“What are you talking about, Alexander? Wouldn’t it be inconvenient for you and Elise to meet up after
she moves out?” “Yeah, that’s right! Elise is engaged to you, so she’s part of our family. She’ll be
staying with us sooner or later, anyway.” However, Alexander didn’t bat an eye. He replied flatly, “I’m
just respecting her decision.” Elise’s heart instantly sank when she heard this, but she put on a calm
face without revealing any emotion.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She was the one who said she would be moving out, and he
agreed to that at last, but she became even more upset instead… “Well then, go on with your
breakfast. I’m going upstairs to pack up my stuff,” she said. With that, she went upstairs, leaving
everyone else to look at each other in puzzlement. Jack said, “Something’s amiss! Did you guys notice
that something was wrong with Elise’s mood today?”
Upon hearing Jack’s words, Brendan pondered for a moment and then turned to look at Alexander. “I
noticed that too. Besides, Elise has been going out early and coming back at night lately. Is she hiding
something from us?” Everyone fell silent at his words, whereas Alexander’s piercing eyes darkened bit
by bit. Elise didn’t have many belongings, so she only packed them in a simple suitcase. As she
dragged her suitcase downstairs, Danny immediately trotted up to her to help her. “Let me help you
with that, Boss,” he said while taking the suitcase from her. However, instead of going downstairs, he
stood still and continued, “Are you really leaving, Boss?
I’ll miss you very much.” Elise comforted him, saying, “I’m just moving out. It’s not like we’re not gonna
meet again. If you wanna play games with me, just text me on WhatsApp. I’ll play with you if I’m free.”
Danny pouted his lips before he replied despondently, “Alright, Boss.” Just then, Alexander came over
to them. “Just put the suitcase in the trunk. I’ll drive her there.” Danny still wanted to say something, but
when he saw how unyielding Alexander was, he could only hold back the words on the tip of his tongue
and obediently put the suitcase in the trunk.
“Let’s go,” Alexander said before going out first. Elise followed Alexander closely, though neither of
them spoke on their way to her apartment. When they arrived at Bollinger Gardens, Elise unbuckled
her seat belt, saying, “We’ve arrived. Just drop me here.” To her surprise, Alexander didn’t say a word
in reply. Instead, he merely opened the car door, got out of the car, and picked up her suitcase. He
asked, “Which block are you staying in?” Elise pointed at a building nearby. “Over there in Unit 1002,
Block 3B.” Alexander then dragged the suitcase toward Block 3B.
At the sight of the scene, Elise hurriedly caught up to him. “Actually, you don’t have to escort me there.
I can move into my apartment on my own.” Alexander raised an eyebrow slightly. Seeing that the
elevator had arrived, he motioned for Elise to go in first. As the elevator door closed, he slowly said,
“You can move into your apartment on your own, but it’s my duty and responsibility as your fiancé to
safely escort you to your destination.” Silenced by his words at once, Elise replied, “Oh, okay,” without
saying anything else. The elevator slowly went up until it stopped on the tenth floor.
After the couple walked out of the elevator, Elise hurriedly took out her keys and opened the door to her
apartment. The apartment was a fully-furnished 3-bedroom unit, and she had made a special effort to
buy it along with the furniture and electrical appliances back then. Therefore, it was very convenient for
her to move in with only her belongings. Alexander put her suitcase in the bedroom before surveying
the apartment.
He asked, “When did you buy this apartment?” “Before coming to the Griffith Residence,” answered
Elise. “Uh-huh,” Alexander uttered. “This place is nice. Still, it’s a bit dangerous for you to live alone as
a lady.” Elise replied, “It’s okay. I have it figured out. I’ll buy a pair of men’s slippers and put them at the
door tomorrow. Also, I’ll hang some men’s clothes to dry so no one would think that I’m living alone.”
Alexander narrowed his eyes slightly. “Well, you’re quite thoughtful, but don’t you have any
alternative?” Elise subconsciously asked, “Isn’t this good enough?”
Alexander looked around and inspected the balcony and the bathroom window. After making sure that
everything was alright, he said, “I’ve got something to do at my office, so I’ll be going there first. Be
careful while you stay here alone.” Elise nodded repeatedly. “Don’t worry. I know that.” However, she
became downcast at once after Alexander left. Staring at the spacious and empty apartment, she felt a
void inside her. Meanwhile, Alexander didn’t leave after the apartment door was closed. Instead, he
glanced at Unit 1001 next door and pressed the doorbell without the slightest hesitation.
“Coming… Who is it?” When the door opened, Alexander stood there and said, “Hi, there’s something
I’d like to discuss with you…” The apartment’s owner was startled for a while. Then, he said, “In that
case, come on in. Let’s talk about it inside.” … On the first day of moving in, Elise did a quick cleaning
of the apartment and ordered a takeout for lunch. Everything was fine up until then. However, when she
lay alone in bed and stared at the ceiling above her at night, a feeling of loneliness welled up within her.
She had trouble sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, so she had a hard time adjusting to it after moving to a
new place all of a sudden… She tossed and turned until the second half of the night before falling
asleep. When she woke up the next day, it was already 9AM. She quickly washed up, got changed,
and got ready to leave the apartment. However, when she opened the door, she saw a few people
moving things into the apartment next door. She asked curiously, “Are you guys the new neighbor?”
The worker answered, “Nope, we’re movers. We’re helping the apartment’s owner move in.” Elise
thought it coincidental that a new neighbor was moving into the apartment next door after she had
moved here yesterday, but she didn’t give it much thought. When the elevator arrived, she took the
elevator right away. It was already 10AM when she arrived at Brendan’s studio. As soon as she arrived,
Brendan came up to her, asking, “Are you alright, Elise?”
Elise replied with a smile, “Yeah, I’m fine! I just woke up late because I’d just moved house and was a
bit unused to it.” “Ah, that’s okay. That’s not what I’m asking about, anyway. I wanted to ask…” Brendan
hesitated for a moment. Then, he asked, “Why exactly did you move out all of a sudden?” Upon
hearing Brendan’s question, Elise replied slowly without revealing any emotion on her face, “Uh, there’s
no particular reason, actually. I just wanted a change of environment since I’ve bothered you guys for
too long.”
Brendan obviously didn’t believe her story, though. “Really? Or do you not want to tell me the reason?
We’ve known each other for such a long time, Elise, so you’ve got to tell me if anything happened to
you. Don’t treat me like an outsider.” Elise nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell you about it if anything happens
to me. Don’t overthink it, though.” Brendan was relieved to hear Elise say so. “Alright then. Go ahead
with your work while I go back to my office first.”
After Brendan left, Elise pulled out her chair and sat down. After looking at her design drawings, she
picked up the pencil and continued drawing her designs. However, it didn’t take long before she heard
what sounded like a quarrel outside. “We placed the order for the custom-made evening dress a month
ago. The film festival is coming soon, and you gave us this piece of junk?” “I don’t care about anything
else. You guys must solve this problem for me right now, or we’ll terminate all our contracts with your
studio.” “You know Maeve’s current standing in show business.
Can you afford to pay the losses if she can’t wear the dress at the film festival?” Volley after volley of
arguments were heard. Elise opened the door and walked out of the room. Seeing that many people
had gathered in front of her, she stopped an assistant and asked, “What happened? Why are they
quarreling?” The assistant glanced at the crowd before explaining in a low voice, “Something’s wrong
with Maeve’s evening dress; they’re displeased with the dress we designed. We had let them take a
look at the design when it came out, and they didn’t voice any objections then.
Now that the dress has been completed, they keep finding fault with it instead.” Elise frowned slightly.
Normally, both the studio and the client would exchange their opinion on such a custom-made evening
dress when the design came out. If the client was dissatisfied with the design, they could totally have
had it revised at the time. Therefore, it was somewhat unreasonable for them to voice their
dissatisfaction with the design now that the dress had been completed. “I’m going to take a look.” The
assistant hurriedly stopped her. “No, don’t do that.
This is Mr. Griffith’s design, so he’ll take care of this,” she said. Then, she deliberately lowered her
voice and continued, “It’s obvious that Maeve is making things difficult for Mr. Griffith on purpose.
Everyone knows she’s got feelings for him. You should stay out of this, Elise…” Elise knitted her brows.
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