Having walked out of Ferry Building, instead of going home, Elise walked alone along the side of the road. Her mind was cramped with dilemmas as she was perturbed. It wasn’t until a car suddenly appeared and honked nonstop beside her that she came to her senses. She turned her head to the side and saw a familiar car pulling up beside her. Alexander pushed open his car door and got out of the car. He headed straight for Elise. “What are you zoning out for?
Don’t you know it’s dangerous to dream and walk along the roadside?” His intonation was as serene as ever, yet Elise was able to find concernment within his words. She lifted the corners of her lips and forced a smile. “I was contemplating something and missed your horn. Why are you here?” Alexander, too, was surprised by the coincidence as he was merely out to sign a contract. However, to actually bump into her was quite dazing.
“And why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” He came back with a question of his own instead of answering hers. In response, Elise shook her head and remained silent. Somehow, she was behaving way differently than on other days. “Bad mood?” Alexander furrowed his brows, pondering how he could cheer her up. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite possess the experience to comfort a woman, so it proved to be somewhat of an inconvenience. Having come up with some activities girls would usually like, he inquired, “Wanna go shopping? Or get something to eat?
Or we can go for a simple stroll if you want.” After he said that, Elise gawked at him in confusion. Her heart that was tainted seemed to be affected as well. “Hmm… Let’s go shopping then.” For some reason, Elise didn’t feel like rejecting him, so she accepted his suggestion. After scanning their surroundings, Alexander remembered Griffith Group’s biggest mall that was nearby. “Shopping it is. Shall we?” And so, Elise got into his car. While she was staring out the window, Alexander sent a text message to Cameron.
A few minutes later, the biggest, most opulent mall in Athesea was cleared out before the staff members respectfully queued up in two lines at the main entrance. “Greetings, President Griffith, Miss Sinclair!” Alexander nodded his head in response. Very soon, a shopping guide came forth to serve Elise. “Miss Sinclair, what do you wish to see? Is it garments of the latest fashion, accessories, or perhaps you’re into beauty and skincare?” Initially, Elise assumed they were only doing some casual shopping.
Little did she know, Alexander had arranged such an extravaganza for her, making her feel somewhat awkward. “It’s fine. I’ll just take my time.” The shopping guide replied, “Other than that, we’ve also just received a new batch of bags that are limited edition. Care for a look?” Before Elise could say anything, Alexander whispered into her ear, “Just get anything you want. Don’t overthink it.” Thinking she was just too embarrassed to select any product, he decided to reassure her not to worry about anything.
“I’ll look around. You don’t have to follow me.” Hearing that, the shopping guide turned to Alexander, who then waved his hand at her, signaling her to retreat, to which she heeded the instruction. Thereupon, Alexander accompanied Elise as she walked from one shop to another. Every single worker in the shopping mall tactfully approached to guide them. Even the manager of the mall, after hearing the news, consequently hurried over to see them. “If there’s anything you need, President Griffith, just give me a call and I’ll send it over,” the manager warily informed.
On the other hand, Alexander returned to his usual, cold mannerism. “It’s fine. I’m just passing by and looking around. There’s nothing important here. You may leave.” The manager hastily wiped the sweat off his forehead. Despite Alexander’s statement, he stayed around, serving them with utmost care. Meanwhile, as Elise didn’t expect to see such an empty mall, she didn’t carry any purpose with her when she agreed to come. However, after walking around the mall, she noticed there were many things that piqued her interest. Thus, she decided to spoil herself by splurging.
When she was about to pay for the items, Alexander notified the shopping guide, “These are all on me.” “It’s fine. I can pay for myself,” Elise hurriedly refuted. Nonetheless, the shopping guide didn’t dare to take Elise’s card. Eventually, everything Elise acquired in the shopping mall was afforded by Alexander. “Do you feel better now?” he quizzed. At that moment, let alone feeling better, it was as if she had visited the paradise every woman could only dream of, and the lavish spending was the best stress relief ever. “You’re quite the womanizer, Alexander.
Going all out sure feels good!” Seeing she was not as moody as before, he revealed a subtle grin. “As long as you like it.” His words carried a huge hint of adoration, but Elise, who was still dwelling on her excitement from shopping, failed to acknowledge it. As they were about to finish shopping, a number of staff members helped them to carry bags of their purchase, following Alexander and Elise out the mall. However, as fate would have it, they ran into Ashlyn. Ever since the incident on the cruise ship, Ashlyn’s reputation among the socialites was utterly shattered.
Furthermore, with Alexander pulling some strings from behind the scenes, the Lawsons quickly fell to their demise. Besides, somebody reported her uncle’s deeds, pinning down the family entirely. Hence, she was no longer the illustrious missy as she was in the past. For the sake of advantages, the Lawson Family had arranged a marriage between her and a local real estate owner. Right then, Ashlyn was seen with her fiance. Upon seeing Alexander, she instinctively stopped her feet and pursed her lips. In a pitiable tone, she shouted, “Alexander!”
Baffled, Alexander tensed his brows and turned around, only to see Ashlyn. Regardless, there wasn’t a trace of emotion on his face as he completely disregarded her. Seeing that, Elise muttered, “Isn’t that Ashlyn?” He extended his hand and patted her head. “Let’s head back. There’s no need to waste our time on irrelevant people.” Murmuring in agreement, Elise withdrew her gaze. In regard to the incident back then, she didn’t manage to play her cards as the dispute was quickly resolved by Alexander’s men. Thus, she had decided to let Ashlyn go for the time being.
However, Elise was a vengeful woman. In other words, to her, forgoing was by no means forgiving. Meanwhile, Ashlyn watched as Alexander and Elise, interacting amiably, walked past right in front of her without responding to her. In that instant, her heart was filled with tremendous indignation. Had the incident not happened, the woman beside Alexander now would have been her. Catching Ashlyn’s eyes fixating on Alexander, Ashlyn’s fiance stomped over to her. “What the f*ck are you looking at, you wh*re? Have you forgotten you’re now my woman?
If you dare to even think about cheating on me, I’ll f*cking kill you.” In fear, Ashlyn swiftly withdrew her stare and forced a chuckle. “You’re reading too much into this, honey. I only have you in my heart.” Upon those words, the frown on the man’s face was slightly relieved. Despite that, he wrapped his arm around her waist in one swift move and gave her a vigorous pinch. “If I ever catch you looking at any other guy again, I’ll plow you dead.”
