Men, indeed cannot do without women, whether it’s physically or psychologically. However, involving too much energy for a woman is by no means a good thing.
Once a man develops feelings, fatal weaknesses emerge.
Hence, when the Turner family arranged Andrew’s engagement to Scarlett Taylor, Andrew clearly didn’t love Scarlett but didn’t oppose it. He needed a wife, not a lover or entanglement.
However, Isabella today clearly exceeds the definition they set for a wife.
“Alpha, have you ever heard of a term called ‘loss of wisdom due to love’ or ‘deep affection shortens life’?”
Andrew’s slender fingertips lightly tapped on the smooth tabletop a few times, the sound clear and monotonous. He glanced coldly at Ryan, his deep voice devoid of any emotion.
“Reading too many romance novels?”
Ryan was somewhat annoyed, “I’m not joking with you.”
Ryan felt that Alpha had already been completely captivated by this human girl, which would become his greatest weakness. Although Isabella was Alpha’s mate, wolves nowadays might not be limited to the bond of mates. There were cases among other Shadow Clan werewolves where mates were humans. The alpha male refused the human as a mate, and the human felt no pain.
Andrew lightly pursed his thin lips and spoke in a calm tone, “Tomorrow, you’ll fly to East Africa; there’s an issue with the project over there.”
“Alpha, are you kidding?” Ryan casually remarked. There were dedicated personnel managing that project; it wasn’t his turn to oversee it.
“I’m not joking with you either.” Andrew’s expression remained cold, his voice deep.
Ryan hesitated for a moment, realizing that Andrew found him too meddlesome. Sending him off to East Africa was a warning.
Ryan instructed his secretary with a distressed expression to book a flight.
Andrew paid no attention to him; he had a dinner appointment with several leaders from the Securities and Exchange Commission that evening.
The dinner was held at a private club under the Turner family’s consortium. At the table, toasts were made, and inevitably, several drinks were consumed.
After the dinner ended, it was nearly midnight. Andrew sat in the car, his mind clear but feeling somewhat fatigued.
This wasn’t the life he wanted.
He had been thrown into the military since childhood, raised in the barracks. A soldier’s duty was to protect the home and country, not to bear a false mask with those hypocritical officials and businessmen.
If not for too many subsequent events causing too much resentment and unwillingness towards the Turner family, it wouldn’t have led to the current situation.
One arm rested on the edge of the partially open car window, the other hand rubbing his aching nose bridge, feeling somewhat disturbed.
The car stopped at the entrance of the Anlin Road apartment building. Returning home, he unexpectedly found the living room lights were still on.
Many documents and snack wrappers were scattered all over the central carpet, an utter mess.
He furrowed his brow slightly, already knowing that Isabella had returned; the chaos on the floor was evidently her doing.
He changed his shoes at the entrance, entered the house, and carelessly hung his suit jacket on the back of the couch.
Sitting on the couch, he closed his eyes to relax. In the quiet space, faint voices could be heard, coming from the direction of the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Isabella had one hand in the fridge and the other holding her phone, talking.
“James, we merely met once, and Emily wrecked my room. If I give you that piece of land, who knows what kind of scene she’ll cause. I’m really sorry; I know you’re in trouble, but there’s nothing I can do to help. It’s not about you; it’s your fiancee, who’s like a mad dog. I don’t want her biting me endlessly.”
On the phone, James seemed to be desperately explaining, but she couldn’t be bothered and hung up directly.
She tossed her phone into her pocket, then grabbed a cold Coke from the fridge, drinking as she walked out of the kitchen.
When Isabella returned to the living room and saw the unexpected man on the couch, she was startled.
“Why are you back so late again!” she walked over, unable to help complaining.
“Business dinner,” Andrew replied calmly, his voice slightly hoarse.
He still carried a hint of alcohol and a strong perfume smell. Amid the superficialities at the dinner table, besides dealing with business associates, he also had to handle the advances of women.
Andrew had been trying to keep himself clean.
However, Isabella couldn’t help but frown deliberately, keeping her distance from him. She immediately picked up the scattered files from the floor.
Leaning against the couch, Andrew habitually took out a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lit it. Amidst the swirling smoke, he looked down at the scattered files on the floor. Besides some scripts, there was also the planning proposal from the Brown family.
He bent down to pick it up from the ground and casually flipped through a few pages. Inside the proposal, many places were marked in red ink, all with Isabella’s notes. Some of them were incomprehensible to her, marked with large question marks.
“You’re still looking at this? Haven’t you already rejected it?” Andrew asked casually, his tone indifferent.
She walked over to him, holding a bunch of scripts in her arms, and reached out to snatch the planning proposal back. “Although I declined, I know James; he won’t easily give up.”
“You know him? How well?” His tall figure reclined against the sofa; although he was sitting, he looked down at her in a condescending manner.
Those deep blue eyes made her inexplicably uneasy.
However, Isabella didn’t like the way he was looking at her right now, as if she were an object. So, she intentionally provoked him, “We grew up together; that should be well enough.”
“If you truly knew him, you wouldn’t have fallen prey to Emily,” Andrew’s smile at the corner of his lips was somewhat cold, somewhat indifferent, as he flicked the cigarette ash with his fingertip.
“I don’t know James as a person, but this project isn’t bad; you should consider it,” he finished and, holding the cigarette, stood up, striding with long legs upstairs.
Andrew returned to his room, took a shower, changed clothes, and when he came out of the bathroom, Isabella was already gone.
Since the last time he had somewhat coerced her on his birthday, she had been very cautious and stopped staying over at the apartment.
Andrew stood by the window, cigarette in hand; his damp hair was still dripping. He looked up at the pitch-black sky outside, unable to help but bitterly smile.
Their first time together hadn’t left a good impression on her. Otherwise, he would’ve succeeded on his birthday. They were obviously close, but whenever they got close to the bed, Isabella would strongly resist.
Seems like dragging her to bed again wouldn’t be that easy. This matter would take time and effort, requiring not only patience but also some serious work.
The night was cool as water, and Andrew didn’t sleep particularly well.
The following day, news about the impending bankruptcy of the Brown family spread almost everywhere. Brown family’s stocks plunged, causing panic among even some small shareholders of the company.
Upon receiving the news, David specifically had people inquire about it.
The results confirmed that the situation at James’s home was not baseless. James had lost a considerable amount in venture capital; most of the company’s assets would be used to cover the losses, making the bankruptcy of the Brown family group almost inevitable.
David was in a dilemma. He had high hopes for this son-in-law, but if the Brown family’s company went bankrupt, James would become worthless.