Oliver's Substitute Bride (Oliver and Jessica) novel Chapter 78

They entered a Starbucks nearby.

Jessica found a seat by the window and got a cup of hot coffee in her hand. Only then did she realize that she was sitting there in the rain just now, and she thought she was really out of her mind. She was so angry at the man in the morning that she acted silly.

It was so comfortable to sit in a cafe with the heater on in such weather.

Gradually, the ground outside began to turn white.

"It's snowing outside," Lambert said softly.

"I didn't expect the first snow of this year to come so early," Jessica said. She probably couldn't go to the studio to draw today, because every winter when the first snow came, she would go to the cemetery to visit her mother. White had been her mother's favorite color. She liked white flowers and white clothes. She even died on the night of the first snow that year.

"At this time in the past years, the weather was still warm. The weather is unusual this year."

Jessica had no intention of saying anything else. "Lambert, you will go to the studio later, right? I won't go there. Please tell Mr. Halper."

"Why not? Is there anything urgent?"

Jessica gulped down the rest of the coffee. "I'm going to the cemetery to visit my mother later."

"It's not easy to take a taxi. I'll go with you. As Lambert spoke, he picked up his coat and put it on. "Let's go. I'll give you a ride. I should go to visit Mrs. White."

Lambert remembered that Jessica's mother was a very elegant woman who had often waited in the lounge of the studio to pick her up after class.

Speaking of which, they were indeed old acquaintances, so Jessica did not object.

They went to the biggest flower shop on the business street and bought a bunch of gardenias and a bunch of chrysanthemums.

Lambert's car was parked nearby. They walked to the parking lot. Lambert opened the door for her and drove to the cemetery.

It snowed more and more heavily, and the world seemed to turn white.

Jessica went to the tombstone and put the flowers there. "Mom, I came to see you today, and I brought a friend who used to draw in the same studio with me. I didn't expect that we could be family."

Lambert followed, "Mrs. White, I'm Lambert. I've seen you in the studio before. I'm sorry to come to see you so late. If I had seen Jessica earlier, maybe she wouldn't be like this now."

Jessica looked sideways at Lambert and said, "Lambert, don't say that. I've never regretted my choice."

"Are you happy with Oliver?" Lambert asked, looking at her with an intense look.

Jessica looked away. "Lambert, I don't want to talk about that in front of my mother's grave."

"Today, I saw you sitting outside, alone in the rain, looking very unhappy. If Mrs. White knew you were like this, she would be worried about you."

"I know what kind of life I should choose. This is my life. I accept it. I can't blame anyone else. If my mother were still alive, I think she would forgive me."

"I'm not saying your choice is wrong. I just think you can have a better choice."

"Lambert, there's no point in saying this now."

Lambert looked at Jessica in front of him. Her face was so pale because of the cold weather. He took off his coat and wanted to put it on her.

Jessica saw that he was only wearing a thin woolen sweater inside, so she stopped him. "I'm fine, Lambert."

Lambert draped his coat over Jessica as if he hadn't heard her.

In the cemetery, people constantly came to visit the graves. Perhaps many people, just like them, chose to visit the graves on the day of the first snowfall.

After they left the cemetery, Jessica saw that it was still early. She really didn't want to go back to GrandVille Apartments now, so she went back to the studio with Lambert.

As soon as she entered the studio, she saw a group of people who had opened an art exhibition before. She only knew some of them, but they were all Mr. Halper's students. She didn't know who gathered them.

Hayden saw the two of them coming together and said, "We are just talking about you. Lambert, only you can gather everyone here."

Jessica glanced at Lambert. It seemed that he had known about the party tonight.

They went to a restaurant not far from the studio for a meal. As soon as they went in, a waiter recognized Lambert and brought them to the reserved room.

They ordered some wine, especially Hayden himself, who liked to drink very much. He was more than happy today to see that his students had finally gathered together, so he drank more than before.

Someone advised Jessica to have a drink too, especially James. He had been familiar with Jessica since they were kids because both of them had the surname White. James always asked her to call him brother. It was common for them to quarrel when they were drawing together. He didn't go to the art exhibition last time, because he had something else to do, but he came today.

James sat down between Lambert and Jessica with a glass in his hand. "Jessica, after all these years, I really didn't expect you to change your profession. Look at me. At that time, you were much better at painting than me. But I still continue to be stuck in this industry. I actually made a living. Do you think I'm lucky?"

Jessica looked at James, who was a little drunk. When she first met him, he was still a little restrained. Many of the people who drew were rather restrained, especially James.

"There's a saying that the harder you work, the luckier you get."

"I'm so happy to see my old friend today. I'm not going home if I am not drunk today." James picked up another glass of wine in front of Lambert. "Come and drink with me."

Jessica felt that if she refused, it would spoil everyone's mood. She was also very happy to see her old friends herself. She took the glass and brought it to her mouth. Lambert snatched it away. "Let me take this."

As he spoke, he raised the glass and gulped it down.

James looked at Lambert. "Mr. Williams, you are so considerate. Jessica is my sister. I won't make her drunk."

Jessica hadn't expected him to remember the old joke when he was drunk. "I'm not in good health. I can't drink."

"Sister, you should tell me that. I won't force you to drink."

After the party, Hayden specifically instructed Lambert to send Jessica home.