Chapter 26 It's Fine. I Know You Didn’t Mean It, Mr. Flint.
Sydney's head felt dizzy as they talked by the car with the cold wind blowing, and she stumbled.
Julien's eyes darkened. Then, he directly took the phone from her hand, hung up the call, picked her up, and went to the other side of the car.
Sydney was startled at being swept off her feet so suddenly, and the umbrella almost flew out of her hand. She quickly tugged at the man's shirt with one hand. The expression on her small face was cold. "Julien Flint, put me down!"
Julien ignored her. He opened the passenger seat door and shoved her in.
"Are you done, Mr. Flint?" Seeing the man fasten her seatbelt for her, she said coldly, "I can hail a cab. You don't have to care!"
They barely talked in their six years of marriage, let alone Julien caring for her. However, in just a few days after their divorce, she had met with Julien several times.
When did Port City become so small?
Julien saw how much discomfort she was in and felt even more irritated at how stubborn she was. "The weather is bad. No one will pick you up even if you tried." "It's my business whether or not I get a cab." "Sydney." Julien leaned over and approached Sydney. His cold breath wrapped around her, and his eyes were cold. "Do you have to be so stubborn?"
The space inside the car was cramped, and Sydney had nowhere to hide the moment he came over.
Her face was freezing. Just as she was about to speak, she inadvertently brushed over the man's back and realized that she could not shield him with the umbrella when he carried her into the car. It was raining heavily outside, and most of his back was wet.
Sydney's eyes trembled. The words she was about to speak disappeared in her mouth as she quickly averted her eyes.
Julien looked at her and continued to pull the seat belt.
They both were speechless and stunned.
When Sydney came back to her senses, she grabbed the seat belt from his hand and inserted it into the buckle.
Julien's Adam's apple bobbed. "Sorry."
"It's fine. I know you didn't mean it, Mr. Flint." Sydney could not help but mock Julien when she thought of what President Miles said when they were playing cards. "Mr. Flint is a 'saint' that only appears once in a millennium!"
Julien frowned at the woman's cold words. However, he quickly got into the driver's seat and started the car.
He asked, "Where do you live?"
"Shallow Bay," Sydney answered coldly and looked out the window with her chin on her hand.
The two did not speak again, and the car was dead silent. The only sound came from the subtle swaying of the windshield wipers.
Sydney was very uncomfortable from getting drenched in the rain.
Now that the car was warm, her body felt both hot and cold. Not long after, she got so drowsy that she slumped into the seat.
The car arrived at Shallow Bay, but Julien did not know which building Sydney lived in. When he saw that her face was flushed, he figured that she had probably got a cold and detoured to find a pharmacy. Then, he got out and bought a box of cold medicine.
"Sydney." Julien patted the woman's cheek. "Take the cold meds."
He called her a few times, but she was still unresponsive and even coughed a few times. Thus, he ate the medicine, pinched the woman's jaw, and forcibly fed the cold medicine into her mouth. Sydney's lips were a little cold, but they were very soft and tempting. Julien could not control himself from deepening the kiss.
Suddenly, the phone on the armrest of the car vibrated.
Julien also snapped back to his senses and only realized, in shock, what he did when he glanced at Sydney's slightly swollen lips. His temples throbbed as he answered the phone. "Julien, are you done talking about the deal?" Lyra's soft voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Yeah."
"Come pick me and Velma up at Auline Plaza," Lyra said." Velma and I came out to shop, but we didn't expect it to rain so suddenly. The driver has gone to pick Jay up from school and can't leave, so I'm calling you instead."
Julien looked at Sydney in the passenger seat and said in a low voice, "Okay, I'll be there in 15 minutes."
"Drive safe."
There was a faint perfume smell in the car, a perfume that Sydney often used. The more Julien smelled it, the more irritated he got.
He got out of the car with the umbrella and called Zack, informing him that he was at the south gate of Shallow Bay.
About five minutes later, Zack drove over.
"President Flint." Zack came over with a set of clothes and was a little surprised to see Julien standing by the car. Then, he looked at the car behind Julien.
He thought to himself, 'Hey, isn't that Ms. Raines's car?'
Julien took the clothes and the car keys before he looked at the car behind him with deep eyes. "You drive her car and send her to the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Tell the maids to take her temperature." "Understood," Zack answered without further questioning it.
As Julien drove to Auline Plaza, he occasionally remembered Sydney's stubborn look and her cold yet soft lips. The more he thought, the more annoyed he became.
He lowered the window a little and only felt better with the cold breeze blowing in.
When he arrived at Auline Plaza, Julien soon saw Lyra and Velma standing at the entrance, both carrying several shopping bags in their hands.
He opened the umbrella, got out of the car, and quickly walked over to them. "It's so cold. Why didn't you wait inside?"
As Lyra saw him coming, the corners of her mouth revealed a faint smile. "Aunty and I just came out. We didn't think you'd arrive just in time."
To the side, Velma snickered. "We didn't just come out. Lyra knew that you were coming so she came out to wait for you! Even though it looks like she bought a lot, she only bought a coat for herself. The rest are all clothes for you."
"Aunty." Lyra's cheeks reddened slightly at the comment. "If you keep saying that, Julien will think that I'm not reserved at all."
"Geez, we're already a family. Why are you still calling me Aunty so politely?"
Lyra blushed even harder.
"It's cold outside. Get in the car first." Julien took the shopping bags from Lyra's hands and held the umbrella over her head.
Once Lyra was in the car, he went to pick Velma up.
After Velma got into the car, she said, "Lyra, look how protective Julien is of you. He let you get in the car first before his own mother. Tsk tsk, he's so biased. If you two get married, he'll probably forget about
me."
The smile on Lyra's lips grew deeper. However, afraid of being teased by Velma again, she changed the subject and asked Julien, "Is this Zack's car?"
"Yeah." Julien's eyes moved, and he said in a low voice, "Zack sent my car for servicing."
"No wonder you drove his car to pick us up."
Just then, Velma also interjected. "I heard from Lyra that you went to Red Plum Resort to talk about a deal and bought a few boxes of snacks for her. Let me try some too."
At that time, Julien just wanted to confirm if the person in President Smith's room was Sydney or not, but he ended up leaving the resort with Sydney.
He had forgotten to buy the snacks.
He said, "I was too busy talking about business and forgot about the snacks. I have their boss's phone number. I'll have them send a few boxes to the house tomorrow."
"Look at you." Velma chided him. "Lyra always has you on her mind when she goes shopping. She bought all sorts of things for you, and you forgot to buy a simple snack for her." Then, she took Lyra's hand and smiled at her. "Lyra, have dinner at my place tonight. You just recovered, so I'll make some soup for you."
Lyra smiled faintly. "Thank you, Aunty."
Just then, the phone in her bag vibrated a few times.
Lyra took her phone out, saw the contents of the WhatsApp message and the picture, and the smile on her face froze.