True Fated Marriage (Grace and Heinz)
Chapter 1247

The next morning.

Gary still showed up in the classroom.

Celeste, who had always looked at Gary's seat upon entering out of habit, noticed him as soon as she entered the classroom. She was startled for a while, feeling shocked upon seeing him.

It seemed that she hadn't expected Gary to attend class. She walked towards her seat absentmindedly.

However, she never shifted her gaze away from Gary.

Ernest saw Celeste as soon as he looked up. He was taken aback for a second but remained silent.

Gary, on the other hand, kept his head down the whole time.

It wasn't until their homeroom teacher entered that Celeste regained her senses to try and focus.

Despite that, Celeste's mind was still occupied throughout class.

"Celeste, someone is looking for you outside."

Upon hearing that, Celeste instantly looked toward the door. She saw Maria standing by the door, peeking at the class.

She got up and walked out.

"Maria, why are you here?"

"I have a secret to tell you." Maria pulled Celeste toward the corridor, "Hurry, I still have a test later."

"What secret?" Celeste's intuition told her that it was related to Gary. Indeed, what happened next shocked Celeste terribly.

"Celeste, Gary is going to the United States the day after tomorrow," Maria told her in a low voice, "There will be a family banquet tomorrow to send him off."

"What? So soon?" Celeste exclaimed.

"What? You didn't know?" Maria wasn't sure what had happened, but she felt worried upon noticing how Celeste's face instantly paled up, "Celeste, are you leaving with him the day after tomorrow?" Celeste pursed her lips and remained silent for quite a while.

Her heart was in a mess, but she didn't understand why.

When she thought of how Gary was going to leave immediately, her heart felt incredibly messy as her mind went blank.

She didn't know how to process this piece of information.

"Celeste?" Maria raised her voice upon noticing her facial expression.

Celeste came back to her senses and shook her head, "No, I'm going to England."

"What?" It was Maria's turn to be shocked. She stared at Celeste as if she was a stranger, "That's so sudden. Why are you suddenly indecisive? I thought you were going to the United States with Gary. Why are you suddenly going to England instead?"

"I..." Celeste hesitated, "I think it'll be better for me to head to England."

"Celeste, no, there's something that you're hiding from me." Maria said, "Aren't we best friends? Why did you suddenly change your mind? I thought you have already decided early on."

"I just realized that Gary is not easy to get along with, so I thought it would be easier if I be with Ernest instead," Celeste explained softly.

"Gary is indeed not someone easy to get along with." Maria admitted, "You're right about that, but hadn't you known this long ago."

Celeste lowered her eyes and remained silent for a long time.

This made Maria anxious.

"Oh, come on. Tell me why you changed your mind so suddenly? This is about studying abroad, not play pretend." Maria felt even more anxious upon seeing how Celeste refused to explain herself, "I really doubt if you actually know what you are doing."

"I..." Celeste was still hesitant to speak.

"Forget it. Looking at you now, I bet you're still unsure of your own decision as well," Maria waved her hand and sighed helplessly, "You should go to the United States though. Although Gary isn't easy to be with, he's not a bad person. He's just cold on the surface but warm on the inside. He does speak awkwardly; he hasn't even addressed his father as "dad" after all these years, and you've only known him for a few years."

Celeste was shocked again and asked, "He doesn't call his father "dad"? Then how does he address him?"

"Heinz," Maria answered, "Just like me, he never met his dad until he was five. He has always been weird about it and has never called him "dad" I mean, look at how Gary and Ernest have different surnames despite having the same parents. Isn't that a strong telltale sign of how awkward he is?"

"I see," Celeste wasn't sure what happened, but after learning of the fact that he had never addressed his father as "dad", she could understand how awkward he was.

She couldn't help but wonder if he was hurt deeply.

"Celeste, think about it. Is Gary the one who needs to be healed, or Ernest?" Maria could tell that Celeste still hasn't made up her mind. So, she couldn't help but try to encourage her again.

The autographs of her favorite idol that Gary had gifted her were too impactful. Even if she wasn't doing this because of their relationship as cousins, she still had to help Gary since he had gifted her those autographs.

Maria had always been clear on repaying one based on their actions.

Kindness had to be repaid with kindness, whereas hatred had to be avenged.

"Heal?" Once again, Celeste was shocked at the term that Maria had used, "It's not that bad, right? I doubt Gary is at a stage where he needs someone to heal him."

"Doesn't he need to be healed when he has poor mental health?" Maria asked in response.

Celeste was at a loss for words again.

It seemed that Maria always knew what to say.

"Ernest is such a cheerful person. No matter where he goes, he always has friends, and he is always smiling. As for Gary, he's a total loner who makes strangers feel apprehensive to even approach him." Celeste nodded subconsciously. It seemed to be the case.

"I thought you were someone different since you managed to garner both their attention. Now it seems that I've overestimated you." Maria sighed and said helplessly, "Who would've thought that you're so innocent?"

"I'm not that innocent, am I?" Celeste wasn't happy with the word that Maria used.

"How else should I describe you then? You're not an innocent girl?" Maria asked her in return.

Celeste didn't know how to answer her, so she just smiled in response.

"You're so uninvolved with worldly affairs, unlike me.

"We are all students."

"Even students can differ from one another." Maria said, "Even when I was young, I knew to secure interests for myself, so I've never let go of my dad as soon as I reunited with him. You have no idea how many women we're crushing on my dad but ended up being scared away by me. Now, my mommy doesn't have to worry about them, all thanks to me."

"You're so awesome," Celeste said enviously.

It must be nice for her to grow up alongside her parents.

"Enough of that." Maria said, "By right, you would understand worldly affairs since you grew up in Canada. Look at you; you're studying so much that you end up becoming stupid."

"Maria, I'm not stupid," Celeste explained, "I just don't think things needed to be so complicated."

"Sure, not complicated." Maria nodded and asked, "So, tell me, is it not complicated now that you've suddenly decided to go to England instead?"

Celeste was caught off-guard. She thought about it for a while before nodding, "It is quite complicated, that's why after contemplating for a long time, I decided to study in England instead."