The next morning, Jennifer sorely regretted promising to go for the class reunion.
She hadn't checked her webnovel once since coming back home, and she was a little worried about what trouble her boys would've gotten into by now.
Also, Jennifer was a creature of habit, and it was her habit to sleep till 2 p.m. on Sundays. Their brunch reunion was at 11 a.m.!
She also had no dress for such a fancy venue. (No, she wasn't going to wear the dress she wore yesterday.)
But Rolly was coming to pick her up at 10.
Elsa had kindly texted Jessica to let her know. The two of them had been far more excited about matching Rolly and Jenny than their mothers. It was as if they believed they were the matchmakers.
Thanks to Elsa's text, Jessica had charged into her room at 7 a.m. with more enthusiasm than necessary and forced Jennifer into a pastel blue dress that was both too low and too short at the same time, as well as makeup and hair curlers.
"Wow, Rolly is going down hook, line, and sinker!" Jessica crowed. She dragged Jennifer downstairs to show off to her parents.
"Look how pretty Jenny is today."
Jennifer felt her mouth turn down.
Her dad looked up from his papers. "Pretty as your mother."
Which, by the way, was the highest compliment her dad gave. Even Miss Universe was just "meh," according to him.
Mother nodded stiffly. "Of course she would be. I can't believe Laura thought her Terrence would be good enough for our Jenny."
"I called your aunt. She says Pandora Corps is an international organization even more powerful than the government. Forget about Shilem. This Rolly has a bright future. Don't let this one get away."
Wth.
Hear the intention, not the words, Jennifer told herself.
And then the doorbell rang.
Rolly was there, wearing a big, round black turtleneck and navy slacks. (Well… he looked very cute to her.)
He was so surprised by Jennifer that he nearly fell backward off the porch steps. Jennifer suddenly decided it was worth it.
The hotel was huge, polished, and glittery. But maybe because her own building felt like a secondary palace under Sebastien, even the posh service staff felt like home.
They were politely shown to their lounge and greeted by their hotel-manager friend, who happened to be working that day. He was in a suit but had time off for the brunch. Jennifer and Rolly thanked him for the venue and the staff-discounted brunch.
This wasn't Jennifer's first reunion, but it was the first time she realized how much less stressful a reunion could be when she was sitting with Rolly.
They chatted, smiled, and laughed. It actually felt nice to reconnect. And when Rolly quietly picked up her hand while she caught up with her BFF group—remembering how they had promised at graduation to always stay in touch, how these girls had been her bridesmaids… Jennifer was actually glad she came.
At least she was until…
"Shilem! You came!"
"This is..." someone asked, sounding confused.
"This is Elaine, my fiancée."
A whisper followed. "Is this his third or fourth…?"
"Second. Jenny didn't count."
Jennifer pretended she didn't hear.
One of her BFFs said, "You were the one who got away."
Then another spilled tea about Shilem's personal problem—he kept falling in love with his secretaries.
So Elaine was his secretary?
No. Of course not. Elaine was an heiress, the granddaughter of conglomerate king Frank Sin. For Shilem's political career to keep climbing, there was no way he could marry a mere secretary.
They told Jennifer all this while watching Shilem make his rounds, introducing his new fiancée. And then they gave equally plastic smiles like coordinated Barbie dolls when he reached them.
"Hello, ladies." Shilem completely ignored Rolly. "Hello, Jennifer. We meet again."
Jennifer squeezed Rolly's hand and felt surprisingly okay seeing Shilem again. "Hi."
"Why is a big shot like you hanging out with us?" one of her BFFs asked.
"I can't stay long," Shilem smiled smoothly. "I'm meeting my in-laws here today, so I thought I'd drop by for a few minutes."
Someone else tried to smooth things over with congratulations.
"I'll be rooting for you in the elections too!" another cheered.
Shilem smiled widely. "Thanks, guys. Your support is invaluable to me. Today is my treat."
Everyone cheered. Shilem continued smiling.
Jennifer remembered one of the alien insectoids from the Ronan the Dragon video—its cockroach face making that exact same expression—and found herself smiling too.