Chapter 84
Chandler was stunned by this. This was his first time hearing Scott interrupt him.
Everyone’s gaze landed on Scott once more.
“Naomi and I were married. You attended our wedding, don’t you remember?”
Naomi froze at this.
Chandler’s jaw dropped, as had everyone else’s.
The entire room was pin–drop silent.
What?
Naomi gaped at Scott. He claimed that Chandler attended their wedding, but she could not seem to remember ever seeing him.
A few moments later, Chandler turned to glance at Naomi, then at Scott. Finally, after some pondering, he gasped, “It’s no wonder I had such a great first impression of Naomi, then! It turns out we already met before this! My memory is failing me–I can’t believe I’d forgotten that! As much as I hate to admit it, I’m getting old now…”
Scott’s gaze landed on Naomi. “Have you forgotten too?”
Naomi felt her heart skip a beat. She stared back at him and opened her mouth to say something, but
no words came out.
Something felt wrong about that sentence, but for some reason, she could not put her finger on it.
“She must’ve forgotten for a moment. After all, she’s put so much time and effort into her passion, that it’s understandable to become momentarily dazed. Since you two already know each other, I’m sure I don’t need to introduce you anymore. Come, sit.”
Everyone turned away from Naomi and Scott and returned to their seats.
Scott sat down next to Chandler, leaving Naomi standing there in shock, unsure of what to do. Now that Scott admitted they knew each other, it would no longer be appropriate for her to choose to sit next to Harold instead of him; but at the same time, they were divorced–she wanted to stay as far
away from him as possible!
Naomi finally realized what felt so off about Scott’s statement; he did not admit they were divorced at all, and instead made it seem as though they were still married!
It would appear that Scott was yet to disclose to the public their divorce.
At the thought of this, Naomi turned to glance at Scott, who at this moment handed his coat to the coat check boy and slid into his seat. His expression was calm, as though nothing was wrong.
On second thought, Naomi realized that even she was yet to disclose her divorce to people outside of
her immediate family. The truth was, her divorce was not something to brag about, and thus she could understand why the Lawsons would hold off on announcing this.
“What are you doing, Naomi, standing there like that? Come sit,” Chandler called out to her.
Naomi nodded.
The Lawsons treated Naomi well–for the most part–over the past three years, so it would only make sense for her to go along with Scott’s act out of courtesy.
Naomi walked over to Scott and sat down in the chair next to him.
Although Chandler was oblivious to this, the rest of the wood carvers–especially Quentin–could tell how uneasy Naomi was throughout this interaction.
Quentin could not help wondering if Naomi and Scott were not divorced at all, but were simply going through a rough patch in their marriage. After all, it was natural for couples in long–term relationships to go through rough patches from time to time.
The waiter began to serve their drinks, and everyone started chatting among themselves. Naomi, who was not usually a social butterfly, sat in her corner in silence, sipping her drink as she listened to everyone’s conversations.
All of a sudden, Chandler piped up, “By the way, didn’t someone mention that one of your wood carvers suffered a burn injury? Who is it?”
Quentin mentioned this to Chandler in passing but did not disclose the name of the person who got burnt. The moment Chandler brought this up, Naomi froze, and everyone’s gaze landed unanimously
on her.
The room fell silent once more until Scott’s voice broke the silence.