It was known from the start that Andrew's mother never tried to force the marriage because she
thought it was good for both of them. However as the going went tough for them, she agreed to end the
marriage.
Due to some unknown reasons, after the divorce, Andrew's mother left the country and never came
back. She never visited Andrew from that day on. Thus everyone assumed that she might have already
forgotten that she had a son.
On the contrary, Ethan married Arya right after he got divorced. Soon, they had a child together, whose
name was Susie. Although she was a girl, Ethan loved her way more than he loved Andrew.
All his life, as far as Andrew could remember, Ethan never cared about him at all. That was the reason
why there was a distance between them. Nevertheless, Andrew was the only son in the family. He was
raised and disciplined to be the successor of both the business and the entire family. Yet, when he was
still young, he had seen a lot of his kin scheming against each other for many different reasons. Thus,
growing up, he didn't build too much bond towards his family.
"I do have an intimate feeling towards a man, but I don't know if he feels the same. So, I am not sure
yet," said Susie with a sheepish smile. She felt a little blue. Confiding her feelings towards her father
was rather an awkward topic for such a young lady like her.
She was surprised, however, when Ethan responded, "My daughter is the best. How could any man
refuse such a beautiful girl like you? He has to be a fool to do so."
"Dad! Stop! I will figure it out myself! Just leave it to me! Okay?" Susie responded, looking like a spoiled
child as she battered her eyelashes at Ethan.
"Okay, okay! I will take my hands off it. But, you have to promise me to keep me in the loop. If he hurts
you, you have to let me know. I will make him pay for it," reckoned Ethan with a slight warning in his
voice.
Hearing that, Susie cracked a big smile and nodded. She was thankful that Ethan didn't get mad at her
for knowing that his precious child was starting to be infatuated to a man.
"Dinner is ready!" said a servant motioning them to go to the dining hall.
"Alright, let's eat!" Ethan said to everyone.
The five of them sat together and enjoyed the meal. Though the meal was sumptuous and the
atmosphere was light and hearty, Andrew seemed like an outsider. Not even a slightest affection was
felt in his heart for them; he wasn't even considering them as family at the slightest sense.
Where they shared the meal was a square dining table. Ethan and Arya sat on one side, while Susie
and Lesley sat on their left side. Knowing his position in the family, Andrew sat alone by himself.
Provided that his schedule for today was quite unoccupied, Andrew didn't have anything important to
do for the whole evening after he went to the Luo family's party. Considering that he hadn't eaten much
during lunchtime, he was quite hungry, so he ate a few.
"Andrew, try some of this," said Lesley while offering him a platter with an enticing dish. Voluntarily, she
picked up a sweet and sour rib with her chopsticks and put it into Andrew's bowl.
Looking at him, Lesley knew what Andrew liked to eat, and played along with him.
Although the information she had about Andrew was a little out of date, she believed it would not
change too much. It was understandable that Andrew might change what he liked over the years, but
most of his hobbies and tastes should be the same.
Surprised at Lesley's actions, Andrew looked at the rib in his bowl and then lifted his head to look at
Lesley, who was waiting for him to say something. Without showing any expression, he just simply put
his chopsticks down and said, "You enjoy the meal. I am full."
Lesley's smile froze at his response. It was very awkward for her. She just picked up the rib for Andrew.
The next second, he put down his chopsticks and stopped eating. She didn't know if she had ruined his
appetite for dinner.
"Lesley, Andrew eats fast. He always gets full before any of us. Don't worry about him. Just enjoy the
meal with us," suggested Susie as she saw the worried frown on Lesley's face.
Shifting her attention towards Susie, Lesley gave her an appreciative look for saving her from the
awkward situation. She smiled and nodded at her.
In fact, Andrew really didn't want to stay with his family for any longer. The thought that Ashley was
alone at home waiting for him was killing him.
All the while he thought that it was enough that he already came and had dinner. Glancing at his
wristwatch, he supposed it was about time for him to leave.
Looking at the almost empty bowls, he assumed that the dinner was about to end. Thus, HE decided to
say goodbye to his family. But before he could do so, Ethan opened his mouth and said, "Andrew, It's
late. I think you can give Lesley a ride home."
Lifting her head at the mention of her name, Lesley was very happy to hear that. It meant she had a
chance to have some alone time with Andrew. With her pale face, she looked at Andrew expecting that
he would agree with his father. However, her exuberance didn't last for too long as Andrew said
expressionlessly, "The driver could do that."
Hearing the rude response, Ethan was not pleased with Andrew's answer. With his dark eyes, he eyed
at him and said in dissatisfaction, "He could, but I asked you to do so."
Determined to stand by his decision, Andrew resisted him by looking back at him in silence.
Still seated at the dining table, Lesley was a little disappointed, but she didn't give up. She knew that it
would take some time for Andrew to like her. With the help of Ethan, she would have plenty of time to
do so.
Thus, grabbing the opportunity, Lesley walked over to Ethan and said considerately, "Mr. Lu, it's okay
for me to have the driver drive me home. We all know that Andrew worked for the whole day. He should
get some rest."
Similarly, Arya was not so thrilled at Andrew's refusal to Ethan's request. She found it so disrespectful
that she disagreed and said, "It's late. We can't just let the driver send you back."
Looking rather pathetic and helpless, Lesley responded, "I will be fine, Mrs. Lu. I believe he will bring
me home safe and sound. Besides, I have learned Taekwondo. I can protect myself. No worries."
"Okay, just be careful!" said Arya giving up on the idea of convincing Andrew.
"Alright! Mr. and Mrs. Lu, thank you for the dinner. Sorry, I have to leave. I will see you next time!"
Lesley said. She bade them goodbye.
"Okay, I will see you soon," replied Arya waving her hand.
"I will walk her out!" Putting her table napkin aside, Susie stood up, held Lesley's arm and glanced at
her mother.
"Sure. I know you want to spend more time with Lesley. Go ahead," said Arya with a sweet smile on
her face.
Hand in hand, Susie walked Lesley out of the living room. With the three of them left at the dining table,
Ethan looked at Andrew and asked, "What do you think of Lesley?"
With a confused expression on his face, Andrew lifted one of his brows and said, "What do you mean?"
"I just want to know how you feel about being with her," explained Ethan, looking Andrew in the eye.
Andrew's eyes turned cold, and then he responded, "I don't feel anything for her. It's my life. I want to
make the decision myself."
"To be honest, I don't care about your decision. She is going to be your wife. We've already made the
decision. You just need to wait for it to happen!" Ethan said to Andrew without giving him a chance to
argue.
Yet, Andrew just sneered and said, "If you really think she is good, you should just marry her yourself. I
won't marry her anyway. By the way, I forgot to tell you, I'm already married."
Andrew didn't give Ethan a chance to ask another question. He just walked out the door after he
finished speaking.
Just as he was at some distance away from the house, he heard a loud noise came from the living
room. At the living room, Ethan smashed a vase out of anger. With his trembling hands, he stared at
Andrew's retreating figure. The look he gave Andrew was not a look that a father would give to his son.
It was rather a look an enemy used to give to his foe, fearless and indignant.
"Did you hear what he just said? He said he was married, didn't he?" Ethan turned his head and asked
Arya.
On the other hand, Arya was too afraid to say a word. Thus, she just looked at him and nodded.
"He is the CEO of the Lu Group and the head of the Lu family. Doesn't he know how many people are
watching him and trying to take his position? How could he just marry a random girl? Any man would
not give up his future for just a girl. He will realize it soon or later. Once he does, he will divorce her,"
said Ethan with his hands waving angrily on the air.
"Andrew?" By this time, Lesley had left with the driver. On her way back, Susie saw Andrew walking out
the door with rage. She was terrified by how he looked and how he walked briskly towards his car.
"Mom, Dad, do you know what happened to Andrew? Why is he so angry?" Susie asked as she
entered the living room.
Intending to stop her from asking further questions, Arya quickly walked to her and held her arm. She
didn't want Susie to know what was going on. Thus, she just said, "Nothing that really matters. You are
still young. When you get older, you will understand. It's getting late now. Go to your room and get
some sleep."
Realizing that Arya was not telling her the truth, Susie curled up her lips with disapproval. It appeared
that Arya just told her that she was already a big girl earlier in the dinner, yet now she somewhat
contradicted her own statement. According to her, she was still young when earlier she said that she
was just at the right age. Susie was confused and didn't know what was wrong with Arya. Yet she didn't
dare to argue seeing that Ethan was annoyed. Instead, she just went upstairs to her bedroom.
Meanwhile, it was really late when Andrew arrived home. He sneaked into the bedroom. When he saw
Ashley curl up calmly in the bed, a great satisfaction rose to his heart.
As quiet as he could, Andrew took a shower and stealthily crept into the bed lying beside Ashley. As he
succeeded on not waking her up, a sinister smile was drawn on his face as he gazed at her angelic
face. Smelling her sweet scent, he couldn't resist touching her milky white skin that glistened with the
moonlight which sneaked through the curtains by the window.
As a gentle breeze swept over him, Andrew felt hotter. Though the servants already put the thick
comforters away and the pajamas he was wearing was the thin types too, he was confused as what
caused the sudden warming of the temperature.
With one more person under the cover, Ashley felt a little hot too. Feeling a little uncomfortable now,
she tossed and turned her body and lifted her left arm and leg on the top of the cover.
Her face turned a little red because of the warm temperature, and she looked peaceful when she was
sleeping. Her long lashes were laying on her closed eyes, and her lips were like roses in full bloom. In
the dim light, she looked like Sleeping Beauty and Andrew couldn't help but hold his breath at the sight
of such a lovely maiden.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda