Chapter 2713
"Forget it. Let's not talk about it anymore. We should be happy that we've finally caught the culprit who was trying
to screw with me," Nicole said, slowly regaining her composure.
"That's right, and this deserves a celebration," Lulu agreed.
She too had come to the conclusion that Chloe was reaping what she sowed.
"Mommy!" Nolan and Lana shouted as they pounced on Nicole, who went on to ruffle their hair.
"You're back," she greeted.
"Mummy, you came back so early today," they said, as they were used to arriving home before she did.
"Yep, I took half a day off," Nicole replied without giving them an explanation.
"Hi, Nicole," Tia came over to greet Nicole. 'Til get going then."
Tia figured that since the kids had arrived home safely, she should return to her house at the back.
"Tia, please stay back and have dinner with us," June invited.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Let's eat together. You should bring Mrs. Wallace Sr. along with you as well," Lulu echoed.
"No, I better get..."
Tia was about to decline their invitation when Nicole interrupted her and said, "No worries. It's a gathering today.
You should join us."
With everyone extending her a warm welcome, Tia figured that she had no choice but to accept their invitation.
During dinner, everyone in the family gathered in the dining room.
Samuel and Spencer were taking care of June and Lulu, while Nicole and Jared were whispering to each other,
talking about something not within earshot of the rest. Tia and Stanley were the only ones who were awkwardly
silent at the dining table.
Upon noticing how silent Tia was, Gloria said, "Come on, Tia. Don't be shy with us."
"Thanks," Tia nodded, but she continued grabbing the dishes that were within her reach only.
Tia was not shy whatsoever. However, she was evidently unnerved by Stanley, who was sitting directly across from
her.
Gloria, who had seemed to pick up on the tension, proceeded to stare at Tia and Stanley. She was unable to
understand why they were so uncomfortable around each other.
Mrs. Wallace Sr. instantly understood how Tia was feeling, and as she did not want Tia to be put on the spot, she
began talking to Gloria to divert her attention.
Upon noticing that Gloria's eyes were no longer on her, Tia breathed a mental sigh of relief. She knew that Gloria
was just being kind, but she really could not stand all that attention from her.
"Try this," Stanley said.
Tia was petrified. As it turned out, he had swapped the dishes right in front of her with those she preferred.
Although she had not seen him doing it, she knew it was him by the sound of his voice.
After Stanley had positioned the new dishes in front of her, he remained silent and went on with his usual business
of eating. He was not as calm as he seemed, but he knew that Tia was feeling very uneasy. As such, he did not want
to cause her any further discomfort.
"Oh my, what's going on here?" Lulu blinked her eyes and whispered to Nicole.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmNicole shook her head, indicating that she was not familiar with the scene, and that she too felt that Stanley's
behavior was rather puzzling.
"Is he?" June crossed her middle and index finger, wanting to ask if Stanley was cheating on two women at once.
"I don't think so," Lulu replied.
She believed that no member of the Riddle family would do such a thing, as none of them had ever been known to
do so before.
In response, June frowned. "Me neither, but how can you explain this?"
Suddenly, Stanley's phone rang.
The moment he answered the call, Cherry's shrieking voice blared out, "Stanley, my heels are broken. Pick me up
now!"
"I'm eating dinner..."
Before Stanley could finish, however, the phone call ended. At first, he was perplexed and wanted to ignore
Cherry's request, but once he realized what Cherry's intentions were, he looked up and met Tia's gaze.
And after a short pause, Stanley informed Gloria, "Mom, I’m heading out for a while."
With that, Stanley placed his cutlery down and left the house in a hurry.