Ariana Grant knows Ashley Shaw very well. Even though Ashley claims she no longer likes Warren Prescott, she hasn’t entirely let him go in her heart.
Because when she faces Warren, she’s different from when she faces anyone else.
It’s hard to pinpoint where exactly this difference lies; it’s just an instinct among close friends.
Now, with Jensen Hayes, she can feel a little more at ease.
Just hoping this ti, the lovers will finally beco a couple.
...
But Ashley Shaw isn’t really concerned about romance; her mind is full of other matters.
One thing is to ensure Elder Prescott has fun, to avoid him thinking about returning and finding out that Warren is missing.
The other is Noelle York.
She hasn’t known Owen Sinclair for long, and they’ve only t a handful of tis. To be fair, Owen has been very good to both her and Ariana.
If she hadn’t rembered the issue with Noelle, it would’ve been fine. But now that she rembers, she can’t just sit idly by.
Yet she doesn’t know how to bring it up.
To say Noelle isn’t trustworthy, might cause problems later, and it’s best not to sign her?
Why should Owen believe what she says?
On what grounds can she say such things?
Ashley had a heavy heart throughout the day but had no choice but to accompany the old man in indulging and wandering around.
Today, they visited the famous antique street in Aethelgard, known throughout Veridia.
After strolling down one street, Elder Prescott led them directly into what seed like an inconspicuous shop.
Once inside, the shop owner took one look at the old man and without a word, led them into the backyard.
The backyard was a different world altogether, filled with peculiar old items everywhere.
Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant didn’t understand these things, so they just quietly accompanied him.
Unexpectedly, Elder Prescott picked an antique for each of them.
Ashley’s was a beautiful cup, while Ariana’s was a hairpin made of a material they couldn’t discern.
But even without Elder Prescott saying so, they knew these items must be invaluable.
After finishing their stroll around the antique street, it was already dark outside.
They originally thought they would have dinner together like the past few days, but Elder Prescott ran into two old friends on the antique street.
Old friends eting naturally had a lot to catch up on, so Ashley and Ariana offered to let him dine with his friends while they continued to explore nearby.
But after parting ways, Ashley said, "Ariana, can you go back by yourself today? I want to et a friend."
Ariana had long noticed sothing was off with Ashley, but in Elder Prescott’s presence, she could only cover for Ashley as much as possible without asking too many questions. Now she couldn’t help but ask, "Is sothing wrong?"
Ashley smiled slightly, "It’s nothing, doesn’t concern us, just soone else’s matter."
Seeing Ashley say no more, Ariana didn’t press further.
Even the best of friends need to give each other so breathing room.
As long as nothing’s wrong with Ashley, she won’t ask more.
"I’ll head back first, call once you’re done, so I don’t worry by myself at the hotel."
"Okay."
Ariana hailed a taxi, which quickly rged into the traffic.
Ashley didn’t hurry to get a cab but first called Owen Sinclair.
The phone barely rang twice before it connected, bringing Owen’s surprised voice, "Ashley? Is sothing wrong?"
If nothing’s wrong, he didn’t think Ashley would proactively call him.
Hearing the concern in his voice, Ashley felt warmth in her heart.
"It’s nothing, Uncle Owen, I just have so free ti now and thought to call you. Are you busy?"
"Not busy at all, where are you? Since you’re free, how about I treat you to dinner tonight?"
"How about I treat you today? Where are you? I’ll co to find you."
Owen didn’t refuse, "At my new company. We just finished the renovations and are sorting out the interior decorations. I’ll send you the address, call when you’re downstairs, and I’ll have soone bring you up."
"Okay."
After the call ended, Ashley quickly received the address from Owen.
He also asked how long it would take her to arrive.
Ashley asked the driver and replied, "The driver says around thirty-five minutes."
Owen replied: [Alright, see you soon.]
Ashley responded with an "OK" and then scrolled through her contacts, landing on Lars Prescott’s number.
After a brief hesitation, she dialed Lars’s number.
The phone rang for a while before Lars answered in a slightly irritated tone, "Hello, Ashley, what’s up?"
From his voice, Ashley sensed sothing was off and asked cautiously, "How... is he?"
"Haven’t reached him yet."
Ashley had guessed as much, her eyes clouding over.
Then she heard Lars say, "But there’s so good news, I’ve contacted the cruise ship captain, and he confird Warren did board. His registration information is on there."
Ashley felt a relief wash over her and asked, "So, isn’t it just a matter of ti before he’s found?"
Lars replied, "We started looking yesterday, but because Morgan Schultz is also on the cruise, it’s not convenient to make a big deal out of it, so it might take a bit longer."
"Since he’s on the ship, he’ll be found eventually. But I’m starting school the day after tomorrow, and I have to move to campus tomorrow... What should I do about Grandpa Prescott?"
Lars fell silent for a mont before suddenly saying, "I have a way to keep him here."
Warren always wanted to move the headquarters to Aethelgard quickly, but Lars disagreed, believing the policies in Westcroft were more "friendly" for The Prescott Group, so he had been secretly opposing the northern move.
His thod is to start relocating the headquarters to Aethelgard right away. This way, with Elder Prescott in Aethelgard, many things can be handled by him.
Elder Prescott naturally won’t be able to return to Westcroft anyti soon and, being occupied with work, won’t think about Warren.
Ashley thought about this and said, after a mont’s pause, "But won’t such high-intensity work affect Grandpa Prescott’s health?"
Lars gave a bitter laugh and said, "Do you think it’s better for him to be busy with work or to be busy worrying about Warren?"
The answer was, of course, the forr.
Ashley said, "Then we have no other choice."
"Yeah... You’ve worked hard these past few days."
"It’s not hard at all. As long as it’s for Grandpa Prescott’s good, what does this matter? Besides, I’ve had a lot of fun hanging out with him the past few days."
Lars listened to her words, unsure of what to say for a mont.
Once, he thought Ashley’s kindness towards Elder Prescott was just to get sothing from him and the Prescott family, but now it seems... he had misjudged her.
He saw clearly now whether she was sincere or had ulterior motives.
"Really, thank you, Ashley. And I’m sorry for what I said to you before. After this matter is settled, if you want to see Grandpa Prescott, you’re always welco, anyti, anywhere."
It was rare for Ashley to hear a sincere apology from Lars, leaving her unsure of how to respond.
Lars then added, "I’ll start working on the relocation now, so I’ll hang up first."
"Alright."
Lars ended the call but sighed silently.
It wasn’t the first ti he wondered if he had made a mistake before.
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