Reborn Young Miss: Phoenix Burning Red-Chapter 131: No One but You (1)
After the party, Adrienne went straight to Jinxiu Garden with Irina. Despite spending time with her friends, Adrienne’s mood hadn’t improved at all. Her brother’s absence was prolonged as he needed to stay another week at the barracks, allowing her some time to sort out her thoughts. It also allowed her to spend more time alone with their mother at the hospital.
Although Irina kept her presence low, Adrienne knew the woman would never leave her out of her sight. Her whereabouts, her plans and what she was up to were surely reported to Lennox by this time. It annoyed her greatly and she was considering finding a way to get rid of Irina from her side, but feared that it would backfire somehow.
When she arrived at Jinxiu Graden, Liam was the first person she saw. Liam was slouching on the couch, fiddling with the television’s remote as he tried to relieve his boredom. Once Liam noticed her arrival, he immediately sat up straight.
Adrienne raised a brow and gave him an inquisitive look. She realized that the Qin siblings had some similarities. Not only were they good-looking, but their temper was somewhat odd. Their presence set them above others, but they were cautious and kept their distance from everyone as if they were afraid of being disappointed in the end.
"If you’re here for Brother Nox, he’s upstairs, working in his office. I wouldn’t dare to disturb him, though. He’d been cursing at someone for being incompetent. I guess he’s on a firing spree right now." Liam told Adrienne, pulling her out of her trance.
It was the first time Adrienne heard Lennox do something like that and she wondered what could have happened for Lennox to lose his composure this time. Ever since their first encounter, she hadn’t seen nor heard Lennox throw a temper like this again.
"Is Gavin there with him?" She asked as she joined Liam at the living area, eyeing his injured hand.
"No, but I assume Butler Cheng has already notified him. My brother has been on it since I returned home, which was like two hours ago." The young man replied, still looking nervous in his seat. He felt like a young child before Adrienne.
"Is your hand alright now?" Adrienne asked and Liam slightly flinched.
"Yes, though it’s quite annoying that I can’t use it properly, the doctor said it will fully recover." He paused momentarily as a thought crossed his mind. "I haven’t apologized to you yet. I should have never forced you into such a situation. My brother told me he was forced to add another bodyguard to look after you. I have inconvenienced you, Sister Addie." Liam looked embarrassed.
It was obvious that Adrienne and Lennox had an argument during their last visit, and Liam wasn’t dumb to know that he was one of the reasons for it. Lennox had told him not to worry about it and it was just Adrienne being stubborn, not wanting to accept anyone’s help.
"It’s nothing you should be worried about," Adrienne shrugged off his apology. "It’s an issue between me and your brother. It has nothing to do with you."
Adrienne knew Lennox would eventually raise this topic with her even if Liam weren’t around. He would surely try to plant someone to look after her and now he’d succeeded. However, Adrienne made sure that Irina was always at a safe distance whenever she sent orders to Uncle Shark. The man would be busy these days, but with the money involved, Uncle Shark would surely not turn the opportunity down.
The payment for Liam’s custody had just been settled and Uncle Shark had already collected the money from her Uncle Waylen. Adrienne didn’t need to worry about her household expenses and her tuition fees at school. Her father would surely throw a fit if he knew Adrienne could provide for herself now.
"No, even if I wasn’t involved in your recent argument with my brother. I still owe you an apology." Liam insisted. "I also want to thank you. Brother has finally convinced my mother’s family to allow us to move her remains to another place where I can visit her anytime."
His tone had a hint of gentleness in it; his eyes were brighter than usual. Adrienne was relieved that Liam was starting to pick up the pieces of his life.
"That’s great news, Liam! But I want you to remember something. Never try to throw your life away like that ever again. I know you love your mom more than anyone else, so I understand where you’re coming from. Your mother would be heartbroken if she knew how you lived your life after her passing. Don’t forget, you were born because your mother decided to keep you and raise you alone. She loved and nurtured you all these years by sacrificing more than you can ever imagine. Your life is a precious gift she has given you, so don’t try to throw it away."
Liam was stunned and stared at her in shock. When her words finally sunk in his mind, he couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. He looked away and discreetly dried his tears with his arms. How could he forget about it? What Adrienne said was right.
"I understand, Big Sister. It will never happen again. You have my word."
Adrienne was surprised. She thought Liam would make excuses this time, but he truly heeded her words. However, she was relieved that Liam understood his situation better now. As the second older brother of his other siblings, he would need to step up and look after them in the future, whenever Lennox is unavailable.
"See that you uphold your words. You’re an adult now and not a kid. You need to be responsible for your words and actions. Lennox and I can’t possibly clean after you every time you make a mistake."
–
Lennox wasn’t expecting Adrienne to arrive today, so he was caught off guard when she entered his study while he was berating one of his incompetent subordinates. He didn’t want Adrienne to see him like this, but it was too late. Why didn’t Butler Cheng stop Adrienne from entering when he knew he was in a foul mood?
Adrienne casually sat on the couch across his desk and gave him a side glance.
"Who made you angry this time?" She asked calmly, eyeing the untouched snack on his desk.
Lennox ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath. How could he forget that his fiancée wasn’t like any other woman? Other women would have fled in fear or used this to get his favor, but Adrienne acted like she was unaffected.
"We’ve lost one of our prospective deals with a client to Han Corporation. I don’t understand how Alistair Han snatched the opportunity from us." He sneered, then forced himself to rein his anger. "Sorry, I shouldn’t have let you see me like this."
"Why not?" Adrienne eyed him. "If we are to marry, I’ll surely see more of this in the future. As for Alistair Han, he’s always been like this. He likes to use other people’s weaknesses to force them to submit to him. He must have dug up some dark secrets involving your client and used it to his advantage."
Lennox’s jaws hardened. He knew from the reports that Adrienne used to harbor some feelings towards Alistair Han, her best friend’s stepbrother. However, Adrienne started to distance herself from that man and cut off her ties with him for some reason.
Thinking about it, if Adrienne hadn’t met him, Alistair Han would be the perfect person for Adrienne to marry. Not only did Alistair Han come from a prominent family, but he was also a competent businessman. Lennox had heard things about the man even before he returned from abroad. Alistair Han had a good reputation within the business circle, and his every business endeavor had paid him greatly.
However, despite his reputation in public, Lennox knew better. Alistair Han had tried several times to establish a partnership, but Lennox always had an excuse to decline him. However, this time, Alistair’s move to boldly snatch a client from Huayi Investment was indirectly slapping him in the face. It seemed to him that Alistair Han was declaring an all-out war against him.
"I never thought that my fiancée would know more about another man than she knows me." He grumbled. How could Lennox forget that Adrienne used to like that man?
Adrienne chuckled. "Don’t tell me you’re jealous."
"And if I am?" Lennox countered. "Addie, despite being reduced to this, I’m still a man. I don’t like the idea of my fiancée entertaining another man behind my back. I don’t care if he’s your childhood crush. Although our marriage would be a convenient arrangement, there would be no other woman in my life but you, and I would not allow any man to get between us."
