I’ll Teach You, Marianne.

Chapter 157 – Anne Big Secret

Linda kept asking what Anne had said earlier during the trip to the flower shop, but Anne just closed her lips tightly and continued to concentrate on driving the car to the shop. She ignored Linda who wouldn't stop talking, today Anne's mood was really messed up since morning. 

"Fine, even if you don't want to answer my question, I'm okay. I'm okay, Anne," Linda said sarcastically when they arrived at the flower shop. 

Anne just didn't answer anything that Linda asked her. She didn't even open her seat belt and her hands were still on the steering wheel. When Linda had finished removing her own seat belt and was getting ready to get off, suddenly Anne held Linda's hand.

"I have some business to take care of, so you keep the shop with Paul," said Anne quietly as she looked into Linda's eyes sharply.

"O-ok, I'll look after the shop well. Where are you going?" Linda asked stuttered. Being stared at like that by Anne made her uncomfortable. She felt something was wrong with Anne today.

"It's a matter of the heart." Anne answered briefly and enigmatically.

Hearing Anne's words made Linda speechless. In fact, she was still very confused about what Anne said. But because Anne looked so mysterious today, Linda finally decided to give Anne some time to be alone. With a smile, Linda touched Anne's face, which had not been smiling.

"Go and calm yourself. But remember, don't do anything wrong. After you feel good, you have to come back soon and don't do things that are beyond the limits, Anne. Remember, no matter how hard your problem is, there is still God who will help you," said Linda softly.

"I know, Linda, I just want to be alone now. You don't need to worry, I've been through a much more difficult time than this," said Anne quietly without expression. 

"All right, I'll get off now and you be careful. I'm not going to disturb your time," said Linda again, grabbing the car door handle and opening the door so she could get out.

Shortly after, Linda got off, Anne then started the car back up and drove off to the highway, leaving Linda who was still standing in front of her flower shop. Paul, who had seen Anne and Linda from inside the shop, then got out. He then approached Linda out of curiosity. 

"Why did she go again?" asked Paul, confused.

"Anne has some important personal matter," said Linda simply.

"I see, let's go into the shop. Today we got an order of three medium-sized flower bouquets, I just made one," Paul said quietly as he walked back into the shop.

"Three flower bouquets? Wow, Paul, you're so cool, but can you arrange them?" Linda asked, teasing Paul.

"If I can't, I would have refused four orders of flower bouquets this morning, Linda, don't underestimate me," Paul replied curtly.

"What? So this morning you made four bouquets of flowers too?" Linda asked again. She couldn't believe Paul had done so much work today.

Paul, who was annoyed by Linda, didn't answer Linda's question again. He didn't like being teased like that by Linda. Seeing Paul ignoring her made Linda a little annoyed. She then screamed and ran after Paul who had arrived at the shop. Soon, the two of them then laughed together and got busy with their respective jobs, as there were two more buyers who came.

Meanwhile, Anne, who was still in her car, was very nervous because she felt very sorry for Jack. She had counted the number of times she called Jack, but none of her calls were answered by Jack. And so were dozens of messages she had sent to him, which weren't replied. She was sure Jack must have blocked her cell phone number. 

"What is wrong with you, Jack? Are you really mad at me? Why are you like this?" said Anne quietly as she continued to drive her car on the highway aimlessly.

  * * *

Anne had been driving her car almost an hour aimlessly. She was really nervous because she couldn't reach Jack. Even though she didn't know why her heart hurt, Anne felt something was wrong with her. There was a feeling of tightness in her chest right now that she didn't know the cause. Since childhood, she had experienced injustice, making Anne insensitive to the little things that Jack had given her, even though Jack was rude and angry, Anne knew that he was doing it for her good so as not to be careless again in the future. 

Accidentally, Anne suddenly stopped her car in front of the coin laundry where she used to wash her clothes. Her smile widened when she saw Mrs. Delilah who was busy serving customers who washed their clothes in her place. Without thinking, Anne then got out of her car. She walked slowly to the cashier counter where Mrs. Riley was busy counting the remaining coins in the container. Because she had many customers today, she had to make sure that there were still a lot of special coins put in the washing machines, as she didn't want to disappoint her customers.

"Good evening, Madame," said Anne gently.

"Afternoon Miss, how many washing machines do you need and …"

Thump!

Mrs. Riley could not finish her words when she saw the figure standing in front of her. 

"Anne!!!" screamed Mrs. Riley hysterically. 

Mrs. Delilah, who was tidying the basket, was surprised when she heard her friend screaming,. She immediately turned to the cashier to find out what had caused her friend to scream. And when she saw what was happening at the checkout counter, she screamed no less loudly, seeing Anne coming back after a few weeks of not seeing her made her miss the good girl. 

"Where have you been, Anne? Don't you miss us?" asked Mrs. Delilah excitedly.

"Yes, beautiful child, do you not miss these two old women? Don't say you've got another confidant so you forget all about us," added Mrs. Riley sadly.

"Is that true? So for several weeks you did not come because you have made new friends? Wow I'm sad," said Mrs. Delilah quickly.

"No, Ma'am, I have no other trusted friends besides you two," answered Anne softly.

"If you don't find a new confidant then why don't you come for the past few weeks?"

"Yeah, right, why didn't you visit us? Shouldn't you come to the laundry to wash clothes or other equipment as before?" 

"What is it, beautiful child? Is the service in this laundry less satisfying?"

"Are the detergents and fragrances in this laundry not to your liking?"

"If that's the case, just tell us, what kind of fragrance do you like? So we can prepare it for you, Anne."

Mrs. Delilah and Mrs. Riley bombarded Anne with many questions. They both really wondered why Anne didn't come for nearly four weeks. Whereas, in the past, Anne always came every week, she could even come three times in a week. 

Seeing the two middle-aged women in front of her constantly asking questions made Anne touched. She did not think that she was actually missed by the two good women whom she had only known for a few months. Seeing Anne in tears made Mrs. Delilah and Mrs. Riley speechless. They both felt that something was wrong with the cheerful girl they knew.

"Is there anything we can help you, Dear?" asked Mrs. Delilah softly.

"Tell us, who knows by telling us you can be a little calmer," added Mrs. Riley quietly as she touched Anne's flushed face.

The tears that Anne had been holding back for almost ten hours finally came out. She immediately cried silently in front of the two laundry women.