When Ashley got up, she hugged her father before approaching her mother. "All right Mom, let’s just talk when I get home later." Ashley bid farewell sadly.
Mrs. Gusman was gently rubbing the back of her daughter. "Sure dear, don’t worry, because we understand you. Go on now before you become late." Then she kissed the forehead of her daughter, whose tears kept flowing.
Before Ashley went upstairs, she looked at Tiny. "Brother Tiny, I will just brush my teeth. If you are ready, can we leave right away after that?" Said Ashley sadly.
"Yes, of course, ma’am!" Then he quickly devoured the remaining few spoonfuls of food left on his plate before carrying his empty plate towards the sink.
When he was about to wash his used plate, Inday quickly stepped in and stopped him.
"Let me do that, Mr. Tiny. Go already – the Madam might run late for work." Then she forcefully pushed Tiny outside the kitchen.
Tiny had no other choice but to prepare the car they were going to take. He was also worried about his lady boss since he saw the sadness dwelling on her eyes after blaming herself.
A few moments later, Ashley got down with a smile on her face. She just waved her hands as a form of saying goodbye to her family before she quickly went out to leave.
===
When Ashley and Tiny left the premises, Grandma Hanada proclaimed, "In-laws, if you all won’t mind.... I would like to tell the story about what happened and how my grandson is alive." Grandma Hanada spoke sorrowfully. She remembered that she may not be forgiven by Ashley’s parents, but she had no choice as everything was ultimately her fault.
The couple stared at each other before nodding and following Grandma Hanada to the dining room so they could talk.
Arnel and Arnold were about to follow but were interrupted. "You guys have jobs yourself, right? Go on and we will just tell you the story when you get home. If not, then let Ashley tell you later. Go already!" Father Jessie forcefully kicked out the two since he didn’t want to disturb Grandma Hanada’s storytelling.
After half an hour, Grandma Hanada finished telling the story to the couple. Mother Fely and Grandma Hanada were full of tears. Father Jessie just stayed silent while listening to the narration.
"So, to make the long story short, Tanaga is coming here and he will personally handle Ashley’s training. He will guide her on how to run the company. I hope you can forgive me for what I did. And I hope you won’t put your blame on my grandson because he has no hands in the happening. He is also a victim and one of the people currently paying for my sins."
When Father Jessie stayed silent and did nothing, Grandma Hanada started to get nervous. But when Mother Fely approached her and hugged her, she was relieved; she was grateful to God at how forgiving her in-laws were.
"Chairwoman Hanada, don’t worry, we won’t be using this against you. What is important to us is our daughter’s happiness. Whatever Ashley decided will be what we decide," Father Jessie said while he stood up to excuse himself. He needed some fresh air, so he proceeded to the pool outside...
===
Tiny was silently driving to the office. He couldn’t look straight at Ashley when she went out and entered the car. He was guilty because he was one of the people who lied to his lady boss, but he only did it because of his job – that’s what he kept telling himself.
Ashley too was silently sitting at the back and it looked like her mind was flying quite far away. When they were in the middle of the highway, she spoke; that was the only time she opened her mouth. "Mr. Tiny, I have questions to ask you. Can I ask them?" When Tiny looked at the rearview mirror, he could see that Ashley’s face was serious.
"Shit! It’s here – I might be fired!" Tiny muttered to himself before answering, "Yes, of course. What are your questions for me?" He focused on the road ahead of him.
"Did you know that Sir Jones survived the fall from the cliff?" Ashley’s question was quite stark.
"Ma’am, it’s like this..." Tiny didn’t finish his sentence as Ashley spoke again.
"Mr. Tiny, don’t worry. I will not blame you if you knew because I know that you were only doing your job. I just wanted to know – that’s all."
Tiny didn’t waste any more time as he told all of them happening to the extent of his knowledge. Before they reach the office, Tiny finished telling the story.
"So, that’s it? So, you mean that President Koji Hanada’s father was involved in this incident which involves us? How about President Koji Hanada himself – is he involved?" Ashley couldn’t believe that Koji would be involved in those kinds of things – it wasn’t in his character.
Tiny immediately denied that. "Ah, no, ma’am! In fact, if President Koji Hanada wasn’t there, I don’t know what would happen to the THJ group. That’s why he was made into a president because he is trusted by Chairwoman Hanada and the board members."
"Hmm, if that’s the case then it’s good. I don’t want the cousins to have a bad relationship because of what the father of the other did. Anyway, thank you very much for taking care of us. I will never forget it. All right, let’s forget about the bad things that happened in the past and welcome a new start." Ashley prepared to get out of the car when they reached the office.
===
After Ashley arrived at the office, she saw the restlessness of her employees. "What is happening?" Ashley asked Sato and Fumika while entering her office.
Sato smiled before winking at Ashley. "Secret!! What do you want to drink? Coffee, tea, or me? Hahaha! It’s a joke, President Jones." Sato was getting the things Tiny was carrying while following Ashley.
"Hmph! Secret, secret... What secret are you talking about? What – the sudden leave of President Hanada that Sir Jones is coming here? Is that it?" she arrogantly proclaimed to her assistants.
Sato: "❁´◡`❁"
Fumika: "༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ"