If my mory serves right, my neighbors moved abroad ages ago and only popped back in for a flying visit every once in a blue moon. I had been living here for donkey years and I had only bumped into them once or twice.
Now, has this mansion been sold to Damon?
I couldn’t stop Damon from buying the house, but the thought of us being neighbors again gave the creeps.
He used to be my neighbor across the way in another country, and now he is my neighbor again.
The idea of him being my neighbor again didn’t exactly have jumping for joy, but there was sothing else that piqued my interest.
"Jones put Lewis behind bars, but soone’s got Ariel’s back. I don’t buy that her stepparents did it. Was it you?" I asked.
Besides Damon, I couldn’t think of anyone else who could keep Jones in check.
I knew Jones must have pulled the family strings, but I didn’t get why his parents would let him.
Damon, with his hands in his pockets, radiated a kind of glow.
"She’s my girlfriend, so I helped her. What’s wrong with that?" He asked .
I laughed at his response, "Ha, nothing wrong with that. Give her my thanks. If it wasn’t for her drama, I wouldn’t even be with Jones."
Upon hearing my response, Damon’s face turned stormy.
I turned on my heel and made a beeline for ho.
Upon arriving ho, my mom was fussing over a pot of flowers in the living room. She asked, "Did you know that the house next door had been sold?"
I took a seat, speechless.
"I’m not sure who bought it yet. Let’s pop over and say hi to our new neighbors tonight". Mom said with a hint of a smile on her face.
It was kind of an unwritten rule here. Every ti a new neighbor moved in, the rest of us would go and say hello. It was pretty standard.
I put the brakes on Mom’s plan, "Let’s not. It’s not worth it."
"Why?" Mom looked surprised.
"The new neighbor isn’t soone you’d want to et. You’ll just end up being extrely angry" I warned her.
Mom looked baffled, "Soone I don’t want to et? A business competitor?"
I didn’t say a word, afraid that the re ntion of Damon would set her off.
But Mom wasn’t one to be easily fooled. After I didn’t react to any other nas she threw out, she guessed, "Damon?"
"Mhm, that’s him." I confird. It wouldn’t be long before she found out anyway. It was not like I could tell Damon to get lost.
Mom beca anxious, "What on earth is he up to? Why would he move next door? Isn’t he with that Ariel? Is he trying to pester you?"
I also got the feeling Damon was deliberately flaunting his preserice, but he and Ariel were about to get engaged; there was no need for him to stir the pot with
"Mom, he and Ariel are getting engaged next month. Maybe he bought this house as an investnt; he’s always been a fan of buying properties." I tried to keep my cool and reassure Mom..
Mom looked skeptical, ’Really? They’re getting engaged?’
I wish I had brought that invitation back as proof to show that everything I said was true.
"Mom, it’s true. You can ask Sofia. I was with her at the bridal shop today. She heard Ariel herself." I replied.
Mom seed relieved, but her tone quickly changed to one of anger, "I knew those two were up to sothing behind the scenes, and they even had the nerve to bother you. They’re way out of line!"
"We’ll ignore them. If it cos to it, I can move out; it’s no problem." I suggested a solution.
Damon living next door would definitely cause a lot of headaches. I needed to figure out a way to steer clear of him.
I can move out and find sowhere else to live.
Mom nodded, "Okay, you move out. But don’t tell anyone. He definitely can’t find out where you’re staying!"
With this backup plan in mind, I no longer felt anxious. I spent the afternoon playing the plane to unwind, and after a hearty dinner cooked by Mom, the weekend ca to an end.
I leave for work at 8 am every day and drive myself to the office.
Everything used to be hunky dory, but these past few days, every ti I step out the door, I run into Damon.
He was either also leaving, or he was on the sa route as . I just gave him the cold shoulder.
"Eliana, co to the office early today for a eting in the conference room. "I got a text from Mom early this morning.
She always beat to the office, so she must have been waiting for in the conference room by now.
left ho half an hour earlier than usual and rushed to the office. As I was leaving the community gate, I noticed Damonl’s car was taking I glanced at the rear view mirror and saw him in the car
For so reason, he honked twice, as if to hurry along.
I imdiately hit the gas, getting out of his sight as fast as I could.
At an intersection, our paths finally diverged Having him tailgate made feel extrely uneasy
My position at the office wasn’t high; I didn’t usually attend etings with the boss unless it was sothing really important and Mom asked to join.
I had a bad feeling about this. When I got to the conference room, I noticed it was filled with the company’s higher-ups, who all had their eyes on . I could only nod as a greeting and find my seat.
"A few people are still missing, let’s wait a bit longer." Mom said to everyone.
She looked serious, which made a bit nervous,
After a while, a few more people trickled in, and we finally got started.
Turned out that last night Ariel announced the establishnt of a costics company called "Soul Enterprises, aiming to create a mid-to-high-end costics brand.
Overall, Soul Enterprises’ main business was very similar to ours.
And Soul Enterprises was located near our headquarters.
Everyone knew what this ant
That was why Mom called a eting with the company’s top brass to discuss a counterasure. Soul Enterprises was bound to poach our resources and business, so we had to be ready.
My mood turned gloomy as I listened to everyone’s opinions and views.
The eting lasted a whopping four hours and ended at lunchti. I gathered my things and, a bit absent-minded, prepared to go out for lunch.
As soon as I stepped out of the office building. I spotted Jones waiting for at the company entrance.
Our relationship was no secret, so everyone in the company knew he was here for , and we’d occasionally catch people stealing glances our way. "What brings you here?" I put all my troubles aside for a mont as I approached Jones.
As if he could read my mind, Jones asked, "Are you upset because Ariel plans to start her own company?"
He took my bag from my hands. Every ti we were together, he’d always take the initiative to carry my bag. It was a small detail, but it made him seem so considerate.
"You’re pretty sharp." I sighed deeply, "She seems determined to go head-to-head with , using her fortune to compete against my family’s company"
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