Chapter 8

Vanessa turned around. Seeing that she wasn't angry, Keanu and Seamus sighed in relief. Keanu stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "You don't need to pack your things yourself. There's a lot of it. You'd be exhausted. I'll have my family's driver come over; we'll move everything to the new house together." Seamus nodded in agreement. At that moment, Vanessa felt as though she could see traces of the people they once were. Back then, their eyes used to reflect only her. She remembered how she would chatter endlessly when they were young, and they would laugh as they listened attentively. Yet now, those youthful promises had faded, becoming little more than empty words. Vanessa's gaze shifted toward Hannah, and she shook her head. "That won't be necessary. I have a lot of things I want to organize myself." Ignoring the look on the men's faces, she turned and walked away. After she went home, she organized her luggage and took a shower. She had just settled into bed when she received a sudden call from Hannah. Her sweet voice came through the receiver, laced with an unmistakable hint of pride. "Nessa, I went to both the Lowe residence and the Klein residence tonight. Keanu and Seamus' parents were so kind to me. They even brought out their family heirlooms, saying they wanted to give them to me. Do you think this means they—" "I'm not interested in what goes on between you guys," Vanessa calmly interrupted her gloating. "You don't need to tell me these things; they don't concern me." With that, she hung up the phone. Vanessa went out to have a meal with her best friend, Mila Quinton, the day before her departure. She didn't have many friends in Xerton. Since she was young, Keanu and Seamus had strictly limited her social circle, not allowing her to have boyfriends, accept letters from boys, or even make new friends with girls without their interference. Back then, they would pitifully say, "Nessa, aren't we enough for you? You're so wonderful; I'm afraid even girls would fall for you." Their possessiveness over her was overwhelming. They hoped she would only ever lay her eyes on them. And yet now, they were the ones pushing her away. Mila had been waiting for a while In a newly opened Wethorian restaurant. When she saw Vanessa, she rushed to give her a big hug. The sadness over Vanessa's departure washed over her again. "Nessa, I can't believe you're going back to Jirphia to get married already. I'm going to miss you. I always thought you'd marry either Keanu or Seamus and stay here in Xerton. That way, we could still hang out all the time." Vanessa smiled. "They have other choices, and so do I." Mila's face fell a little at that. Thinking of Hannah, she frowned and muttered indignantly, "You were so nice to Hannah, but she—" "Let's not talk about people who don't matter," Vanessa cut her off with a smile. "Once I'm married, she'll be out of sight and out of mind. Whatever drama she stirs up won't have anything to do with me." Just as she finished speaking, Hannah entered the restaurant. Since Vanessa and Mila were seated near the entrance, Hannah caught part of their conversation but not all of it. She came over, her eyes bright with curiosity. "Nessa, who's getting married? Can I come? I've never been to a wedding before!" Vanessa was hardly surprised by Hannah's lack of boundaries, but perhaps because she was used to Hannah's antics, or perhaps because she was about to leave, she didn't get angry. She only looked at her calmly. Mila, on the other hand, was visibly annoyed. She tossed her cutlery onto the table and glared at Hannah. "It's my wedding, and you're not invited! Happy with that answer? "Seriously, do you have any sense of boundaries? Are we even close? Why are you so nosy about everything? Would you even dip a spoon into leftovers in the trash just to check the flavor?" Mila's words were harsh and loud, making Hannah shrink back in surprise. Tears began to well up in her eyes. With a look of grievance, Hannah began to sob softly. She immediately glanced at Keanu and Seamus, who had just walked into the restaurant. Her big, pleading eyes were filled with a silent request for help. Keanu was unaware of what had happened. However, seeing Hannah's pitiful expression as soon as he came in, he unthinkingly pulled her into his arms protectively. "As long as I'm here, you can go to any wedding you want." Seamus, eager to outdo him, quickly added, "And I'm here too! Forget weddings—if you want a star, I'd climb to the sky and bring you one myself. You don't have to care about people who don't matter." With the two men flanking her on either side, Hannah finally smiled at their comforting words.