Chapter 14

Elise overheard Bernard and Darlene's conversation. She went to her room, carefully shut the door, and pulled out her phone to call Andrew. … Meanwhile, Andrew and Doria were at the Rayonner Teahouse. They sat facing each other. The floor-to-ceiling window beside them allowed them to see Thenswy's night view. Music accompanied the lovely atmosphere, yet Andrew remained apathetic. There had been little communication between the two, and there wasn't much that they could talk about with one another. They seemed to have tacitly agreed that even the matter regarding VitaCare Pharmaceutical Group was not enough to get them to talk to each other. While they were having their meal, Doria received a call from Gavin. "Hi, Grandpa. Andrew and I are eating out. He has other things to do tonight. Don't worry about this, Grandpa. I'll sort it out." Doria hung up the phone with a shy look on her face. Then, she stole a glance at Andrew. "Was that Mr. Thompson Senior? What did he say?" Andrew had vaguely overheard their conversation on the phone but asked her anyway. Doria's face was slightly flushed as she said, "Didn't you just get divorced? Grandpa's worried that you might not have a place to stay, so he asked me to take you back with me." Doria might not have laid it out clearly, but Andrew understood it anyway. There was no reason for newlyweds to sleep separately. Gavin must have wanted them to consummate their marriage as soon as possible. "If you don't like staying in Starlight Grove, you can move in with us. Our villa has a lot of bedrooms. Otherwise, Grandpa might become suspicious after some time," Doria suggested after a moment of silence. Andrew did not answer directly. He simply smiled and said, "That's why you have to seize this opportunity and let him know." "How oblivious can you be? Am I really that unattractive?" Doria murmured after hearing Andrew's dry response. She had always been confident in her appearance. There had been countless men who had wanted to pursue her. Only Andrew could be this indifferent toward her. She could feel her pride as a woman being challenged. Doria rolled her eyes. She felt like teasing Andrew when a buzzing sound suddenly went off, interrupting Doria's scheme. Andrew frowned slightly when he saw the caller ID. He rejected the call. However, it rang again before he could even put down his phone. It rang incessantly. It seemed like the caller had no intentions of giving up. "Why don't you answer the phone? It could be an emergency," Doria suggested. Andrew hesitated for a moment before finally giving in to answering the phone. "Andy! Bernard and my mom know where you live. They're about to go over to stir up some trouble. You mustn't go home. Find a place to hide for now. I'll ask Grandpa for help and see if he can come up with a solution." Elise sounded very anxious and nervous. She was very worried that Andrew would get hurt. "I got it. You don't have to meddle in such affairs anymore. Grandpa Ed's not fully recovered yet, so don't bother him until he fully recovers." Andrew paused for a moment before sighing, "Elise, please don't call me about such matters in the future. Your sister and I no longer have anything to do with each other." Andrew and Elise had more of a sibling relationship. Moreover, Elise's confession had caught Andrew off guard. He had not decided who she was to him. Now that he was no longer involved with the Collins, remaining in contact with Elise would be inconvenient. Andrew had to make it clear to her that it was pointless to drag the matter out; it would only hurt everyone. Elise could feel Andrew distancing himself. Even though she could feel her heart being impaled, she forced herself to smile. "I'm not trying to meddle in your affair with Bernice. But I simply can't stay in this house anymore either. I just don't want to see you get hurt. "Grandpa doesn't know about the divorce yet, but I'm unsure how long I can keep it a secret. You're still welcome to visit Grandpa anytime." Elise then hung up the phone, afraid she would fail to keep her tears at bay. "Did something happen? How can I help?" Doria asked right away after noticing the shift in Andrew's mood. "It's nothing major. I can deal with it on my own," Andrew said curtly with a wave of his hand. He was not bothered by Bernard and Darlene's scheme. The only thing that bothered him was his guilt toward Edward. During the three years of his marriage with Bernice, Edward cared for him unconditionally, treating Andrew like his own. He felt bad. Edward was already very old, and his health declined as the days passed. Andrew thought about it and realized it had already been a month since he last visited Edward. Andrew and Doria's first "date" ended hastily at 9:00 pm. Andrew declined Doria's offer to send him home. He took a cab back to his place. There were three cars at the entrance of Block 13. In one of the black commercial vehicles, Bernard was having a discussion with Mike Gambino, a man with a buzz cut. "Mr. Clarke, I'd like to confirm with you again that Andrew Hughes is not someone influential. Those who live in this area are mostly people from influential backgrounds. If something were to really happen, I would not know how to explain it to Joshua." "There's nothing to worry about. That jackass is just a loser who freeloads on his wife," Bernard said confidently. Bernard's words reassured Mike. "Okay. Then I have nothing to worry about. Once he arrives, I'll break one of his legs." The two men smiled viciously as they exchanged glances. About ten minutes later, a familiar silhouette appeared within Bernard's line of sight. "He's here!" When Andrew walked over, the doors to the three vehicles opened at the same time. Several vicious-looking men exited the vehicles. Darlene and Favian blocked Andrew's path. "I finally got you, you little piece of shit. We'll see who's here to save you this time!" "Where's that bitch that hit me the other day? Why isn't she with you?" Darlene scowled when she noticed that Doria was not with Andrew. Since Andrew already knew they were coming over, he wasn't surprised by their appearance. Instead, he asked mockingly, "I guess you've summoned the entire village here, huh? What do you want?" "What do we want? I'm going to kill you, you lil' fucker!" Favian yelled furiously, his emotions churning like a raging fire within him. "The slap I got that time, I will repay you tenfold today!" Their childish, empty threats did not scare Andrew. In fact, he felt tickled. Bernard stepped forward. With deep contempt in his eyes, he said, "Andrew, you'd better not paint me into a bully. I'll give you a chance. Grovel at my feet and apologize. Then, get the fuck out of Thenswy. I'll let you off the hook after that." Bernard wasn't afraid of Andrew. To him, Andrew was manure. One could only feel disgust by looking at him. Andrew sneered upon hearing Bernard's demands. His eyes swept over all of them before he uttered disdainfully, "Really? With this bunch of losers? Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" Andrew's words offended Mike and his henchmen. "I like stubborn fuckers like you. I hope you can maintain your arrogance when you beg me for mercy later." Mike had never fancied dragging things out. He could secure his footing in this field for so long simply because he was extremely ruthless. "Let's break his leg first!" When he finished speaking, a few of his henchmen approached Andrew with evil smirks on their faces. At this moment, a deep voice tore through the quiet neighborhood, saying, "Who allowed you thugs to come here and make a scene? How lawless!"