Lost Me Gained Regret

Edith quickly changed the topic to avoid his guess, "Do you remember what day it is tomorrow?"

"What day?"

"Your own birthday, you goof!" Edith was exasperated. "It's the perfect day to invite Jane out and introduce her to your childhood buddies."

"Oh." Gregory was indifferent. "I forgot. We'll see."

"What do you mean we'll see?"

With a grand gesture, Edith declared, "I've got the place booked, and I'll handle the invites. You better muster up some liquid courage and sweep her off her feet."

After ending the call, the cleaning lady had just finished up and was leaving.

Gregory, fighting through the pain in his legs, slowly made his way to the bathroom and picked up the bathrobe Jane had worn.

After ensuring it was dry, he folded it neatly and placed it on the bedside table, right next to an ugly, but sentimentally valuable, bunny piggy bank.

It was a piggy bank from twenty years ago, handmade by her.

And now, another one, twenty years later, also handmade by her.

Fiddling with the piggy bank, an idea crossed Gregory's mind, leading him to make a call, "Ophelia, I need you to check something for me." "What do you need?"

"Check if Jane has any travel records from two years ago."

"Jane...? But I thought you two had..."

"Ophelia, that's none of your concern."

"My apologies, I overstepped. When do you need it?"

"As soon as possible."

Hanging up, Gregory felt a bit clearer about his thoughts.

Jane had mentioned she wasn't around Bryant during those two years.

And he hadn't heard from her at all.

The only possibility was that she was abroad.

If she was, then Bryant's influence wouldn't reach there, making it easier to track down her activities during that time.

As evening approached, I had just finished giving Ike a bath when I saw Christine storm in, clearly upset.

"What's wrong? Trouble with the store negotiation?"

Christine had come to Vista Town specifically to negotiate a lease for a new store, which would be a significant step for Janedream's brand development.

That afternoon, she had a meeting scheduled with a shopping center manager about it.

Christine, standing under the air conditioner vent to cool off, was livid, "It was a disaster. They outright refused to lease to us." "Why not?"

"Who knows."

"And they agreed to meet with you why?"

"Beats me."

Christine rolled her eyes, "You wouldn't believe it. They said founders like us couldn't possibly do well with a brand."

I frowned, "Founders like us?"

"Yeah."

The more Christine thought about it, the angrier she got, "What do they

by 'us'? They even a heretContent property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

of not being committed..."

"Could there be some misunderstanding?"

w

us

Meanwhile, Gregory faced his childhood friend Clarence, who was lounging on his sofa, "Did you really say that to Christine?"

"Yeah."

Clarence was nonchalant, "Greg, those types of people need a lesson, no need to thank me."

Gregory smiled wryly, sensing something off. Clarence, feeling a chill, thought he must be imagining things.

He explained, "I checked their

company info. The founder is Jane, who left you two years ago. Greg, you can't trust someone who plays both sides. I rejected them on the spot."

Gregory glanced at him.

Swn

Encouraged, Clarence went on, "Greg, trust me, I even told them you'd rather be alone than give her friend a second glance." Gregory's fists clenched, turning to Dailey for confirmation, "Did he really say that?"

Dailey, always stoic, just nodded.

Coffee stains dotted his dark shirt, a souvenir from when Christine had thrown her drink at Clarence, splashing him too.

Clarence looked at Gregory, expecting praise, "I did good, right? Letting that Jane know she can't expect anything from you..." Gregory was fuming. "Why didn't you discuss this with me first?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

Listening to Christine rant, I caught the name, "Greg?"

"Yeah, Greg."

Christine was furious, "Seems like he knows you. Said we should stay away, claiming with Greg around, Janedream won't stand a chance here in Vista Town."

I pondered silently, "Anything else?"

Christine added, "Said he's surrounded by real ladies, not someone indecisive like us."

I was taken aback, then chuckled, "He wouldn't have anyone else."

"Wait..." Christine paused, "You know this Greg?"

"Gregory."

Christine was even more outraged, "What's his deal? Acting nice to your face but pulling this behind your back?"

"It's probably not his doing."

I speculated, "Must be his friend's idea. He probably doesn't know..."

After all, he was still holding me close just last night.

My phone suddenly buzzed.

[Jane, tomorrow's Gregory's birthday. I've booked a spot, and he asked me to send you the location.]