George Flack's eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand to wipe the blood off Aria Grant's bitten lips. He turned to look at her, and suddenly let out a low chuckle.
His smile made Aria pause, as it was the first time she had ever seen him laugh in front of her.
It seemed that his fiancée had trained him well.
Aria lowered her gaze, took a swig of water to rinse her mouth in front of him, and said, "I hope Mister Flack will not be so rude next time."
"Don't worry." George looked at her actions, his eyes slightly sinking, and his cold voice seemed to have a hint of danger, "I will do it again, Aria."
Aria rinsed her mouth, didn't say anything, wiped her hands with a tissue, and started to leave past him.
This time, George didn't hold on to her but closely followed her, his gaze never leaving her.
She had longed for this kind of intense and focused gaze before.
But now, she was emotionless inside.
Only her sister and Ivy's matters could cause her emotions to change.
George realized that the present Aria seemed different from the Aria in the past.
Both her character and temperament had changed significantly.
Most importantly, her attitude towards him made him feel powerless and frustrated, and even somewhat fearful.
From her eyes, he could no longer see any of his former affection, only emptiness and calmness, endless calmness, as if she regarded him as nothing more than a stranger while facing him.
George's gaze fell on her, and his beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly. What had she been through during the years she disappeared?
Was it related to Kelly?
Aria didn't bother with George, letting him follow her.
She ate and drank, gave Samuel Mamet her congratulations, and prepared to leave after Dean Taylor gave her a successful gesture.
She thought George would only follow her for a while, as it used to be her following him. He would never chase after her.
But George didn't leave until she left the hotel and even followed her to her car.
"Mr. Flack." Aria's eyes showed a hint of annoyance, her calm voice chilling a few degrees as she turned to look at the man following her: "Why are you following me?"
"I have something to give you. I hope you can come with me." George reverted to his usual cold and indifferent self, as if he wasn't the one who had just kissed her uncontrollably in the restroom.
"No, thank you. Being alone together would easily spread bad news." Aria shook her head slightly: "Find some free time to make an appointment."
She truly wanted to cut all ties with George.
George's gaze fell on Dean in the co-pilot seat, his voice chilling, "So it's not just you and him, alone?"
"Dean is different." Aria opened the car door, got in, closed the door, and looked at him, "He's single, no fiancée, no children."
"As a single man and woman, it's normal for us to spread some news."
Dean, sitting in the co-pilot seat, shivered and gave Aria a speechless look.
But please leave him out of it; if Boss knew what he had done to Mrs. Grant, he would certainly not live to see tomorrow's sun.
"Aria Grant!" George's temples throbbed, and he could no longer suppress the rage surging in his heart. His face darkened: "Are you trying to piss me off?"
"You are mistaken, Mr. Flack." Aria shook her head seriously: "I'm just stating the facts."
George's face darkened. Stating the facts? Fine, stating the facts.
He felt like he was going to explode with anger.
"I have to go back first, Mrs. Grant. See you again." Aria pressed the car window button, the window rose, blocking George's angry gaze outside.
As the car slowly drove away, George didn't chase after it. Instead, he stood in place with a gloomy expression, staring intensely at the departing vehicle, his handsome and elegant face cold and dark, quite intimidating.
When White, his assistant, ran out, he saw George looking like he had been abandoned, and hurriedly approached him: "Boss."
"White." George retracted his gaze, his voice sinking, "Find out Mrs. Grant's whereabouts over the past few years and give them to me. I want to see it tomorrow."
"Yes." White replied softly, not daring to say anything more.
Now, Boss was like a bomb ready to explode at any moment, and he didn't want to provoke him.
In fact, White was overthinking. As long as Aria wasn't around, George could calm down.
Remembering Aria chatting with Samuel Mamet, George strode back to the hotel, grabbed Samuel, who had just finished his speech and was about to go mingle, and dragged him away.
—
In the car.
Aria pretended to nap, her face very calm.
Dean looked at her several times, and when Aria opened her eyes to meet his gaze, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"I've finished the task you gave me. But our branch in our country hasn't involved in the entertainment industry yet. Do you want to open one?" Only after seeing that her eyes were clear and there were no signs of emotional breakdown did Dean report his work progress to her.
Instead of answering directly, Aria tapped her slender fingers on her thigh: "Hmm, it seems like our new branch has yet to decide on the direction of its involvement in the industry. So, let it cover the entertainment industry."
Her sister was an artist, and an investigation would inevitably involve people in this field. So, having a company would be safer.
"Alright." Dean nodded, committing it to memory, and then gave her a cautious look: "What about that man just now?"
Aria didn't reply, but glanced at him indifferently. Dean had a bitter smile on his face: "The boss ordered me to be aware of the information of anyone who appears around you."
Otherwise, he wouldn't want to know.
"George Flack." Aria leaned back, her long straight legs resting on the seat, her voice calm and indifferent: "My ex-boyfriend, Ivy's father."
"Oh, your ex-boyfriend, huh." Dean nodded in understanding, and as he was about to turn his head away, he suddenly froze.
He stared stiffly at Aria: "What... what did you just say?"
Her ex-boyfriend is Ivy's father?
"I won't repeat the information." Aria raised her eyebrows slightly.
Dean looked at her blankly, then turned himself away.
If the boss knew this news, he would undoubtedly rush back home and beat George Flack up, right?
Aria didn't care about George at all. She had already decided to let him go when she found out he had a fiancée and an illegitimate child.
Now, all she could think of were her sister's matters and Ivy's.
As for when she would tell George about Ivy, she would just let things happen naturally.
Aria planned well, but what she didn't know was that fate had already entangled them to the end, and they could never escape from their intertwined relationship.