CHAPTER 116: THE LOCK IS FIXED NOW

When Bruce returned, Hilla was watching TV with Halle in the living room. They were talking and laughing without noticing that he had come home.

Bruce felt so unvalued.

Hearing the door shut, Hilla and Halle finally turned and saw him.

Bruce held a bag filled with goods, most of which were women’s daily necessities. He couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when he thought of the way the cashier looked at him.

"Thank you so much!"

Halle came over with a smile and took out a pair of slippers from the bag. She felt much more comfortable wearing loose-fitting clothes and shoes.

"Where’s our dinner, Bruce?"

Hilla walked near him and found that he didn’t buy any food from Gill’s Place.

"I paid their cook to come over here. Eating fresh food is better than eating packaged food."

And there was one more reason he didn’t tell her. He didn’t have any strength to spare for carrying food apart from these life necessities. Therefore, he found it more convenient to let the cook come over with raw materials.

Hilla’s eyes lit up. She almost jumped towards Bruce, "Will the cook make the special fish and meatballs of Gill’s Place?"

"You look like a hungry wolf." Halle smiled and teased her.

Hilla blushed at her words and secretly glanced at Bruce.

Bruce got nervous for her glance, fearing that Halle mistook him as a mean person who deliberately starved Hilla.

Halle just looked down at the life necessities in the bag without speaking.

Bruce was quite considerate to buy her some clothes to change every day. However, she also noticed some sets of underwear whose size didn’t fit pregnant women.

Bruce felt her questioning look which reminded him of the awkward experience in the ladies’ underwear section of the supermarket. He hurriedly explained, "These are all recommended by the salesperson. I, I didn’t pay a closer look."

Halle chuckled, "Thank you, Bruce." Then, she took over and tied up the bag of daily necessities and handed it to Hilla, "Can you help me put it in my room?"

Hearing her words, Hilla suddenly remembered that the door of the guestroom can’t open now. She said, "The door of the guest room can’t be unlocked now. We only have one main bedroom available. How about you stay with me tonight? Bruce can find another place to dwell."

Halle smiled mischievously at Bruce, "Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Anderson. I assume the door of the guest room will be repaired tomorrow?"

Bruce straightened his back, tightly pursed his lips, and nodded, "Sure!"

He couldn’t regret more that he had lied to Hilla that the door was broken. Now he had to endure the consequence.

"Bruce, why don’t you go back to the mansion later?"

Bruce was reluctant to do so, so he didn’t respond.

Halle couldn’t pretend to ignore his thought anymore and laughed out, "Well, it’s too dark now! Driving on such a slippery road might trap Bruce. Maybe it’s better for Bruce to sleep on the sofa tonight."

Hilla glanced out of the window confusingly. ’It is neither raining nor snowing outside, why would he be trapped?’

But she was okay with this arrangement since Halle and Bruce both agreed.

Before long, the cook of Gill’s Place arrived. Their food was both healthy and delicious, so Gill’s Place was always Hilla’s favorite restaurant.

Aware that Halle was pregnant, the chef made two more dishes especially for her.

Although Halle ate quite well in the countryside, she quickly fell in love with this delicate taste.

To be honest, although she was taken good care of by the villagers and received financial assistance from Bruce every month, she still missed the flavor of River City’s specialties.

Before realizing it, she had been beyond full.

"I’m so full. I haven’t had a proper meal for a day. It tastes so good."

Hilla leaned against the table in satisfaction, but Halle tried to make her stand up, "You can’t digest so much food after being starved for a whole day. Come and take a walk with me downstairs."

"I don’t want to, Halle! I’m too full to move now. The food in my stomach has anchored me to the chair."

Halle said, "I have an actual baby in my belly, but I didn’t become so lazy. Follow me out for a walk. I’m not feeling well in my stomach."

Hearing that, Hilla immediately sat up and asked nervously, "Does it hurt?"

"No. I am just too full and need a walk to help me digest. Too much undigested food is not good for the baby."

"Alright!" Hilla immediately put on the coat and followed Halle downstairs.

Seeing them leaving without him, Bruce heaved a sigh of relief. He was afraid that they would ask him to join them. That would be too awkward.

He took out his phone and texted Horton, "Halle is here."

After a while, Horton replied, "I’ll be right there."

Bruce asked, "Why are you coming?

"The door of the guest room can’t open, so Hilla and Halle will share the main bedroom tonight. They have gone out for a walk. You don’t have to come over."

What he actually thought was, "There is no spare space for you here. With three people in the house, I still have a couch to sleep on. If you come over, I may have to make room for you."

But Horton didn’t reply to this text. Bruce frowned and waited. Then he sent a message to ask him, "Do you know how to fix a lock?"

He was really troubled by this problem. He was not a locksmith after all!

However, Horton didn’t reply to this one either. Bruce felt that he was indeed unreliable. Being the illegitimate son of the Hutt family, Horton and he were not so close after all.

Bruce was suddenly so pessimistic about the bond between distant relatives.

He got up and went upstairs.

In the small garden downstairs, Hilla and Halle were taking a walk. The community they lived in was called the Lakeshore Center. It got its name for the lake in the community. Since it was now in the middle of spring, the treetops were filled with blooming flowers, branches were filled with sprouting leaves, and the fountain in the lake was also working.

Although it was beautiful here, Hilla felt that it was humid here and the temperature was low. Afraid that Halle would get sick, she took her to the small park outside the community.

"Haven’t you consummated yet?"

Halle suddenly asked, making Hilla surprised and shy.

Fortunately, there were not many people around. Besides, everyone was watching a group of dancing aunties, so no one paid attention to them.

Hilla said shyly, "No, we haven’t. I’m still too young. It’s no hurry for me."

"Not for you, but what about Bruce? He’s not young anymore. When Dad was his age, you were about to be born, weren’t you? Moreover, a man of his age was at the stage when he was the most lustful and energetic. How could he not be in a hurry? I think he is just waiting for your acceptance."

"Halle, can we change a topic? It’s so embarrassing."

Hilla covered her face with her hands and didn’t want to discuss this with Halle.

Although she was clear about this, she was used to avoiding this topic.

Halle didn’t force her. She glanced around the buildings in the Lakeshore Center and

sighed, "Your house is situated in the best location of this community. It enjoys a good view and a short distance from necessary facilities."

Hilla almost didn’t catch up with Halle’s switch of the topic.

Then she heard Halle say, "I think Bruce might have fixed the lock by now."

...

After watching a group of aunties dancing for a while, Hilla and Halle went back to the community.

Halle said, "Life here is so peaceful and comfortable, just like when we were in the Holt family. Look, how happy the children are playing."

Halle just bought a plastic bamboo dragonfly from a vendor in the park and lowered her head to look at it from time to time.

Hilla thought she liked it so much because she wanted to give it to her baby in the future.

"Halle, you are so tranquil now. You seem much more mature after you got pregnant. If I didn’t know you, I would have thought that you’re 35 rather than 25."

Halle poked laughing Hilla in the head and said, "How dare you tease me? Bruce really spoiled you."

"What does he have to do with this? Why do you always mention him?" Hilla shook Halle’s arm, muttering as if was very reluctant.

She knew what Halle wanted to tell her. Although she was clear about what she should do as Bruce’s wife, she felt hesitant to actually do it.

What stopped her was not unwillingness or the dislike toward Bruce, but mere fear.

Hilla pursed her lips, not daring to tell Halle. Although she was okay to be laughed at by Halle, she still preferred not to be.

"What does he have to do with this? You know better than me, Mrs. Bruce. Our family has fallen, and your life now relies on the Anderson family. If you like him, why don’t you consider my words?"

Although she was not sure if promoting the match between Hilla and Bruce was the right choice, she believed it was the most beneficial choice for Hilla,

As Hilla’s older sister, she should have taken care of Hilla. But now, when she couldn’t even determine how she would live her life, she couldn’t protect Hilla.

What Bruce had said to her made sense. She did not have to drag Hilla to an uncertain path when she knew Hilla had a better option.

"We already sleep on the same bed every day. I don’t see the need for any promotion of the relationship between him and me."

Hilla muttered in a low voice.

Halle glanced at her and said, "On the same bed? Every day? Is Bruce disabled, or how to explain that he hasn’t done anything to you so far?"

"Bruce is absolutely healthy!"

Thinking of Bruce’s figure, Hilla instantly blushed. She was too shy to keep a clear

mind.

Halle looked at her innocent and shy expression, smiling lightly, "If he is healthy, then it’s all up to you to take the first step."

"Halle, I hope you don’t mean that I should try to seduce him."

She felt that Halle had changed a lot. In her memory, Halle was so pure and kind and would never tell her to do something like seducing others.

Halle was so shocked by her reaction that she laughed, "You have been married for half a year. Isn’t it a normal thing for a married couple? Why do you sound like that I want to sell you to a brothel?"

She felt like her words were in vain.

Although Hilla was smart, there were some things that she didn’t want to do unless she was pushed to do so. She even wanted to pretend that she knew nothing about it just to drag on.

But something wouldn’t be solved by constantly delaying it. "Alright, I see. I’ll have a talk with Bruce about this at a proper time." "Well, I think tonight is a quite proper time." Halle’s words stunned Hilla. She asked, "Tonight?"

How would she talk with Bruce with Halle in the same room? It would be weird to talk about this with Halle present.

"Yes, tonight. I believe Bruce has had the lock fixed by now."

Halle chuckled when she thought of Bruce’s little trick.

However, Hilla didn’t get his intention at all. Halle admitted that she did pick the wrong time to visit them.

But she had come here all for the concern to Hilla. Hilla said, "But he doesn’t know how to repair a lock."

She didn’t understand why Halle kept mentioning the lock of the guestroom. What could she do if it was fixed? Then she realized that if the lock was back to normal, Halle would sleep in the guestroom.

Then what about herself? Does that mean she would be sleeping on the same bed with Bruce as before?

Hilla felt a sense of unease. This thought disturbed her mind.

In a puzzle, she returned to the community with Halle.

They didn’t notice that there was a black car parked by the road outside the park, whose owner quietly watched them walk into the community, but not following them.

Along the way home, Hilla had been watching out for any possible danger for Halle. Fortunately, in their community, pets were not allowed. Otherwise, she would have to worry about if Halle would be scared by pets.

"Halle, I’m going to compete in a design competition this month. Why don’t you stay till my competition? Moreover, the factory in the countryside can’t start working for the time being. You don’t have to rush back."

Hilla hoped Halle could agree to stay in River City so that she could take care of her older sister.

But Halle was unwilling and seemed to have a special affection for her life in the countryside.

"I bought a few saplings yesterday. Now is the perfect season to plant them. I asked Lilian and her husband Mario to help me plant them yesterday. I can’t leave for long. Besides, Candy and Cookie will miss me if I don’t go back."

Thinking of the two cuties, Halle couldn’t be more grateful that Hilla gave them to her. Her time of waiting for delivery was filled with joy because of them.

After living there for a long time, she had built so strong an attachment to the countryside that she didn’t want to leave the courtyard. Maybe it was her pregnancy that made her like the peaceful life in the countryside more and more.

When she left the Tyson’s house where she lived for five years, she didn’t have any reluctance. But, she had a sense of belonging in a small village where she only lived for a few months. How peculiar was human hearts!

"But it won’t make any difference to stay for a few more days!"

As they spoke, they arrived at the door. Hilla thought for a moment and dialed the password.

The number was the date of her and Bruce’s wedding. When she pressed the number and unlocked the door of her own house, she felt a great sense of happiness.

"It will make a difference to me. I enjoy myself in the countryside. I don’t like urban life."

Halle pretended to dislike this place. But if Hilla looked closer, Halle’s faint smile would betray her. They went inside. Hilla helped her go upstairs, still trying to persuade her, "Do you want to leave because you don’t want to trouble Bruce? It doesn’t matter. He just sleeps on the sofa for a few days."

Just as Hilla finished speaking, she saw Bruce came out from the guest room.

They were surprised when seeing each other. Bruce quickly explained, "The lock is fixed now!"