Chapter 147
Ava nodded, "Yes."
Lucas saw the determination in her eyes. Unlike two months ago, when she stood by the roadside with her suitcase, waiting for a ride and looking so defeated, she had grown a lot during this time.
Lucas helped carry her suitcase inside, then stepped back outside the door.
He was a proper person. Although they were friends who could talk about anything, they were still of different genders, so some boundaries needed to be maintained.
"Ava, don't think about anything right now. Just rest well and feel free to stay here. We'll have hot pot tonight."
Ava curved her lips slightly.
"Don't worry about me, go do what you need to do. Oh, right, give me the wifi password, I need to use my computer."
Lucas sent her the password and went downstairs to get busy.
Ava sent an email to the management at SWAN company, explaining that starting now, she would resume her workload from three years ago and could produce one piece per month.
Her direct supervisor at SWAN quickly replied to the email:
[That's really great, welcome back.]
Men are unreliable, better to focus on making money.
Howard's purpose in having them marry was to provide for Ava and give her a home. And at that time, having just lost her family and being all alone, Ava had desperately hoped for that family connection.
Now it seemed this home had brought her more negative emotions than anything else.
In this world, the only person you can rely on is yourself.
Ava calculated the money she had. After deducting what she spent buying Steven's company stock at a high price, there was still some left. It would be enough to buy an apartment in a middle-class neighborhood in Emerald City, but she thought about formally completing the divorce procedures with William in a month. She wanted to leave this place of trouble and never come back.
'The world is big; there must be somewhere to go.'
She wanted to go somewhere where no one knew her and start over with her two babies.
There was no need to buy a house in Emerald City then, but she could rent one.
Lucas had been really busy lately, and she couldn't bear to keep staying here and bothering him.
Ava looked at several houses for rent on a rental website, all close to Lucas's place, so they could look out for each other. After making an appointment with an agent, she went out with her sun umbrella.
The noon sun scorched the earth. Leaving the air conditioning, outside was like a giant steamer.
The agent was punctual and arrived at the agreed location early.
"Ms. Davis, regarding those two houses you were interested in, I personally don't think the prices are very suitable. I have other properties available, but they're in the east district. Should we go look at those first?"
Lucas's place was in the west district. The east district was quite a distance away. Besides, Ava's original intention in asking him to show her houses was to find something in the west district, close to Lucas's place, so they could look out for each other.
"Mr. Lee, I'd still like to see the two we agreed on first."
The agent paused, "Alright then, let's go."
Ava followed the agent to see three places nearby, but wasn't very satisfied with any of them. She needed a spacious and quiet study for her upcoming creative work.
The houses they saw either had a student learning drums living downstairs, or the study window was too small. In short, none were suitable.
Left with no choice, Ava became interested in the other properties the agent mentioned and followed him to the east district.
As soon as she stepped into the complex, she hesitated. This was a high-end community with garden villas. The landscaping was excellent, with artificial hills and a man-made lake. The surrounding facilities were complete. It was clearly a wealthy area.
She would have to raise children in the future. Although William had promised to give her shares, the equity agreement hadn't been signed. Deep down, she still thought this was unlikely and didn't count on it at all.
Calculating the money currently in her account, she would definitely need to buy a property when she moved to another city in the future. She'd need to hire a maternity nurse during postpartum recovery, a nanny, and later, the children would need to go to school... There were many places that would require money. She needed to save.
After weighing everything, Ava backed out.
"Mr. Lee, let's not look at houses here. I probably can't afford the rent."
The agent patted his chest confidently,
"Ms. Davis, don't worry, you can definitely afford it. This house was entrusted to me by a relative who's already gone abroad. He doesn't care about the rent money; he just wants to find someone clean to take care of it. As long as you take good care of the house, that's all that matters. Let's just take a look first. We're already here anyway, what do you think?"
Ava thought, well, might as well look since we're here. The agent was right about that.
Soon they arrived at the house for rent. This was a one-apartment-per-floor layout with direct elevator access to the unit, which was also safe.
The house had great natural lighting and was decorated in a warm style. You could tell the landlord was a warm person, unlike William, who decorated both home and office in cold black, white, and gray.
The study was large, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves covering an entire wall. A spacious desk sat in the center of the study.
Ava fell in love with this house at first sight, but thinking about her tight budget, she felt a bit regretful.
She stood by the living room window, overlooking the entire artificial lake below. The scenery was pleasant.
The agent approached from behind.
"How is it, Ms. Davis? If you're satisfied with this house, I can go back and draft the contract now. You could move in this afternoon. Everything here is fully equipped; you don't need to prepare anything, just move in with your bags."
Ava cleared her throat.
"How much is the rent for this house?"
The agent waved his hand, "Hey, no charge, as long as you're satisfied."
Immediately realizing he'd misspoken, he quickly corrected himself,
"Three thousand per month, you can pay monthly or quarterly, you choose based on your financial situation."
Ava was shocked.
"How is it only three thousand?"
In this prime location, with average housing prices close to 200,000 per square meter, how could such a nice house only charge three thousand in rent? At market rates, three thousand could probably only rent a bedroom.
The agent scratched his head.
"Ms. Davis, here's the thing. The landlord has a daughter staying in the country studying design. I see you also work in design. If you could give her two lessons per week, that would cover the rent. I'm really having trouble finding a suitable teacher for her. Please do me this favor."
Hearing this, Ava felt she wouldn't be taking advantage.
A designer at her level, if she publicly took on students, people would probably be breaking down her door. Her mentoring of the landlord's daughter was really worth more than part of the rent.
They discussed it on the spot and decided to sign the rental contract.
What Ava didn't know was that at that moment, across the artificial lake in the opposite complex, a man was watching every move on this balcony through high-powered binoculars.
"Mr. Davis, how long should we let Miss Davis stay here? When do we bring her home?"
Robert casually put one hand in his pocket.
"No rush. I still have some things I haven't figured out yet. Can't alert them. Assign more people to ensure her safety. If that woman makes any move against her, act immediately."
"Yes, Mr. Davis."
"Also, keep an eye on William at all times. Don't let him near the complex."