Sheldon had driven his car to his mother-in-law's house. Sara and Rose got in the car first, while Sheldon and Jade waited outside. Alex had not climbed in yet, and they didn't want to get in the car before him.
"Sue, hurry up and get in the car with Mr. Ambrose," Sheldon said politely. Jade also smiled apologetically.
Sue and Alex opened the car doors and started to get in. Although Sue was curious about their behaviour change, it was refreshing to see her sister and brother-in-law act more nicely towards them.
"Get out! This isn't your car." Sara said as she glared at Alex.
"Mom, don't say such harsh words. There's plenty of space inside," Sheldon said with a frown. He stole a glance at Alex. He was afraid that Alex might get angry and reveal that Sheldon was renting the villa from him for the day.
"Even if there's room for him, he's not allowed in here. He might get the wrong ideas if he gets used to sitting in nice cars," Sara said as she continued to speak negatively about Alex. She waved at Garry who was standing outside, "Garry, let's go there together."
"Okay," Garry agreed, pushing Alex aside and getting into the car.
Sheldon looked at Alex with embarrassment.
"Okay, I won't go with you," Alex said to reassure Sheldon as he patted him on the shoulder, smiled indifferently, and left.
"Don't come back!" Sara said angrily. She glanced at Sue and said, "Why are you still standing there? Get in the car and sit next to Garry."
Sue looked at her mother, but she didn't say a word. She turned around and chased after Alex.
"Come back here!" Sara yelled after her daughter, but she didn't look back.
**
Sheldon drove Sara, Jade, Rose, and Garry to the Green Island Garden District. As they drove, Sheldon and Jade felt uneasy. They had borrowed Mr Ambrose's villa, but Sara had been unkind toward him.
When they arrived, everyone got out of the car.
"I wonder if Sue will come back?" Garry muttered worriedly.
"Don't worry, she'll come back," Rose whispered to him. That day was her grandfather's anniversary, so one of the three girls had to be present. If not, it would be very disrespectful toward her grandfather.
"That damn girl better not bring that swindler with her," Sara said with a dark expression.
"Jade, take everyone to the villa. I'll go and buy some groceries now. I'll show you a thing or two with my cooking today," Sheldon said.
"All right… Mom, everyone, let's go." Jade led them into the residential area while her husband walked toward the nearby market.
As he walked, Sheldon phoned Sue to check in on her. He was relieved to hear that she and Alex had taken a taxi to the Green Island Garden District. He continued to walk to the market to buy some food.
Jade led everyone to the villa's front door. When she inserted the key into the lock, her hands were trembling. After all, this wasn't her house. But she heaved a sigh of relief when she heard the door click open.
"Come in, Mom, Rose." Jade lightly wiped the sweat off her forehead and gestured for Sara and the rest to enter. "Garry, please come in."
The group walked into the villa. They were shocked when they saw how it was decorated.
Inside the villa, the walls were white. There was an arched window to one side with an elegant small living room on the right.
The main living room was very large and decorated with all kinds of art. There was a mahogany coffee table, a leather sofa, and a large vase full of daffodils. There was also a winding staircase to the second floor, with black bannisters.
After seeing the decor, everyone's eyes lit up. It looked as if they had entered a palace.
"So beautiful," Rose whispered with shining eyes as she sized up everything in the living room. It had exceeded her imagination.
"This is amazing! It must have cost a lot of money to renovate to this quality, right?" Sara snapped out of her daze and gave Jade a big thumbs up.
"Um," Jade was also shocked. When she looked at her mother, she remembered that the villa did not belong to her. She smiled awkwardly and said, "I didn't spend that much money."
"You didn't spend that much money? Fine, I see that the two of you have gained a lot of wealth these last two years," her mother said with a smile. She walked with Rose around the living room and looked at the decor.
After a few rounds, Rose and Sara sat on the sofa. Garry and Jade also sat down.
**
Alex didn't want to go to the villa anymore, but Sue persuaded him to go with her. If her mother thought that he had run away, then she would have more reasons to push her toward Garry.
"I'm sorry, but my mother is that kind of person," Sue said, as she felt very sorry for the outrageous words that her mother had uttered at her house.
"It's fine, I don't mind," Alex said quietly with a faint smile. He was not heartless, but he had experienced excessive bullying before, so his resistance to it had become stronger.
"Thank you." Sue felt slightly more at ease. She raised her head to look around the area. With a trace of confusion in her eyes, she murmured, "I wonder which house belongs to my brother-in-law?"
"Come with me," Alex said and walked in the direction of the villa. Sue followed him in confusion.
**
"Ding, dong." The doorbell rang, so Jade went to open the door.
"Sue, Alex, you're here!" she exclaimed.
Sue glanced at Alex. She couldn't understand how he had known where to find the villa.
"Hmph, if you had just gone away, I would admire you more as a man. I didn't expect you to follow us here. How shameless," Sara said coldly when she saw them arrive.
Sue was afraid that Alex would get angry when he heard her mother's words, but she looked at his expression and saw that he was quite calm. So, she did not say anything. She brought him into the living room and tried to avoid her mother and the sofa that everyone was sitting on. Sara could only sigh helplessly as she watched her daughter avoid them.
"That's right, Rose. How did you solve those problems the last time? I was worried to death." Sara temporarily ignored Alex and looked at Rose, continuing a conversation they had been having. Rose had messed with the Heavenly Lion Group, and it had caused a huge ruckus in their family. When everyone felt helpless, Rose's family declared that they had solved the problem perfectly.
"Oh… Oh, that time. It was solved by a mysterious person who asked President Chase of the Merchant Union to come forward," Rose said with a smile.
"A mysterious person?" Sara, Jade, and Garry looked at each other in confusion. "Are you saying that your family still hasn't figured out who the person is?"
"Yes." Rose laughed awkwardly. "However, it should have nothing to do with my father. It's very likely that it was a student at Preston University."
Rose did not have any clue about this at first until the evening of the night market when she had been kidnapped by Luciel and saved once again by a mysterious man. She gradually had a feeling that the person who had saved her twice could be the same person. The people in her circle were all Preston University students, which was why she was certain that this mysterious person was also a student.
Thinking about this, Rose could not help but glance at Alex, who was chatting with her aunt. A few days ago, she had thought Alex maybe that mysterious man, but now that she had thought about it some more, she decided it was a ridiculous idea.
Rose somehow felt angry when she saw Alex and her aunt sitting together. They looked comfortable talking and laughing with each other.
"Oh, so it's like that," Sara said, but she was still confused. She patted Rose's hand, "You must properly express your gratitude if you're sure that one of your classmates had helped you. If it's appropriate, you could also try dating—"
"Grandmother, what are you talking about?" A rare bashful look appeared on Rose's face.
"Oh, you're still such a shy little girl. I'm telling you the truth. Think about it… The kind of person that could make Donald Brennan of the Heavenly Lion Group back down is not a joke. Just pay attention, okay?" Sara whispered as she leaned toward her granddaughter.
Seeing that Rose's bashful expression was becoming more serious, her grandmother laughed and said, "All right, I'll stop now."
Sara and the group chatted for a while longer, but when Sara saw Alex and Sue sitting together in the small, distant living room, she got angry.
"Rose, that darn liar said that he also goes to Preston University. He's in the same school as you, right? Have you heard of him?" Sara said loudly on purpose, interrupting their chat.
"Um." Rose could not help but glance at Alex. She noticed that he was looking at her, and when she saw him sitting with her aunt and looking like the perfect couple, a trace of hatred rose inside her heart.
"Of course, I know him. I met him once when I was doing business with my father at the Metro Sky Bank. He didn't even have a card. He just rushed in recklessly and hit my head. He's very good at boasting. When my family was in trouble, he even faked that we would be fine, but he didn't do anything. Last week, I went to the night market with my best friend, and she had asked him to protect us. But when we were in danger, he ran away. He didn't apologize or show any concern. He didn't do anything at all," Rose reflected.