“Yes, Ava is my granddaughter. Back then…”
“Grandfather!” Ava interrupted Old Master Garcia Ava before he could finish his sentence.
Ava took his arm and anxiously said, “Grandfather, I’m not feeling very well. We have to go, and we have to go right now.”
“Ava…”
“Grandfather, I… I’m going to vomit! Grandfather, please take me to the doctor. My stomach hurts!”
There was frustration in her voice, and she sweated anxiously! Damn it! She must have been very unlucky to have bumped into Elena. Her identity as the Garcia family’s granddaughter was even exposed to Elena!
If the silly old man mentioned something about Talia, it would be game over for her! Elena was not a fool, and she would probably figure out the truth sooner or later, but Ava wanted to delay that for as long as she could.
“Grandfather, my stomach hurts. I don’t feel very good. I need to see a doctor!”
Was she about to vomit, or did she have a stomachache? There seemed to be a flaw in her story. However, Old Master Garcia did not pick it up as he was concerned when he saw how pale his granddaughter had looked.
“Elena, I need to take Ava to the doctor. I’ll get in touch with you to have a quick meal with your parents, you…”
“Grandfather!” Ava yelled.
“Yes, yes, I’ll take you to the doctor immediately.” The older man was worried, so he helped Ava as they walked out of the crowd.
He ordered as he walked, “Go on, get the car here! Hurry!”
Just like that, several people rushed to carry out his instructions. Elena narrowed her eyes and watched their backs as they disappeared into the distance. That was a lousy act from Ava! It was so easy to see through her fake nauseousness and stomach ache, but Old Master Garcia was too kind to notice that. It seemed like he cared too much about his ‘granddaughter’? A granddaughter… How could that be?
“Elena, who were those people? Why were they with Ava?”
Layla and Lois watched the drama unfold from a distance for quite some time. They dared not go over to them as they were not sure what had happened.
“They are the Garcia family from City L,” Elena explained.
“City L’s… Garcia family? That’s your surname.” Layla was in a daze. “Are they your relatives?”
Lois’s eyes suddenly widened; she was flabbergasted. “The Garcias from City L, is that the Garcia family that I know? The one in the pharmaceutical business?”
Elena nodded as she stared at the people in the distance. She could no longer see them after they got into a car. A school security guard made way for the vehicle to exit the school gate. Soon, the car disappeared from her sight. Ava was the granddaughter of City L’s Garcia family… What a joke? Did she not share the same father as Elena?
“Why was Ava with them? They looked like they’re a family.”
Lois was also perplexed. Even though Ava and Elena were always at odds, they were still a family. If the Garcias from City L were their relatives, why did Elena act like she did not know them?
“I am not too sure about that yet.” Elena did not intend to tell her friends what Joseph had told her. Things sounded complicated, and even if she wanted to explain, she did not have all the information just yet.
The phone in her bag vibrated, and Elena found a slightly quieter place to answer the call. “Henry?”
“I’ve just arrived at the campus. Shall I take you back to the office or the apartment?” Henry’s low timbre voice came through the gadget.
“What are you doing here?”
Elena was a little surprised as he was supposed to be at work.
“You have no class this afternoon. Are you going back to the company or apartment?”
“I can go back by myself…”
“I’m worried about you. Where are you now? I’ll come and get you.” He insisted.
Elena felt warm in her heart as she knew why he was worried. However, it was daytime, and she was at the university. There was no need for him to be concerned about her.
“I’m at Jiang University with Layla and Lois.”
“What are you doing at Jiang University?” It sounded like he had made a u-turn as Elena heard the sound of his car’s engine kicked to life.
She replied, “We are at the charity bazaar here in Jiang University. We heard that many fashion brand names are selling their products at low-cost here today, so they wanted to see if they can get some good stuff.”
“Does my woman need to shop at a bazaar? It seems like you’ve given a lot of thought on how to care for my dignity.”
“I…” Elena muttered as she pouted her lips, “You’re the one with money, not me.”
“Are you blaming me for not marrying you immediately and splitting half of my wealth with you?” Henry smiled faintly as he drove into the lane that led to Jiang University.
“Alright, I will take you to City L this weekend. You can get married in City L if you’re 18 years old. We can get married right away, and my money will be yours. You can spend it as you wish.”
“What if I’m a gold digger, wouldn’t your net worth be halved?”
Elena’s lips curled as a wide grin spread across her face. She felt sweet and warm with the conversation. It seemed like she was full of smiles when she was with him.
“I am willing to give you that. Try me.”
Henry drove directly toward Jiang University’s entrance. The security guard went to get his details and immediately opened the gate to let him in.
“You’re too good at this. I’ll talk to you later. You should continue working; I have to accompany Layla and Lois with their shopping.”
“If you ladies want to shop, I’ll come along as well.”
Henry pulled his car to a stop and checked the time. “I’m at Jiang University’s gate. You girls can come out now, and I will have three hours to accompany you.”
“No, you should just go back to work. I…”
“If you keep talking, I will have a few seconds less.”
He sounded serious. “I have to meet a friend this afternoon. It is an important meeting, so I can’t miss it.”
“Then you…”
“A few seconds less now.”
“Second Young Master Sharp!” Elena wanted to slap him, but she knew him well. If he told her he would wait for her, then he would definitely keep his word.
“Fine, we will be out immediately.”
After she hung up the phone, Elena walked toward Layla and Lois, who were still haggling in front of the stall.
“Second Young Master Sharp told us to go to the gate immediately! He wants to take us out.”
When the two heard that their big boss had arrived, they dared not linger. Even though Layla liked the bag very much, she put it down quickly and trailed after her friends. They did not want to waste even a second of their boss’s time as they did not want him to deduct their salary. However, there were still many things on sale, and they had planned to shop until they dropped!
They saw Henry’s car as soon as they arrived at the gate.
“Second Young Master Sharp, you can just go with Elena, we… we can return to the company ourselves.”
Layla tried to put up her last fight. The seller showed signs of surrender after she drove a long and hard bargain. She really liked the bag and was determined to negotiate a good price for it. She could have bought the ten-thousand-bucks bag in the store at a discounted rate of three thousand only. How crazy was that? However, a phone call from the boss completely negated her chance of getting that bag. She felt miserable.
“Elena wants to go shopping. Since I’m not a good partner for shopping, it’s best if you girls go with her.”
Henry did not explain further; he stepped on the accelerator, and his car lurched forward. The vehicle left G University and drove toward the big shopping center in the city.
Layla and Lois stared grudgingly at Elena in the passenger seat. She had a boyfriend who could buy her everything in the world, but her friends did not have such luck? What could they buy in those luxurious shopping centers? Just expected, they felt dejected as they browsed the shops in the city center. How could they afford a bag that cost at least ten thousand dollars?
Henry sat down to read the newspaper in the rest area. Layla was about to complain to Elena when she looked up and saw a familiar figure walking past her. The person was on the phone as they walked.
She did not know the context of the other party’s conversation, but Layla heard the person bellow unpleasantly, “It’s Elena that bitch again! Rest assured that I won’t let her succeed!”