Marianne grabbed a handful of candy from the box before her and handed them

to Calvin. With a warm smile, she asked, “Calvin, how did your final exam go? Did you make it to the top of your class?”

Calvin Rogers was Mabel’s youngest son. He was a sixth grader with a knack for trouble and lousy grades. So, his teachers were always calling his parents in for meetings.

The moment Marianne brought up Calvin’s results, Mabel stopped gossiping and suddenly looked uncomfortable.

Calvin wasn’t the least bit ashamed of his poor results. Since Marianne asked about it, he just answered honestly, “I got 45% in math, 36% in science, and 51% in language. I—”

Mabel cut him off immediately. “That’s enough! You’re embarrassing me!”

Calvin frowned. “Why is it embarrassing? I actually improved! My scores are higher than last semester’s!”

The relatives burst into laughter. One of them chuckled. “Kids really do have a way with words!”

Mabel yanked Calvin closer and shot him a glare. Lowering her voice, she scolded, “Didn’t I tell you to go play with Seline? What are you doing here? That’s so embarrassing. With grades like that, you should be ashamed to even bring it up!”

Marianne just smiled and stayed quiet. At least now, Mabel had stopped grilling them with questions.

Samuel shot Tessa a worried look. But Tessa simply smiled and shook her head, letting him know she was fine.

After the meal, Tessa took a walk in the nearby garden. To her surprise, Stephen was strolling there too.

The cold wind felt sharp against her skin, as if it could freeze the blood in her veins.

They just stood there, facing each other in silence.

Tessa looked away and said, “What a coincidence.”

Stephen said, “Happy New Year.”

It was the first thing he had said to her in so long. The moment she heard his voice, her eyes stung with tears.

She lowered her head, and that was when she saw it-the watch on his wrist. Her chest tightened, and her voice trembled. “You…”

It was the watch she had given him. She wanted to ask why he was still wearing it, but the words got caught in her throat.

Stephen followed her gaze down to his wrist. The sight of the watch sent a dull ache through his chest.

It was the first gift Tessa had ever given him, and it cost over 600 thousand dollars.

That wasn’t a lot of money for him, but he still wore it every day. Even after they broke up, he never took it off.

Whenever Tessa was around, he

made sure to keep the watch out of her sight. He had done so on New Year’s Eve and at Noria Royab Golf Club.

But this time, he had come to the garden expected to run into her, and that

a walk alone. He never et

was

how she spotted the watch.

He knew exactly what she wanted to ask, and he was just as eager to answer He wanted to say that he missed her and that he couldn’t bring himself to take off the watch she gave him.

But after a brief internal battle, he simply said, “I forgot to take it off.”