Most of the time Ellie was very easy going, but sometimes, she could be very stubborn. This was one
of those times.
She had a serious conversation with Ashley, because she was really worried about her best friend! Her
words might be a little harsh, but she meant well. She was just angry with Ashley for not thinking about
her future.
"It was my decision to not have the wedding," said Ashley.
Admitting this to Ellie made her feel really shitty. The bad person that Ellie had just spoken about was
actually her.
Ellie stared at Ashley in disbelief.
She still couldn't believe what she just heard. "What did you say? Can you please repeat that for me?"
Ellie asked in surprise.
Ashley opened her mouth lightly and said, "I said I was the one who didn't want to have the wedding."
"ASHLEY! Are you out of your mind? What's wrong with you, girl? Do you think this is some kind of
video game that you can play with anytime you turn on your TV? This is your marriage! How could you
behave in this way? What's wrong with you?"
Ellie was so upset with her, she delivered the entire monologue in one breath. The whole time she
thought Andrew was the bad guy, but it turned out to be her best friend instead. She was ready to tell
Andrew off for his terrible behavior towards Ashley. Never in her wildest dreams would she have
thought that it was Ashley who didn't want the wedding.
The one redeeming factor was that Ellie hadn't confronted Andrew or she would have just died of
embarrassment.
"Alright! Calm down, Ellie! I just think now is not a good time to have the wedding. I know he loves me!
But it happened so fast! It was love at first sight for both of us, and quickly after that we just got
married. I am an orphan. I don't have a family. Who cares? Am I right?
But the truth is that his parents don't even know me! I can't just let him send an invitation to his parents
and say, 'Hey, Mom and Dad! Surprise! I am going to get married! Please just show up!' Anyway, I just
want to give his parents some time to process this. I don't think that is such a bad idea or an
irresponsible decision. And Andrew and I have talked about this! We are working on it. It will just take
some time. We will figure it out soon," said Ashley.
An old saying came to her mind. "Don't lie. You might end up living with your lies, or getting killed by
them."
That was the exact situation she was in. Either keep lying or accept the consequences, which was
something she didn't really want.
Ashley wouldn't have done what she did if she had known then what was going to happen.
Ashley's explanation calmed Ellie down. As long as they were going to get married, Ellie wouldn't have
to worry too much about her.
"When will you go to meet his parents?" Ellie asked.
"Soon. I am not sure about the exact time yet," answered Ashley.
"Okay then. This is very important for you. Just promise me that you will keep this in the back of your
mind. Okay?" urged Ellie.
Ashley nodded. "Okay, okay! I promise! I will keep it in mind!"
Ellie finally smiled.
"All right! Let's go inside, Ellie!" said Ashley. "Hmm," she agreed.
All Ellie was trying to do was to protect Ashley. Ashley was too young and too naive.
Meanwhile, at the Lu Group
In Andrew's office, he was sitting on the chair and looking carefully at the documents. Something
suddenly popped up in his mind. He asked Johnny for the invitation letter sent by the Luo Group.
"The invitation letter?" Johnny asked, unsure of the one he was talking about.
He looked up waiting for more details but realization struck when he looked at Andrew.
"Sir, are you looking for the invitation letter that the Luo Group sent us a few days ago?" Johnny asked.
Andrew responded, "Hmm."
Johnny walked out the office and started looking for the invitation letter on his desk.
Like the Luo Group, many companies invited Andrew to their parties and events. But most of the times,
Andrew would decline. He didn't really care about the small businesses. So Johnny would throw away
the invites.
Although the Luo Group was not as big a corporation as the Lu Group, it had expanded very well in
recent years.
Johnny had put their invitation letter at the bottom of his drawer. He couldn't make the decision on
Andrew's behalf so he just stored it away.
After rummaging through his drawer for a few minutes, Johnny finally found the invitation letter.
He was really glad he had saved this particular invitation. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. He
couldn't imagine what would happen if Andrew found out that he had already put it away.
He couldn't understand why Andrew would want the invitation letter. Everyone knew about the CEO of
the Lu Group. All the companies would be glad to have him accepting their invite.
Johnny didn't really understand why, but he didn't want to question Andrew about it.
"Sir, here is the invitation letter," said Johnny. He put it on Andrew's desk.
That letter was very fancy. The borders and the word "Invitation" were covered in gold. The Luo Group
had worked hard on this.
Andrew took a quick look at the letter. It was the 50th birthday party of the CEO of the Luo Group.
'It's today, ' Andrew thought about it. His eyes suddenly turned dark and menacing.
This sent shivers down Johnny's spine. He didn't know what made Andrew angry, but he was smart
enough to not ask about it.
Ashley said goodbye to Ellie around five o'clock. Ellie didn't detain her. She just reminded her to be
careful.
Andrew picked her up and took her to a place called The Silver Moon. Johnny stopped the car, walked
out and opened the door for Andrew. "Sir, we have arrived," he announced.
Andrew nodded and walked out the car with Ashley.
Ashley couldn't figure out what was going on. She didn't know what Andrew was planning to do. He
had told her they were going to a party, but The Silver Moon didn't look like a party venue.
"Where are we going?" she asked as her curiosity got the best of her.
"Just follow me," replied Andrew. He didn't explain further. He just held her hand and walked in.
The outside of the store didn't look special. But once Ashley walked in, it was like a completely new
world.
There were rows upon rows of elegant, beautiful dresses. Just by looking at them, Ashley knew that the
price was off the charts. She couldn't imagine affording even one of them.
Andrew didn't look too surprised. He just took Ashley to the back of the store.
A woman, who looked to be in her late 40s, was working on a dress on her sewing machine.
"Hey, Jade," greeted Andrew. She was too busy to see them approaching until he called out her name.
His tone was unusually gentle.
"Andrew?" Jade looked up and saw Andrew. Her beautiful face lit up, and she smiled.
She put the fabric down and walked towards him. "I thought you totally forgot about this old woman!
Come here and give me a hug," she gently reprimanded him.
Andrew hugged her and said, "I would never forget you, Jade, and you are not old at all! You always
look like a 20-year-old girl to me!"
Ashley couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had never seen Andrew talking so sweetly to
anybody. This was the first time she saw a gentler side of him.
"Oh, you sweet little thing," gushed the lady. Jade was really pleased with Andrew's sweet talk. No
woman could stay angry with anyone who gave such a compliment. Not to mention Jade, who wasn't
angry at all.
"Rosaline has been talking about you every day. You might want to spend some time with her
whenever you have some time," said Jade.
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