The next day, Elise had just walked out of the Elite Class in the Small White Building when she bumped
into a man who was covered from head to toe. He wore a mask over his face and pulled his baseball
cap low to cover his eyes. The man stood behind some plants to avoid getting noticed by the students.
Elise immediately recognized who the man was. “Garreth,” she said as she walked over to him. He
froze for a moment and only heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Elise. “Elise,” he mumbled
as he pulled his mask down and hung his head low. He looked like a child who had made a terrible
mistake.
“We’ll talk when we’re home.” The last class of the day had just ended, so there would be students
swarming out of their classes anytime soon. It wasn’t appropriate for them to talk on school grounds.
So, Elise decided to bring Garreth back to the villa. Once they got in, he took off his cap and
sunglasses.
Sofia happened to come downstairs as they entered the hall. “This is…” she mumbled when she saw
the man. Elise simply ignored Sofia’s words as she turned to look at Garreth. “You can wait for me at
the study upstairs.” He nodded before heading upstairs.
Once he was gone, Elise turned to look at Sofia before speaking with a blank expression on her face.
“Miss Hawkins, I hope you understand the upper floors are private spaces for Alexander and me. No
one else should be allowed upstairs, even if my mother-in-law is the one who arranges for them to go
up. You will need to ask for our permission first.”
Sofia didn’t seem taken aback by the woman’s words, for she continued to smile at her. “Well, how am I
supposed to clean the place up if I don’t go up? How should I change your toiletries? My job is to
ensure that Mr. Griffith lives a comfortable life. So, you should trust me since I’m the professional at
this, Miss Sinclair.” Sofia refused to refer to Elise as Mrs. Griffith—it was as if they would be equals with
one another if she didn’t do so.
Elise curled her lips into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I will not repeat myself. If you wish to get
fired, feel free to go against my orders.” They glared at each other for two seconds before Elise headed
upstairs. Sofia remained on her spot, and the smile on her face stiffened as a hateful look formed in her
eyes. It took a while before her rational side allowed her to calm her emotions down. At that moment,
she came up with an idea. If I tell Alexander that Elise brought another man home while he wasn’t
around, what would he think of her? I heard that Elise is pretty famous in the entertainment industry.
What if the reporters find out about this?
At that thought, Sofia pulled her phone out to text a reporter she was close to. ‘I told you I’ve always got
your back, right? Well, I want you to immediately send someone over to 188, Building 6 on XX Street.
Elise is having a date with her secret boyfriend,’ she typed.
‘Her secret boyfriend? Could it be Garreth, who has just disappeared?’ the reporter replied almost
immediately.
Sofia stared at the text. Garreth… That’s a familiar name. She ran a search on the name, and her eyes
lit up immediately. Isn’t this the man who just headed upstairs? I can’t believe he’s the hot topic of the
whole entertainment industry right now! Oh, Elise. How dare you bring him a man as trendy as him?
You asked for it, Elise. You can’t blame me for this.
‘Yeah,’ Sofia replied through text. After she was done, she put away her phone and crossed her arms.
Then, she sent a smug look in the direction of the room Elise and Garreth were in. Sofia used to be a
factual journalist, so she had always regarded the paparazzi with disdain. She would’ve never imagined
herself putting them to good use. I guess it is important to have some connections, she thought.
About 30 minutes later, the entire villa was surrounded by the paparazzi. A few of them were shouting
their lungs out. “Miss Sinclair, we heard that Garreth is in there! We came all the way here just to take a
look at him. Please give us something to work with!” one of the reporters cried.
“How long have you been dating Garreth, Miss Sinclair? Are you guys staying together?” one asked.
“Garreth, what do you have to say about the 300 million that Blitzy Entertainment is requesting?!”
another one cried.
“Miss Sinclair, Garreth, are you guys sure that you guys want to stay hidden when there are so many
people out here? Is this how you should treat us reporters?” one shouted.
“We heard that Miss Sinclair helped Garreth with the termination of the contract. Is that true? Please
say a word or two!” a reporter stated.
Elise simply opened the blinds a little to peep at the situation downstairs. The moment there was
movement in her room, the sharp-eyed reports caught it and began to shout. “Miss Sinclair! It’s Elise
Sinclair. She’s on the second floor! Why don’t you come out and explain yourself?!” one cried.
She hastily shut the blinds before retreating into the room. Garreth couldn’t sit still for much longer, so
he clenched his fists and walked out of the room. “Hold on,” Elise called. “Where are you going?”
“They’re here for me. You’ll be fine as long as I leave. I don’t want to drag you down,” he said
desolately.
“Leave? How are you going to leave with that huge crowd out there? You’re tiny compared to those
tens of people,” Elise said calmly. “Didn’t you just say that you want to start a new life? All of this is a
process. If you want to start anew, you will need to learn how to control your emotions,” she advised
him.
“But they aren’t going to leave until they see me.” Garreth turned around to reveal a conflicted look on
his face. He didn’t want to face the media either, but this was the only way to get rid of the crowd
outside the house. “I’m not telling you to stay here forever.” Elise pulled her phone out and typed a few
words while speaking absent-mindedly. “You can wait for another 30 minutes. We need one more
person,” she said.
“One more person?” Garreth had no idea what was going on, but he simply obeyed Elise’s words when
he saw how focused she seemed. He took a seat quietly as he didn’t want to disturb her. Finally,
Garreth got to his feet after what felt like the longest 30 minutes in the world. At that moment, Elise’s
phone began to ring. She picked it up and pressed it against her ear. “I got it,” she murmured after a
few seconds of silence.
Then, she put her phone away before addressing Garreth. “You can leave now. Take the front door.
Don’t say a single thing. Once the reporters have been gathered, I’ll give them an explanation on behalf
of you.”
Although Garreth had no idea what Elise was planning to do, he felt oddly safe with her. So, he simply
nodded and went along with her plan. Then, after taking a deep breath to steady himself, he headed
downstairs and opened the door to face all the reporters outside the villa. “Garreth is out!” all the
reporters cried when they saw him.
The reporters squeezed toward him from all directions, and Garreth found himself in front of more than
20 microphones in a matter of seconds. “Did Elise agree to pay for the termination of your contract,
Garreth? Is that why you’re dating her?” one reporter asked.
“Is Elise in there, Garreth? When did you guys start dating?” another one asked.
“Was Elise the one who chased after you?!”
“The rumors claim that Elise has a thing with both Kenneth and Alexander. Are you another one of her
boyfriends? What do you think about an open relationship?”
“Shut up!” When he heard the last reporter’s question, Garreth completely forgot about Elise’s words.
“Elise is a good person. I won’t have you talking bad about her like that!” he hissed coldly.
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