The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

It was time to get off work again.

Whitney hesitated whether to head to the underground parking lot.

When I left this morning, Charles refused to join me. I don’t think he’ll pick me up after work, right? But if I don’t go

to the underground parking lot and he really did come to drive me home, he’ll be mad when he doesn’t see me. We

only argued once yesterday, but the atmosphere between us is really suffocating. There are still eleven months

until the end of the contract, and we’ll likely meet each other every day. I can’t keep avoiding him.

After some deliberation, Whitney decided to text him, asking him if he was coming, and then apologize to him.

Charles and I are only a married couple by contract, so I was wrong to overstep my boundary and ask about his

past. More than that, I shouldn’t have brought up the matters between him and Gwendolyn.

She tapped on the WhatsApp icon on her phone and immediately saw Charles’ name at the top of the screen.

Just as she was ready to type her message, Lana suddenly came over from the side.

Whitney quickly turned off her phone so Lana wouldn’t see anything.

“Tch, what’s there to hide? Were you texting Isaac? Is it because you want him to pick you up after work? What car

does he drive?”

Whitney was a little offended. “I don’t know what car Isaac drives, and I don’t have a relationship with him. But I

doubt you’ll believe me, so I won’t repeat myself again in the future.”

Lana rolled her eyes and sashayed back to her desk.

Gripping her phone, Whitney became hesitant to text Charles again even though she had made up her mind earlier.

At that moment, her superior suddenly approached her. “Come to my office, Whitney. I have a task for you

tomorrow.”

“Sure.” She put away her phone and followed her superior into the office.

Seeing that she was a fast learner, her superior provided her with something new to work on, allowing her to tackle

them at her pace.

Their meeting lasted for twenty minutes.

By the time Whitney left the office, almost all her colleagues were gone. Only a few were still working overtime.

Whitney looked at the time before expeditiously packing her things and taking the elevator downstairs.

She looked around the underground parking lot and didn’t spot Charles’ luxury car.

It’s been over ten minutes. If Charles had been here, he definitely would have called to reprimand me after getting

anxious from waiting for me. But he didn’t…

Standing in the parking lot, Whitney was at a loss for what to do.

Suddenly, she heard heavy footsteps coming from behind her. Thinking that it was Charles, she spun back in

surprise, only to see that it was Isaac.

He smiled at her and explained, “Mr. Newton had something to do today and didn’t come to the office all day. I’m

guessing he has already returned to the Newton residence. I have a car. How about I send you back home, Mrs.

Newton?”

Disappointment swirled in Whitney’s eyes as she lowered her head.

“It’s all right. I also have some things to do, so I may be returning to the Newton residence a bit later than usual.

You be careful on your way back.”

Seeing that she genuinely wasn’t planning to join him instead of just being polite, Isaac said, “All right, then. You be

careful on your way back home as well, Mrs. Newton.”

Whitney nodded and returned to the elevator, planning to leave the building from the ground floor.

I don’t have much money left, and the Newton residence is quite far. I don’t think I have enough to get there by

taxi.

After contemplating her next move, she took a bus to a subway to familiarize herself with her future commute.

Meanwhile, inside the lab, Benedict was lying on the bed, focusing on writing something.

Zendaya, who had returned from kindergarten, was sitting across from him and doing her arts and crafts

homework.

“What are you writing, Benny?” She tilted her head and looked at the paper Benedict had written on.

With a serious expression, Benedict, while writing, answered, “I’m planning how to remodel the oceanarium. Then,

I’ll hand the plan to Charles. He’ll buy the animals listed on this paper and renovate the oceanarium.”

That piqued Zendaya’s curiosity even more as she moved closer to him and stared at his paper.

Although he was only five years old, he was brilliant. While he was a little rusty in drawing the plans of the

oceanarium, it was a good blueprint, so much so that even Zendaya could understand it.

Moments later, Zendaya noticed he didn’t include the dolphinarium on the paper.

Her smile promptly vanished. “Where’s the dolphinarium? Do you not want it? Where will my Juju live in the future?”

Benedict scoffed, “Only you will like such immature oceanic creatures. It doesn’t match my style. I want to raise

vicious animals that can eat you in one bite!”

Zendaya was scared out of her wits. She sobbed out, “You’re lying! You had so much fun with Juju yesterday, yet

now you’re calling her immature and want to destroy her home! A-And you want to feed me to scary animals! Do

you not love me anymore, Benny?”

Benedict couldn’t stand watching girls crying. “Do you like Juju that much?”

Zendaya nodded earnestly, her aggrieved tears hanging on her eyelashes. “Uncle Charles bought Juju for my one-

year-old birthday. She has kept me company for four years. I have been visiting her often. She’s my best friend.”

Anyone would feel sorry for her if they looked at her at that moment.

Zendaya was aware that the oceanarium belonged to her brother and that he could remodel it however he wanted.

If he didn’t want the dolphinarium anymore, then Juju would be homeless.

As she had no say in what happened to the place, she could only use her tears to change Benedict’s mind.

Benedict did feel bad when he saw her cry. He went to the bedside cabinet while holding his IV drip and grabbed

her a piece of tissue paper with disdain. “Here! Wipe your tears away. I hate girls who cry a lot. Cry again, and I’ll

ignore you.”

Zendaya accepted the tissue paper and wiped her cheeks dry. “If I listen to you and don’t cry anymore, will you not

tear down the dolphinarium?”

Benedict lifted his chin and asked mischievously, “If you can only choose one between Juju and me, who will you

choose?”

What kind of question is that? Zendaya was confounded. If I pick Juju, will he no longer acknowledge me as his twin

sister?

Fearfully, Zendaya answered, “I’ll… choose you, Benny.”

Benedict was a little surprised she made her decision that swiftly. “Why? Didn’t you say you love Juju and can’t live

without her?”

“Because I can’t live without you even more. Juju is my best friend, but you’re my best friend and my family. So, If I

have to choose, I’ll choose you.”

Benedict was delighted to hear that. Using his free hand, he mimicked his parents’ movements and patted

Zendaya’s head. “Since you’re so well-behaved, I’ll keep the dolphinarium for you!”

“Yay! You’re the best, Benny!”

Unbeknownst to them, Cedrick and Gwendolyn had been listening to their conversation outside the room.

When they heard Benedict changed his mind, they were relieved. His mental state seems to have improved after

he visited the oceanarium. Small animals really do seem to be therapeutic.