Ch. 1481..1490
The Three Little Guardian Angels Chapter 1481
Jenna felt confused and brought the fruit platter and tea upstairs again, when she saw Ian and Edward coming out of the study, she stopped on the spot and asked, “Have the both of you been in the study room all this while?”
Ian nodded.
Edward stared at her. “I was chatting with Ian in the study. What’s wrong?”
“I just asked Elaine to bring you a fruit platter and some tea, but she told me she didn’t see you two in the study...”
Edward’s expression changed instantly, and he exchanged gazes with Ian.
‘It seems that she’s heard.’
On the other end of the mansion...
Elaine was sitting alone by the pond in the backyard.
Ian followed a servant to the backyard. The servant said something to him and left, and Ian walked toward Elaine.
Elaine threw the pebble in her hand into the pond, and no ripple could be seen due to the darkness.
She heard footsteps, stopped what she was doing, but did not lookback. “I know what you want to say, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t care.”
Ian stopped behind her. “You heard it all.”
“If I didn’t hear that, would you and my father continue to hide the truth from me?” Elaine stood up slowly, turned around, and looked at him. “Ian Saldana, you don’t owe me anything. Our marriage has always been one of convenience.”
Ian glanced at her and said nothing.
Elaine lowered her gaze. “I did push you away and saved you, but I did so willingly. And don’t forget that you protected me too, didn’t you?”
Ian pursed his lips.
“We’re now even. We don’t owe each other anything, so you don’t have to blame yourself for this, let alone...” Elaine lowered her head. “You don’t have to do so.”
“What don’t I have to do?”
She looked up at him. “You don’t have to make up for me.”
Ian frowned. “Do you think I’m making up for you?”
“Aren’t you?” Elaine smiled. “Just because I can no longer get pregnant, you plan to sacrifice your happiness to stay with me and compensate me?
That's not necessary.”
He approached her. “I don’t think so.”
“Ian, we’re different individuals.”
“What’s the difference that you see between US?”
She took a deep breath. “I know it’s not easy for you to get to where you are today. You need a genuine marriage more than I do. You need a complete family and a home, and these are things that I can’t provide you with.
“You should know I have no confidence in marriage, and I’ve never thought about getting married. Even if I can’t have children in the future, it’s still acceptable to me. However, I don’t want you to sacrifice your whole life just to compensate me.
“You’ve taken down Mr. Saldana, and we’re only engaged at this moment. I’ll even give up the shares that you offered me.”
Ian’s cheeks bulged, and his eyes were fixed on her. “ So, are you saying you want to terminate the engagement?”
Elaine felt heavy and complicated deep down.
‘I have to admit that I want to cancel the engagement. Perhaps I’ve been regretting my decision ever since we got engaged.
‘I’m afraid that I’ll fall for him during such a form of marriage as I’m too deeply immersed in this relationship. It’s getting harder and harder to forget the memories I’ve accumulated throughout this period.
‘If this were to continue, we would surely suffer in this relationship.
‘I don’t want him to make up for it, and I don’t have the confidence that I’ll really be able not to care about anything after marrying him. Not to mention that I might not even be able to conceive a child, so how can I provide him with a complete family?’
After a long while, she replied calmly, “Yes, let’s terminate the engagement.”
Ian stopped just a stone’s throw away from her. “ Then have you asked me what I think about US?”
She froze in place and looked up at him suspiciously.
Ian had his back to the light. The shadow covered his facial features, so all Elaine saw at this moment was his silhouette, not his expression, “what if I were to tell you that I’m serious?”
Elaine was stunned, and her gaze betrayed she was in a daze.
The Three Little Guardian Angels Chapter 1482 “Elaine Xavier, our feelings for each other can be cultivated. At least, what I just said was said with a sincere heart, and it has nothing to do with making up to you.”
The evening breeze brushed against his collar, and the emotions that were overflowing from his eyes were blazing. “If all I want is to make up to you, there are plenty more ways to make it happen. I don’t have to go with this.”
Elaine was stunned. After a long time, she pursed her lips. “Do you like me? Even if it’s only a little.”
Ian looked down at her. “At least I don’t repel the feelings I have for you, nor do I hate them.”
Her gaze shifted away from him, and she did not even utter a single word.
Ian lifted his hand and stroked her cheek while Elaine froze in place. Her heartbeat was getting more and more intense as her heart beat along, she lowered her gaze and did not dare to move a muscle.
His thick and rough palms brushed across her cheeks and rubbed against the corner of her lips.
He approached her slowly, and Elaine’s hands that were resting on both sides could not help but be tightly clenched. Her eyelashes dropped and covered her eyes, and her labored breaths and undulating chest froze in time for a moment.
The moment he got close to her lips, he stopped abruptly and gave her a light peck on her forehead as if he cherished her more than anyone.
Elaine’s heart skipped a beat, she opened her eyes and stared at him.
Ian pursed his lips and gave off a faint smile. “You should go back and rest earlier.”
Her ears were flushed, and she hurried past him and left the scene immediately.
Ian witnessed as she escaped him and laughed softly.
The next day, at Blackgold...
Quincy held onto a stack of documents, stood in front of the desk, and reported, “Mr. Goldmann, Mr.
Saldana’s trial is over, and his sentencing has been published. He’ll at least be imprisoned for 20 years, so he will be an old geezer who’s in his 80s by the time he’s released. He won’t have the spirit to cause any more trouble.”
Nolan narrowed his eyes. “Isn’t that rather quick for the sentencing to be fixed?”
“How can it not be quick? His ex-wife has completely fallen out with him because of Marco. She’s been getting all her connections to facilitate and accelerate the procedures as much as they can.”
Quincy sighed and continued after saying that. “Now that I’ve mentioned the ex-wife, she’s not someone to be trifled with, she’d do anything in her power to bring us down if she were to fall out with US.”
Juan had transferred all his illicit money into his son’s account behind his ex-wife’s back, trying to use him as his cover-up. After all, Marco had a mental illness, so who would track the money back to him?
Juan had extended his arms toward his mentally ill son and got him implicated in his filthy business. He had truly crossed the line this time around.
No wonder the ex-wife would retaliate against him so harshly after finding out about it.
Someone knocked on the door at this moment, and Nolan lifted his gaze. “Come in.”
Kevin walked into the office, nodded at Nolan, and smiled. “Mr. Goldmann.”
Nolan’s tapped on the desk rhythmically. “It seems that the project of the delta of Hewston’s Hydra Lake has been successfully secured.”
“Thanks to you, Mr. Goldmann, we’ve taken over half of the projects in Hewston’s Hydra Lake..”
Nolan got up, walked to the couch, and sat down with him. “Have you met Young Master Saldana?”
Kevin was startled, “which Young Master Saldana are you talking about?”
Quincy answered, “He’s Mr. Edward Xavier’s son-in- law, Ian Saldana.”
Kevin was surprised. “So, that’s the legendary Young Master Saldana?”
He had met Ian before this, but he did not know that Ian was Juan’s son. “I thought Mr. Juan Saldana’s son is mentally ill?”
Nolan responded lightly, “He’s Mr. Saldana’s illegitimate child.”
Kevin understood something. “I see.”
Kevin had met with Ian before. Using his title as Mr. Xavier’s son-in-law, Ian had gotten connected with the people in Hewston and had been inquiring about and investigating Juan everywhere.
Kevin was quite puzzled. “That Mr. Saldana is quite capable. I wonder how he managed to convince the senior management of cloud Capital Inc..”
Nolan chuckled. “He works for the ministry, so he’s able to obtain information that others can’t get their hands on. Moreover, Cloud Capital Inc. has a history with the Synergy Group, but Cloud Capital didn’t dare to go against Synergy all this while. It’s not surprising that he persuaded them into cooperating with him.”
Business and politics might have nothing to do with each other, still, if Ian had information unfavorable to Cloud Capital, the company's top management could only cooperate with him.
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Compared with the despicable tactics that Juan used in the business circle, Ian’s close relationship with the higher-ups had already won him a lot of opportunities.
Kevin was relieved. “Luckily, he’s not working with Mr. Saldana.”
Otherwise, Synergy would only become more aggressive.
After chatting for a short while, Kevin left.
Nolan poured a cup of tea slowly and calmly. “So, is he taking over Synergy now?”
Quincy shook his head. “No, Ian only took the shares but did not take over Synergy. He gave it to Mrs.
Saldana.”
Nolan placed the teacup against his lower lip.
Han gave Synergy to Mrs. Saldana. It seems he’s the one who informed Mrs. Saldana about the stolen money.
‘He didn’t make a move by himself, hid behind the curtains, diverted Juan’s attention, and used Mrs.
Saldana to go against him. If Ian were to be my rival, then he'd be a difficult man to deal with.’
At that moment, at Synergy...
Ian and Mrs. Saldana were sitting in the office drinking tea and talking to each other.
She did not like the illegitimate child that her ex- husband had with his mistress. After all, his mother gave birth to him to use his identity to get rid of her and Marco.
However, that was all in the past.
Mrs. Saldana held the teacup with her unchanged expression. “I thought you dealt with your father only to acquire all the properties and assets under his name, but you gave Synergy to me. ”
Ian gave off a faint smile. “I’m not that interested in the Saldanas’ properties.”
“Oh, if your mother was half as sober as you back then, she wouldn’t have ended up like that.”
He lowered his gaze and said nothing.
His mother, Eunice, had wanted to secure her position in a wealthy family back then in order to change her status, so she gave birth to him without Juan knowing and brought him back to the Saldanas in an attempt to force Juan into accepting them.
However, Juan drove them out of the family in the end.
After that incident, Eunice had always despised Ian, thinking that everything was his fault and that he could not please his father and earn her a spot in the Saldanas.
A father had never brought up Ian since he was a child, and he had never received any motherly love from his mother. Eunice would beat him up when she was in a bad mood and would only stop after beating him to a pulp. She would even lock him in the closet and starve him for one whole day.
He also could not get the memories of her chasing him out of the house during winters off his mind. He once had had no shoes on, no coat, and had been left in the cold street—it had been so cold that he fainted for a while. It was a kindhearted person who saved him.
From the moment he learned to be sensible until he was 12 years old, when every kid around him was about to graduate from elementary school, he had never even attended school, and he had done all kinds of dirty and tiring work.
Later on, when the police shut down the factory that employed children as its laborers, he was brought into the precinct. However, Eunice did not even show up.
At that time, he also met the savior who changed my life, Michael chase. He was Barbara’s father and the deputy director of that particular precinct at the time.
Upon learning about his situation, Michael had asked him if he would like to follow him around in life. And he had told him that he would do whatever it would take to be able to seize that opportunity.
It was also because of these words that Michael had seen the resolution in him and felt that he was a boy full of potential. This was why he had chosen to bring him up and send him to school. Ian managed to live up to his expectations in the end when he was admitted to the police academy.
His mother had not contacted him since then. It was not until he graduated from the police academy and returned to his original home that he learned his mother had found herself another rich man and had long forgotten about her son.
When he joined the police as a detective, the first murder case he had taken over was his mother’s.
His mother had died tragically in the apartment—the murderer had dismembered her. All her body parts had been abandoned in different places in the city. The murderer had not left behind any fingerprints and even avoided all the surveillance cameras when he chose the route to discard the body parts.
The local police had had a very difficult time solving the case, sothey invited him over to help them out.
The Three Little Guardian Angels Chapter 1484
It had taken Ian two months only to find a clue because he knew his mother better than other police officers. His mother had died because of her greed. The same thing had repeated itself—she had used some despicable means to attain superiority, and it threatened the other party's interests. That was how she had gotten killed.
Ian took a sip of tea unconcernedly. “It’s all in the past.”
His mother’s death did not sadden him.
Even if it was mentioned again in his life, his heart had long gotten numb over this matter.
Mrs. Saldana stared at him. After all, she was also a mother. It was impossible for Ian not to have experienced distress throughout his childhood. “It’s not your fault that you have such a mother. ”
Ian paused for a bit, then laughed out loud. “Are you comforting me?”
“I’m not comforting you. I’ve always been an unbiased person when it comes to separating private matters from businesses. I won’t transfer the grudges that I have for your mother onto you.”
Mrs. Saldana said lightly, “Your mother would even use her own child to achieve what she wanted in her life. She’s not so different from Juan. I divorced Juan only because I saw through him clearly very early on in life. So, even if your mother were to have succeeded in securing her position as the new Mrs. Saldana, she wouldn’t have had a better life than I did either.”
Mrs. Saldana had always been confident due to her family background.
Meanwhile, Eunice had had nothing, so she could only rely on men and gain benefits through
pleasing men. Thus, even if she were to have succeeded in becoming the new Mrs. Saldana, it would not have lasted.
Juan had always been a person who only cared about the profit he could gain from everything in life. As such, if a woman could not provide him with benefits, Juan would kick her away in a blink of an eye.
This was the truth.
Meanwhile...
Elaine had been sitting in Ian’s cafe for a short while. The manager brewed a cup of coffee, brought it to her table, sat down in front of her, and grinned. “Are you here to wait for Mr. Saldana?”
Elaine was astonished and explained with a smile, “ No, I’ve come over only for a cup of coffee.”
She lowered her head and drank slowly.
In fact, she had insomnia last night.
As soon as she closed her eyes, the scene of Ian kissing her forehead would appear in her mind. And she could still feel the warmth that came from his lips — it felt so hot that it seemed that they would ignite instantly if she were to touch them at that moment.
Every time she thought of it, a strange feeling would surge deep down, and her legs would feel wobbly and weak without her realizing it.
The manager did not notice anything unusual about her, so he laughed. “Mr. Saldana has gone out. I guess he should’ve gone to Synergy.”
She returned to her senses. “Is he going to take over the company?”
“That’s not it. If Mr. Saldana were interested in the company, he would’ve been sitting in the office long ago.”
“You seem to know him very well. ”
“How could I not?” The store manager then continued. “Mr. Saldana isn’t interested in power or anything, otherwise, why would he resign from the ministry?
“He’s a person who likes to do things his own way. Take this cafe as an example. It started only because of his personal liking. It doesn’t matter to him if it makes him money or not. The important thing is that he likes it.”
Elaine chuckled. “That’s not too bad. At least, he gets to do what he likes.”
The manager’s gaze shifted away from her and looked at the person approaching them. “Yo, Mr. Saldana, you’re back so soon?”
Elaine could not help but turn her head around. Ian was dressed more formally than he used to, and the well-ironed suit made him look a lot more solemn.
His hair was styled as well. His usual appearance looked rather mature and calm, but the overall look that he had on at this moment made him look sterner.
He stopped beside Elaine and glanced at the manager, who consciously got up and moved away from the table. “I don’t think I should be third-wheeling here. I should go back to work already.”
Elaine returned to her senses subconsciously and looked away embarrassedly. “Did you just go to Synergy?”
“I went there for a short chat.” He smiled and then asked, “Do you want to come upstairs?”
Elaine was astounded for a while and then followed him upstairs with her cup of coffee in a confused manner.
Seeing that she was still holding the coffee, he laughed. “I’ll make you another cup.”
The Three Little Guardian Angels Chapter 1485
“It’s okay. I don’t want to waste it,” said Elaine.
Ian walked into the office and immediately removed his jacket and tie as he never liked to wear formal clothes.
Elaine walked in behind him with her coffee and looked up to witness this scene. The thin white shirt was pressed against his chest, so the outlines of his body could easily be seen as he breathed in and out.
She would say that Ian was the most well-built man she had ever met.
As expected of a man who had been an undercover agent for years, graduated from the police academy, and trained in the army for many years.
The last time she ran into him accidentally was when he was changing his clothes. He looked muscular, but his build did not look very exaggerated. The curvatures and lines of his muscles looked very firm and as hard as nails.
When working in her office, she often heard her female colleagues talking about men’s abs. Most women loved men who had abs because they made them look sexy.
Elaine looked down subconsciously, thought of something all of a sudden, and instantly, her cheeks became very warm. Thus, she quickly turned her face away.
She admitted she was getting a little aroused, thinking of his body.
Ian draped his coat on the back of the couch, sat down alone, looked up, and saw her freeze in place, “what’s the matter?”
She recovered from the trance and felt inexplicably guilty when she met his gaze. “No... It’s nothing.”
She lowered her head, walked to the couch next to the couch Ian was on, and sat down. She then drank the coffee in her hands, thought of something, and quickly changed the subject, “oh yeah, the cafe manager told me you didn’t take over Synergy.”
Ian laughed. “I don’t like to run a company. I rarely even take care of the cafe.”
Elaine lowered her gaze. “It’s good to be able to do what you like.”
“You can do so too.”
“Me?” She paused for a split second, pursed her lips, and replied after a short while, “I only want to take over my father’s company, but he won’t let me.”
“When a woman wants to run a company, in addition to her brain and means, she must also know the sacrifices she has to make to survive in the circle, including her emotions. You’ve never experienced the cruel and darker side of the business field. It’s not unreasonable for your father to not want you to inherit Beyond Tech.“
In the business field, entrepreneurs would not care about someone else’s feelings—personal interests and profits were the only things they cared about. No one would be willing to give selflessly.
Many people in the circle would abandon their original aspirations when profits were brought into the equation. Not many people would be able to keep their original aspirations.
Those who could climb to the top of the pyramid depended, to a certain extent, on their families’ connections and backgrounds, otherwise, those who had to climb up the ladder from the bottom might need to give up more than they could obtain.
Elaine could inherit Beyond Tech with the connections and foothold that her father had accumulated over the years. After all, she was the daughter of the company's current owner.
But a woman would eventually get married, and Edward did not want her to inherit Beyond Tech only because he was worried she would give herself to blind emotions.
“According to what you just said, if I were to marry you and inherit the company in the future, should I be careful of you?”
Ian froze for a moment before laughing out loud. “ Then what do you think of me?”
She choked on her own words.
‘What he said makes sense too.
‘He didn’t even take over Synergy, so why would he make Beyond Tech his target? It’s not that Ian is not interested in power. It’s just that he’s better aware of how society works than an average person.
‘These things were merely world possessions. Many people in the world are racing with time in order to achieve success, compete with each other throughout a huge portion of their lives, and keep their eyes on everything every day just in case something were to happen. They are the most tired people in the world.
‘We don’t need too much of everything. Having ample of the basics of life is good enough for most of us humans. After all, one can’t bring all these worldly possessions with them when they die. The best that we can do is to pass them down to others.’
Her lips trembled slightly. “I know you’re not such a person.”
He smiled again. “Do you trust me this much?”
She was astonished for a split second and lowered her gaze. “I trust you based on my intuition.”
Ian laughed. “It’s no wonder Edward wouldn’t let you take over Beyond Tech.”
Elaine was rendered speechless. “You’re the one who made me believe in you.”
The Three Little Guardian Angels Chapter i486
“But I didn’t let you trust your instinct. Why do you trust me if you don’t know me well enough, and I’ve never done anything to help you trust me?”
Elaine took a deep breath. “Have you opened up to me?”
Ian looked at her. “It’s not too late yet.”
Elaine paused because she didn’t know what she could learn about him, so she hesitated. “You will answer no matter what I ask?”
Ian fell silent for a moment. “It depends.”
“If you’re just toying with me, then I’m going to leave.” She had a temper too. Elain put down the cup and got up to leave.
Ian grabbed her by her arm, which made her stumble and fall into his arms, frozen.
Ian put his arm around her waist, and she could feel the warmth.
She pressed her palms to his chest and started to feel hotter through her hands, she couldn’t look up at him. Ian gulped and froze too.
Elaine took a peek at him. He had two buttons undone, it was late autumn, and the air conditioning was turned on, but he looked like he was sweating.
She started burning up too.
“I’ll lower the temperature.”
She got up, but Ian pulled her back into his arms. “It’s not the air conditioning.”
“What—” She stopped mid-sentence and didn’t continue. Even if she had never experienced this, she wasn’t dumb!
Ian rested his chin on her shoulder while breathing heavily and smiled, “stay here. It’ll be fine.”
Elaine’s face turned even redder, but he was very good at calming himself down. However, Elaine couldn’t calm down because his breath surrounded her, seducing her. Her lips were dry. “Do you want to let go of me first?”
Ian said, “You need to get used to it sooner or later.”
“If you continue hugging me, I’m afraid that... I might »
• • •
“Might what?” His voice sounded right next to her ear, and his breath brushed her neck, making her shudder.
Elaine chuckled, “what else could happen between a man and woman? I might not be able to control myself.”
Ian smiled widely as he leaned closer to her neck. “ We’ve already come so far.”
She immediately changed her tone, “I was just joking.”
Ian let go of her, and she scooted back into her seat and thought that it was time to leave. “I need to go.”
Elaine got up and walked to the door.
Ian’s voice came from behind. “I’ll pick you up tonight.”
“What for?”
Ian smiled. “What do you want to do?”
Elaine choked. “Dinner.”
He leaned back. “Anything you want.”
Elaine didn’t stop walking.
After getting out, she slapped herself for not thinking before speaking.
After it got quiet indoors, Ian looked up at the ceiling, his chest heaving. It took a while to calm down.
Elaine had said she might not be able to control herself, but he was the one who was going to lose control. He had underestimated her influence.
Nicholas’ birthday dinner was the next night. Wayion was on the flight back while Colton and Daisie picked up their grandfather’s birthday present. Once they left school, they asked the driver to bring them to the mall.
“How about a parrot?” Daisie pointed at the huge smart-looking parrot standing in the rack in the yard.
Colton squinted while he walked toward it. The parrot tilted its head, looked at him, flapped its wings, and chirped happily, “Big spender, big spender.”
The Three Little Guardian Angels Chapter 1487
Daisie laughed while Colton’s lips curled. “This little thing is obsessed with money.”
The owner of the store walked out and laughed. “ Hello, little patrons. Are you interested in our Big Spender?”
“That’s its name?”
That was such a silly name!
The pet store owner’s smile widened. “Yes, didn’t it introduce itself to you? It’s called Big Spender.”
Daisie and Colton’s lips curled.
Daisie walked toward the parrot, smiled, and waved. “ Hello, Big Spender.”
The parrot flapped its wings. “It’s great to be a Big Spender.”
She laughed, then turned to ask the owner, “Can it say a lot of words?”
“Of course. It’s a smart bird and will learn if you teach it.”
Daisie thought that it was amazing, so she looked at the parrot and said, “Happy birthday Grandpa.”
The parrot tilted its head, “Happy birthday Grandpa.”
Daisie chuckled, ran to Colton, and tugged at his arm. “I want it.”
Colton nodded and looked at the pet store owner. “ We’ll take it.”
The owner laughed. “Great!”
After paying, the bodyguards walked behind them with the parrot in a cage. Daisie saw Zephir walking out of a coffee shop nearby.
She ran over to greet him. “Zeph! ”
Zephir stood in front of the car and smiled when he saw Daisie walking over. “Daisie, why are you here?”
She replied, “I’m here to get my grandfather a birthday present.”
Zephir looked toward the bodyguard who was holding the parrot in the cage. “A parrot?”
“Yes, my grandfather probably feels bored, so we found someone to speak to him.”
“That sounds great.”
Daisie chatted with Zephir and seemed to have lost track of time. Colton stood behind her with his hands in his pockets, rushing her. “Are we leaving?”
Daisie looked back. “A little bit longer.”
Colton looked at his watch. “You get one minute.”
Zephir smiled and looked at Daisie. “You should go with your brother.”
“Alright, bye then.” she waved.
Zephir watched as they got in the car and left before getting into his car. The woman in the car with sunglasses chuckled and said, “oh, is that your little girlfriend?”
Zephir looked back and smiled. “A lot of free time on your hands, Violet?”
“Haha, you’re getting less adorable now that you’re older.”
Violet Lovegood opened up her mirror and reapplied her lipstick. “You should focus on your studies at your age. Don’t get into a relationship yet.”
Zephir smiled. “You should focus on yourself. You’re married, yet your mother is still worried about you.”
She snapped her mirror shut and looked at him. “ Don’t speak to me like you’re an adult. Do you think I wanted to get married?”
She wasn’t interested in a marriage of convenience, but she had to marry the useless Ịackie Clifford. They had been married for three years, but Jackie had been treating her badly all this time.
She didn’t want any of that, she wouldn't have stayed if it weren’t because her father had given the order.
She could no longer live with that, so she finally came to Bassburgh to stay with her mother’s family.
Zephir looked down. A marriage of convenience was all about getting benefits through marriage. It was to elevate the status of both families and had little to no love involved.
If he had to get into a similar situation with a woman that he didn’t love, he might just be as repulsed as his cousin.
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But if Zephir liked the woman, he might just accept it.
Violet leaned closer to ask, “By the way, the girl is from an affluent family, right?”
Zephir’s lips moved. “She’s the daughter of Mr. Nolan Goldmann.”
“Mr. Goldmann’s daughter!?”
Something came to Violet’s mind, then her face dropped, and she cursed, “F*ck!”
Weren’t they cousins of the Cliffords?
At the Goldmann mansion...
When the parrot was brought in, Nolan started getting a headache because it got too rowdy. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Your grandfather’s birthday is tomorrow. Don’t you think it’s noisy to bring it back so soon?”
“You’re the one who thinks it’s noisy. I think it’s fine, right, Big Spender?”
The parrot hopped in the cage. “Big Spender isn’t noisy.”
Daisie was elated.
Maisie walked down from upstairs and chuckled. “Big Spender? The pet store owner is really good at naming.”
The parrot flapped its wings happily. “Pretty lady!”
Maisie paused and laughed out loud. “This little thing is really smart.”
Nolan’s face dropped. ‘Pretty lady?’
What was that little thing thinking about?
Maisie walked to the cage and tickled its chin. The parrot enjoyed it and started chirping.
Nolan took a deep breath, walked to Maisie, and pulled her into his arms. “This is my wife.”
“My wife, my wife! ” The parrot chirped happily.
Nolan wanted to defeather it then and there.
Maisie laughed and turned back to look at Nolan. “ Why are you annoyed by a parrot?”
He rested his chin on her shoulder and leaned in. “It’s a male parrot.”
Maisie was rendered speechless.
Daisie and Colton looked at each other. They had lost their appetite.
• • •
As the night grew dark, the neon lights of Bassburgh Harbor lit up from the south to the north. The lights blinked and shone into the car windows.
Elaine lowered the window to let the cool night air blow in. She looked at the skyscrapers on the other side, which seemed to be covered in golden flakes that reflected on the water.
“You brought me here for the view?” She looked back at Ian in the driver’s seat.
His hand was on the steering wheel. “Do you like the view here?”
She paused. “Quite.”
Ian turned to look at her. “what do you think about moving here?”
“You want to move out?” asked Elaine.
He nodded. “I’ve thought about it.”
She looked away. “There’s no need to tell me that you're moving.”
Ian put his arm behind her and leaned in with a smile. “If we get married, do you plan to make me stay with your parents? “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Elaine’s heart skipped a beat because he was so close she could hear him breathe, she looked down and said quietly, “I’m not sure if I’m going to really marry you yet.”
Ian’s finger brushed her cheek, startling her. When she turned around, he kissed her.
His kiss drew her in deeply, and the warmth almost made her melt.
Elaine couldn’t help but put her arms around his back. The neon lights outside made everything more beautiful.
Ian placed his palm on the side of her neck, his eyes burning with desire. The face in his palm started to look clearer, and this time, there was no double vision.
It was all Elaine.
After a moment, they both pulled away.
Elaine's cheeks flared up, and she didn’t know where to look.
The Three Little Guardian Angels Chapter 1489
Elaine looked at Ian from the corner of her eyes and saw that he unbuttoned two buttons and lowered the window down more. The breeze that blew in messed up his dark hair.
Ian was holding back more than her.
Elaine bit her lip. “Are you not interested in me?”
Ian paused and turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”
Elaine looked down. She didn’t think she needed to be shy because she was no longer a little girl.
“You kissed me because you wanted to confirm our relationship, but if you’re not interested in me, I don’t think we should get married because I can’t be sleeping in the same bed with my husband and doing nothing.”
After Elaine said that, she sounded as if she was more excited than he was?
Ian was quiet for a moment, then laughed. His laughter was clear in the quiet carriage.
Elaine glared at him. “Why are you laughing?”
He was still laughing. “You meant interest in that way.” After he said that, his eyes fixed on her face. “ I’m a normal man. what do you think?”
It meant that he had intentions.
While she zoned out a little, Ian’s hand brushed her cheek, and his eyes filled with desire when he looked at her, but deep inside, there was a glimpse of loneliness.
He ran his finger across the corner of her lips. “I don’t want you to think that you’re the same as the rest of the women.”
They were different. She was clean and innocent, while he was dark and dirty.
He had to work with greedy women like his mother because of his missions and had to pretend and use them.
He didn’t feel sorry for them because they would do anything just to get riches and benefits.
All those years when he was undercover, he had seen what was hidden in the corners of the beautiful world. The men would do whatever they wanted when they had status and power and treated women like toys and tools.
However, the women enjoyed being tamed by money and sacrificed everything to get that in return.
He had tried to bring the women struggling in the dark crevices to light after his missions, but they would fall back into their old habits. They were used to sacrificing something to get what they wanted.
That was why he never felt sorry for the women he manipulated.
Elaine was surprised. After a long time, she looked at him and slowly said, “Can I ask about you and Mrs. Boucher?”
Ian froze.
Elaine looked down. “I just wanted to understand more. It’s alright if you don’t feel like talking. I won’t force it.”
Ian leaned back into his seat and looked into the bright lights from the buildings. “We... never had a thing.”
Elaine was startled. “Because of who you were?” He nodded. “On top of that, she was also the daughter of my mentor, Michael chase.”
Elaine leaned in closer and asked, “But if you both had feelings for each other, couldn’t you overcome all the obstacles? Why didn’t you end up together?”
Ian fell silent for some time, his eyes glistening. “Just because we had feelings for each other doesn’t mean we would end up together. We missed our chance, and it was meant to be that way.”
“Let me tell you a story.”
Before that, he had been undercover carrying out a secret mission. He met Barbara, and they fell for each other but never crossed that line because of who they both were.
The Three Little Guardian Angels Chapter 1490
Ian didn’t want to get Barbara involved.
But on the day he was carrying out his mission, Barbara’s half-sister, Katrina, was there, and Katrina told him that Barbara had been taken away.
He was afraid she would be dragged into danger, so he searched for her in the club even though it might expose his identity. Unfortunately, he didn’t go in and check who the woman they had caused to get drunk was in the private room.
Katrina knew where she was and called him away, but they didn’t know he had missed his best chance of saving her.
Missing that chance led to them ultimately missing their chance to be together, and he would never get the chance to undo the mistake.
He missed the chance to save her, which was why she was harmed. Thus, he lost the right to love her.
Elaine was shocked, but she couldn’t help but put out her hand and place it on her cold hand when she saw how sorry he was. “That wasn’t your fault.” Ian was stunned and looked at her. “Do you really think it’s not my fault?”
She looked down. “Even though I don’t know the exact situation, it’s not possible for you to always make the right move.”
Ian looked at her in silence.
After a moment, she retracted her hand. “I’m sorry. Even though I don’t have the right to comment about this as an outsider, I don’t think you should blame yourself. That’s all.
“Because you did search for her, you just didn’t know that the woman in the room was Barbara. You didn’t want to miss the chance to save her and were tricked into leaving, she was a victim, but so were you.”
Ian smiled a little. “But I couldn’t accept that I misjudged the situation. How could I protect others if I couldn’t even protect her?”
“Did you resign from the ministry because of her?”
He didn’t answer. The silence confirmed it.
Ian might have resigned because he didn’t love power, but he loved his job and had overcome a lot. Still, his error in judgment had caused him to fail to save Barbara.
He had high expectations for himself and respect for the job, so he might have resigned because of that.
Elaine took a deep breath and looked out the window. “No one has a perfect life, and everyone makes mistakes. You made one mistake, resigned, and gave up on your future. Isn’t that enough? Do you still need to keep all those mistakes in your mind?”
Ian’s hand on the steering wheel tightened.
The next day...
Elaine zoned out during the meeting, she didn’t know if she was being nosy and commenting about what had happened as an outsider. He must have thought she was pathetic.
She really didn’t understand him.
“Ms. Xavier.” The colleague next to her nudged her.
She immediately snapped back and saw the director of J Tech looking at her. “Ms. Xavier, you rarely zone out during meetings.”
She nodded a little to correct her mistake. “I’m sorry for disrupting the meeting.”
“It’s fine. You’re doing well. Since this is your first offense, I’ll let you off, but please focus next time.”