Chapter 142: Nothing To Tell
It also came to Betty that, from how he tends to Cathryn, they were wrong to assume that Keith had a thing for Ada. There seems to be a great misunderstanding here, which might be shared with Ada as well.
She does not like Ada, though.
Ada had a cheap craze for things that were common in the bottom mass. Water flows lower while men go higher.
This is the law of nature, even though Betty had nothing against the poor, she wouldn't call Ada a friend.
Therefore, she decided to do something today.
She wanted to be frank with Ada and herself that their dreams should end now.
After lunch, they left in 2 cars. Amanda insisted on going with Jeremy, and Irving Walsh reluctantly took the remaining two men.
In the car, they chatted about their university days.
After staring at her phone the whole time, Amanda looked up and addressed the passengers.
"Hey, I just got a message from Toby."
Toby was a nickname for another schoolmate. The last time they heard, he was doing a food chain business with his father in Jonathan. Rich as they were worn, they were mostly not as talented businessmen as their parents. But still, the experience had given them better chances than starters.
"What is it?" Glancing at her mysterious face from the rearview mirror, Jeremy raised an interest. Betty simply sniffed that Amanda was always making a fuss.
"Ada Clinton is divorcing her wealthy old man. Toby heard that she might receive an asset of two hundred million dollars. But his kids were not happy with the pre-up, and now they are in a lawsuit."
Jeremy did not remark, and Betty sneered, "200 million after a marriage of two years?! I would be in court with her too if I were his child."
Amanda continued, "Well, apparently, she's having a headache now dealing with the case. I think she was looking for old friends to confide in. I saw she commented on your Facebook today, didn't she? Have you talked to her?"
"A bit, nothing to tell." Betty answered coldly and turned to ask Jeremy, "Was it not her spreading her own rumor that she and Keith were in a relationship and ready to go further after graduation?"
Keith was a man of the school, and his love status was naturally a popular concern. But he was a rather self-made person back then and stayed on good terms with anyone.
However, Ada did seem to be closer to him.
Both of them were in the hiking club and have hung out alone several times.
The news had spread quickly, and the gossip rose. Their relationship was like an open secret that needed no announcement.
But all the expectations went away with their graduation.
Keith went on with his study as a graduate student, while Ada returned to her home country. She was an adopted child, and her parents were immigrants there that owned a small grocery store.
Because of this quiet split, Betty was really shocked at first when she saw Cathryn Riley in the mirror. She really mistook her for Ada and wondered what she was doing there at that time. But as she looked closely, although she does resemble her, her countenance was completely different.
Ada was an outgoing, jaunty girl with the confidence of a smart girl. She was like a red rose, while Cathryn, a white Lily, shimmered with an unspoken beauty. This calmness, though, was something that Ada could never match.
In the beginning, both Betty and Amanda believed that Keith missed Ada so much that he found Cathryn Riley.
But looking at the ways Keith treats them, it seemed more possible to be the opposite.
However, Jeremy had mentioned in the first place that they didn't meet until January this year. What reason could there be?
The girls were in doubt, naturally. But they barely knew Keith, let alone being able to ask about his personal matters. Therefore, Betty found the chance to ask Jeremy.
Their friend was focused on driving and returned with a simple "I don't know."
Amanda insisted, "Come on, you are like best buddies. What does he have that you don't know?"
The driver answered, "Being best buddies doesn't mean sharing a woman. How should I know their grudges?"
It wasn't a lie. Keith never told him the details, and nor did he ask. Love is a complicated matter. And for Jeremy Fox, nothing should be more complex than sleeping together or never seeing each other again.
For Keith, though, love means a commitment of a lifetime.
Jeremy understood and even envied him for this because it's the kind of thing he could never do.
"But..." He added after a long pause, "Cathryn is indeed his one soul mate."
This point was proven to the top when Cathryn gave birth to the child.
The horse race gave both of them a great mood that day. They slept nice and soundly with each other in their arms until very early the next morning; she was awakened by a strange contraction inside.
She moaned, half-asleep, and Keith immediately woke up, holding Cathryn back in his arms, his tone stiff.
"What's wrong? How do you feel?"
****
Because of the upcoming due, the doctor made sure they knew what to do when a laboring should happen. Cathryn didn't expect that it could be a few days in advance, and her pain came with a fluster. Finally, she answered, "I think I'm delivering."
"Don't worry," Keith bowed his head, kissed Cathryn's forehead, got dressed, and got up. It was five in the morning and dark outside.
Her tension was relieved a bit by his words. The pain of contractions was not obvious, it felt similar to dysmenorrhea and regular, about once every six minutes. Cathryn took a deep breath and listened to Keith getting up and opening the door, calling John, and John's remote voice from downstairs, calling their driver Jack to prepare the car.
After sending the word, Keith returned to the bedroom. He leaned over, picked up Cathryn in his arms, looked at her pale face, and frowned his eyebrows.
Knowing that Keith was worried, Cathryn smiled back and reached out a hand to smooth his brows, "It's not painful yet."