Chapter 875

The moment Seth returned to his apartment, he instinctively reached into his coat pocket for his notebook, wanting to write about his unexpected encounter with

Noreen.

But he searched every pocket and came up empty.

He rushed back downstairs to scour his car, but the notebook was nowhere to be found.

He hadn’t gone anywhere else today, just the eatery. That meant he must have left it there.

He had practically fled after finishing his food, terrified that Noreen might say something to push him away.

Or worse, that she’d assume he stalked her there just to annoy her.

He had left in such a hurry, he completely forgot the notebook.

Seth immediately drove back to The Banyan Tree Eatery.

Traffic was backing up, and every red light frayed his nerves a little more.

Finally, he just abandoned his car in a street-side parking spot, wove through a crowd of schoolchildren crossing the street, and sprinted the rest of the way to the eatery.

When he arrived, the place was packed with diners.

The owner was running back and forth, taking orders.

His wife had gone to pick up their kid from school, leaving him overwhelmed.

Seeing Seth walk in, the owner started to greet him, assuming he was a new customer.

Upon recognizing his face, he looked surprised. “Didn’t you just eat here? Why are you back?”

Panting, Seth asked, “I think I left a notebook here. Did you see it?”

He quickly described it. “Black. About the size of a hand.”

The owner shook his head. “Haven’t seen it.”

Panic spiked in Seth’s chest. “I only came here today. I didn’t go anywhere else. I had to have left it here. Can you please think carefully?”

But the owner just looked helpless. “I really didn’t see it. If I had, I would’ve told you.

It sounds small-maybe you dropped it somewhere else on the way?”

The man was too busy to keep chatting, bustling off to serve another table.

Seth scoured the area around his previous table twice, but found nothing.

Stepping out of the eatery, he stood beneath the massive banyan tree for a very, very long time.

It felt as though all the strength had been drained from his limbs.

A suffocating wave of despair washed over him.

To him, it wasn’t just a lost notebook.

It was yet another severed tie between him and Noreen. What little managed to cling te was slipping through his fingers

on he had managed t

Claire had a fantastic day, completely banishing her recent gloomy mood. She was practically glowing with joy.

She turned to Rosalind and joked, “Rosalind, do you think it’s possible that historical women didn’t forage for wild vegetables out of love for their exiled husbands, but just because foraging is actually incredibly fun?”

She absolutely loved it!

It was so satisfying!

Rosalind laughed. “It’s entirely possible.”

It was clear they had both enjoyed themselves immensely.

“Get some rest, Rosalind. You’ve had a long day,” Claire told her as soon as they walked in the door.

“I will. You rest early too.”

Rosalind glanced around the living room.

It was empty.

Noreen didn’t seem to be home.

She was used to it, assuming Noreen was just working late at the office again.

Her daughter was a workaholic, after all.

Claire thought the same. After bidding Rosalind goodnight, she went to her room to wash up.

Despite her exhausting day, once she lay down in bed, insomnia struck.

Her heart felt inexplicably hollow, as if something was missing.

After tossing and turning for a while, Claire finally gave up. She threw off the covers, snuck out of her room, and crept upstairs to Noreen’s wine cellar for a drink.

Noreen’s apartment was a sprawling luxury penthouse, split over one and a half floors.

The upper half was dedicated to specialized rooms.

There was a study, a wine cellar, a rooftop garden, a conference room, a home gym,

and a tea room.

It essentially functioned as Noreen’s secondary office.