Ch. 571..580

Chapter 571 You Are Free

Charlene closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her eyes again. Before she spoke, however, she hung her head in shame. In the clip, the reporters nearly held their microphones to Charlene’s chin.

Finally, Charlene found her voice. “…The team members learned the truth at the time. They wanted to clarify things for H, but in order to maintain my hard-won popularity, I forestalled them by pretending to be raped. After getting a man to rape me, I framed Elise for this, making all our teammates think that Elise had purposely gotten back at me because she held a grudge against me for stealing her songs. Actually, they didn’t know that I only used my chastity in exchange for Elise losing everyone’s support.”

As she spoke of this, she sniffled and looked up at the camera with a mad and frivolous expression. “Elise, I know you’re watching this. This time, I’ve paid off what I owed you, but history will always remember that you’ve once fallen into my trap without being able to explain yourself. Even if I’ve lost thoroughly today, that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve once been defeated by me!”

Knowing that what Charlene would be saying next wouldn’t be pleasant to hear, Alexander pressed the power button and turned off the TV.

Everyone in the bar had a different expression on their faces.

Elise didn’t come to her senses for quite some time. To think that Charlene didn’t hesitate to take a gamble using her own body in order to gain some vague popularity and glory. Seriously, I have no idea how to comment on this.

Jamie was the first to step forward and speak for Elise. “I told you that Boss was innocent,” he said. As he spoke, he deliberately darted a look at Noel, who was standing by the door. It was because of Charlene that he had never been in touch with Noel all these years. Now that the truth had come to light, he could finally say righteously that he was right, and that Noel had been deceived by that bad woman.

Arthur and Julius exchanged a brief look, but they dared not respond to Jamie’s words. As they didn’t choose to steadfastly believe Elise back then, they were in no position to express their opinions now.

Clenching his fists with all his might, Noel stood in place with a look of anguish on his face before a tear suddenly spilled out of his eye. Before everyone could notice it, however, he turned his face away and lowered his head, causing the tear to make a turn and flow into his mouth before it could fall. It tastes so bitter, he thought. To think that the woman whom I cherished like a treasure willingly let another man violate her for some undeserved reputation! So what does that make of my defense of her over these years? Perhaps I’m just a joke to Charlene. Most importantly, how am I supposed to face Elise after this?

Just then, Alexander asked impassively, “Now that the truth has come to light, don’t you think you owe Elise an apology?”

Gritting his teeth, Noel turned his head further away without giving an answer.

Jamie kindheartedly advised Noel, saying, “What’s wrong is wrong, and there’s nothing embarrassing about apologizing for your mistakes. We’ll still be friends after you say sorry to her.”

However, his words seemed to hit a nerve in Noel, and he blew up all of a sudden. “I don’t need you pretending to be kind now!” He looked somewhat scary with bloodshot eyes.

Getting into a temper as well, Jamie raised his voice without realizing it. “What the f*ck are you talking about? Are you so spoiled by the flattery in show biz that you can’t understand the kind words? Can’t you tell that I’m giving you an out?”

Noel stubbornly clenched his teeth without answering him.

“Calm down, both of you! We’re brothers.” Unable to bear the sight of the scene anymore, Julius stepped out of the bar counter and tugged at Noel’s arm. He said earnestly, “Just acknowledge your mistakes, Noel. Boss won’t take this to heart.”

However, Noel shook him off defiantly. “That’s none of your business!”

“Haven’t you had enough?!” Being older than Noel, Julius instantly acted like a big brother. He reproached Noel sternly, saying, “Nobody’s blaming you right now; we’re just asking you to apologize. Can’t you even do that? Are you still a man? Don’t forget how nasty the words you said to Boss back then were!”

Noel growled angrily at him, “That’s right! I’m not a man! I’m such a stupid *sshole, and I don’t deserve to stand together with you guys. Is that enough?”

Julius spat before grabbing Noel’s collar. “Don’t act unreasonable in front of me! I only yielded to you previously because I felt sorry for you for being disliked by Charlene. But now, if you’re still being unreasonable for the sake of that shameless and vicious woman, then you have only yourself to blame!”

“I have only myself to blame, but you aren’t any better. If you really wanted to stick up for Boss so much, why didn’t you make a sound back then?”

Noel’s words succeeded in pushing Julius’ buttons, and he raised his fist and knocked Noel down to the ground with a punch. Before Noel could get up, he dashed toward him and sat astride him. “What are you talking about? Would all of this have happened if you hadn’t shown Charlene the song?”

The scene was in chaos as Arthur rushed toward the two men and tried to pull them apart. “Noel, Julius, what are you doing?!”

Just then, Elise’s voice rang sonorously. “Stop, all of you!”

The bar instantly went quiet as everyone stopped what they were doing.

With a sullen expression, Elise stood up and walked toward Julius and Noel, saying impassively, “Julius, get up first. Let go of him.”

Julius let out a heavy breath. After darting another look at Noel on the ground, he shook Noel off and got up. Then, he returned to the bar counter and drank up the rest of his wine in one gulp.

Arthur helped Noel up, but just as he was about to dust Noel off, Noel pulled his hand out of Arthur’s grasp and stepped aside right away like a difficult person.

Is he gonna sever all ties with us? Arthur let out a sigh. Seeing that Elise had something to say, he bit back the words on the tip of his tongue. Silently, he stood next to Julius and patted the latter on the shoulder to comfort him.

Jamie went over and poured himself some wine on his own as he wasn’t in the mood to watch Noel ruin himself.

When everyone’s attention was no longer on Noel, Elise finally said in a soft voice, “I know you’re feeling bad right now, Noel. We’ve been friends for so many years, and you were also deceived back then, so I’m not gonna blame you. It’s just that you’ve done so many things for Charlene for so many years, but she’s never been honest with you. I sincerely hope that you can be nicer to yourself by thinking twice about her. I know you only did what you did just now because you didn’t know how to make up for your mistakes. It’s okay. You can go heal your wounds on your own, but we’ll always be waiting for your return.”

Noel’s nose twinged. Still, he stubbornly feigned indifference, saying, “Are you done talking? Can I leave already?”

Elise replied helplessly, “You’re free to do as you please.”

Upon hearing this, Noel turned around and left the bar without the slightest hesitation.

Elise kept following Noel with her gaze. After Noel’s figure disappeared from her sight, she let out a sigh, only to see out of the corner of her eye that Alexander looked somewhat disappointed. However, before she could ask him about it, she was interrupted by Jamie, who said, “Noel’s changed. He’s lost his principles because of Charlene.” As he spoke, he handed her a glass of cocktail. “I prepared this myself. Take a sip.”

Taking the wine glass from Jamie, Elise said earnestly, “Noel just needs some time.” After all, no men could stand it when the woman they treated as their goddess personally had someone rape herself. Noel had yet to come to his senses, so she didn’t blame him at all.

Chapter 572 Time to Call Me Hubby, Mrs Griffith

When Jamie heard what Elise had said, his expression turned gloomy as well. Looking at the door with a thoughtful expression, he said with a sigh, “We’re both men, so how could I not know what Noel is thinking? It’s not just you, Boss. In fact, none of us blames him for what he did. Let’s hope that he’ll make peace with himself sooner.”

Elise smiled; she just knew that despite his seemingly simpleminded demeanor, Jamie was actually very attentive. After so many years, Elise had long since forgotten what it felt like to be unable to explain herself about what had happened to Charlene. For Noel, however, now was just the beginning of his shock, so perhaps he was more anguished than anyone else. Still, Elise had to admit that the qualms she had always had had disappeared completely.

It was rare that everyone was present, so the group drank a lot on the pretext that they’d resolved their issues and made up.

Elise was a little tipsy as she walked out of the bar. Still, she walked steadily toward the spot where Alexander’s car was parked with Alexander supporting her.

Drunken and bleary-eyed, Elise looked up at the side of Alexander’s face. She called him absentmindedly, “Alex. Alexander.”

“I’m here.” Opening the car door, Alexander helped her to the passenger seat before attentively fastening the seat belt for her. However, just as he was about to step back and close the car door, Elise suddenly sat up and hooked her arm around his neck, pressing her body against his.

As Alexander smelled the strong smell of alcohol mixed with the refreshing perfume scent, his breathing instantly became heavy, and he instinctively gave an audible gulp. “Be good, Ellie.” His voice was deep and husky with a barely perceptible note of restraint.

As Elise stared at the man, her eyes moistened all of a sudden, and she deliberately pressed her body even closer against his. “No, I’m not a good girl.”

Everyone thought that she should be a magnanimous person and forgive Charlene. Even if there was someone who trusted her character, they merely voiced their support for her without doing anything else. Even Elise herself didn’t have the courage to find out the truth. However, Alexander found out what was weighing on her mind and quietly helped her restore her reputation without saying a word or even asking her about it. He never mentioned how nice he was to her, but he did everything for her in such a way.

Alexander had drunk a bit of liquor, so his breathing became somewhat heavy when Elise pressed her body against his like this. Still, with incredible self-restraint, he merely expressed his slight annoyance. “Be good, Ellie. Let’s take you home first.”

“No, I don’t wanna.” Elise acted up in front of Alexander with the liquid courage in her. “Why do you have to be so kind to me? Do you know you’re so kind that I feel I don’t deserve you?”

When Alexander heard this, his attitude softened at once. He raised his hand to stroke her hair gently, saying, “It’s fine as long as I know you’re good enough for me. I know how good you are. Ellie, is the wedding gift I gave you inappropriate?” He didn’t want to make Elise cry. Instead, he just wanted her to stop shutting herself off and blaming herself for everything.

Elise shook her head. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I like this gift very much. Now I finally know that I wasn’t the one in the wrong. It’s just that I never thought people could be so bad. I promise you that I’ll never doubt myself anymore.”

Ever since the incident about Charlene happened, Elise had been lingering in the whirlpool of self-doubt, lost in introspection again and again. She wondered if she really was that much of a failure and if that was why no one had believed her. Everyone thought she would be so unscrupulous to the extent of robbing a lady of her chastity because of a song. Today, she finally learned that one couldn’t avoid trouble simply by keeping their nose clean. After all, there were many bad people in the world who couldn’t stand the sight of others being happy, and they were willing to give up everything as long as they could make the others’ lives a misery.

Still, this shouldn’t be an excuse for self-doubt. If we want to be independent and self-assured, we have to have faith in our charisma. The bad guys are too deceitful, which is enough to fool most people. However, what’s done by night appears by day. The truth will be made public sooner or later, so there’s no hurry to feel guilty and blame myself, nor should I push away those who sincerely love me, Elise thought.

Cupping Elise’s face in his hands, Alexander whispered softly, “In the future, you can do whatever you want. Whatever you lose—even if you lose everything one day—as long as you turn around, I’ll still be behind you. As long as you turn around, you’ll see me. So, you don’t have to be afraid of anything. Got it?”

Glistening tears rolled down the corners of Elise’s eyes, but she didn’t notice it at all. Instead, she deliberately sniffled, chiding, “You just want to make me cry, don’t you?”

“How could I bear to do that?” Alexander wiped the tears off her face. “I just feel that I messed up a little. Perhaps Noel would’ve sincerely apologized to you if I had let him and Charlene confront each other face to face.”

“You did well enough. And besides, now that the truth has come to light, whether Noel apologized or not doesn’t matter to me anymore,” Elise said while stretching out her neck slightly to plant a kiss on the corner of Alexander’s lips. “Alexander, it’s wonderful to have you in my life.”

Alexander felt his body go limp as if an electric current had spread through him. His spirits rose, and he joked, “Now that I’ve officially become your husband, aren’t you gonna call me ‘hubby,’ Mrs. Griffith?”

“Mrs. Griffith?” Elise was startled; she didn’t realize that Alexander was addressing her. The instant she realized it, she couldn’t help but bite her lower lip shyly.

Alexander happened to see how pitiable Elise looked from his angle. Feeling his throat tighten, he could hardly suppress his desire to touch her luscious lips.

However, just as he was about to lean close to her, the cell phone in the inner pocket of his suit jacket rang. His brow furrowed, and he paused in vexation. What an inopportune time for a phone call.

Elise let out a chuckle. Cupping the man’s face in her hands, she gave him a big smacker. “Alright, are you satisfied this time?”

Alexander’s lips curved up slightly. Only then did he step back and answer the phone. “What’s the matter?” he asked. Then, after falling silent for half a minute, he quickly put away his cell phone and turned to look at Elise with confidence of victory in his eyes. “Now I can give you a real gift.”

“Huh?” Elise looked baffled.

Then, after a half-hour drive, she was brought to the hospital by Alexander.

Elise was familiar with the hospital, for Faye had passed away here not long ago.

Without saying another word, Alexander led her straight to the morgue and pulled out one of the refrigerated drawers storing dead bodies. Then, with deft movements, he unzipped a bag containing a dead body, and the bag opened to reveal Elise’s face.

“What’s going on here?” Elise asked. I’ve taken off the prosthetic mask before leaving. Why is the mask back on Faye’s face?

Alexander explained impassively, “When I saw the photo of the car accident on the news, I knew that you had gone to Jacob. After you sent the mask back for repair, I took it back and put the word out that you were the one who died.”

Elise was shrewd enough to realize the man’s intention. “You wanna lure Matthew out?”

Alexander nodded. “The fish is gonna take the bait very soon. Well, I didn’t get to catch a big fish, but I got Heather.”

“Heather?” Elise had nearly forgotten about this person. Heather had always followed Matthew around. Now that she had been caught, Matthew would probably not show up again for fear of getting caught himself.

Chapter 573 Matt Never Did It

Alexander nodded. Then, he turned to look outside the door. “Bring her in.” As soon as he said that, Cameron marched a handcuffed Heather into the room.

Seeing Elise standing alive beside Alexander, Heather was visibly surprised. Soon after that, though, she realized what had happened. “As expected, you faked your death to fool us,” she said disdainfully. “Unfortunately, you guys only got me. Matt won’t be fooled again!”

Looking at Cameron, Alexander ordered expressionlessly, “You get out first.”

“Yes, Young Master Alexander,” Cameron replied respectfully. Then, he stepped out of the room, closed the door, and stood watch outside.

As soon as the door closed, Alexander’s expression turned serious. “Matthew’s now alone out there, so it’ll be inconvenient for him to do anything. And besides, it’s useless for me to catch you. Make a deal with me, and I’ll let you off.”

Upon hearing this, Elise was even more confused. It doesn’t make sense to release someone after doing everything possible to catch her, right? However, it was obvious that Alexander had a plan in mind, so she didn’t interrupt him.

“Ha!” Heather sneered. “Since I dare to come here, I’m not afraid of death. Do you think I’ll be afraid whether or not you’re gonna let me off?”

“I know you’re not afraid of death, of course.” Alexander wasn’t surprised at all. After walking up to Heather, he stared down at her with his black eyes. “But what if it’s Matthew?”

And sure enough, Alexander was spot on about Heather’s Achilles’ heel. “What are you trying to say?”

Alexander said frostily, “You know better than me how difficult it is for Matthew to move around in the city without your help. Now, I can spend a lot of money for both the police and the underworld to search every inch of the city, and it won’t take long before he gets decapitated. Do you want me to do that?”

“You won’t.” Heather’s eyes narrowed slightly. “If you’re really willing to pay such a huge price and want to do so, you wouldn’t have told me about it.”

“You’re quite smart.” Alexander smiled meaningfully. “Unfortunately, you don’t know that Elise and I have gotten married. Now that she’s become my wife, do you think I’m gonna let a person who defiled her stay alive in this world?”

“You married her?!” Heather looked at Alexander in disbelief. “Don’t you mind it at all?”

“Of course I don’t.” Alexander raised an eyebrow in ridicule, but his face was frosty. “Who cares about a person who’s going to die?”

“But you said just now that you’d let me off!” Heather argued emotionally.

“Yeah, I did,” Alexander said nonchalantly. “I did say that I’d let you off, but I didn’t say that I’d let Matthew off. Well, it’s mainly because I want to save some money. As long as you lead my people to him, I’ll spare your life and give you a sum of money that you won’t be able to finish spending in your lifetime. Isn’t such a bargain worth making?”

“You’re delusional!” Heather snarled. “I’d never betray Matt even if I die!” As she spoke, she spat in Alexander’s face. “I thought you were so upright and honorable, but you ended up resorting to such an underhanded trick, eh? You’ve underestimated my love for Matt!”

Taking out his handkerchief, Alexander unhurriedly wiped the saliva off his face while leisurely mumbling to himself, “Since you’re not willing to cooperate, I guess I can only try something stupid.” Then, as his eyes darkened, he hurled the handkerchief directly at the wall. After that, he looked up and yelled toward the door with a clouded expression, “Cameron! Carry out the original plan at once. I have to see Matthew—alive or dead—tonight!”

Cameron pushed the door open and came in before answering respectfully in a loud, clear voice, “Yes, Young Master Alexander! I’ll give the orders right away!” As he spoke, he took out his cell phone and tinkered with it before holding it to his ear. “Hello—”

As soon as he spoke, he was interrupted by a hysterical Heather. “No! Don’t—”

However, Cameron turned his face away as though he didn’t hear Heather trying to stop him. He continued saying to the person on the other end of the line on his own, “Young Master Alexander said we may get started. He wants to see Matthew alive or dead—”

“No, you can’t do that!” Heather panicked completely. She came up and tugged at Cameron, but the man remained unmoved. As they pushed and shoved each other, Heather ended up falling to the ground.

A tremendous feeling of helplessness enveloped Heather when she saw Cameron’s businesslike demeanor. “Matt mustn’t die! He has to stay alive…” Panic-stricken, she crawled her way to Alexander’s feet and tugged at his trouser leg, pleading, “You can’t kill him! You have no reason to kill him! He’s your brother; if you kill him, God will punish you!”

“Punish me, huh?” Alexander looked cold and indifferent. “Even if I’m gonna be punished, Matthew will be punished before me! He made multiple attempts on my life and robbed my wife of her virginity. I’d like to see which of us will get our comeuppance first!”

“No! Matt didn’t kill you! You’re still alive! You’re unscathed, so how could you try to get him killed?!” Grabbing Alexander’s clothes for support, Heather picked herself up and grabbed his gaping suit jacket before shaking him with all her might. “Why can’t you give him a way out?!”

“I did give him a way out!” Alexander shouted in a furious voice as his deep eyes widened. “Countless times, in fact! But he shouldn’t have touched my woman! No men could stand such humiliation!”

Startled by the man’s sudden outburst, Heather was dazed for a moment. Before she could come to her senses, Alexander raised his voice again and urged Cameron next to him, saying, “Tell them that they don’t have to notify me if they find him. Just kill him on the spot!”

“No, you can’t!” Heather shouted hysterically. “You can’t kill Matt! He never did it!”

As soon as she said that, the entire room instantly went silent.

Cameron put away his cell phone, and Alexander’s expression eased. All of a sudden, he looked like a modest and mild-mannered gentleman once again.

With the benefit of hindsight, Heather released her grip, sensing vaguely that something was wrong. After a long time, she looked at Alexander thoughtfully, asking, “You never planned to have someone kill Matt. Did you pull the stunt just now to find out whether or not he had slept with Elise back then?”

“I told you that you’re smart.” Alexander calmly straightened his suit jacket as if nothing had ever happened. He said impassively, “Well, it’s not much different from what I imagined, but thank you for letting my wife know the truth at last.”

Heather didn’t expect to be tricked by the smoke screen Alexander had created. Her legs went weak, and she slumped to the ground. This is the only thing Matt could gross Alexander and Elise out with, and I just betrayed him like that? If Matthew learns about this, will he still let me stay by his side?

On the other hand, Elise’s mind was in a whirl; she didn’t expect that the mystery that had plagued her for such a long time would be solved all of a sudden. She had learned so much information today that she nearly had trouble taking it in.

Alexander turned around and walked up to her before holding her hand in his and playing with it. “Now your grandpa no longer has to worry about you being denounced publicly and having a crisis of conscience after marrying me.”

“Was it because of Grandpa that you were eager to find out the truth?” Elise thought Alexander had only gotten to the bottom of the matter because he was bothered by the fact that she and Matthew might have slept together.

“Not entirely. It was still for my own sake, actually.” Alexander gave Elise a beaming smile. “I can’t wait to make you my wife, and only by doing so could you marry me justifiably.”

Chapter 574 Are You Sure That Such Dark Humor Suits You?

“Isn’t this something that I should take into consideration?” Elise blinked her eyes innocently. “Now that we’re married, shouldn’t your problems become mine too?” Alexander spoke matter-of-factly.

“That makes sense too.” Elise revealed a silly smile. Oh no! If I continue being together with Alexander, I’ll surely become useless.She felt a  sense of threat at that point, but she was mostly content. After all, it was great to have someone respond to her requests and to pay attention to her. She paused and turned to look at Heather before asking, “How do you plan to deal with her?”

“I’ll release her, of course.” Alexander suddenly turned solemn.

“I won’t leave!” Heather was on guard, and she immediately lifted her head and glared at them with a disgusted expression. “You guys think that I’m clueless about your plans, huh? You’re going to release me and then make use of me to locate Matt, and I won’t let you have your way!”

“You seem to regard him too importantly.” Alexander’s expression darkened at that point. “I’m releasing you so that you can go back and let Matthew know that his hopes have been dashed. Before even realizing the truth, I’ve already signed the marriage papers with Elise. As such, he’s overestimated his own destructive abilities and underestimated my love for her. From now on, we should steer clear of each other’s paths. As long as he stays away from us and no longer disrupts our peaceful life, then I can spare his life. However, if he chooses to continue making foolish moves, I’m quite ruthless in my ways too.”

“You’re just talking high and mighty. If you were in his shoes and had become an illegitimate child, you might not even have a life as good as Matt’s.” At that moment, Heather spoke willfully and refused to admit defeat.

Meanwhile, Alexander had expressed everything that he wanted to say, so he no longer bothered to waste time on her. He lifted his head and spoke to Cameron. “Escort her out of the place and release her in the outskirts of town.”

Instantly, Cameron went forward to do so.

“Let’s leave this place too.” Alexander looked at Elise and spoke tenderly. He then continued, “The news has gone out, so there will definitely be more than one small fry that gets drawn here. This time, our enemies will be exposed while we hide behind the scene. We can have fun waiting for them to turn up.”

At that point, Elise saw Alexander’s look as he spoke about the conspiracies. She suddenly found him quite comical and couldn’t help teasing him, “Darling, are you sure that such dark humor suits you?”

As soon as she called him that, it instantly triggered a reaction in him as he reached out to wrap his arms around her slender waist. Then, he exerted force and pulled her into his arms forcefully.

Their bodies molded against each other, but he intentionally lowered his head and inched his face closer to her while speaking in a gentle and tender voice, “I love this term of endearment, so keep addressing me this way from now on.”

“Address you in what way?” Elise widened her eyes innocently and after she’d said that, for she suddenly realized what she had said. With that, her face blushed red up to the tip of her ears.

Meanwhile, Alexander burst out laughing as he dived in for a passionate kiss.

…

After exiting the hospital, Alexander brought Elise back to the courtyard house. He had planned on mentioning their marriage to the two elders of the Sinclair Family the next morning.

However, as soon as he walked out of the alley, he saw from afar that Jamie was waiting in front of the entrance to the courtyard house. Furthermore, Jamie took a few steps forward upon seeing them come back.

“Phew! Boss, you’re fine after all!” Jamie heaved a sigh of relief. “I was right! We were drinking together right before this, so how could you have gotten into an accident, huh?”

As soon as Alexander and Elise heard his words, they instantly realized that he had rushed here as soon as he heard the news circulating around in public.

“You’ve gone through so much trouble to come here in person so late at night,” Elise responded. “Later on, create a group chat and inform Julius and Arthur about this too.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. You don’t have to remind me about such a trivial thing.” Jamie waved at her. “I’ll be on my way then.”

After Jamie said that, he walked past the two of them and exited the alley.

Meanwhile, Elise couldn’t help taking another look at him. Indeed, Jamie’s the one who’s most concerned about me.

“He’s a great subordinate.” Alexander couldn’t help teasing her.

“Are you jealous?” Elise responded with jest.

“Yuppppp,” Alexander purposely dragged his reply. “I’m jealous of everyone by your side, regardless of their gender.”

“It seems like you’ll be jealous all day and every day. Aren’t you afraid of being tired?”

“Yes, I am. That’s why I’ll need plenty of kisses from you to energize me. Come on, let me exercise my right as your husband.”

The two of them fooled around with each other and entered Alexander’s courtyard house.

…

The following day, Elise had slept in and did not wake up until quite late in the morning. She bumped into Maya as she opened the door and walked out of her room.

Maya looked like she was about to enter and clean the place, so she was significantly stunned upon seeing Elise.

“Why haven’t you left?” Elise remembered that she had purposely instructed Maria to assign plenty of menial jobs to Maya so that the woman would leave by herself.

Unexpectedly, she’d gone overseas and come back, but Maya was still around. Furthermore, Maya had even taken over the job of cleaning Alexander’s house.

“I said that I wanted to stay here to atone for my sins, so where would I go?” Maya appeared to be quite calm on the surface, but in reality, her heart thudded frantically.

Elise is such a b*tch! How dare she sleep with Alexander before getting married to him? She’s shameless! She’s such a wanton woman! I knew it! Alexander must have been seduced by her flirtatious ways, and that’s why he’s so against the suggestion of a marriage union with my family. She’s indeed a country bumpkin! She must have resorted to underhanded tactics to win his heart. Let’s wait and see. I’ll definitely keep everything that happened in mind, and I’ll seek revenge in the future. I’ll definitely uncover her true personality and let everyone know that she’s a wanton woman!

“Miss Sinclair, if you have nothing to say, could you step aside? I need to enter the room to clean.” Maya spoke up with a hint of displeasure and then she attempted to squeeze through sideways.

“Hold on.” Elise reached out to stop her in her tracks. “From now on, this room is out of bounds. You don’t have to clean this area.”

“Why?” Maya revealed an unhappy look.

Even after finding out Elise’s embarrassing secret, I didn’t spread the news publicly. I’m merely here to clean Alexander’s room, so why does Elise have to make things difficult for me?!

“No specific reason,” Elise replied. “Right now, I’m the lady of the place, so I don’t like any other females entering the room. Is this reason good enough?”

“But this is Alexander’s room.” Maya spoke up discontentedly.

“What’s mine belongs to my wife too.” Alexander suddenly walked in from the outside. Then, he placed his arm around Elise’s shoulders as he pledged his loyalty by saying, “We’re married now, so Elise is my wife. She has all the right to decide who gets to stay or leave.”

“You guys are married?” Maya’s mouth was wide open, and she had an incredulous look on her face. She unconsciously loosened her grip on the broom in her hands, and it fell to the ground.

She hastily picked it up and she kept her head down as she was lost in her thoughts. Alexander actually married Elise just like that. Why did he rush into it so eagerly without even giving me a chance?!

Elise was a woman too, so she could obviously see through Maya’s thoughts.

Maya had already been taught a lesson, so Elise didn’t want to add insult to Maya’s injury. In the end, Elise merely reminded Maya out of kindness by saying, “We don’t need you to atone your sins. The both of us have a legally binding relationship, so you should also lead your own life and leave this place. If you leave by your own accord, you would be able to maintain some dignity. Don’t look back, and let’s not make things difficult for both parties.”

Chapter 575 Experimental Class

After Elise had finished saying that, she conveniently shut the door after her and walked out with Alexander. Meanwhile, Maya tightened her grip on the broom in her hand and kept her eyes on the tightly shut door as she clenched her teeth fiercely.

They’re underestimating me if they think that they can just kick me out just like this! My family’s gone into bankruptcy and I’ve suffered so much in this run-down place, but I’ve finally managed to establish myself here. If I leave right now, all my efforts would go down the drain. I won’t leave! It doesn’t matter that they’ve gotten married! They can easily get a divorce too! Even if they don’t get a divorce, there’s always the chance of one being widowed. Regardless, I’ll definitely find a way to cause them misery for the rest of their lives!

Maya tried hard to calm herself down. Finally, she turned to take another look at Alexander’s room before she angrily collected her belongings and left.

…

Shortly after breakfast, Mikayla suddenly paid a visit.

Elise hadn’t seen her for quite some time now, and she missed her very much. As such, she quickly invited Mikayla into the house while chatting with her. “It’s not the weekend today, so why do you have time to pay me a visit?”

After all, the historic town area was in the opposite direction from Tissote University. Even if one came using the subway, it would take more than an hour to arrive.

“I’ve missed you. You haven’t been back to the university at all, so I had to come and see you here,” said Mikayla jokingly.

Meanwhile, Alexander stood at the eaves of the corridor and bumped into Mikayla. They looked at each other and nodded as a gesture of greeting.

Soon after that, he turned around and entered the house. At the same time, he escorted Robin to the backyard.

After Mikayla had entered the house, she took out a stack of notes from her bag. “Do you remember that Addison dropped out of the university a while ago? I was worried that you didn’t know that, so I’ve purposely come over with some notes for you.”

After the homicide case at Tissote University, Elise had arranged for Addison’s family members to come and bring her home; she hadn’t gone back to university since then.

Elise took the notes from Mikayla and asked, “What notes are these?”

“Our university is about to set up an experimental class, and those who successfully graduate from this class will be awarded scholarships to further their studies overseas.” Mikayla smiled as she spoke. “You’re much smarter than me, so I’m certain that you’ll get it.”

Meanwhile, Elise smiled and pursed her lips without giving an immediate response. She lowered her head and started flipping through the notes calmly.

It was quite fortunate that she had taken a good look at it, for she soon discovered an issue with the notes.

The list of students who had been selected to join the experimental class appeared to be the top students of the university, but in actual fact, more than three quarters of them were students from the Department of Physics.

Merely half a year ago, two professors from the Physics Department had been found dead under strange circumstances and now, were these people about to lay hands on the best Physics students in the country?

“Crulia?” Elise subconsciously read the location of the school out loud.

“Yeah, it’s in Mesdra. That’s why I think that this is an opportunity that’s quite hard to come by, so I had to come to see you and inform you about this.” Mikayla smiled innocently.

For students like her who had been accepted into the university under special circumstances, she basically had no chance of joining this experimental class. However, Elise was her best friend and her idol. As such, she had to obviously keep an eye on such things and grab this great chance for Elise to further her studies abroad.

Everyone in Cittadel was aware that up until now, Mesdra evidently exhibited stronger capabilities in certain areas than Cittadel, and the chance for one to further one’s study overseas would definitely be an upgrade to one’s skills.

“Thanks, Mikayla. I’m quite interested in this.” Elise shut the document. “I’m quite fortunate to have your help. Otherwise, I would have missed this opportunity.”

In reality, Elise had long obtained her degree, but since there were some unknown forces hiding behind the scene who were intent on laying hands on the best Physics students in the country, she wanted to face them directly.

In other words, she wanted to find out what was going on with this experimental class.

“It’s nothing. You granted me such a huge favor previously, so this is the least I can do for you. It’s not a big deal.” Mikayla didn’t want to take credit for this.

Mikayla had just finished her sentence when Winona, who had her hair in a ponytail with a cap on, rushed through the doorway with a wind-swept look.

She placed both of her hands on the table and was quite breathless while she tried to catch her breath. “Boss, we’ve gone viral! After our livestream with Mr. Bailey the last time, our social media profile has seen a steady increase in subscribers. Just a few moments ago, the producer of the most popular variety show in the country contacted me and extended an invitation. You’ve been invited to join their show!”

Meanwhile, Elise looked at Winona and blinked her eyes without giving a huge reaction. The former merely responded in a cool manner, “Okay.”

Soon after that, she nonchalantly poured a glass of cold water and handed it to Winona. “Have some water and take a rest.”

Winona took the glass of water and placed it aside. Next, she revealed an exaggerated expression to Elise to show the latter how exciting this piece of news should be as she emphasized, “This is the largest variety show in the entire country. The show will be broadcast nationally, and it will also be live-streamed overseas too! Aren’t you excited about it?”

At that moment, Elise nodded her head calmly. “Yeah, I am.”

It’s within my expectations after all, so what’s there to be excited about? As the range of broadcast increased, it indicated that danger was inching closer and closer. Hence, it was much more important to be on guard.

Just then, Winona was shocked by Elise’s collected look. Is this how a natural winner in life behaves? She’s not even the least bit affected by such sensational news.

This seemed to further accentuate Winona’s goofiness. Indeed, Winona was quite goofy as she couldn’t quite come up with the words to respond though quite some time had gone by.

Suddenly, Elise was the one who realized that she had forgotten to introduce Winona and Mikayla to each other.

“By the way, this is my good friend Mikayla. Mikayla, this is my newly hired manager known as Winona. From now on, you guys will be seeing each other quite often, so you should get to know each other,” Elise explained.

“Nice to meet you, Winona.” Mikayla extended a hand to greet Winona.

“Nice to meet you, adorable little Mikayla.” Winona extended her hand too and smiled at the woman.

All of a sudden, Elise realized that Jack had turned up at the door out of nowhere.

“Jack? Why are you standing there?” Elise called out to him.

Jack had initially planned to leave and come back later, but he was forced to enter the place now that Elise had called out his name.

“Hi, Mr. Griffith,” Winona greeted him politely.

Meanwhile, he nodded and turned to look at Mikayla with an awkward smile. “You’re here too.”

“Um.”

Mikayla mumbled something and nodded.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became slightly awkward.

After a moment of silence, Jack suddenly recalled that he had something in his hand, so he held it up and spoke up first. “I’ve brought some desserts over. Would you guys like to try some?”

“No thanks.” Mikayla shyly refused his offer and said, “I’ve been watching my figure these days, so I’m avoiding sugary food.”

“I see…” Jack nodded his head slightly to indicate that he understood. Next, he turned to look at Winona. “How about you? Are you watching your figure too?”

“Me?” Winona pointed at herself and shook her head frantically. “Of course not! I don’t plan on going on a date with anyone, so why would I watch my figure? In fact, I’m happy with my plump figure—it’s comfortable for me. Ha!”

“Well then, help yourself.” Jack placed a dainty little box in front of her.

“Are you sure?!” Winona was elated as she quickly sat down to unwrap the packaging. “Mr. Griffith, you’re awesome!”

“You guys must have something to discuss, so I’d better not disrupt you guys. I’ll be on my way then.” Meanwhile, Mikayla was quite perceptive as she got up to leave.

“I’ll walk you out,” Jack offered politely.

Since Mikayla didn’t reject his offer, they slowly made their way out one after the other.

Elise looked at them and realized that they had left a huge gap in between the two of them, so she was quite perplexed. Why are these two suddenly so distant around each other?

“Wow! This is the best dessert I’ve ever tasted! Boss, do you want to try some?” Winona couldn’t help exclaiming as she tasted the yummy dessert.

As for Elise, she was tickled by Winona’s content expression. Indeed, one who was easily content definitely lived the most carefree life compared to anyone else.

Chapter 576 Gift of Confidence From Grandpa and Grandma

Mikayla had just walked down the steps outside the door when she turned around and stopped Jack in his tracks. “I know my way out, so you can stop here.”

Jack paused in his tracks and didn’t insist on walking her out. He merely asked her casually, “How have you been lately? I’ve taken on many jobs recently, so I haven’t had time to visit you at the university.”

“I’m not that interesting, so why would you come and see me anyway?” Mikayla replied self-mockingly. “I’m just an ordinary student. Mr. Griffith, you’re obviously someone destined to be under the limelight and you have plenty of things to deal with every day. Even if we’re just friends, ordinary people like me should tweak my schedule to meet yours instead,” she said.

At that point, Jack felt bad after hearing her words. “Are you upset at me?”

Meanwhile, Mikayla shook her head and revealed a composed smile. “No, Jack. I do regard you as my friend, so that’s why I’m saying all this to you. It’s quite true; you are always under the limelight while I’m just a nobody. I’m quite content to be able to befriend such an outstanding person like you. I’m happy to coordinate my time according to yours, and I don’t think that you’ve screwed up anything. On the contrary, your focus on your career has made me realize that it’s quite awesome to have such a career-oriented and popular friend.”

Jack frowned slightly. “I haven’t helped you recover your memories, though…”

“That’s no longer necessary.” Mikayla behaved like an understanding friend, and she smiled serenely at him before taking a deep breath. At that point, she seemed to relax significantly. “I think that my current life is quite great; although I’ve lost some things, perhaps they aren’t meant to be mine after all. I don’t want to continue wasting time on this matter too.”

She paused after saying this and looked at Jack impishly with a slightly nosy look. “It’s rare for us to meet, so can I take this chance to ask you a question? Before we lost our memories, do you think we dated each other? Do you think it was a relationship where you were deeply infatuated with me and only had eyes for me?”

“That’s impossible! I would never be deeply infatuated with anyone!” Jack spoke haughtily.

However, he couldn’t help feeling anxious after saying that. Before Mikayla lost her memories, she had always harbored such hopes. Was his denial a cruel thing to say to her?

“That’s great!” Mikayla chuckled out loud. “In that case, even if I don’t recover those memories, there’s no need to feel sad about it. After all, you’re such a handsome guy. I would be quite lucky to have dated you.”

“That’s for sure!” When Jack saw that she was completely taking this as a joke, he couldn’t help feeling at ease.

“There is one thing, though.” Mikayla suddenly changed the topic. Then, she teased him playfully by saying, “Even if you’re handsome, you’re just someone suitable to go on a date with. You’re not someone suited for marriage, because it would be terrible to only meet up less than ten times a year. In the future, if a woman is interested in you, then that would be your blessing. Hence, you must grab the opportunity and don’t let her leave you!”

“Hey, don’t judge me so badly, alright? I’ve won the Best Actor Award before, you know!” Jack lifted his brows impatiently.

Meanwhile, she simply shrugged and lifted her hand to wave at him. “Very well, then. Goodbye, Best Actor!”

As soon as Mikayla said that, she bounded off with a bounce in her step.

As for Jack, he stood there staring until her figure disappeared from the alley. Then, he heaved a deep sigh before turning around to enter the house.

As soon as he walked in, Elise started to tease him. She asked, “How did the chat with Mikayla go?”

“How else do you think it could’ve gone? She can’t be bothered to talk to me.” Jack walked into the room dejectedly. Suddenly, he couldn’t help glancing from the side of his eyes as he caught sight of Winona’s figure beside him. Gosh, this girl doesn’t even care about her image in front of a guy. She’s truly a glutton in front of and behind the cameras.

“Ellie,” Alexander suddenly came out of the stone doors from the back yard as he gestured with his hands at her. “Could you come over for a minute?”

“Okay.” Elise lifted her feet and headed in that direction, but she paused after taking several steps. She turned to look at Jack and said, “You’ve gone on a variety show before, right? Since you’re quite free, could you help me explain to Winona what issues to pay attention to? I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of the entire nation.”

“Sure, I’ll do that. Go over there, and I’ll sort things out for you.”

Jack pulled out a chair and took a seat across the table from Winona. Then, he placed both of his hands under his chin and looked at her thoughtfully. “Is it that tasty?”

“It’s really tasty…” Winona didn’t even bother looking at him.

…

Meanwhile, Elise followed Alexander and walked into the room of the two elderly Sinclairs.

The two of them sat in an upright position in the living room with a solemn expression on both of their faces, so Elise couldn’t help but feel anxious all of a sudden.

“What’s wrong?” Elise asked Alexander in a soft voice.

“Ellie, come over this side,” said Robin as he suddenly called out to her.

As for Elise, she was quite perplexed. However, she slowly made her way toward him and squatted down in front of him. “What’s wrong, Grandpa?”

Robin lowered his head and asked her in a grave voice, “Will you regret marrying Alexander?”

Elise turned to shoot a look at Alexander, realizing that he had told them about their marriage.

She turned back and held Robin’s hand in hers. Then, she spoke sincerely. “I hold him dear to my heart just as he does too. As long as he keeps me close to his heart, I promise not to disappoint him.”

“Okay.” Robin nodded and subsequently took out a large key from his pocket. Then, he placed it into Elise’s hands. “This is the key to the Sinclair Family’s safe. Your grandma and I have discussed this, and we’ve decided to give it to you on your wedding day as a form of dowry. Hence, it’s time to hand it over to you now.”

“A safe?” Elise was taken by surprise. After all, she was unaware that there was even such an item in their family.

“It’s located in the underground cellar in our room at the ancestral home.” Robin further explained, “We didn’t tell you in the past because we didn’t want you to feel pressured. Now that you’ve got Alexander here to share the load with you, it’s fine. He’s a great guy, and I am happy with this grandson-in-law. From now on, you guys are free to use the Sinclair money to your liking.”

“No, Grandpa. I can’t possibly take that.” Elise returned the key to him. “This is both of your retirement savings, after all. I have my own money and I can’t take yours.”

“This is for you.” Robin’s tone of voice became much more unyielding as he solemnly instructed, “Take the money, and you’ll be responsible for caring for us in the future. I only trust you, you know.”

Robin had made his stance quite clear, so Elise could no longer reject him as that would make her seem quite disobedient.

“Okay,” Elise held the key tightly. “I’ll definitely make sure that you and Grandma enjoy a stable and enjoyable life from now on.”

Robin didn’t respond to her words immediately, but he lifted his head to speak to Alexander. “Wait for us outside. I’ve got something to tell Elise in private,” he said.

“Okay.” Alexander obediently shut the door after him and proceeded to wait in the garden.

Once Alexander had walked off, Robin patted Elise’s hand persuasively. “You must keep this key to yourself, alright? This is our gift to you, and it’s for you to maintain a confident self. You don’t have to feel inferior to anyone else no matter what happens, and there’s no need to suffer in silence, alright?”

“Your grandpa is right. A girl with money in her hands will always have a way out if needed,” Laura agreed too.

“I understand.” At that point, the tears welled up in Elise’s red-rimmed eyes. “Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma. I’ll definitely maintain a good relationship with Alexander, and we’ll surely lead a happy life. Hence, you guys don’t have to worry about me.”

“That’s really great and awesome. Go on, then—you’re newly married, so you should spend more time with your husband.”

Chapter 577 What Do You Think?

Elise ran out of the room with red eyes, whereas Alexander walked up to her and wrapped his long arms around her in an embrace. “Did Grandpa reprimand you?” he asked in a soft voice.

She leaned against his chest, nuzzling him like a kitten. “No.” “Why are you crying, then?” He let go of her.

She took out the key that Robin gave her and showed it to him on her palm. “Look.”

“What’s this?” he asked.

“The key to the safe at home. Grandpa said that the Sinclair Residence will be under our care from now on, but I’ll be holding the key,” she explained.

Alexander laughed. “Grandpa sent me away to give you retreat against contingencies, but you divulge it to me the next second.”

She beamed at him. “But that’s how a husband and wife are supposed to be—we have to be honest and sincere to each other. I don’t want to hide anything from you.”

Alexander’s gaze deepened. Then, he reached out his arms to embrace her, gently rubbing his chin on her fluffy head.

“Ellie, I know that I’m supposed to be truthful to you, but there are some things that I have to do without revealing my identity to you for now. However, I hope you can believe me when I say that I will never harm you and will always love you regardless of my identity and who I become. I promise that you will be the only exception in my life—only you and no one else.”

Elise hugged him back and exhaled in relief. “I believe in you.”

Both Alexander and her were not ordinary people, for they each had their respective responsibilities and missions. Since there was no backing out, they should become each other’s strongest support.

Given the fact that they had chosen each other, she should have faith in him.

“Speaking of which.” Elise suddenly remembered about the Elite Class. “Tissote University is collaborating with an overseas organization, and they’ve recently started a physics class that guarantees the students a place in an overseas degree. I intend to apply for the class to see if I can uncover the organization behind this scheme.”

“Okay. Do you need me to pull some strings?” he asked.

“I’ll just fill in the application form. Although I’m a liberal arts student, I should be able to get in with my academic results.” Elise spoke with confidence.

“I see. Well, I shall wish my wife a smooth transfer.”

The way he addressed Elise as his wife was rather refreshing yet embarrassing. In comparison to that, even an intimate interaction such as an embrace seemed normal and usual.

As Elise leaned against him languidly in his embrace, both of them enjoyed the leisurely time with each other’s company.

While Elise was filling in the form, Alexander took his phone and made a call in the backyard.

“Mr. Hass, it’s me, Kenneth Bailey.” Alexander spoke with his fake voice.

“Mr. Bailey? It’s rare for you to have the time to call me.” Leon was rather surprised.

“I heard that the Tissote University is going to set up an elite class, am I right?” Alexander went straight to the point.

“That’s true. How can I help you with that?” asked Leon respectfully.

“It’s nothing much. I just want to request your help to add a name to the list of students.”

“Well… Mr. Bailey, I’m afraid you may be unaware that the Elite Class is taught by a foreign teacher, and he chooses all the students himself. I’m afraid that I can’t help you with that.” Leon, who was put on a spot, tactfully rejected the request.

“Oh—that’s a shame. I thought of taking this opportunity to donate a bunch of imported laboratory equipment. From the looks of it, you won’t be needing it, I presume?”

Leon’s eyes lit up when he heard the terms ‘laboratory equipment’ and ‘imported’. “As a matter of fact, there may be some room for discussion. After all, the classes will be held at Tisotte University, so considering your sincerity, I’ll shamelessly discuss this with Mr. Kamp.”

“I’ll have to trouble you about this, Mr. Hass,” Alexander nonchalantly said.

“No trouble at all. By the way, what’s the student’s name?”

“Elise Sinclair.”

“Elise Sinclair…” Leon didn’t find the name unfamiliar. “If I’m not mistaken, she’s a liberal arts student. Although she scored a perfect score in Mathematics for Liberal Arts students, it’s still totally different from Mathematics for Science students, not to mention that Mr. Kamp takes Physics very seriously, so I’m afraid that if I were to let her in that class…”

“Would another two laboratory buildings help?” A generous Alexander interrupted.

“Leave everything to me!” Leon patted his chest and agreed.

As soon as they ended the call, Leon added Elise’s name into the student name list of the Elite Class.

Thereafter, he took out the school site plan and used a pencil to draw out two empty spaces before he nodded in satisfaction. “Yes, these are the most suitable places to build the laboratory buildings.”

Right after he said that, there was a knock on the door of his office.

“Come in.” Leon put down the site plan and raised his head to look outside the door.

The door swung open to reveal Martin, the lecturer who was in charge of the Elite Class.

“Mr. Hass, how could you place a student in the Elite Class without my approval? You expelled one of the students before this, and now you are placing a liberal arts student in the class. That’s ridiculous!” he grumbled as he walked up to Leon, slamming the student name list printout on the latter’s desk. “This time, I won’t give in again. I can’t allow that liberal arts student to ruin my reputation!”

Leon, who wasn’t intimidated since he had been through a lot in life, leaned back against his chair in a calm yet strong manner before he slowly explained, “Mr. Kamp, I understand where you’re coming from, but you have to understand my difficulties too. You have picked most of the elite students in the university, causing the lecturers from other schools to lodge complaints at me every other day. I have faced immense pressure while setting up the Elite Class.” He then continued, “You have already taken most of the excellent students, so I have to compensate the other lecturers with something, and all that requires sponsorship. In order to get sponsorships, I have to give in to the sponsors’ conditions, no? I don’t mind rejecting the sponsorship, but the Elite Class will have to disband. What do you think about this?”

Martin let out a sigh resignedly. The principal kept using the same excuse to pressure him, yet there was nothing he could say to refute.

Setting up an Elite Class was what his lecturer in Crulia had suggested. As long as Martin was able to send five top physics talents to the university he was currently studying in, he would be able to successfully graduate with a postdoctoral degree. Otherwise, he had to postpone his graduation. As such, he had no choice but to give in to the condition.

“Fine, I’ll overlook it this time around, but I don’t wish to see it happening for the third time. I hope that this will be the last. Besides, I want another student in my class.”

“That’s your choice. After all, it’s still your class, so you are the final decision maker, Mr. Kamp,” Leon nonchalantly stated.

“I want to make an exception and accept Sophie Bowen, the student who had just won an award in the International Physics Competition, into the class!”

…

At night, it was pin-drop silent at the private hospital. Although the lights that were lit made the premises as bright as day, there wasn’t a single soul on the road; even the hospital hallways were empty without even a night-shift nurse in sight.

At the cross junction beside the hospital, two black MPVs came to a stop at the red light.

Inside the car was a woman dressed in a long coat with a fedora hat while holding a cane embedded with precious jewels. Age had left some wrinkles on her face, yet it failed to conceal the fact that she had been a beauty when she was younger.

Chapter 578 No Need to Chase After Them

“Ma’am, we’re arriving at the hospital soon. Should we park the car nearby and walk into the premises?” The woman replied without even raising her eyes, “Drive in.”

She had no intention to waste her time on walking. Since she had come all the way here, she had to see Elise’s dead body with her own eyes as soon as possible.

Only by personally confirming Elise’s death could she, as well as the organization, be relieved. As soon as she said that, the traffic light turned green.

The chauffeur followed her instructions and slowly drove the car through the main entrance toward the building.

At that moment, the woman’s phone suddenly rang in her coat.

She didn’t want to receive any other news at that point, but when she saw the caller ID flashing on her screen, she considered for a moment and picked up the call.

Simultaneously, in the only unlit room at the highest floor, Alexander and Elise stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows and looked down at the car near the entrance from their position.

The first car had arrived at the center of the yard, and as soon as the second car completely entered the yard, they could begin with the next step of the plan.

Nonetheless, right before the car behind completely entered the yard, the first MPV suddenly came to a halt.

“Tsk! D*mn it! Why did it stop?!” Moses, who was lying in ambush, quietly cursed.

If only the car had traveled another half meter, he would have pressed the trigger and trapped this bunch of men in the yard. There was only half a meter left!

The sound of the car suddenly braking made a loud noise amidst the soundless environment.

The woman, who remained seated in the car, cast a sharp glance at the surroundings as the person on the other end of the line continued to report to her.

“On the day it happened, Elise wasn’t in that hotel. Also, the data obtained earlier revealed that the blood of the dead person doesn’t match Elise’s. Therefore, the person who died isn’t Elise!”

That’s right, there’s no smoke without fire. It’s too quiet here at the hospital; it’s so quiet that it doesn’t seem natural.

The woman hung up the call and kept her phone in the pocket before she impassively instructed, “Turn around right now!”

The moment her instruction was given, the chauffeur immediately shifted the gear and stomped on the pedal to reverse the car.

The car behind was pushed back by the first car, but the driver quickly made sense of the situation and started reversing the car as well.

In the blink of an eye, the two cars had already retreated to the road outside the hospital. Then, the cars started accelerating to full speed as they drove away from the city.

Moses instantly reacted by taking out his walkie-talkie and gave an order to the convoy lying in ambush outside. “Go after them! Do not let any of them escape!”

In an instant, the hospital, which had been calm and peaceful a second ago, was suddenly filled with the sound of engines roaring. Two to three vehicles dashed out of streets and alleys from all directions and spread out to chase after and surround the two MPVs.

After some time, Alexander raised his hand and spoke through the walkie-talkie. “There’s no need to chase after them.”

Moses, who was super excited right now, refused to retreat. “Don’t you worry. I have men everywhere in this neighborhood. They are hemmed in at all sides, so they certainly can’t escape!”

Alexander didn’t reply, but when he held Elise’s hand and looked into the distance in the direction where the two cars had fled off to, he heaved a heavy sigh. “In the end, we were still discovered.”

Elise was aware that he was the most disappointed person when they failed to capture the woman.

As a matter of fact, Alexander’s plan had been incredibly meticulous, but they still lost to the other party’s overly cautious character. Those who had been at the ground level could not see it clearly, but standing where they were, they had been able to see everything clearly.

It was obvious that the chauffeur wasn’t an ordinary driver as well. They were barely a few hundred meters away, yet two cars were able to rush out of their encirclement. In the end, Moses and his men were unable to catch up with them.

“Don’t worry, we will certainly capture them next time!”

Elise embraced Alexander. Amidst the dark environment that was devoid of any source of light, it felt as though they were the only two people left in the whole world. They only had each other to rely on and be affectionate with.

“After today’s incident, they will only be extra careful. I wonder when we will have the chance to set up a trap for them again.” Alexander sounded depressed.

“When there’s a will, there’s a way. We will certainly figure something out.” She leaned against him.

There wouldn’t be any problem too tough for them as long as the two of them were together.

They had just gotten married, so they would continue to live a happy and blissful life after that. She refused to allow herself to sink into despair when their happiness had barely begun.

As he hugged her tightly in his arms, his gaze gradually deepened. “You’re right. I’ll find a way to get rid of that person,” he declared thoughtfully.

As soon as he made that declaration, Moses pushed the door open and barged into the room, switching on the lights on his way.

“D*mn it! It was a waste of effort. We managed to surround them, but the second car suddenly went mad and crashed into my men, creating a gap which allowed the first car to escape. We managed to capture two of them from the second car alive. Just you wait, I’ll make sure that they spill everything!”

Moses ranted, but the vibration of the phone in his hand interrupted him. After picking up the call, he abruptly looked at both Alexander and Elise in shock. “They are dead. One bit his tongue while the other consumed poison.”

“That’s expected.” Alexander wasn’t surprised at all.

Since they had the courage to make this trip, they would have come in full preparation and would never leave any loose ends.

“That’s harsh…” Even Moses, who was used to cruel fights and killings, found the other party merciless.

Meanwhile, Elise and Alexander exchanged glances without saying a word.

They had killed hundreds of physicists, so why would they be concerned about a few subordinates’ lives?

“Now what? Do I ask my men to continue to keep watch?” Moses asked.

“That won’t be necessary. The news is out, so they won’t come anymore.” Alexander then added, “Get someone to notify the Anderson Family to come and pick up the body.”

“I understand.”

…

The next day, when Moses returned from the Anderson Residence, Elise received a call from Austin. He asked her to make a trip back to the Anderson Residence.

Elise thought that Austin’s intention was to have her go back to mourn for Faye. Considering the fact that she was more or less involved in Faye’s death, she didn’t reject the request.

It was only half a day since the Anderson Family had learned about Faye’s death, but they managed to set up a decent funeral and created a grim and desolate atmosphere.

When Elise walked into the villa, Austin was seen sitting on the couch. He seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

Losing a daughter as a middle-aged man seemed to have made him age a lot over the course of one night.

Probably due to them being related by blood, Elise couldn’t bear to see him in such a state. “We can’t bring the dead back to life. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Yet, she couldn’t help but wonder if Austin would grieve for her if she was the one who had died instead.

Upon hearing her voice, Austin returned to his senses. He turned to look at her, his gaze distant and indifferent.

“Have a seat,” Austin said.

Elise lifted her foot and walked over to him. The moment she sat down, she saw a document on the table which read, ‘Termination of Parent-Child Relationship.’

She gasped as a tightness formed in her chest. After some time, she asked while feigning calmness, “Is this what you have prepared for me?”

“Yes.” He didn’t deny it. “Sign this and I’ll have someone publish it in the news. From today onward, I don’t have any daughters.”

Elise thought that she was strong enough to face anything, but upon hearing his words, she couldn’t help but gulp, looking as though she was trying to swallow a bile reflux.

Faye was dead, whereas the adoptive daughter whom he had liked was gone. Was he going to abandon his biological daughter as well?

“Are you sure about this?” Elise inhaled sharply.

“Sign it,” he urged impassively.

“Okay.” Elise took the pen and placed her signature on the paper. Then, she rose up and left without looking back.

However, the moment the stainless steel gate closed automatically behind her, Elise paused in her tracks as tears fell from her eyes.

Chapter 579 I’ll Always Stay by Your Side

At that point, Elise had to face the fact that Austin didn’t love her at all. “Honey?” Alexander suddenly appeared from the corner of the road.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, she ran over and threw herself into his embrace. “He abandoned me. He abandoned me years ago, and he’s done it again now. Alexander, am I really that unlikeable?”

He felt as if his heart was about to melt away. While carefully embracing her in his arms, he ran his hand from her head to her back along her long hair over and over again to comfort her.

“Don’t worry. You’re the one who’s going to abandon him, not the other way around. I’ll always stay by your side and love you forever. Honey, we will have new family members. I’ll always be your family. Don’t be scared, you won’t be alone. Don’t be afraid…”

That afternoon, Alexander accompanied Elise outside till midnight. Although they didn’t talk much, she was able to fall asleep almost instantly when they got home.

Alexander sat by the bed and tucked her in before he left the room. Then, he stood under the porch and gazed at the moon in a daze.

From what I remember, Austin used to care about Elise. Why is he terminating their relationship all of a sudden? Is it possible that he’s being threatened by that organization? Is it really because of Faye?

In fact, that was something he refused to believe.

Elise is the best person in the world, so it’s impossible for anyone to dislike her. There must be another reason behind this. Looks like I have to investigate the Anderson Family.

…

The next day, Elise received the notice that her application to join the Elite Class had been approved.

Feeling a little surprised to see the acceptance letter in her mailbox, she couldn’t help but comment, “Well, the transfer was rather smooth. It seems like the requirement to join the Elite Class is not as high as expected. Let’s hope that I am overthinking this matter.”

“Yeah, nothing will happen.” Alexander chuckled.

The registration of the Elite Class began in the afternoon of the same day.

At 2.00PM, Sophie hummed a song while holding an umbrella up above her head. Meanwhile, her maid followed her from behind as she carried the woman’s luggage. Soon, Sophie showed up in front of the laboratory building on time.

At that moment, there were groups of students gathering at both sides of the road in front of the building, and they were here to watch the commotion.

After a while, the students burst into an uproar when a dashing man with European features and a tall build strode out from a small white building.

The students were all hyped up.

“Oh, my! Is that the new lecturer of Elite Class? He is just as handsome as the rumors say!”

“Also, I heard that he teaches Physics! Oh, my God! My physics lecturer is bald; I can’t believe that a physics lecturer with such a handsome face and great figure actually exists! Is it too late for me to transfer to a physics course?”

“Uh”

“Stop daydreaming. A God-like lecturer like him only wants genius physics students, so don’t even think about having someone like him as our lecturer.”

“Sigh—”

The group of female students sighed resignedly as they stared at Martin with gazes that contained both sorrow and admiration.

Upon hearing the crowd expressing their disappointment, Sophie couldn’t stifle the complacent and contemptuous smile by her lips.

So what if they are students of Tisotte University? Martin still chose me in the end.

She cleared her throat, puffed up her chest and walked up to Martin before saying, “Mr. Kamp!”

Martin’s cold expression instantly softened when he saw her. “Miss Washington.”

“Mr. Kamp, the sun is scorching. Why are you outside?” she asked knowingly.

“I’m here to welcome you, of course,” he calmly replied. “You are not a student from Tisotte University, so I was worried that you may not find your way here.”

“Mr. Kamp, you are so kind.” Sophie revealed a sweet smile.

Martin’s expression remained the same. After all, what he valued was a student’s learning ability and not their looks. Everyone looked the same to him, and he didn’t find anyone especially pleasing to the eyes.

“Follow me.” Martin turned on his heels and led the way.

Under the crowd’s envious gaze, Sophie arrogantly followed Martin from behind and headed toward the laboratory building.

In that instant, she became the students’ topic of discussion.

“Who’s that? She looks adorable. I’ve never seen her on the Campus Belle List. Could she be Mr. Kamp’s girlfriend?”

“You aren’t keeping up with the latest news, are you? That girl is Sophie Bowen. She’s a student from the Polytechnic University next door. She’s an amazing student who has won awards in many physics competitions!”

“Are you serious? Why didn’t Tisotte University grab such a talent back then?!”

Sophie, who had walked slowly on purpose, overheard the students’ conversations. Needless to say, their compliments made her feel flattered. It seems like the students of Tisotte University still know who is the best!

However, just as she was about to quicken her steps, the students suddenly raised their voices and shouted, “Oh, my! Mr. Jack! It’s Mr. Jack!”

“Oh, God! I’m actually seeing three incredibly handsome men at the same time! Am I dreaming?”

“I think I’m in love!”

Sophie furrowed her brows. Who is snatching my limelight?

She paused in her tracks and instinctively followed the students’ gazes.

At the square not far away, a MPV came to a stop. Alexander, Jack and Danny casually alighted from the car.

After briefly surveying their surroundings, Alexander turned around and approached the door of the back seat before extending his hand to help Elise out of the car.

“It’s that building over there.” Danny lifted his chin and pointed at the laboratory building.

Alexander glanced at it before leading Elise toward the building, whereas Danny and Jack followed them from behind. The three men remained impassive, instantly transforming themselves into dashing bodyguards which attracted the gazes of many.

One of the girls who passed by them kept staring at the men and walked into a stone pier, nearly falling face-down. She quickly fled the scene with a flushed face out of embarrassment.

Upon seeing that, Elise shook her head and looked at Alexander helplessly. “I’m just transferring to another course. Is there a need to make such a flamboyant appearance?”

He raised his hand and stroked her head. “Mrs. Griffith, please get used to it.”

She shrugged. She couldn’t do anything about it, so she had no choice but to acquiesce to their actions. I wonder what’s wrong with Danny and Jack today. Why did they insist on coming along?

Upon seeing that, Sophie was so pissed that she stomped her feet forcefully. That b*tch! How dare she get the guys to be her maid?!

Martin, who heard the commotion, turned back. “What’s wrong?”

Realizing that she had lost her composure, she quickly collected herself and revealed an awkward smile. “Nothing. I just find that girl lucky to have so many men taking care of her.”

As she spoke, she deliberately looked in the direction of the square.

Martin subconsciously followed her gaze. What first came into his sight was the noble temperament of the Griffith brothers, but he then felt that the girl they were surrounding seemed out of place among the group.

“This is an institutional academy, not some sort of indecent premises. Why is that girl being surrounded by a few men? That’s improper.” Martin seemed annoyed.

“Maybe that girl is too weak. She seems rather frail, so it’s easy to trigger the protective urges of the men,” Sophie stated sarcastically.

“Are you saying that she can’t do anything without men by her side? In that case, just drop out of school! Let’s head inside. We have a test later.”

Feeling annoyed by that scene, Martin quickened his steps and led Sophie into the building.

Chapter 580 Kenneth Used the Might of Money

To avoid a commotion at the school, they entered the small white building as Elise made the three Griffith Brothers go back. She had originally wanted to introduce herself in the classroom, but thinking that she hadn’t finished the required paperwork, she turned around and went to the principal’s office.

After knocking on the door, Elise only went in after getting permission to do so. “Mr. Haas.”

“Ah—Elise.” Since the principal had met her a few times prior, he recognized her at once. “Are you here for the transfer procedure?”

“Yes. I’ll have to trouble you for that, sir.” Elise maintained a polite smile.

“I’ve prepared them here.” After taking two sheets of paper, Leon handed it to her. “Actually, you didn’t have to come in person to fill them out. I could’ve just sent them to Mr. Kamp, you know.”

“It wouldn’t be appropriate to bother him with my personal issues,” replied Elise.

“Not bad.” Leon liked how caring she was. After he stood up, he began to walk outside. “It just so happened that I was going to look for him. You saw the notice about the Elite Class having a small physics test, right? Mr. Kamp wants to get a grasp on everyone’s ability so that he can manage everyone’s grades easier. I’ve already heard about this, and it seems like the questions won’t be too difficult.”

The principal naturally believed in Elise’s writing and literature skills since she was a liberal arts student, but he did not dare to place the same confidence when it came to physics.

When they opened the door, standing outside was Martin and Sophie.

“What a coincidence. I was just saying to Elise here that I was about to go find you.”

Before Martin could say anything, Sophie had already caught sight of Elise in the office.

She was shocked for a split second before she sneered mysteriously.

I was wondering how a country bumpkin like this brat, who only knows how to spit out some fancy words, could match up to the university’s level. Turns out that she’d gotten in through the principal.

It even looks like her studies have been smooth-sailing because of him!

Nonetheless, I have to say that she isn’t picky at all. She even went for such an old wrinkly man like him!

It is no wonder people say to date an old man who has a stable career.

This kind of woman would do just about anything to reach her goal.

Then, Sophie said sarcastically, “Miss Sinclair, you’ve impressed me greatly since the last time I saw you!”

“Oh—are you guys acquainted?” Leon smiled kindly before he continued, “You must be Sophie. Not bad, you seem like quite a spritely lady.”

Although Leon did not understand her words, Elise instantly knew the meaning behind it.

Just from her tone, she could tell that Sophie was saying it with ill intentions.

However, since she wasn’t here to raise troubles, Sophie pretended to not understand it and kept up her façade.

Meanwhile, seeing how Elise ignored her made Sophie angry for no reason.

How dare she, a sl*tty and uncultured brat, put up some high and mighty look?

If it weren’t for the principal and Martin, she would’ve torn her disguise apart right there and then.

Nonetheless, Sophie felt that it wasn’t worth it to act up in public due to Elise. After all, she was in the upper circles of the university. When compared to a woman who would sell her own body like Elise, they weren’t even considered on the same level, so she did not feel the need to argue about this.

Breathing in deeply, Sophie then composed herself and generously reached out her hand while smiling at the principal. “Mr. Haas, it’s great that you remember me. Mr. Kamp told me that I’d need to fill in a form due to my special admission, so that’s why I’m here to get a stamp from you.”

“No problem. Hand me the form, and I will stamp it for you right now.”

He returned to his table with the form. Then, Leon stamped it cleanly and returned it to her. “Congratulations, you are now an official student of Tissote University. I hope that you have a great experience here.”

“Thank you, Mr. Haas. I most certainly will.” Sophie smiled.

After nodding, Leon then turned to look at Martin. “Mr. Kamp, this is Elise. I’ve told you about her before, and she will be the last one to join Elite Class.”

Sophie turned wide-eyed at this fact. Isn’t the principal too daring? How dare he just introduce his mistress to a lecturer at the school?

Also, what did he just say? Elise is entering Elite Class as well?!

Just for Elise’s sake, he’s even able to forcibly place a liberal arts student into an elite class meant for science students; he’s even helping her to secure a place for a master’s degree!?

Apart from the surprised Sophie, even Martin had a slight change in his expression.

When he thought about the scene at the plaza together with the principal’s words, he did not disguise his disdain for Elise any longer.

After all, he had no pity for anyone that climbed up the ranks by using their connections.

No matter how much backing or how capable her backer was, she would still be thrown out a month later if she did not pass the monthly exam!

Looking at Elise coldly, he then said somewhat impatiently, “Oh—I know about you. You’re Elise, right? You’re the one that Mr. Bailey spent tens of millions to get into Elite Class. Nice to meet you.”

Elise frowned unhappily.

No wonder the registration process went so smoothly—I didn’t know that Kenneth was pulling the strings.

Kenneth must have placed a lot of informants around her. Otherwise, how could he have known her every move?

Furthermore, it looked like Martin had misunderstood her.

Nonetheless, Elise had no way of explaining this, for Kenneth had always done things without any consideration for other people. Since he was doing this out of kindness, she couldn’t just cut off their relationship simply.

Hence, Elise quickly calmed down before she looked at Martin and replied, “Yeah, I’m Elise. I’ll have to trouble you in the future due to my weak foundation in science subjects, Mr. Kamp.”

On the other hand, Martin averted his gaze and did not respond to her.

When it came to students like her, he was already being quite generous when he chose to accept her. Now, whether Elise would trouble him or not, it was no longer something that her backer could control.

If she was unable to pass the exam after a month, she’d have to leave with that being the final say.

Sophie, who was listening to this at the side, did not interrupt them.

Her mind was in a torrential storm of emotions. As surprise, hatred and anger combined within her, she felt like her brain was going to explode.

The one who allowed her special admission was actually Kenneth.

Elise, who was already so close with the Griffith boys, was worth so much to him that he would pay such a heavy price for her.

Why?

She couldn’t swallow this fact.

How am I lackluster when compared to Elise? Why is Kenneth so obsessed with her?!

Kenneth is mine, and only I deserve to be with him! How dare Elise aim for another man when she has plenty of her own? How detestable!

Finding herself short of breath, Sophie nearly fainted.

Fortunately, she heard Martin say sternly before she fainted, “It’s hard to say who’ll trouble who for now, as I treat every student I teach fairly without playing favorites, nor will I try to cover for any of you. If you do not meet the required standard of each month’s exam, you will be automatically kicked out of the class. Are you ready, Elise?”