Chatting about Tegan, Susanna suddenly recalled something.
"Last time we talked through the phone, Tegan mentioned the hospital got this verified batch of diet pills. Wanna check it out with me tomorrow?"
Sipping her Coke, Ste gave Susanna a once-over, "Why would you need that?"
She was not even close to overweight!
"It''s for my cousin. He''s hit 200 pounds and is pretty much on the brink of depression over his weight."
Ste shrugged, "Sure, why not."
To her, life was too short to fret over looks, especially when it came to losing weight. The whole ordeal was just a fast track to misery - couldn''t enjoy your food, couldn''t dress how you wanted. And you ended up being your own worst critic.
As Ste headed home after parting ways with Susanna, her mood darkened at the sight of the clutter yet to be cleared on her sofa.
Walking over and seated, she pulled out a receipt from one of the shopping bags, and got momentarily stunned as her eyes zed over the payment ount.
Buzz, buzz.
Her phone vibrated.
Ste took a nce - it was a call from ise''s secretary.
The purpose of the Larkins'' call was palpable. She didn''t bother picking up, and just hit decline. Soon after, ise himself called. Ste, sticking to her guns, ignored it as well.
...
Over at the Larkin''s ce, ise wasn''t pleased seeing Ste dodge every call, his gaze turning to Cloudia.
"Didn''t I say to keep Urs away from her, to avoid any run-ins?"
Cloudia''s expression soured, "It''s not Urs''s fault this time, she...Oh, never mind!"
Whenever it came to Ste and Urs shing, Cloudia found herself at a loss for words.
ise nced at the photos of Yorick and Urs at the hospital making rounds on social media. "Her sister''s fiancée tags along to the hospital, tell me is she a fool or is it that you are brainless?" Cloudia stammered, "I..."
ise was fuming, "I already had specialists lined up for her. Why did she need to drag Yorick into this?"
Despite his lingering anger over Yorick''s family''s past opposition to Urs, ise had expected better judgment.
Since Yorick had ended things with Urs and he''d already be Ste''s fiancé, he should have extinguished any possible misunderstanding between him and Urs in private.
"Urs''s that sick, and I just wanted to cheer her up. You know she and Yorick have been close since middle school. They''ve grown up together, there''s affection between them," Cloudia tried to reason. "Affection? Are you really bringing up their past ''affection''? Are they supposed to have that?"
ise''s stern demeanor said it all.
Cloudia fell silent at his words, knowing full well the logic but also theplexity of emotions involved.
ise then ordered his secretary, "Get the car ready."
"Thiste? Where to?"
Cloudia, noticing his intention of departure, instinctively checked the time.
"Silk-River Residences!" ise responded.
Was he going to meet Ste?
Cloudia said, "I''ming with you."
"No need. You''ll just end up arguing with her."
ise''s dissatisfaction with Cloudia and Ste''s rocky rtionship was no secret.
Hearing his blunt refusal, Cloudia felt wronged.
"Am I the one who wants to argue? She''s the one who''s always so defiant. You haven''t seen how rebellious she can be. She''s like a debt collector."
ise countered, "We weren''t there for her when she needed us most. Isn''t her attitude justified?"
Unlike Cloudia, ise harbored a sense of guilt towards Ste.
His words left Cloudia unable to fight back.
Leaving, as if thinking of something, ise gazed at Cloudia, "Did you cut her off financially again?" "Well, yes, I did!"
"That was foolish. Are you serious going to push our daughter further away?"
Especially with Urs back in town, the action would only deepen Ste''s resentment.
ise was livid.
Cloudia retorted, "You didn''t see how she treated me today. I just..."
""Reactivate it now!"
ise issued hismand, not desiring to hearing more of Cloudia''s debate.
Reluctantly, Cloudia didn''t dare to resist, "Fine, I''ll call the bank when they work tomorrow."