Chapter 444 Grant Whatever She Required (1/2)

On the third floor of a bustling shopping mall, an elegant Italian restaurant stood out from the fluorescent fast food stores around it.

Nestled into a softly lit corner, two people gazed into each other's eyes.

”It's been a while. More than a decade, if I remember correctly.”

”So long... look at me, already 40 years old! I must have been around 30 last time we met - maybe younger.”

”Time flies. And yet looking at you I wouldn't know it. You're as young as ever!”

Flora smiled as she spoke, and her companion watched how gracefully she pushed her dark hair behind her ears.

He sat forward in his chair, rolling up his sleeves. Flora's eyes followed his movements, pleased that his demeanor was as charming and noble as she remembered.

He looked like the same Marcus that she had known so long.

When these two old friends had come together for the first time in a decade, they found that many things had changed. One thing, however, had stayed the same: after all these years they were both still single.

”I'm sure someone as successful and handsome as you must drive all the young women wild, how is it that you are still single?” Flora narrowed her eyes and grinned as she joked, but she knew it must be true. Marcus had built his own business empire from nothing. She could not compare him to the young man she had known in the past.

Marcus brushed this off with a smile. He turned to the window and watched a mother and child pass laughing by.

”I've already been married once, and I have decided that it is not for me. I have no need to pursue a romantic relationship, as I am satisfied with my life as it is.”

He paused to sip his coffee.

”What about you? You're still waiting for him?” He glanced across at Flora, curious as to how she would react.

The playful expression dropped from Flora's face. She looked away. ”I've hoped for so long that he would look back and realize who has really been by his side all these years.”

She couldn't bring herself to tell him how she felt, to disrupt his peaceful life. All she could do was suffer helplessly by his side, waiting...hoping.

”I admire your determination, but you're a smart, independent woman. You should have no trouble finding a man worthy of you and having a comfortable life. Why do you waste your time waiting for a man who will never be yours?”

The spoon clinked against the porcelain cup, as Marcus stirred cream into his coffee.