Don't Lose More

"So you're not staying here for a long time?" Ashley, who came to visit again, asked Amber.

Both of them are sitting in the living room while Ashton was in the study being busy about something.

"Do you think I have the time to just stay put? There are so many things to be done."

"Woah chill down, vicious woman. I am just asking why are you so bad tempered?" Ashley raised her hand as she replied.

Her beauty have developed over the past six years and she could be labeled as one of the most beautiful young maiden in Celestial Country.

But since the royal families main houses are in this country, almost everyone have the beauty to be admired.

Amber took a deep breath before blowing it out. But the crease in her forehead didn't disappear, she was still completely affected by Luis Cooper's threat of bailing out Mario Barbers and family.

She really hated such treatment of life as if with money and power everything was in your hands. You can kill all you want and those who killed could just roam around freely as if they didn't do anything.

She hated how so many powerful people have no conscience and view those poor people's lives as a play thing.

She needs to move fast and rise to the top, she needs to become bigger than anyone else so that no one would be able to threaten her with such petty things.

'I have to get my revenge.'

Her hands were clenched into a fist and they were trembling.

"What happened? I haven't seen you for six years and you seemed to have become older."

Ashley asked curiously, she haven't seen Amber being this mad over something. Though they spent so little time, what she saw back then was plain seriousness and playfulness.

But seeing her now, she can see that something was completely bugging her.

"It's nothing, just hated so many people that I couldn't help but be mad towards them."

Amber took a sip of her coffee as she calmed herself down.

This wasn't the time for her to get affected for such petty things, she needs to be formidable emotionally, in order to win this war she had started.

Ashley sighed, "Why don't you go and relax for a bit. I can see how much you have worked hard for the past years we haven't met. It is not against the law to take a break."

Seeing as Amber's mind was still occupied, Ashley stood up and clapped both her hands on Amber's cheeks.

The suddenness and the feeling of slight pain shocked Amber.

"Wow, you really are still quite numb to pain, you didn't even shout nor stood up."

"What are you doing?" Amber furrowed her brows.

"I don't think you were listening to what I was talking about. Listen here, vicious woman. It is fine to always be alert but even god rested on the seventh day. Mom, Dad and even grandpa was worried when they heard that you deprived yourself with sleep for the past month."

"I can even imagine now what you must have done for the past seven years since you started all these."

Seeing as Amber's focus was on her, she returned to her sitting position.

"We truly are grateful to you, for everything that you have done for us, for me and now for my brother. And because of all of this, we now have the time to worry about you. I am younger, far younger and now that I am 15, I still couldn't imagine what I would have done if my parents died right in front of me."

"You were 16 back then and no one would be able to explain the pain you must have felt, no one other than those who have suffered the same way you did. But Amber, I know this for sure. Your parents wouldn't want you to actually neglect your own health for revenge."

Amber remained silent absorbing what Ashley was saying.

"You have saved me a lot of times and saved my brother from torment over and over again. Indeed you have the contract and that is your connection with us. But you have done so much that the contract was not even enough."

"My parents and your's might have known each other in the past and I have heard that you, your brothers and my brother were even playmates in the past. But in the end, we didn't have that deep relationship with one another."

Ashley smiled at her, "Despite all that, you were so generous and helpful towards us, siblings. You've proven multiple times that you can do anything as long as you wanted to. But that doesn't mean you can just move and move without a rest."

"Even if you feel like you were alone, my family treat you as one of us already. So you have to understand that there are people who will worry once you fall sick or when you get hurt. Those people you want to get back at..."

Ashley reached out and held her hand, "You will surely succeed in doing so. You don't have to rush yourself, you should enjoy your time as much as you can. You have quite lost a lot during your teenage years."

"Don't lose more."

Amber was stunned, since when have this girl been so mature?

Everything that have happened and the way those people deal with things have affected her a lot. That she had forgotten, indeed, she still have people who cares for her and worries for her.

Amber couldn't help but to start laughing, 'That's right, why would I be affected by Luis Cooper when with just one move, I can affect their empire greatly.'

Ashley frowned when Amber started laughing, she was being all serious here and yet this woman laughed at her?

"What are you laughing at?" she finally asked when Amber still didn't stop.

"I just never thought that the 8 year old girl who followed a stranger in a room all by herself, would mature this much," Amber replied with a teasing smile.

Ashley raised an eyebrow and her face turned red from anger, "I was being considerate here because you seemed so out of it. And yet here you are laughing at me?"

"Hey, don't get mad as well. I was complimenting you."

Ashley just glared at her.

Amber turned serious and looked at Ashley sincerely, "Thank you for reminding me all of this. I was so cooped up with the people I hate that I was actually starting to lose sight of the people I must protect."

'That's right my mind was actually on my revenge after what happened last night. I just wanted to rush everything and get back at all of them. I have completely forgotten that there are people out there who was taking this steps with me.'

Jake France and the others are doing their best to be a part of Hughes Empire.

That kid was also doing his best to rise.

And Leslie was doing her best to keep SNN going.

"Well at least you are now back to normal. You do understand I have quite a trauma over people hiding their rage then would suddenly blow up," Ashley replied as she drank her own coffee but a faint blush was visible in her face.

Amber didn't comment over this, Ashton have truly scared this girl witless.

"I have heard that you are interested in culinary," she then asked changing the conversation into a much more normal one.

Seeing as Amber have finally returned to normal, Ashley heaved a sigh of relief, her brother actually called for her to accompany Amber for she seemed so out of it and that his company wasn't enough.

"Yeah, I somehow became interested with it when I turned 13. But as you know, being born in a royal family our only choice was either our main companies or have a proper support and recommendation from a power on another area of business."

Ashley shook her head in defeat.

"Well you still have a few months before graduating in high school, who knows you might end up having some good luck."

*****

As the two of them talked more about normal daily stuffs, Ashton who had been standing at the top of the stairs finally turned around and entered the study room.

"You're finally back, what were you doing? Calling for a meeting only to leave at the very start," Blake as always, complained the moment he saw Ashton on the screen.

"Let's leave that, what now? Have you gotten all the information regarding the small groups of gangsters?"

Since they have decided to enter the underworld, they have started planning on how to take over it.

"Not everything but we got those who were plainly small and have no other backing," Devon replied.

"Very well, we can start on them. We will be needing more people under us anyway. that is if we want to truly have a footing," Ashton nodded seriously upon hearing this and receiving the email from the three of them.

He was still grounded so what he can gather was not big, he also have no plans on asking Amber for help seeing as she was fully accommodated with her own stuffs.

Plus, if he wanted to support her, he needs to grow more on his own.