Chapter 92
The car salled past the sidewalk and continued on its way. Naomi paused, then turned to glance at
Scott.
The roads were lined by neat rows of trees and hedges, but a couple of days ago, the tree branches were trimmed by the city council, leaving behind bare–looking branches that cast shadows on Scott’s chiseled face in the moonlight.
Now that they were an hour outside of the hustle and bustle of the city, the roads were exceptionally quiet, and even the streetlights seemed to glow brighter than they did in the city. Although the windows were closed, the light still spilled into the car, illuminating Scott’s chiseled features and expressionless face.
Naomi stared at him for a moment, then finally turned away.
Perhaps Scott wanted to speak to her.
The car made a turn at the intersection and pulled into a parking space at the front of Naomi’s apartment complex. Scott put the car into park and switched off the ignition. Then, he flung the car door open and got out.
Naomi froze for a moment, then got out of the car as well.
Perhaps Scott wanted to have the conversation outside.
Naomi strode toward him, but to her surprise, Scott turned and made his way toward the stairwell, as though they were going home together.
Naomi was stunned.
Scott already took a few steps when he realized Naomi did not follow. He turned to glance at her, still standing in front of the car in bewilderment. “Aren’t you coming?”
Naomi was puzzled by this.
wat
She stared straight at him; he was just as she remembered, but at the same time, everything felt
different.
The way Scott was acting this evening was out of the ordinary. Naomi thought that perhaps he wanted to talk to her while he sent her up to her unit, then left after she went into the house.
Naomi contemplated this for a moment, then strode over to him. “Is there something you need to say to my parents?”
This was the only explanation she could think of; perhaps Scott wanted to speak to her parents, and that was why
he wanted to go upstairs.
It would not be strange if he did that.
Scott stared back at her. Naomi’s bright, twinkling eyes were illuminated by the soft glow of the
Chapter 92
streetlights. “Isn’t it rude of me not to visit my in–laws now that I’m in town?”
Naomi froze at this.
His…his in–laws?
Was that why he decided to send her home?
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This was not the answer Naomi expected at all; she thought he would want to speak to her parents over something business–related, and never once thought he would want to simply visit them.
However, most importantly, they were no longer his in–laws.
Naomi opened her mouth to correct him, but realized that perhaps it was not her place to do so; the Lawsons were a courteous bunch, and even though they were divorced, it did not mean that she could dismiss their relationship, even if it happened in the past.
It was not wrong of Scott to want to visit her parents, but if anything, she would prefer it if he referred to them as “Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin” instead.
Perhaps he was just calling them his in–laws out of respect.
Naomi did not know how to respond to this at all. Her parents already found out about Scott and Olivia, and she was worried that they would get mad at him if he were to show up at their door. After some thought, she said to him, “They’ve probably already gone to bed now, thanks for showing up, anyway. Don’t worry, I’ll let them know you stopped by tomorrow.”
She decided it was best to keep Scott away from her house, lest her parents unleash their wrath on
him.
Scott stared at her with an unreadable expression. He could tell from the reluctant look on her face. that he was not welcome at all.
He lifted his head to glance up at the building, right at the fifth–floor balcony.
Naomi followed his gaze, and she froze when she realized what he was looking at.
Her balcony faced the entrance of the apartment complex, and at this moment, the lights were on inside the house, meaning that her parents were still awake.
They were probably up waiting for her; Naomi should have realized this.
Scott turned to look at her. “Let’s go.”
Naomi blushed in embarrassment at her little white lie being exposed.
Scott turned and made his way toward the stairwell.
Naomi knew there was no stopping him now, so she followed.
Naomi and her parents lived on the fifth floor, and their unit did not have access to the elevator. Although this might have proved to be inconvenient for older people, Naomi’s parents loved the fact that they could get a good workout in by just going up and down the building. Besides, the rooftop
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was just above them, where Donna and Dean planted a little garden of their own that they would visit every day. They grew the vegetables that they harvested and cooked themselves, which were organic and pesticide–free.
Naomi and Scott strode into the stairwell. This was a rather rundown apartment complex, so the stairwell could just barely accommodate two people, so Scott led the way while Naomi followed him.
A lightbulb hung above their heads, just barely illuminating the stairwell and casting its dim glow over the two of them.
Naomi and Scott made their way up the stairs in silence, their footsteps echoing loud and clear in the
stairwell.
Naomi was still engrossed in her thoughts. She knew her parents were not too pleased with Scott, and she tried to avoid letting the three of them meet. The truth was, there were only a few rare occasions that Scott would even see Dean and Donna, so she was not too worried about that. She never once
dreamed that Scott would willingly visit them himself.
She was worried that Dean and Donna would give Scott a hard time. after all, he was still technically a guest, and technically he did not mistreat her at throughout their marriage, so she prayed that her parents would loosen up.
She was wondering what she could do to make her parents go easy on Scott. She was so engrossed in this that she missed a step and felt her leg give out from underneath her.
She instinctively grabbed onto the railing for support, but all of a sudden, Scott’s arm reached out and pulled her right into his embrace.
