Chapter 404
(Menu)
They’d known about the divorce for a while. Hearing Catherine bring it up again, Ruby still beamed. Tanya, however, remained glued to her book, her expression unchanged. Vivian stayed calm, too. It seemed Ashley was no longer worth her attention.
Seeing Catherine was about to continue, Vivian said, “Catherine, Tanya’s studying. Don’t disturb her.”
“Oh…” Catherine, noticing Tanya’s intense focus, commented, “Didn’t the teacher arrive this morning? It’s 5:30 PM now, and Tanya’s still studying. I’m exhausted just watching her. Isn’t she tired?”
Ruby said, “Yes, but she’s a go–getter. I’ve always told you to learn from her, but you never listen.” Then, with a caring smile, she said to Tanya, “You gotta rest, sweetie. Do you want something to eat?”
Without looking up, Tanya replied, “No thanks. Chase’s taking me to dinner. I’m heading out
soon.”
After finishing the game, Ashley returned to the Jones residence. She spent over three hours revising her paper, ensuring it was perfect before sending it to Burke. She stretched, left her room. As she reached the downstairs, she found Amanda standing outside in the freezing cold. She seemed to be waiting for someone.
Ashley frowned, hurrying over.“Grandma, what-”
Before she could finish, the sound of a car filled the air. As she reached the door, a car pulled into the courtyard. Soon, Sam hopped out, running towards them.“Mom! Great–grandma!”
“Oh, sweetheart!” Amanda‘ eyes crinkled with joy as she bent down, arms outstretched.
Sam’s first instinct was to run to Ashley, but seeing Amanda’s welcoming gesture, he hugged her first.
“Have you eaten, sweetheart? Are you hungry?” Amanda asked.
“Just finished dinner with Dad. I’m not hungry,” Sam replied, releasing himself from Amanda’s embrace and tiptoeing to Ashley.“Mommy, hug!”
Ashley bent down to scoop him up, noticing the faint scent of perfume but showing no reaction.
This time, Chase didn’t personally drop Sam off. After Sam got out, the driver closed the door, nodded to Ashley and Amanda before driving away.
Sam had school the next day. After a quick bath, he went to bed. Ashley tucked him in, then texted Chase.
“Pick up Sam tomorrow afternoon. And don’t just drop him off here again without a word.‘
Chase didn’t reply all night, perhaps he didn’t see it or he was busy.
The next day, Ashley took Sam to school. Only after she returned to the office did Chase finally reply.
“Okay.”
Ashley put down her phone and focused on work.
Two more workdays passed before the weekend arrived.
Monday morning, Ashley received Burke’s reply: Not bad. You can submit it.
12:45
93.5
&
< Chapter 404
Ashley and Tim hadn’t seen Burke in a while. After the official submission, they invited Purke to dinner that evening. This time, he didn’t refuse.
At the restaurant, Ashley and Burke got out of the car and headed upstairs. They didn’t notice that Zark’s car was parked nearby. Zark, however, saw them.
After a couple of minutes, he carefully carried Betty out of the car. She was sleepy,
Ethan arrived first.“You made it!” he said,
Zark nodded.“Yeah.”
A few minutes later, Betty woke up. Chase, Tanya, Sam, and Catherine arrived. Zark’s gaze fell when he saw Catherine.
Catherine, however, was thrilled to see him. She rushed to him.“Hello, Zark
Zark looked at her calmly, offering no response. Catherine felt awkward, Noticing that Betty was not in good spirits, Sam asked, “Betty, are you feeling okay?
“I’m…”
Zark cut in and offered a gentle smile.“Betty’s fine. She just woke up.”
Betty was happy to see Sam. She left Zark’s arms and went to chat with Sam on the sofa.
After Tanya arrived, she sat beside Chase, took a sip of water he offered and pulled out a book. Then, she said to the others, “I’ll read for a bit. Chat away, don’t mind me.”
Ethan knew Tanya had been learning from Leo. Seeing her dedication, he couldn’t help but say, “Seriously? Is that really necessary?”
Catherine sat next to Zark.“Tanya’s been like this for days. She works really hard.”
Zark also knew Tanya wanted to be Burke’s student, and Burke was dining just a short distance away. But he didn’t mention it.
A sudden thought made him pause. He remembered seeing Ashley and Tim flanking Burke downstairs. He’d initially assumed Ashley was there because of Tim. But if that were true, she would’ve stood next to Tim.
Ashley wasn’t known for socializing, yet she was chatting casually with Burke. The Eternal projects had only been developed in the last few months. Ashley had left Sterling Corp and joined Eternal around the same time…
Leo had mentioned a couple of days ago that Ashley was more professional than him. Zark also recalled how Tanya wanted to join Eternal, but Tim had readily given up on her, despite her outstanding qualifications, because of Ashley.
Back then, both Ethan and he thought Tim was in love with Ashley.
But now…
Looking at Tanya, who was asking Chase for help because she encountered a problem, a sudden realization struck Zark. He froze, then abruptly stood up.
