Completely Forget
Completely Forget
The word alimony kept repeating on her head. In her entire life, she had done nothing but make herself richer in any means, regardless if it was humane or not.
She used to be in love with another man, but being obsessed with the idea of endless benefits, she gave up on true love and married Alfred Davies.
Nancy York came from a poor family and used to live in the US. Her father could not provide them with sufficient support. Since they were young, they had to work for their basic needs.
Their mother became desperate and divorced her father to marry an upscale old man. It was her mother who had influenced her to become hungry for power and money, never marry for love.
When their stepfather died, they moved to Britain and used the inheritance to start a store in beauty and wellness. With the dedication of her mother, their business grew, and they never came back to the US.
Nancy was a beauty. She immediately captured Alfred Davies's heart but although she was dating someone else, her mother pushed her to be with Alfred, again reminding her that money was everything and that she was bound to suffer to marry an ordinary.
Eventually, she became appreciative of Alfred. However, she could not find herself to love him. Only his affluence and authority mattered to her.
After learning the ways of the Davies family, her obsession worsened. Grandfather Davies was equally greedy for the richness that her desires for the same were upheld. It was her craftiness that caught the attention of grandfather Davies. She was admired for her ways of protecting the family's wealth.
Fortunately, Nancy and her mother hid the truth about their impoverished past. Otherwise, the Daviese would never approve of her to become one of them.
Alfred ordered his trusted right hand, Harry Cross, to look into his men and office assistants. If Nancy could follow him down to Beijing, it only meant she had spies implanted on his side.
Harry escorted her and Taya to the Airport. Using Alfred's private plane, they were sent home on the very same day they showed up unexpected.
During the flight, the two ladies argued frantically. Taya not only felt deceived, but she also felt distraught at her actions, especially after learning that Gabriel had long lost interest in her. What made her even more flustered was how Nancy had lied to her all this time. Whenever she would come looking for Gabriel, Nancy would find excuses for her son and make Taya feel they still had a chance. Apparently, she did this so she can keep the shares that were transferred to her.
"Oh, Gabriel is just busy. He sends his regards."
"Don't worry, Taya. He told me he still loves you, he just needs some time to figure out how he can get rid of Andrea. She has been disturbing him recently."
While Taya was plotting against Nancy, the latter was busy doing the same against Christina and Andrea. She intends never to signs the divorce papers until Alfred gives up at least 80% of the Davies' properties to her.
'I will have Christina kidnapped or her son, whoever is the easier target. Alfred will be forced to give her anything she wants. When I have almost everything, Gabriel will come back to my side.' Her thoughts revolved around this idea and had already contacted her sister to help realize her goals.
Back at the Oriental Hotel, the Lus apologized to the other guests at the restaurant, offered to pay for their meals and were provided with monetary compensation. In return, they were to keep their mouths shut on what they had witnessed. It was an unnecessary move as the Lu Family was respected in all of Beijing but Lu Fang did not want anyone to spiel and taint the name of his wife.
When everything was settled, the man immediately rushed to Andrea's side and comforted her. "Babe, are you okay?"
"Uhuh! I'm fine, babe. You don't need to worry."
"How are the macarons?"
"The best!" She gave him a peck on the lips and added, "Thank you for saving the macarons for me."
"Hmmmm…" Lu Fang's brow raised and said, "actually, I think I saved the two women versus the macarons."
"Pfft...True, but right now, these are more important, "Andrea said while opening the second box.
"Babe, that is too much sweet for the day. One more should be more than enough."
"But, babe. I'm eating for three!"
"Okay, two more and that's it."
The man studied her closely and seeing her so absorbed with the taste of the dessert, a thought came to his mind. "Babe, if you were to choose between me and the macarons, who would you choose?"
She chuckled at the man's jealousy over her almond meringue cookies and bluntly said, "Macarons!"
"What?" Disappointment showed on his face.
"I'll choose macarons!"
"How could you say that?" Lu Fang protested.
"Because… even if I leave you, you'll come running back to me!"
He squinted hearing this and announced, "You sure are confident."
"Of course! You love me that much."
The couple's exchanges did not go unnoticed to Gabriel. It reminded him of the days when he and Andrea argued over petty things. All the more he realized how she was happy and contented.
He looked down at his plate, feeling unamused with himself. His eyes became watery.
To avoid being caught in such a miserable state, he stood up quickly and excused himself to the men's room.
Instead of returning, Gabriel decided to wait in the lobby. He scanned through the photos on his phone. The ones he and Andrea took on their very first date, he deleted them. The photos of their trip to Grece went to the trash. When he saw the house they had bought together, he realized it was a beautiful home, but too painful to keep.
He called his lawyer and arranged for the property to be sold. There was no other solution. Gabriel recognized the only way to completely forget, was to let go of all the memories they had together as a couple. They were now simply brother and sister, nothing more.