Chapter 23 The Way to Someone’s Heart
It was a rundown neighborhood in Altonchy’s suburbs. There was an abandoned factory nearby, and the apartments built there had been meant as dormitories for
janabhad been assigned an apartment there because he’d worked at the factory. Ten years ago, the factory had gone bankrupt, and Pay Corporation had acquired it. It had been left alone since then, though. Once there were plans for the factory, the dormitories would be demolished.
Entrepreneurs were all bloodworkers, and someone like Rowan, who was destined for the business world, was better at schemes and trickery than anyone else. The compensation he’d offer for the demolition would be the exact amount required by law–fir wouldn’t offer cent more
No one would’ve expected him to turn into a good samallan for Ashley’s sake, though. As the neighborhood’s representative for the negotiation with Rowan, jonah had expected there to be arguments during the meeting,
This surpise, Rowan had been polite and accommodating. He’d even amended the compensation amounts and ensured every family had been compensated far more thm the statutory amount!
It had exasperated yet moved Ashley. The exasperation came because Howan had made all of it happen in the first place. Yet she’d also been moved because he’d been willing to go to such lengtsforher
I sat in the car and looked up at the twinkling lights of the apartments. I fell deep into thought. In my previous life, I’d noticed that Rowan had changed the competition amount, so I’d asked Dad to checkon it forme.
That was why Imew a bit about what had happened, But at the time, Thad no idealt had all been because of a woman
Now that I thought about it, he’d been chasing after her for about half a year at that point. To think six months was enough to make him go crazy.
I didn’t know which unit belonged to Ashley and her family, so I slowly circled the neighborhood. There weren’t any guards or protective walls, so it was quite convenient for me to move around.
After clacing the neighborhood once, I spotted a familiar Begal Rowan, who was dressed in black, leaned against the hood of the car, his long legs crossed casually, His head was lowered slightly as he lit a cigarette.
An expensive car, a handsome man, a dark night, and a cigarette. All these elements came together to form a scene out of a movie. I put myself in Ashley’s shoes and considered the situation.
Rowan was an arrogant man who’d chased after me like crazy, and he’d spent a fortune one, resolving issues that couldn’t resolve. I was all he could see, and there wasn’t anything particularly special about me aside from my good looks
Suddenly, I could understand it. If I were in Ashley’s shoes, I wouldn’t be able to resist Rowan, too! She was naive, but she wasn’t dumb.
Holland Rowan’s line of sight and determined which unit was Ashley’s. Only an apartment on the first and fifth floors still had lights on in that block
I called Rowan. He answered the call, sounding as cold as he always did, “What do you want
“Nothing. I just wanted to see whether you would answer the phone.” I looked at him through the window
As expected, he hung up without another word. Twas actually quite surprised he’d answered. He was staring lovingly at another woman’s apartment and thinking about how he was going to win her heart, yet he still had the patience to answer a call from his crentful wife.
Ilamented that for a while before leaving
Back at home, the household staff had just finished cleaning up the place. Ella was wrapping things up and seemingly waiting for me. When she saw me, she said a little nervously, “Max Payne..
I placed the food I’d brought back on the table. “What’s up?”
She looked at me nervously, looking guilty. “I was cleaning your bedroom today when I accidentally broke a bottle of your skincare. Can you tell me how much it cost so I can pay you back?
“Which one was it? Lasked.
she hurriedly pulled out a scrunched–up ball of paper and opened it up to show me the glass shards. It was a boner from JannyBrown and cost about 900 dollar. Ella’s salary would take a huge hit if she were to pay me back
Ididn’t know how to describe the way I felt when i saw the guilty look on her face. She was nothing but an ordinary woman, yet she would be Rowan’s mother–in-
low in the future.
Now, she worked hard to eam ameager sum net in the Tatuce, she would become part of the upper crust, and only because she’d given birth to a pretty daughter My family, on the other hand, had been in polities for there generations, Rowan’s family had been in business for three generations. The facture and status we had now had been built over the years.
“Torget it. I’ve already used more than half the bottle, anyway. Just be careful in the future. I felt inexplicably tired. 1 thought about how Rowan had silently stared at Ashley’s apartment earlier and couldn’t help feeling lile the whole thing was so sumal
Ella thanked me profusely with a mixture of gratitude and guilt. I didn’t say anything as 1 headed upstairs to rest. After showering, I lay on the bed and played with my phone with a mask on Just then, the door oprued. It was Rowan.
“Your parents have left. You don’t need to put on an act anymore.
Hinaualed tone
Tknow. He grabbed his pajamas from the wardrobe and left without another look back
It looked like I’d been everthinking again. I sighed and took off the mask, getting ready to sleep. I was half asleep when Natalse woke me up with a phonecall, t answered it gmcgily. “What’s up, Nat?”
“Lasked you about a concert, remember? We need a cellist. Are you up for it?” she asked body
Chapter 23 The Way to Someone’s Hea
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Only then did I remember her text about it. The sleepiness was jolted out of me, and Lexclaimed, “Of course!”
I would do it even if they didn’t pay me. Making money wasn’t my goal–I wanted to enhance myself and take a shot at achieving an old dream.
Natalie said cheerily, “Alright, then. I’ll send you the time and location later. Don’t be late!”
“Got it‘
”
‘I said.
she texted me shortly after hanging up. The concert would be held in three days at Alton University’s concert hall. That was also the first day of the new semester,
The concert was actually organized by Alton University, and only alumni of the university’s music faculty could participate in it.
It was intended as a welcome gift for the freshmen of the music faculty–the university hoped the freshmen would leam to appreciate the charm of music after enjoying the performances by the alumni. It would be a great start to their university life.
I hadn’t returned to Alton University since graduation. My life had revolved around Rowan, so it hadn’t even occurred to me to make a trip back there or to make some donations.
I supposed this could also be considered a new beginning for me. It was quite exciting
To prevent humiliating my alma mater, I started a three–day intensive practice session. Rowan wouldn’t be home, so I could stay up late and play the cello for as long as I wanted. I practically lived in the music room.
I was completely caught up in the music, and the three days passed quickly. With every tune I played, I thought about my past, which seemed to enrich the melodies.
The night before the concert, I took a comfortable bath before calling Benjamin. It was rather noisy on his end; he seemed to be in a bar. He cried, “Ms. Sadler!”
“Where are you, Benjamin?” I asked, sounding reproachful. “Tomorrow’s the start of the semester. Why are you at a bar?”
The deafening music drowned out his voice, and I could only vaguely hear him say, “I’m working, Ms. Sadler. I can’t hear you, so I’m gonna hang up!”
I hung up on him and chose to text him. “Don’t you have enough to pay for your fees yet? Didn’t those men compensate you for your medical bills? Didn’t you use the money?”
His reply c
came relatively quickly. “There wasn’t enough to pay for my dad’s hospital bill, so I transferred the money to him.”
I didn’t waste my time and breath. I transferred 20 thousand dollars to him.
I knew the way to someone’s heart. Besides, I had Rowan setting an example for me.