< Chapter470
Chapter470
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Tanya was completely stunned, wondering if her eyes had betrayed her again. But everything was so clear: Ashley holding Betty’s hand, Zark’s smile, and so on.
This told her it wasn’t a dream.
Ashley was hanging out with Zark and Betty. The atmosphere between the three of them, and the fact that Betty was holding Ashley’s hand, not Zark’s, showed that this wasn’t their first dinner together.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
Could Ashley be the “Aunt” Betty had mentioned many times before?
But… how was that possible?
A splinter of doubt wedged itself into her certainty. Last year’s memory surfaced unbidden–Zark approaching Ashley during the Speed summit, his body language leaning in with deliberate ease.
Then came the recent galas: whenever Ashley and Tim appeared, Zark would go to chat with them, lingering long after obligatory pleasantries.
She’d rationalized it before–diplomatic courtesy, networking pragmatism. But now? The pattern crystallized into something more intimate. Could it be… Zark was into Ashley?
No.
That was impossible.
Tanya froze, disbelief rooting her to the spot. Ashley and Zark had known each other for a long time. If Ashley were his type, he would have fallen for her long ago.
Moreover, she didn’t think Ashley was someone Zark would be crazy about.
Perhaps she was overthinking. Even though they were having dinner together, it didn’t necessarily mean Zark had fallen for her…
Seeing Tanya standing still, Mark walked over.“Tanya, are you alright?”
Tanya snapped back to reality and said, “I’m fine.”
“Let’s go in.”
“Okay.”
A little after 8 am the next day, Zark received a call from Ashley.
When he arrived, she was already waiting for him at the entrance of her neighborhood. Then, she handed him the cake and toy.
Zark took them.“Baking a cake is time–consuming, but you already had it done by morning. You must have gotten up very early, right?”
Ashley got up at around 4:30 am, but she said, “I went to bed early last night, so I’m okay.”
“Thank you.” Zark felt her care for Betty and glanced at the mid–range neighborhood behind her. “Do you live here now?”
He only knew that she had moved out from Chase’s place, but he had no idea where her new house was.
“Mm,” Ashley said.“I should go. Bye.”
“See you around.”
Ashley turned and went back home.
Zark stood there like a lovesick statue until she completely disappeared. Then, he got in his car and drove off.
Sam would go to Betty’s birthday, so Chase had someone book a private room at the restaurant in advance.
Betty returned home from school in the afternoon. When she saw the cake and the plush toy, she was overjoyed. In the end, she decided to take the plush toy with her to the restaurant. It was almost as tall as she was.
When Zark and Betty arrived at the restaurant, Chase, Tanya, and Sam were already there.
Zark pushed open the door. Tanya saw the rabbit plush toy Betty was holding and immediately recognized it as the one she saw Ashley holding at the mall.
10:47
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< Chapter470
Meru
So the woman Betty had mentioned several times was really Ashley!
Betty was very happy. As soon as she entered, she ran over to Sam.“Sam, this is the plush toy my aunt gave me. It’s cute and pretty, right?!”
Sam didn’t actually dislike pink. As long as it was pretty and cute, he liked it too. Hearing that, he nodded approvingly. “Yes.”
Then, he gave Betty the gift he had prepared for her.
After thanking Sam, Betty couldn’t help but say, “My aunt also made a cake for me. It’s blue, and I love it!”
After that, she happily asked Zark to help her open the cake.
Hearing Betty repeatedly mentioning her aunt, Ethan raised an eyebrow.“She made a cake for Betty? That was sweet. Zark, are you sure you two are just friends?”
Just from Ashley’s effort in making the cake so early in the morning, Zark clearly felt her care for Betty.
Although Chase and Sam were present, Zark couldn’t help but show a gentle smile.
If Tanya hadn’t been sure whether Zark liked Ashley or not, then at this moment, after seeing that gentle smile on his face, she was certain that he had fallen for Ashley!
It all clicked into place then–his phone had been playing hide–and–seek for months. Where he used to answer on the first ring, her calls started drifting into voicemail limbo, sometimes not even getting a “declined” notification…
But what did Zark like about Ashley?
Tanya pursed her lips. She didn’t understand. What was so good about Ashley?
Ethan immediately understood what Zark’s involuntary smile meant. He exclaimed, “You finally admit you like her!”
Chase also smiled when he saw Zark’s smile.
The private room was lively.
After a while, Betty started making
a
wish.
After making her wish, Zark helped Betty cut the cake.
Sam was the first to get a piece of cake. He took a
bite and his eyes
lit up.“It’s delicious.”
Just as delicious as his mother’s!
It reminded Sam that he hadn’t seen his mother for a while. Every birthday growing up, his mom would bake him a cake–the kind with slightly lopsided frosting but always perfect sprinkles.
Ethan didn’t like sweets, but after two bites, he couldn’t help but say, “Wow, yummy. She’s good. Zark, you’re so lucky.”
Zark’s smile flickered. His eyes darted to Chase before he could stop
himself.
Chase was also eating the cake. But he was only taking small bites and didn’t say anything.
Knowing it was made by Ashley, Tanya didn’t want to eat it. But after thinking it over, she took a bite. Honestly, it was quite delicious.
Hearing Ethan’s praise, she couldn’t help but think sarcastically. Perhaps Zark liked Ashley for being a good wife and mother?
As she thought this, she noticed Zark’s gaze towards Chase.
If it were usual, she wouldn’t think much of it.
But this time, she understood what Zark’s gaze meant.
Regardless, Chase and Ashley were still husband and wife.
So, Zark really felt that having a wife like Ashley was a blessing?
He was envious of Chase and looking forward to Chase divorcing Ashley so he could officially be with Ashley?
Tanya suddenly realized that perhaps Zark liked Ashley even more than she had thought.
< Chapter471
