At this moment, in the reception room.
Ryan was flipping through the design catalogs with great interest. “We can leave the wedding dress and ceremony for Luna to choose, and there’s no rush for the honeymoon. The top priority now is selecting the engagement ring and planning the proposal.”
If the proposal failed, all the subsequent arrangements would be in vain.
Andrew pulled out a catalog of engagement rings from a stack and tossed it to him. One page was already folded, indicating that he had already chosen this particular design.
It was from the renowned luxury brand Moon Queen’s Crown Collection, a crown diamond ring with a main diamond of 5. 20 carats. It was not too small, nor overly extravagant, suitable for Andrew’s status.
Most importantly, the symbolism of this ring was excellent “Crowning Love” which sounded romantic enough.
“Alpha, how do you plan to arrange the proposal?” Ryan asked again.
“The location will be by the seaside. Let Star Sea Hotel start preparing. Isabella likes snow, so have them prepare a few snow machines,” Andrew instructed.
“Is that all?” Ryan inquired.
“What else?” Andrew raised an eyebrow at him.
Ryan leaned in, offering suggestions. “Alpha, your proposal is too ordinary; there’s no surprise element.”
“Do you have any good suggestions?” Andrew asked.
“I’ll prepare a set of Doraemon costumes for you. When the time comes, dress up as Doraemon, and Luna will definitely love it,” Ryan enthusiastically suggested.
Andrew pursed his lips, looking at him with distrust.
“You can trust me on this. Doraemon, legend has it, can conjure up anything you want. Women won’t dislike it,” Ryan said, pulling up a photo of Doraemon on his phone. It was a very cute, chubby blue cat.
Andrew: “…”
He couldn’t imagine himself dressed as a chubby cat. Was Ryan really not trying to pull his leg?
Just as Andrew was frowning, his phone on the table rang.
Glancing at the caller ID, he picked up the phone and stepped out of the reception room to answer the call.
It was Isabella calling, and there was a bit of noise in the background.
“Is the concert over?” Andrew asked gently.
“Yes, just finished. I’m getting my makeup removed.” She replied with a smile, sitting in the dressing room, looking at herself in the mirror.
The makeup artist stood behind her, helping her remove the elaborate hair accessories.
“When are you coming back? I’ll come pick you up,” he asked.
“I’ll be taking the morning flight tomorrow. Lily will pick me up at the airport. David wants me to come back for dinner. I wonder what tricks he’s up to this time,” she replied.
“With the upcoming election, your father has been eyeing this position,” he reminded her.
“Jumping two ranks in one go? He’s really ambitious,” she said disdainfully. Then, suddenly excited, she almost stood up from her chair, accidentally pulling out a few strands of hair as the makeup artist was removing her hair accessories.
Isabella winced in pain, holding her head with one hand and the phone with the other, “Andrew, is David plotting something against you?”
“Why else?” he replied with a smirk.
“He really sees you as a free ladder, climbing as high as he wants without fear of falling,” she said angrily. Then she asked, “How do you plan to deal with him?”
Andrew was a shrewd person, how could he let others step on him to rise to power?
“Of course, I’ll agree. I can’t afford to offend my future father-in-law,” Andrew replied with a warm smile.
“…” Isabella rubbed her ear, feeling a little unsure if she had misheard.
After a long pause, she asked into the phone, “Are you, are you really Andrew?”
On the phone, he couldn’t help but chuckle, then replied, “But David has been the deputy mayor for these years, in charge of finances. I can easily find some leverage, release the information, and the disciplinary committee won’t let him pass their scrutiny. Then, he can’t blame me. It’s not that I won’t help; it’s that he’s incapable.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. She knew her man wouldn’t take a loss lying down.
“Isabella, are you done with your makeup? Everyone is waiting for you to celebrate,” Olivia appeared at the door of the dressing room, urging her.
“I’m busy now, I won’t talk to you anymore.” Isabella quickly hung up the phone, skillfully wiping off the makeup from her face with cosmetics.
Then, she went out to dinner with Olivia and some staff members.
The next day, Isabella flew back to Ithaca town.
Lily was at the airport to pick her up.
“Ma’am, over here!” Lily stood at the exit, waving to her incessantly.
She wore a duckbill hat and a mask, dressed in a long black down coat, tightly wrapped up. Yet, Lily still recognized her at a glance. Her eyesight was really good.
Isabella walked up to her with her luggage. Lily effortlessly took the suitcase, as if lifting a little chick. She also took Isabella’s arm, chattering away.
It was then that Isabella learned David wanted her to come back because Emily was getting married.
Emily’s wedding had nothing to do with her!
Their car stopped at the entrance of the villa. As Isabella and Lily approached the door, they heard a quarrel inside.
“I’ve told you countless times to socialize more with Mr. Draven’s wife. You’ve ignored my words. With the upcoming election, Mr. Draven has a say. Always crying and unable to help me; you’re just a hindrance!” David’s angry roar echoed from inside, even though Isabella was standing outside, it felt deafening.
Charlotte’s sobbing voice followed, “Mr. Draven’s wife looks down on my humble background and doesn’t like me. What can I do? I can’t always be warm to someone who’s cold to me.”
Charlotte’s face was tear-streaked.
A woman in her fifties, still playing the role of a young girl, pretending to be innocent and pitiful. She played this act tirelessly, giving Isabella goosebumps all over.
Perhaps Charlotte had cried too much over the years, even David was somewhat immune to it. The more she cried, the more impatient he became. “You think having a humble background gives you an excuse? Eleanor never let me worry about socializing with others.”
Since divorcing Eleanor and marrying Charlotte, his position had hardly changed. At this moment, looking at her, he felt particularly unlucky.
Charlotte looked pale at David, her crying almost stopped. She sneered, “Now you remember Eleanor’s virtues, but she’s dead. Don’t you still have a daughter? Isabella has climbed up high now, and you actually consider yourself Andrew’s father-in-law. Stop dreaming! We’ve been inviting him over, and Andrew wouldn’t even deign to have a meal with us. Obviously, he doesn’t care about us. For Eleanor’s daughter, Andrew just finds her interesting to play with.”
Charlotte never missed a chance to belittle her. Isabella felt extremely speechless.
“Ma’am, after Elowen left, Mr. David often troubles Charlotte,” Lily whispered.
Isabella rubbed her temples, feeling a bit overwhelmed. She pushed open the door directly, with Lily following behind.
“Dad, Aunt Charlotte, what are you chatting so happily about?” She smiled brightly.
Charlotte: “…”
David: “…”
David kept a straight face and then called Isabella alone to the study upstairs.
David really knew how to pull a long face, straightforwardly asking her to get Andrew to help him get promoted.
Isabella felt extremely speechless about this.
Jumping two ranks wasn’t something you could just talk about. Even Andrew would need to use many connections.
In a relationship between a man and a woman, if a man was willing to sacrifice for a woman, what did the woman have to offer in return? It seemed like this wasn’t within David’s considerations.
He didn’t care how difficult this would make things for Isabella; he just wanted to achieve his goal.
Isabella felt extremely speechless about this. Fortunately, she had long seen through David’s nature, so she wasn’t disappointed or saddened.
Because she had already discussed with Andrew in advance, dealing with David was like a piece of cake.