To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 94

Anita, wondering if she was doing the right thing by ordering the most basic menu, felt that staying here without paying for accommodation was almost like staying in a hotel for free.

As she absentmindedly cut her bacon, someone plopped down into the chair opposite her.

“I can’t start my day without coffee in the morning.”

“……”

It was Finian Nigel, impeccably dressed even at this early hour.

“Really?”

Anita responded indifferently while slicing her toast.

“Don’t you have anything else to say?”

Finian stared at her with an intensity that made her feel uncomfortable. Anita, who had just taken a bite of her toast, put it back down and searched for an appropriate response.

“It feels a lot like a hotel here.”

Finian suddenly scoffed and crossed his legs.

“Wow, that’s a funny thing to say. Of course, it would be.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Liliana family is in the hotel business, didn’t you know? By the look on your face, I guess you didn’t.”

“……”

“The Rivera Hotel is going to be inherited by Liliana too.”

“Was that property owned by the Liffton family?”

Finian took a sip of steaming coffee, which he had ordered sometime without Anita noticing.

“Don’t you read the news? You shouldn’t talk about money in front of Lilliana. She might tear you apart.”

Anita rolled her eyes. She did read the newspaper, but only skimmed through the crossword puzzles and new book sections before tossing it aside.

“Anyway, the Liffton family is working on a business venture with Robert Allen…”

“Who’s Robert Allen?”

Anita decided to ask about the news, taking advantage of the fact that her ignorance was already exposed. As she calmly spread jam on her toast and posed the question, Finian gave her a look of mild disdain before responding.

“Robert Allen’s brother, Daniel Allen… though you probably don’t know who Daniel Allen is. You can think of the family as having their hands in every profitable venture. Military industry, oil industry. Oh, and apparently they’re even dabbling in shipbuilding lately.”

“Hmm.”

Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. The conversation was veering into areas she wasn’t particularly interested in. Anita nodded along as if she were listening attentively.

“Actually, I heard something quite interesting about this family. Robert Allen had a son…”

“Good morning.”

Startled by Liliana’s sudden appearance, Anita dropped her toast. Finian, who had been engrossed in the conversation, now looked irritated by the interruption.

“What were you talking about?”

“Oh, just some random stuff.”

Anita picked up the toast that had fallen onto the tablecloth and moved it aside. Meanwhile, Liliana took the seat next to Anita.

“Anita, I have something very serious to discuss with you.”

“Well, it’s a rare occasion. Liliana Riffton being serious.”

“Shall we get rid of that ragamuffin and talk just the two of us?”

Finian’s expression darkened. Calling him a ragamuffin, despite his presumably high-end suit, was likely quite offensive. Anita was beginning to grasp just how wealthy Liliana was.

“Finian, I’m sorry, but could you excuse us for a moment?”

Anita made the request cautiously. As someone staying at Liliana’s villa without paying a dime, she felt obligated to accommodate her requests whenever possible.

“Ah, yes. Princess Liliana, the ragamuffin Finian Nigel will take his leave.”

With a clearly sulky tone and an exaggerated bow, he departed.

“I actually wanted to tell you about last night…”

As Anita waited for Liliana to speak, a waiter nervously approached and fidgeted behind her. Seeing the waiter’s anxious demeanor, Anita gestured towards him with her fingers. Liliana turned around, visibly irritated.

“What’s wrong?”

“The owner is waiting for your contact.”

“Tell them to wait.”

“Right now. They are waiting right now.”

The waiter emphasized “right now,” indicating the urgency of the matter. Liliana sighed heavily, turning back towards Anita.

“I’m sorry. I’ll tell you later. It seems I need to go urgently now.”

Anita nodded. Since there was nothing particularly urgent she needed to say to Liliana, she didn’t mind waiting.

As Liliana hurried away, Anita watched her retreating figure while putting a bite of cooked tomato into her mouth.

‘What could be so urgent?’

Anita was curious, partly because Liliana’s urgency seemed intriguing. After finishing breakfast, Liliana still hadn’t returned. Anita lingered at the table, watching as others around her started to leave.

In truth, she wasn’t just waiting for Liliana; she enjoyed the warmth of the southern sun and the cool morning air that came with it.

Having toyed with her cold teacup, Anita finally decided to get up. With no particular plans, she thought she’d take a walk and visit the beach.

She had wondered if she needed to climb down the cliff to reach the beach, but it turned out to be a needless worry. The villa had a set of stairs leading down the cliff. Anita tested the metal steps by firmly stamping her feet a couple of times before starting her descent.

The steps seemed stable enough.

As she made her way down, Anita found the view of the sheer cliff face from the front quite striking. While observing the patterns in the cliff, a sudden gust of wind caused her to sway. She barely managed to grab hold of the railing.

It seemed there was no one else at the beach, perhaps due to the danger. The railing was quite low for someone of Anita’s height, and the stair width was barely half the length of her foot. She was seriously considering turning back when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She pressed herself against one side to make way for the person coming down.

“Do you have a death wish? Why are you standing there so recklessly?”