Lie
After the two children fell asleep, Everleigh tucked them in and left the bedroom.
There was an unread text message on her phone from Stainley.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.”
After reading the message, Everleigh looked hesitant. After a while, she replied, “Okay, thank you.”
The person on the receiving end seemed to be waiting by his phone. In the next second, he replied, “You’re welcome. It’s on the way anyway. You should go to bed. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Stainley had always taken good care of her. Although she tried to convince herself that his concern was because they were acquaintances, or perhaps a mutual friendship like Christopher and her, her intuition told her that it was more than that.
After staring at her phone for a long time, she sent a message to Christopher, “Last time you said that your friend had a car to sell, please get me his contact.”
…
The next morning, the sky was dark. Summers in Ocpeace City were always filled with thunderstorms.
As soon as Everleigh stepped out of the building, she saw Stainley’s car.
“You didn’t have breakfast, right?” Asked Stainley. He reached behind him, brought out a bag from the backseat, and handed it to her. “I got you some breakfast.”
“Thank you.” Everleigh took it from him, then looked inside the bag and saw a sandwich and coffee. She smiled and said, “I’m already troubling you by asking for transport to work, but I did not even think to bring breakfast for you. Instead, you brought breakfast for me. I’m so sorry for the trouble.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. You’re on the way anyway. I bought the food somewhere near your place too.”
Everleigh nodded thoughtfully, opened the sandwich, and chatted with Stainley while eating.
“Anyway, I’ll be at Jackson Hospital for a while. I can fetch you to and from work.”
“Thank you, but there’s no need. I’m getting a car soon so I can drive there myself.”
“You’ll drive?” Stainley was stunned, and the look in his eyes was blank. “You’ve gotten a car?”
“Sort of,” Everleigh smiled and said casually, “Christopher has a friend who has a car that is as good as new. The mileage is pretty low, and he’s willing to sell it. The price is within my budget, so I’ve decided to buy it from him.”
“I see,” Stainley said; his face fell.
The atmosphere in the car was a little weird. After a long silence, Stainley said, “Everleigh, to be clear, fetching you to and from work is really convenient. Please don’t misunderstand my actions.”
“I don’t.” Everleigh looked at him in surprise. “Why do you think so?”
Before Stainley could reply, she seemed to have thought of something. She smiled at him and said, “Stainley, you don’t think I’m looking for an excuse to avoid you, do you?”
“Aren’t you?” His face was still warm, but his eyes were steadfast and calm.
“Of course not,” Everleigh denied and said in a teasing tone, “You think I’d buy a car just to avoid you? Where would I get the money? Stainley, I think you overestimated me.”
“Since you want to save money, isn’t it more convenient to take my car?”
“Alastair and Adrienne need to go to school too, right? The summer vacation is almost over. When school starts, it would be inconvenient if I didn’t have a car.”
Avoiding Stainley was one of the reasons why she wanted a car. However, she was already planning to get one for some time now. It was just a coincidence that the opportunity arrived. Everleigh was not entirely lying.
There was a silence in the car for a while, and then they stopped at a red light. While gripping the steering wheel, Stainley lowered his head and kept quiet for a while. Suddenly he said, “Everleigh, what if I said that even if the kids needed to go to school, you could call me whenever you needed help, and I’ll be there immediately? What excuse are you planning to come up with then?”
Everleigh was stunned and speechless for a moment.
Stainley sighed and raised his head slowly. “Everleigh, you can’t lie. From the moment we met, I knew you avoid eye contact when you’re lying.”
Everleigh held her sandwich and said nothing.
After a long time, the traffic light started counting down and turned green. He drove past the zebra crossing and headed straight for the T-junction.
She stared at Stainley’s fair, clean hands that were on the wheel. She’d never met someone more suitable to be a doctor than Stainley. He was neat, tidy, and also extremely empathetic.
Stainley said, “Since you’ve already made up your mind, then I won’t ask anymore. Just drive safely. If you ever have something you need help with, call me, okay?”
“Of course.” Everleigh agreed immediately. “I’ve troubled you a lot.”
“I know what you’re thinking. Whether you choose to remain single for your children or that guy, I respect your decision. However, we’ve been classmates for so many years. You don’t have to be so polite to me, or maybe, you can treat me like Christopher.”
When he mentioned Christopher, Everleigh forced herself to smile, “Okay.”
Although she said yes, she could not bring herself to do so.
How were Stainley and Christopher the same?
Christopher did not even think she was a woman, plus he was not the only one helping her. All these years, because of his lack of taste in women, she had to go through so much to help him clean his messes up.
Stainley was a really good man. He was one of the few men who still respected her, cared for her, and protected her, even though she bore children out of wedlock.
However, the more he was like this, the more she felt like she owed him. She did not want to trouble him even more.
After arriving at Jackson Hospital, the two separated at the entrance. Stainley headed for the wards while Everleigh went to the operating room where the crew was shooting today.
As soon as she arrived, the production assistant, Zack, came up to her and said, “Dr. Trevino, you’re finally here.”
“What’s wrong? Am I late?” Everleigh took a look at her watch. “Isn’t it eight-thirty?”
“You’re not late. You took a day off yesterday, so we didn’t think you’d come today. We were about to call and ask about you. Are you feeling better?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine.”
“That’s good. Have some water, Dr. Trevino.”
Zack’s hospitality made Everleigh confused. The other staff members were also looking at her strangely, making her feel like maybe she had horns growing out of her head.Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.
As they were talking, Selena walked out of the dressing room in her white coat. The moment she saw Everleigh, her face turned gloomy. She looked so scary, as if she wanted to gobble someone up.
Everleigh froze at her glare and stopped drinking her water. She looked at Selena cautiously, expecting her to come and cause more trouble for her.
Unexpectedly, Selena just stood in the distance and glared at her, and then said angrily, “What bad luck!” Then she turned and walked in the opposite direction. Even in the distance, she could hear Selena yelling at her assistant as if she had taken the wrong medication.
“What’s going on?” Everleigh asked Zack, who was next to her, “What’s wrong with her? Why is she so mad in the morning?”
Zack smiled meekly while wiping the sweat off his forehead. He looked like he just got off a rollercoaster ride. “Selena lost the endorsement this morning, so she’s in a bad mood. Except for the director and producer, she pretty much scolded everyone.”
“All that over the loss of an endorsement? What, doesn’t she have plenty of those?”
She was an A-list actress who had countless endorsements. Losing one or two wasn’t that big of a deal, was it?
“It’s not the same.” Zack looked around and said in a low voice, “Selena lost an endorsement from the Godfrey Group.”
The Godfrey Group?
Everleigh was shocked.