Chapter 46

Seeing Elsie shake her head, Bruce turned his gaze to Aline.

Noticing her evasive and somewhat guilty expression, he felt a twinge of suspicion.

He asked coldly, "Why can't we sign the contract?"

Aline took a deep breath. "The owner isn't me. This house belongs to my dad. We can only sign the contract when he gets back."

Bruce frowned and looked at Elsie, his eyes full of disapproval.

"Elsie, if we can't sign a rental contract, there might be something wrong with this place. How about finding another house to rent?"

Before Elsie could respond, Aline scoffed and said with a sour expression, "I've already discussed this with Ms. Forbes, and she agreed."

"Besides, I live just downstairs. I'm not going anywhere. What are you afraid of?"

Seeing that Aline was about to get angry, Elsie quickly grabbed Bruce and nodded.

She had indeed been informed about the contract issue beforehand.

She gestured to Bruce, her eyes full of pleading.

"Bruce, I really like this house. I know you're worried about me, but I can handle it. Please trust me, okay?"

Looking into Elsie's expressive eyes, Bruce, though still doubtful, didn't want to disappoint her and eventually agreed.

They took the keys from Aline, packed up Elsie's belongings, and bought some household items.

With that, Elsie had officially moved in.

After helping Elsie move, Albert and Bruce were about to leave when Elsie stopped them.

"Since you help me move, I have to treat you to a meal. Why don't you two stay, and I'll cook something delicious for you?"

Elsie looked at them with her big, hopeful eyes, making it impossible for them to refuse.

Bruce suggested, "Alright, but there's not much food here. Let's go to the grocery store and buy some more, okay?"

The three of them returned with bags full of groceries and ran into Aline on the first floor.

Aline nodded at them but didn't seem interested in chatting.

The elevator arrived quickly, and the four of them got in together.

Elsie stood between Albert and Bruce, holding a small bag.

She glanced at Aline, who was leaning in the corner of the elevator, looking somewhat lonely, and felt a pang of sympathy.

She felt that this unique and somewhat misunderstood Aline was a bit like herself.

After all, in the eyes of ordinary people, she, who couldn't speak, was also an outcast.

She turned to Bruce and gestured, "I can't speak. Can you invite her to dinner tonight for me?"

Bruce frowned slightly, his eyes full of disapproval, but he couldn't resist Elsie's earnest look and spoke up.

"We're having dinner at home tonight. Would you like to join us?"

Aline took a moment to understand that the three of them were inviting her.

She looked into Elsie's bright eyes, then glanced at Bruce and Albert, and shook her head indifferently. "No, I have plans tonight."

With that, she lowered her head again, her eyes fixed on her phone, seemingly engrossed in something.

Bruce felt a wave of irritation at Aline's immediate refusal.

But thinking it might be better for Elsie to have less contact with Aline, he didn't press the issue.

He gave Elsie a helpless look.

Elsie pouted in disappointment but then thought of something. She took out her favorite hazelnut liqueur chocolate from her small bag and handed it to Aline.

She smiled warmly and sweetly, gesturing, "For you!"

Aline looked at the round chocolate in her hand, then at Elsie. Faced with such kindness, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

She nodded and put the chocolate in her pocket.

Soon, Aline's floor arrived. Without acknowledging the three behind her, she got off the elevator.

Elsie felt a bit of sadness.

But remembering her own past sensitivity and distrust of others, she found Aline's behavior less hurtful.

She smiled at Bruce and Albert, gesturing softly, "Let's go home. I'll cook something delicious for you two!"

Aline sat on the sofa in the living room, shrouded in darkness. She hadn't turned on the lights; not even a sliver of moonlight pierced through.

In the dark, the only visible light was the faint glow of her cigarette.

Above her, she could faintly hear laughter and compliments about the food.

She took out the chocolate from her pocket, feeling the texture of the golden wrapper.

Her face remained expressionless.

Suddenly, her phone rang loudly.

She stared at the familiar number on the screen and answered.

A harsh male voice came through the phone.

"Aline, where's the money for this month? When are you going to pay?"

After a moment of silence, the man grew furious.

"I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? Do you want to die? If you don't pay up, I'll kill you and your deadbeat dad!"

Aline snapped out of her daze, extinguishing her cigarette on the table. Her voice was hoarse and strained. "I can only pay a tenth of it now. I'll figure out the rest."

The man sneered. "What good is that? I'm warning you, if you don't pay up, I'll drag you to a nightclub and make you work as a prostitute!"

"There will always be someone with peculiar tastes who finds someone like you appealing!"

With that, he hung up.

Aline held her phone, then transferred all the rent money Elsie had given her, along with her savings from work, to the creditor.

After the transfer, the chocolate in her hand had melted.

She unwrapped the foil and put the chocolate in her mouth.

As she tasted the sweet and boozy flavor, a tear rolled down her cheek and disappeared into her hair. Maybe some things were never meant to be hers.

With her living situation settled, Elsie started thinking about finding a job.

Though her dream was to win a piano competition, regaining her ability to speak was equally important.

To achieve that, she needed to stay in the country for a long time.

When or if she could recover was beyond her control.

She was about to finalize her divorce from Ronald and couldn't rely on the Forbes family for support.

Although the divorce agreement included a large sum of money from Ronald, they hadn't officially divorced yet, so she couldn't use it.

Even if she could, she wasn't sure she could stomach it.