Chapter 33
That day, Freya didn’t pay any more attention to Matteo and Raven’s affairs.
She worked until almost nine, and just as she was finishing up, her phone rang her best friend Jessica calling.
Answering, she learned Jessica was drunk and needed a ride home from the restaurant.
Freya quickly finished her documents, grabbed her car keys, and left the office.
Twenty minutes later, she arrived at her destination.
As she walked toward the entrance, a little girl emerged from the parking lot.
Seeing the girl’s clear profile, Freya froze.
Bella? Shouldn’t she be in school in Country A? How… had she returned with Matteo?
Although her position didn’t grant her access to confidential company documents, she knew that Matteo’s development work in Country A would take some time to complete fully.
She had assumed Matteo was only returning briefly to handle some matters.
She never expected their daughter would come back too…
She didn’t know exactly when they had returned, but judging from the fact that she had seen Matteo early this morning, they must have been back for at least a day by now.
Yet her daughter hadn’t called her once to inform her about their return.
Thinking about this, Freya gripped her handbag tightly and quietly followed the small figure bouncing happily
ahead of her.
When they reached the lobby’s corner, Raven and several of Matteo’s friends appeared at the end of the hallway.
Freya immediately stepped aside to hide, then heard her daughter happily call out “Auntie Raven!” before quickly running forward and throwing herself into Raven’s arms.
Freya sat down on a nearby sofa with her back to them, using the plants and chair back to conceal herself.
“Bella, you’re back in the country too?”
“Because you came back, Auntie Raven, Daddy and I missed you so much that he finished his work early and brought me back! We specifically returned the day before your birthday so we wouldn’t miss it!”
“This is the necklace Daddy and I made for you by hand. Happy birthday, Auntie Raven!”
“Wow, you and your dad made this yourselves? That must have taken a lot of effort. You’re amazing, Bella. Auntie loves it, thank you!”
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Chapter 33
“I’m so glad you like it, Auntie Raven”
Isabella hugged Raven affectionately, “It’s been a week since I’ve seen you, Auntie Raven. I missed you so much. If I hadn’t been able to call you every day, I wouldn’t have been able to stay in Country A…”
“I missed you too, Bella.”
Just then, footsteps approached from the side.
Freya froze.
It was Matteo.
Even without seeing him, she could tell just from the sound of his footsteps.
The reason she could be so certain was that during their six or seven years of marriage, she had basically waited for him every day.
Matteo’s footsteps were just like the man himself–unhurried and composed.
Even with his close family members, he remained steady and seemingly indifferent, as if nothing could faze him even if the sky were falling.
She used to think nothing and no one in this world could disturb his composure.
But then Raven appeared.”
And suddenly ther
was an exception-
Lost in memories of the past, before Freya could think further, she heard her daughter call out “Daddy.”
Matteo’s friends all greeted him.
He responded briefly, then said to Raven, “Happy birthday.”
Raven smiled, “Thanks.”
“Daddy, didn’t you prepare other birthday gifts for Auntie Raven? Quick, give them to her!”
Suddenly, everything went quiet over there.
Then, one of Matteo’s friends burst out laughing and bent down to pinch Isabella’s cheek, “That’s a private gift your daddy prepared for Auntie Raven. He’ll probably give it to her in private. We shouldn’t interfere, haha~”
The others also chuckled suggestively.
Then, Matteo said, “I’ve already given it to her.”
“Huh? When?” Isabella pouted, “Daddy, you secretly went to see Auntie Raven without me again, hmph!”
Matteo’s friends burst into laughter.
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Chapter 33
But Freya remembered Raven’s visit to the company this morning.
He probably gave it to her then.
Raven smiled shyly and said, “Let’s not stand here, let’s go upstairs.”
The footsteps gradually faded away.
Freya’s mind went blank.
Her heart ached with countless tiny pinpricks.
After a long while, she finally came to her senses and silently took the elevator upstairs to help her friend down.
The private room where Jessica and Raven’s groups were dining was actually on the same floor.
As Freya was helping Jessica into the elevator, Levi, one of Matteo’s friends, paused in his steps.
Someone beside him asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I think I saw someone familiar.”
They had all grown up with Matteo and knew about Freya’s feelings for him.
To be honest, while Freya was beautiful, she was too quiet–pretty but unremarkable, not Matteo’s type.
Matteo kept his distance from her, and they didn’t think much of her either.
They hadn’t seen Freya many times, and when they did, they couldn’t be bothered to greet her.
Truthfully, Freya’s face had become somewhat blurred in his memory, and he wasn’t sure if he had seen correctly.
But even if it was really Freya, he didn’t care much.
He said nothing more and returned to the private room.
