Chapter 379

Kelsey's words just made Isabella even more sure that the perfume info Nina left behind wasn't some random thing. Nina must've been digging into something before everything went down!

"Where can you even buy these perfumes? I've hit up a bunch of malls and came up empty," Isabella said. She figured she needed to see the stuff in person first.

Kelsey replied, "That cheap junk? No mall would touch it. But yeah, this brand did have a counter in a mall when it first launched. My friend got suckered there and bought a bunch of nasty-smelling stuff. The products were so bad. A few months later, it was gone. Now, you can only find this perfume online."

Kelsey had a ton of shopping apps on her phone. She scrolled through all the popular ones but couldn't find the brand. Finally, she spotted it on some obscure app, but the sales were super low.

"Looks like they're going under. Probably selling old stock from years ago," Kelsey said, opening the details page and handing her phone to Isabella. "Is this the one?"

Isabella glanced at the info and said, "Yep, that's it."

She jotted down the app's name and placed an order herself. She bought a bottle of each of the dozen or so scents listed.

Kelsey watched in disbelief. "Isabella, are you sure you wanna buy so many? I told you it's nasty."

Isabella smiled. This wasn't something she could explain in a few words, and she wasn't even sure if these perfumes had anything to do with Ophelia.

"I'm just curious," Isabella said.

Kelsey shook her head. "You'll regret it."

As they chatted, they headed towards the escalator. Just as they got on, Isabella spotted someone she knew.

"Jack!" Isabella called out, and Kelsey quickly turned around.

Two escalators, one going up and the other down, and her eyes locked with Jack's.

Kelsey remembered she was still in a cold war with Jack and looked away first, waiting for him to call her.

Jack was about to speak, but just as he was about to, Kelsey turned her face away, looking like she didn't want to talk to him. In that moment of hesitation, they passed each other.

Kelsey waited for a long time, but Jack never called her. She couldn't help but look back, but the escalator was already empty, and Jack was nowhere to be seen.

"Jerk!" Kelsey cursed, feeling a pang of sadness.

She didn't want to be in a cold war or argue. She really liked Jack and enjoyed being with him.

Kelsey had long stopped being mad, but she couldn't bring herself to make the first move. She was waiting for Jack to give her an out.

"Kelsey?" Isabella noticed her mood and said, "I think Jack wanted to call you just now."

"Really?" Kelsey, teary-eyed, felt even more conflicted. "But he didn't call in the end!"

Isabella said, "Maybe he was afraid of being embarrassed. There were a lot of people just now, and he was afraid you'd ignore him if he called."

Kelsey said, "How could I ignore him? As long as he speaks, no matter the time or place, no matter how many people, I would respond to him!"

Kelsey indeed loved purely. Despite her temper, she was quite adorable.

Isabella couldn't stand seeing Kelsey all torn up and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "How about I call him?"

Isabella had just pulled out her phone when Kelsey grabbed her arm. "No!"

Kelsey bit her lip. "Forget it! If someone's gotta make the first move, it might as well be me."

Kelsey bit her lip again and said to Isabella, "Isabella, I'm gonna go find him."

Isabella was touched, but she still thought Kelsey should play it a bit cool, even if Jack was a good guy and Kelsey was really into him.

Isabella figured Jack would come around once he was done with his stuff. But before she could say anything, Kelsey had already taken off.

The escalator was moving too slow for Kelsey. She started running up the steps and disappeared at the top in no time.

Kelsey circled the mall a few times but couldn't spot Jack.

"Where is he?" She was exhausted, standing to the side with her hands on her hips, catching her breath.

Just then, Jack walked out of a jewelry store across the way.

Kelsey saw Jack and wanted to call out, but she held back and ran after him.

Jack was walking fast; it wasn't until he reached the elevator that Kelsey caught up.

She grabbed Jack's arm from behind, panting heavily, unable to speak.

"Kelsey." Jack stopped and helped her sit on a nearby bench.

Kelsey caught her breath and smiled. "Jack, why were you walking so fast? You didn't wait for me."

Jack pursed his lips. "I didn't know you were behind me."

Thinking of Jack's hurried steps, Kelsey asked, "Were you planning to come find me?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded. "I was heading to the Jose family to find you."

With that, Kelsey immediately felt better. She tightly held his hand, her fingers touching a velvet ribbon. She looked down and saw a small bag in Jack's hand.

"Did you buy jewelry?" Kelsey was a bit excited.

Kelsey thought, 'It must be for me.'

Jack looked down. "Yeah."

Kelsey's smile was hard to contain. "Since you bought it, give it to me. I saw it anyway, no need for surprises."

She didn't expect Jack to finally know how to please her by buying jewelry. She had mentioned wanting a bracelet recently, and Jack must have remembered. She wondered if Jack bought the style she liked.

But then Kelsey thought, 'As long as Jack bought it, it's thoughtful. I'll like it.'

Jack didn't respond.

Kelsey extended her hand, her delicate wrist in front of Jack. "Don't say I didn't give you a chance."

She thought, 'As long as Jack takes out the bracelet and puts it on me, I'll hug him and kiss him twice, no, three times!'

Jack looked at her expectant face and paused. "Sorry."

Kelsey's face froze. "What's wrong? There's no one around; are you embarrassed?"

She was already thick-skinned; what was Jack embarrassed about?

"Kelsey, what do you like? I'll buy it for you when I get paid next month." Jack's words instantly made Kelsey's enthusiasm vanish.

"What do you mean, next month?" Kelsey blinked, her innocent eyes staring at Jack, making him unable to lift his head.

Jack nervously squeezed the velvet ribbon in his hand, his voice muffled. "This isn't for you."

Kelsey's expression froze. "Not for me?"