"You only said that it is a mansion. Tell me, is that not enough of a reason for me to move back to the Eve Mansion?" Ella looked at Esther.
"Sis!" There was a subtle change in Esther’s expressions as she looked at Ella in disbelief, "You can’t say things like that... If people heard you, they will call you a gold—"
Esther halted mid-sentence as if she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
Meanwhile, Ella’s lips curved up, "A gold digger? I am not a gold digger, Esther."
"I know, sis. I was just saying that..."
"I am into diamonds more, so maybe a diamond digger. Sounds good?"
Esther was stunned but after a moment, she collected herself, "Sis, are you... Are you saying that you are staying with him because of his money?"
"A beautiful husband, his lavish mansion and his endless money... Essie, wouldn’t I be a fool to let go?" As Ella spoke, her eyes twinkled.
Esther clutched her phone tighter in her hand, a cold glint flickering in her eyes.
Ella pretended to not notice anything, "I am leaving now but don’t be too sad. And don’t miss me too much. We will see each other again soon."
"Sis, what... do you mean?" A bad feeling rose up to Esther’s chest. \
"Isn’t it our parents’ wedding anniversary in 5 days?" Ella looked at her in confusion, "Did you forget?"
Esther paused, the smile on her face wavered, "Sis, you don’t have to force yourself to be there...’’
"Silly, why would I force myself? They are my parents too!"
After Ella left, Esther’s face darkened.
But after a moment, she tapped something on her phone and Ella’s voice rang out:
’A beautiful husband, his lavish mansion and his endless money... Essie, wouldn’t I be a fool to let go?’
Before this, Adrian had blocked her number. Initially, she could not understand why he did that. After thinking long and hard, Esther concluded that it must be because Ella acted foolishly in front of him. And by an extension, Adrian hated her too.
But when she overheard the conversation between Ruby and Ella, she understood everything.
Kade was Adrian’s brother and Esther had tried to malign Kade and Ella together by suggesting an illicit relationship. No wonder Adrian was angry.
Esther activated her new number and typed a text:
[Mr. King, I did not want to send this over but I am concerned for you as much as I am concerned for my sister. *recording attached*]
As soon as Esther sent the text, a smile crept on her face. As a part of the elite society, she knew one or two things about men, especially the ones in a high position.
Men like these would hate to be used by a woman. No matter how obsessed Adrian was with Ella, would he tolerate this?
At this moment, Esther’s phone started ringing. When she saw the caller ID, her brows furrowed.
After giving it a thought, she answered the call.
"Esther, how are things now? You told me to wait before meeting Ella. I will meet her today..."
"Brother-in-law, you don’t need to come over."
"What? Why are you saying that?" Max’s voice deepened,"We have given it enough time. I must meet her today."
"Ah, I can’t hear anything... Hello... Hello!" Esther hung up on Max, a hint of disdain crossing her face.
As she looked in the direction in which Ella had left, Esther’s lips curled down.
Why would all these men chase after an ugly slut like you?
After dealing with Esther, Ella had barely made it to the main gates of the university when she spotted another trouble making its way to her with a bouquet of red roses.
When Max spotted her, his eyes lit up and he smiled widely.
Ella froze in her tracks and immediately changed the direction she was heading in, nearly bumping into a tree.
A hand grabbed her wrist, stabilizing her body.
Ella pulled her hand out of Max’s grip but Max tightened his hold on it and pulled her close.
"Oww... What are you doing?!"
Ella’s knee jabbed into a certain sensitive zone and the man’s grip loosened immediately.
Ella dusted off her hand and walked past him.
Max’s nostrils flared. He was on the verge of lashing out but in the end, he inhaled a deep breath, "I am here to apologize for all the misunderstandings in the past."
As he spoke, he walked to stand in front of her again, lifting his chin, "Why are you not saying anything?"
Ella took a few steps back, "Do you want me to kowtow and thank you for your kind apology?"
"Or perhaps..." Ella pulled out a handkerchief out of nowhere and rubbed under her eyes, "Cry out of gratefulness?"
As per his usual behaviour, Ella expected him to throw a fit and storm off but the man seemed determined.
Inhaling a deep breath, Max extended the huge bouquet of roses towards her, "I got you your favorite flowers..."
When Ella did not make an attempt to accept it, he pulled out a box of cookies from inside the box, "You don’t like sweet stuff so I got you these salty cookies specially prepared for you by the head chef in Hill Manor..."
A soft chuckle cut his words off.
Ella wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes with her handkerchief.
Max looked around the place, his face turning green. But probably because it was off-time, the alleyway by the main entrance of the university was mostly empty with few people in sight.
And for some reason, Ella had walked off to a more secluded corner when Max spotted her. So, their interaction did not catch many people’s attention.
Max’s expression looked a little better at that realization. "What are you laughing at?" He looked at the girl who was on the verge of tears because of how hard she laughed.
"The joke that you are," Ella paused and then burst out in laughter again.
I am laughing at the joke that you are. The words landed on his face like a tight slap.