Love’s New Bloom By Simone Hastings

Chapter 28 Running Into Caleb 

Cherry cried on the phone for half an hour. Erin had no choice but to promise her that she would find a solution. 

Holding her phone lightly, she got out of the taxi. She felt as if she’d been drained of all her blood. 

Grayson, who had hit someone and caused the victim’s death, was actually Erin’s stepfather, Grayson Lawrence. Cherry remarried Grayson when Erin was eight years old. 

Grayson was a decent man and had always treated Erin and her mother well. He paid for Erin’s tuition since she was young. Two years ago. Cherry took 100 thousand dollars from Erin and opened a small supermarket in her hometown to pay for her son, Gavin Lawrence’s. 

tuition. She said she didn’t want to burden Cherry and that they should be responsible for their son’s future tuition. 

Apart from that 100 thousand dollars, Cherry rarely asked Erin for money. She always told Erin to only worry about herself. 

Now that they needed help. Erin would definitely help Grayson since he was in trouble. 

It was midnight when Holly came back home with her keys in hand. 

She was startled to see Erin sitting alone in the living room in the dark. She turned on the lights immediately. “Erin, why are you still awake in the middle of the night?” 

Erin held the bank card that contained the five million dollars she had to return to lan. lan had left it behind in the guest room last night. 

She looked at Holly and said, “Holly, are you tired? If you’re not, can we talk for a while?” 

Without hesitation, Holly took off her high heels. She then walked over to the couch and sat down next to Erin, full of concern. “Erin, what’s wrong? I’m not tired, so feel free to talk to me.” 

“My mom called and said that Grayson hit and killed a high school student. He has to take full responsibility because he was driving under the influence!” 

“Oh, my God, that’s your stepfather, right? How could he drink and drive? The crackdown on drunk driving is very strict all over the country now. It’s intentional misconduct!” Holly frowned and expressed her sympathy. 1 

Erin sighed and said, “I remember telling you once that Grayson was a PE teacher at our school. He was a bit strict in his personal life but very responsible when teaching. There was this one time when a female student made a mistake in class, and he punished her by making her run laps. She held a grudge and accused Grayson of harassing her at the administrative office. She even had her friend secretly take photos. In the end, Grayson failed to defend himself and was fired the next day.” 

“Grayson lost his job, but my mom was optimistic. She said that our family’s small supermarket business is doing well, and we often need extra help, so she asked Grayson to help out. But he drank some white wine before going to buy goods in his van…Gosh, now the other party is asking for two million dollars as compensation, not a penny less. Grayson is likely to be sentenced to six months in prison before being released.” 

Holly understood Erin’s feelings. She held her hand and said, “Erin, try to stay positive. Since things have already happened, the only thing we can do is figure out a way to solve them. Do you need money? I can lend it to you!” 

Erin was touched. “Thank you, Holly. I have the money, but if I spend the five million dollars in my account, I can’t divorce lan…” 

“Didn’t you give the five million dollars to that male escort? How did you get the money back?” Surprised, Holly asked. 

“He returned the money to me. Also, he wasn’t even a male escort! He’s the president of our company, my boss…” Erin sighed and leaned back on the couch. 

Holly widened her eyes in surprise and exclaimed, “Oh my! Such a plot twist! It sounds like a novel. Anyway, don’t worry about lan for now! Send the money back home first. After all, someone died in the accident, and we must deal with it! If lan insists on getting the five million dollars, we can collect evidence of his affair and let the court decide!” 

Upon hearing her advice, Erin laughed self–deprecatingly. “Holly, don’t forget that we’re still married, and I also approached a male escort before this…” 

Holly kept silent. 

She rubbed her chin and thought for a moment, “Okay, how about this? You solve your family issues first and then find time to talk to lan as soon as possible. It’s best if you can have an amicable divorce! If things don’t work out, I’ll lend you two million dollars! I’m not in a hurry for you to repay me. Just give it back to me when you have the money.” 

Erin felt relieved when she heard what Holly said. In fact, she had wanted to ask Holly if she could lend her some money. 

Before Holly returned, Erin had already thought through the solution to the matter. 

“Holly, I feel relieved after talking to you. Don’t worry. If I really need to borrow money from you, I’ll work hard to repay you!” 

“Gosh. I’ve already told you not to rush things. If you need to borrow money, just tell me anytime. It’s already late now. Let’s go to bed. You still have to go to work tomorrow, right?” Holly yawned and stood up. 

Erin stood up as well. She hugged Holly and said goodnight. Then they both went back to their rooms. 

Right after Erin laid down on her bed, she received a text message from lan. “You don’t have to pay me the money. If you want a divorce, it’s okay. Come home after work tomorrow.” 

Knowing that she didn’t need to repay the money, Erin felt a sense of relief and excitement wash over her. It took her over an hour to fall asleep. 

The next morning, she called Ms. Xander, the assistant in the design department, to apply for leave. Ms. Xander was in charge of human. resources affairs. She wasn’t the president’s design assistant. 

After transferring the money to Cherry at the bank, Erin called her. Cherry sounded delighted. She told Erin to focus on work and that they would handle things at home. 

As Erin left the bank, she ran into someone. 

“Hello, Mr. Grant!” 

Caleb spotted her at a glance. Today, Erin was dressed more casually. She wore jeans and a red ruffled chiffon blouse, with light makeup on her face. Yet her face was exquisite enough to make people stop in their tracks. His black pupils flickered slightly. “Why aren’t you at work yet?” 

Erin replied, “I have some personal business to take care of. I’ve already asked for leave from Ms. Xander-.-” 

“Okay.” Caleb didn’t bother to give her another glance. He walked straight into the bank. 

Seeing him leave without saying anything, Erin shrugged and left too. 

Erin waited at the roadside for ten minutes but couldn’t hail a cab. It would take her 20 minutes to walk to the subway station, so she decided to wait for a while more. 

Caleb was just about to leave in his car after dealing with his affairs when he saw Erin’s beautiful figure standing under the blazing sun. For some reason, he couldn’t bear to see her like that. 

He drove to her side and rolled down the window to ask, “Erin, are you going back to the office?” 

Erin nodded and said, “Yes!” 

“Then get in the car.” 

She hesitated for a moment, but since they were heading in the same direction, she got into the passenger seat. 

Her makeup would have been ruined if she continued to stay there in the heat. 

“Thank you, Mr. Grant.” 

Caleb gazed at her side profile, making her blush. 

She asked nervously. “Mr. Grant, why are you looking at me like that?” 

He leaned toward her, and Erin instinctively leaned back, her heart almost jumping out of her throat. “Mr. Grant…” 

Caleb didn’t say anything. He fastened her seatbelt and drove the car away. 

For the next 20 minutes, Erin sat awkwardly, cursing herself for being a fool. She had thought Caleb was going to kiss her just now. 

“Erin, do you have a boyfriend?”