Chapter 31 Ariadne's Apartment
The guard led them to the top floor of the building. There were only two doors in the corridor: one on the left and the other on the right. They came to a stop in front of the left door and pressed the doorbell. After a while, the door opened, revealing Mary.
See gasped when she saw the scene in front of her.
"What happened to Adi?" she exclaimed, terrified.
Though the bandage on Adrian's leg was covered by his pant, Mary could tell from his pale face that something had happened to him.
"He's all right. There's no need to worry." Xander immediately informed the elderly woman, noticing her pale face.
Mary looked at Xander and noticed how he was holding Adrian in his arms while standing at the door. Soon confusion overtook her as to why Xander was there.
Behind him, she could see Autumn, the guard, and Crystal. Her eyebrows furrowed.
"Mr. Blake, please come inside." She said after composing herself and stepped aside.
"Adi got into an accident, Granny." Autumn informed Mary as they entered the suite.
"What? How?"
Crystal wanted to roll her eyes at Mary's concern. However, she couldn't express her irritation in front of Xander, so she remained silent.
"He had a cut on his leg. We have already had him checked by the doctor." the guard told Mary what had happened in the park.
"Oh my god. I shouldn't have left you two alone in the park." Mary regreted.
She approached Xander to take Adrian from him. However, Xander refused.
"Where's his room?" he asked, instead.
"Oh, this way, please." Mary led them to the kids' room.
There were two beds in the room. One side of the room was decorated for a girl, and the other for a boy. As Xander entered the room, Mary pointed to Adrian's bed. Xander placed him on the bed. Mary sat on the bed's edge as he settled in.
"Do you feel better now, Adi?" she asked with concern.
"I'm perfectly fine, Granny. Accidents happen. Don't worry." Adrian said in a low voice.
Mary smiled as she relaxed slightly and stood up.
"Thank God, he is safe. Thank you for bringing him here, Mr. Blake. Thank you all of you." Mary spoke sincerely, looking at all three people.
Xander nodded.
"Rest now, and you will feel better tomorrow." Xander said, looking at the boy before turning to Mary. "We should leave now."
"How can I let you leave like this? Let me prepare some coffee for you." Mary said, not wanting them to leave without any proper welcome.
"There's no need." Xander declined politely.
"This's your first visit to our home. Aria will be upset if she finds out I let you leave without greeting you properly. Please, only one cup of coffee." Mary pleaded as she looked at both Xander and Crystal.
Xander looked at Autumn, who was staring at him with her doe-like eyes.
"Ok." he nodded.
Mary smiled and looked at the guard. "You too, Adam."
"Thank you, Mary."
"Kajol." Mary called and a girl came who appeared to be a maid. "Stay with Adrian." Mary instructed her before leading the guests to the living room.
Autumn tagged along with them.
"Please take your seats." Mary said before heading to the kitchen.
Crystal and Xander sat on the couch together, while the guard sat on the single sofa, away from them. Autumn stood near the guard.
Crystal looked around the house. She was surprised to see the luxury of the suit when they first entered. Even the kids' bedroom was stunning. It was a beautiful modern presidential suite, looking even plusher than the Miller Residence. She didn't expect Ariadne to have such a lavish suite. Though it was given to Ariadne by the company to stay and she wasn't the owner of the suite, still Crystal couldn't stop feeling jealous.
Xander, on the other hand, also looked around the suite with an expressionless face before focusing on Autumn, who was chatting with the guard. He frowned at the thought that Ariadne had allowed her children to become comfortable with the guard, a stranger. He remembered that Ariadne was exactly like this. She never considered the status of the people or their intentions. She would socialize with anyone. A memory came to his mind from their past.
(FLASHBACK)
(11 years ago)
Xander glanced at his wristwatch while sitting in the passenger seat of his car. He clenched his jaw and returned his attention to the girl in the distance.
"Does she come here often?" he asked without taking his gaze away from the girl, who was now conversing with an elderly man and another girl her age.
"Yes. She's one of her close friends." a meek voice came from the back seat.
"What is that look about?" Xander turned around and saw Crystal's terrified expression.
"N..Nothing." her voice trembled.
"Crystal." Xander warned her not to hide anything from him.
Crystal gave a dramatic sigh, as if she didn't want to tell but had no other choice.
"That girl with Aria is Elisa. She's the biggest bully at our school. She is from a poor family. That's her dad's cafe, and she also works there after school. She hates girls like me, who come from an influential family and always bullies them. Aria is the only exception as thay are close friends. Aria supported her in bullying others. She even occasionally comes here to work as a waiter to help her." Crystal explained as Xander's gaze returned to Ariadne who was now approaching their car.
They were waiting for Ariadne, who was talking to a friend in front of a cafe, on the other side of the street.
Xander was surprised at first when he heard Crystal's words, but then his expression turned gloomy. He, like all influential families, disliked people of lower status. Though he was not openly hateful towards them like Margaret, he would never associate with them.
"Complain to the principal if they bully you again." he said with a frown.
Before Crystal could say anything, Ariadne reached the car.
"Hey... sorry for keeping you waiting. It took me some time because my friend's father wanted to talk to me." Ariadne Smiled at Xander.
She was overjoyed to see him, but also nervous about making him wait, as he was known for his short temper. Despite his busy schedule, he agreed and made time to accompany them to a magic show. Her enthusiasm was clearly visible on her face. However, Xander's expression didn't mirror hers; instead, he appeared to be in a bad mood, with a frown on his face.
"You shouldn't get too close to people like that, you know?" Xander said with a serious expression, looking at her smiling face.
"Why? She's one of my closest friends." Ariadne asked, confused, unaware of Xander's bad mood.
"Ariadne..." Xander was irritated by her disobedience. "Sometimes you should listen to other people's advice. She's not good for you. You are becoming like them."
"What? Why are you saying this, Xander. They are good people." Ariadne frowned.
While they were arguing, they failed to notice the smirk on Crystal's face.
"Aria, get in the car. We are already running late. You wouldn't want to miss the beginning of the show, right?" she finally interupted.
After all, she couldn't let Xander tell Ariadne the cause of his anger as it was a flat lie. Ariadne sighed and climbed into the back seat, next to Crystal.
"Let's go."
The car drove off.
(END OF FLASHBACK)
Xander shook his head at the thought that Ariadne had taught her children to socialize with everyone like she did.
After a while, Mary arrived with a tray full of coffee mugs.
"Thank you." Crystal said as she took a mug from the tray.
Mary handed the other two their mugs and took one for herself before taking a seat. Autumn went to see Adrian.
"Mr. Hart said Aria had gone to Purple City." Crystal began the conversation, breaking the odd silence.
"Yes. She had some work there. She will return in a few days."
"Oh. So you are taking care of the kids by yourself?"
"Yes. Me and Tiara."
"The same girl who accompanied Ariadne to the Miller Residence?" Crystal frowned.
"Yes."
Crystal had also seen the news in which Tiara posed as Mary's lawyer.
"Is she a lawyer? I think she told us that she is Ariadne's caretaker."
"Oh, she's our family member and we live together. Perhaps that's why she said so. By profession, she is a lawyer."
Crystal noticed that, aside from the children's room, the suite had four bedrooms.
"Oh."
After a while, Xander and Crystal left the suite, followed by Adam, the guard.
Mary sighed as she returned to the empty living room after saying goodbye to the guests and looked around the house. There was no photo of the family. They had thought it beforehand and didn't put a single photo on desplay, not even in the bedrooms. If anyone visited the suite unannounced, they wouldn't be able to see their family photo, in which Alex was present. The children's identities would be safe as long as Alex remained hidden from Xander and the others.
..........
"Can you believe that bitch was given such a lavish suite?" Crystal gritted her teeth while drinking her wine.
She had come to Catherine's place for a girls' night.
"She's living a life of luxury with her bastard kids and her so-called family. Huh!" she rolled her eyes.
"So what? She can't have Xander. You will be the lady of the Blake family, not her." Catherine said.
"I am sure that bitch is sleeping with Zidane Watson. This explains why she was given such a luxurious suite."
"Who knows if the kids are also his. But he will never marry her, for sure. She will always remain a side piece."
They smirked as they both hated Ariadne. However, Crystal's expression became serious as she pondered something.
"But I didn't like how Xander showed concern for her bastard boy. He doesn't hate her anymore."
"Oh, common, Crystal. There's nothing to worry about. He has moved on. He simply sympathizes with her. I mean, look at her --- a divorcee with two bastard children. No one will ever marry her. Her only option right now is to be a mistress."
"Yeah, you are right. Poor Aria." they burst into laughter.
Crystal and Catherine were childhood best friends who knew all of each other's secrets and worked together as partners in crime. They were the biggest bullies at their school. They mostly targeted lower-class students. Until now, they had maintained their friendship.
"But I don't want Xander to have any feelings for her, not even sympathy. All of his feelings should be for me. I am waiting for the Gala to be over. After that, Xander will start hating her again." she smirked.
"What are you going to do?"
"Patience." Crystal winked at Carherine, causing her to pout.
"Ok, fine." She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, you are going to the Gala as a main guest this year. Make sure to get a gorgeous item."
"Yeah. Xander has promised to get me an Autumn Collection product." Crystal blushed.
"Wow... girl. I am so jealous. I can't wait to see Ariadne's sad expression when she gets the news the next day. Make sure to select the best item." she became ecstatic.
They always liked to humiliate Ariadne.
"You will help me choose as you are also coming with me."
"What? Are you serious?" Catherine's eyes widened.
"Yes. They invited the Miller Group, so I can bring you along."
"Oh my god. Thank you, Crystal. We will have a lot of fun." Catherine hugged her.