Chapter 15: Jealousy
It took Vivian Lowell ten seconds to process the meaning behind Julian Faulkner’s words. Seven o’clock, West Aethelburg Restaurant. He had just happened to pass by. Calculating the timeframe, that would have been right when she and Eleanor Rhodes first arrived, sat down to order, and then Henry Sterling showed up. If she remembered correctly, Eleanor had stepped away for a moment, leaving her and Henry alone for a few minutes.
Looking at Julian’s frosty expression, Vivian suddenly realized something. She wondered if it was such a coincidence that when Julian passed by, Eleanor just happened to be absent. Did he only see Henry and her alone together? Henry was handsome, exuded an air of nobility, and was gentle with others. Because they had a former mentor-mentee relationship, they were on good terms and occasionally kept in touch for work. It was no wonder Julian had misunderstood.
"Um..." Vivian thought for a moment about how to explain before saying, "Henry and I—"
Before she could finish, her phone rang, signaling an incoming WhatsApp message. Holding the phone in her hand, the pop-up notification displayed a preview. It was a brief message from Henry. "Did you get home safely?"
Vivian unlocked her phone to reply. In front of her, Julian’s expression darkened even further. He turned his back to her and continued preparing the noodles, clearly having no intention of speaking to her anymore.
Vivian fell silent as she stared at his aloof back that seemed to push people a thousand miles away. Fine. If he wanted to act so cold and distant, she couldn’t be bothered to explain herself anyway. She had a clear conscience. Nothing was going on between her and Henry, so why should Julian question her with that "my wife is on a date with another man" look? Besides, they were only a married couple in name!
Feeling completely justified, Vivian emptied her shopping bags into the fridge, planning to come back and make a late-night snack for Grandma Faulkner once Julian was done. Leaving the kitchen, she huffed her way into the living room. Grandma Faulkner was sitting in front of the TV, listening to Peking opera. Vivian couldn’t understand the high-pitched singing, but she sat down next to the elderly woman anyway.
"Grandma, I’ll keep you company!" Vivian said obediently, pouring her a cup of hot water. "Julian is busy in there, so I’ll wait until he’s done to make you your snack!"
Hearing this, Grandma Faulkner turned to look at her. "There’s no need! Julian is making a late-night snack for you. Just stay here, keep me company while I watch TV, and wait for the food to be ready!"
Huh? Julian was making a snack for her?
Vivian didn’t believe it for a second! Surely, it was meant for Grandma Faulkner, and the old lady was just saying that on purpose to play matchmaker! Convinced she had seen right through Grandma’s intentions, Vivian didn’t want to disappoint her. She kept her mouth shut and sat properly beside the old lady to watch the show.
The Peking opera was a bit dull. Vivian couldn’t appreciate it, though Grandma Faulkner watched with immense interest. Having been busy all day, Vivian was on the verge of falling asleep when the savory aroma of noodles wafted over from the kitchen.
It was braised beef noodles! Smelling the rich scent of meat, Vivian suddenly felt a little hungry. Due to the sunny day doll incident tonight, the atmosphere between the three of them had been quite awkward, so she hadn’t eaten much at dinner.
Now, peeking her head over the back of the sofa, she locked eyes with Julian just as he walked out of the kitchen.
"Go on," Grandma Faulkner urged, gently poking Vivian to signal her to go help him.
"Okay!" Vivian stood up immediately. She went into the kitchen and helped bring out the remaining two bowls of noodles.
Sitting at the dining table, she stared at the braised beef noodles in front of her and couldn’t help but marvel. As the CEO of the Faulkner Group, Julian was already incredibly busy with work. She never expected him to be such a good cook! Smelling the rich broth and seeing the chewy noodles, Vivian wanted to dig in right away.
Grandma Faulkner came over and sat beside her. Seeing this, Julian turned and headed toward the stairs, preparing to go up to the second floor.
Vivian was dumbfounded. What did he mean by this? Was he not going to eat?
From the servants’ quarters nearby, the villa’s housekeeper, Ms. Shaw, walked over. She held her phone with WhatsApp open, showing Grandma Faulkner and Vivian a message Julian had just sent.
"Madam, Young Madam, this..." Ms. Shaw looked terrified.
In the chat box labeled "Young Master," Julian’s message glared back at them: "Come eat the remaining bowl of beef noodles."
Ms. Shaw was a mess of confusion. She had been getting ready to wash up and go to bed. Who knew Julian would pull a stunt like this!
"Well..." Grandma Faulkner was equally surprised. She turned around to see her eldest grandson had already gone upstairs and returned to his room. From the look of his retreating back, his decision left absolutely no room for argument.
"Just sit down," Grandma Faulkner sighed at Ms. Shaw. Puzzled, she turned to Vivian and asked, "Julian looks a bit upset. Did something happen?
"Actually, he didn’t just get upset now. He’s been unhappy ever since he got home! He even insisted on making my late-night snack tonight.
"When I asked him where you were, he said he didn’t know. This..."
Grandma Faulkner had no idea what was going on, but she sensed things were far from simple.
Vivian put down the chopsticks she had already picked up. She twitched her nose. Beneath the savory aroma of the noodles, she could almost smell a faint trace of sour jealousy in the air.
Oh my god! Vivian’s mind buzzed. Could it be that Julian was jealous?!
Was he angry that she had dinner with Henry? Did he think she wouldn’t come back to make Grandma’s snack tonight, and, afraid that Grandma would worry, he took the initiative to cook instead? But then why did he make three bowls? Was his original plan to make them for himself, Grandma Faulkner, and Ms. Shaw?
Vivian didn’t think so! But it couldn’t have been for her either! If he thought she wasn’t coming home tonight, why would he leave a bowl of noodles for her?
Unable to figure it out, Vivian scratched her head, abruptly stood up, and marched toward the stairs. No, she still needed to explain things to Julian!
Back in the dining room, Grandma Faulkner saw Vivian leaving and quickly called out, "Vivian, where are you going? Are you not eating?"
"I’m eating!" Vivian called back over her shoulder. "I’m going to go check on Julian. Grandma, I’ll just say a few words to him and come right back down to eat with you. Wait for me!"
Grandma Faulkner beamed at her words. "Go on, go on."
She was delighted. Honestly, she wished her grandson and granddaughter-in-law would spend even more time together.
But as for these noodles... Grandma Faulkner didn’t want them to get soggy from sitting out too long. She turned to Ms. Shaw and instructed, "Take this up to the young couple! Just take one bowl up, and bring two small serving bowls with it!"
Grandma Faulkner chuckled to herself. They could share it together!