Ch 141 - Can We Borrow Your Villa?

Alex was stunned. He couldn't react in time. He had known Sue for less than three hours. How could he be her boyfriend for no reason?

"No… don't misunderstand me. I'm just saying that tomorrow you'll pretend to be my boyfriend and help me pass my mother's test, or else she'll force me to date the man she's trying to set me up with. Just help me, okay?" Sue felt that she'd had an excellent idea and lightly pulled on Alex's arm with her two small hands to convince him.

Alex gently pushed her hands away. He was feeling very conflicted and confused. He didn't know what to think, and he didn't know if he should agree to her request.

Debbie's image flashed across his mind, and his heart ached. He was already dating Debbie, so how could he pretend to be another woman's boyfriend? Alex said in a low and embarrassed voice, "Sorry, I can't help you with that."

"Why can't you help me? You just need to come with me to my house tomorrow and say that you're my boyfriend. Don't you want to help me?" Sue demanded. She had managed to think of a way to deal with her mother, but Alex wouldn't cooperate.

"It's better that I'm not involved. You can find someone else," Alex said weakly.

Sue glared at him with a crinkled nose. "You can help me, but you won't? I was wrong about you. You and Philip Geller are the same kinds of people… you're both—"

She couldn't finish her sentence. She knew that Alex wasn't a bad person, but his indecision frustrated her.

"You're really pissing me off!" She didn't say anything further to him. She stood up, walked to her bedroom, and, after some rustling noises, she walked out with her luggage.

"Where are you going?" Alex asked in surprise.

"Hmph, can't you see that I'm not going on a tour? I want to leave!" Sue sneered.

Alex quickly stood in front of her and asked with a frown, "I thought you had nowhere to go? Where are you going?"

"Do you care if I sleep on the streets? Get out of the way! If I get killed on the streets, it will be because of you… you bastard!" She pushed Alex out of her way.

"All right, I agree!" Alex caved in.

"Don't block my way! Wait, what did you just say?" Sue stopped.

"I said I'll help you," he repeated.

"So, you agreed after I said I was going to sleep on the streets?" She didn't believe him.

"Whatever you want." Alex sat back down on the sofa. Sue felt more reassured by his promise to pretend to be her boyfriend.

"Alex, thank you." She left her luggage and sat beside him. She held his hand with a sincere look in her eyes. She felt that she had been too intolerant. "You're too kind to me."

Alex smiled at her. He knew he would only be pretending to be her boyfriend, and it would not be real.

If Debbie were here right now, she would want me to help her, he thought.

He sat in the room for a while longer and chatted with Sue about what they were going to do the next day. Sue said that she would pick him up from Preston University.

**

When Alex reached the Green Island Garden District, he got out of the bus and went to the nearby market. He bought a live chicken and walked toward his villa.

When he reached the front door, he saw a couple standing nearby. He didn't know what they were doing there, so he walked over to ask.

"Mr Ambrose! Hello, hello!" Seeing Alex, the couple walked over-enthusiastically. When they saw his puzzled expression, the man reminded him, "You don't remember us? We met when you bought this villa."

As the man said this to him, Alex remembered that when he had bought the villa, there was a young couple there who had mocked and ridiculed him. This was the unpleasant couple. Thinking about their previous behaviour, Alex couldn't help but be on guard, "What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm sorry. We didn't recognize you the last time. We offended you. Please forgive us for our rudeness." The man secretly waved his hand at the woman, who quickly responded with an apology as well. "Mr. Ambrose, I'm sorry. Please forgive us."

"I don't have a lot of time right now. Just say what you want to say." Alex didn't have a good impression of this couple, so he wasn't willing to talk with them for long.

"Oh, we won't take up your time," the man said quickly.

"My name is Sheldon Brown, and this is my wife, Jade," he said, introducing himself to Alex. "It's like this… we wanted to buy this villa, but you ended up buying it. We'd already told our friends and relatives that we'd bought it, so we didn't dare tell them the truth after you purchased it. We let them think that we had the villa.

"It's our fault. We loved it here!" Sheldon pointed to his wife. "We thought we could afford to buy a villa here, but we didn't have enough money. A few days ago, my mother-in-law called and asked to see our house. We couldn't tell her the truth, so we thought we would try looking for you."

"Why are you looking for me?" Alex asked in amusement. He remembered that this couple had been very arrogant back then, and now they were stuttering in front of him.

"We wanted to ask if we could rent your villa for one day for three thousand dollars, so we could show it to my mother-in-law. What do you think?" Sheldon asked politely.

"You are such a good son-in-law," Alex said sarcastically.

"Mr. Ambrose, I must admit that I have a lot of respect for you. However, if you don't help me this time, I'll look bad in front of my mother-in-law. Her family will look down on me. Please have pity on me and let me rent it from you for a day?" Sheldon said with a frown.

"That's right, Mr. Ambrose. Please help us," Jade also pleaded.

Alex thought about it for a while and finally agreed. "Fine."

"Thank you, Mr. Ambrose. On behalf of our family, I thank you." Sheldon and Jade looked grateful as they said, "We'll transfer you the money right now."

"There's no need for money. You guys should earn more money and try to buy your own property as soon as you can. That way, you won't have to lie anymore," Alex said. "Oh right, when will you need to use the villa?"

"Tomorrow, but can you please arrange to not be here? That way my mother-in-law won't suspect anything," Sheldon asked respectfully.

"Tomorrow is fine. I have to go do some things with a friend." Alex thought that the timing would work well for him. He would go with Sue to see her mother and leave the villa for the couple to entertain their family.

After Alex handed them a key, they thanked him profusely and left. Alex shook his head and headed into the villa.

**

Oh no! Alex thought as he walked through the door. He had forgotten that the seventeen-year-old grandma was always at home. What if the couple or the man's mother-in-law saw her?

He thought about it some more but decided that it wouldn't be that troublesome. The grandma had been living in his villa for several days, and Alex had not seen her leave the house or eat anything. There was usually no sound coming from her at all.

Alex thought that the grandma must fly out the window to eat. As he thought about this teenager who had looked like an old woman when he had first seen her but had then regained her youth, he felt that she was very mysterious.

"Knock, knock!" Alex lightly knocked on her door. "Grandma, I've brought you a live chicken!"

After he waited a long time, there was still no sound coming from inside the room. He found it strange, so he turned the key and gently opened the door.

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her eyes closed as if she were practising meditation. Wisps of white smoke were coming out of her head, and her face was covered in sweat.

"Blech!" The woman spat out a small mouthful of blood and opened her eyes.

"Grandma, how are you?" Alex ran to her side and supported her.

"Have my powers deteriorated so much already?" The old woman lowered her head and mournfully cried, "Ah! Ah!"

Her voice was filled with such power that it shook Alex. He had to cover his ears as it felt like his eardrums were about to burst.

"Grandma don't be so impatient. If you're more patient, you'll get better," Alex said to comfort her.

"Patience? Time is what I haven't got right now. If I let that bitch Zora Cook find me before I recover my power, I'll be in danger. Do you understand?" She glared at Alex and scolded him. She had gained more familiarity with him over the past few days.

"Huh?" Alex did not understand. "Grandma, who is Zora? Is she very strong? Are you suggesting that she wants to kill you?"

"Why are you asking?" Grandma felt that she had said too much and decided she had better stop talking to him. "You're not trying to find out more about me to tell that bitch Zora, are you?"

"No, no!" Alex waved his hand as if to dismiss her notion. He had never heard that name before. By the tone of Grandma's voice, it appeared that she had a deep grudge against this person. Alex had to quickly establish that he was in no way connected to Zora. "I just care about you."

"Care? Heh, heh," Grandma sneered and looked at him with her sharp eyes. "The words of men can't be believed! Didn't he say back then that he would protect me for the rest of my life? Hmph, neither of you men are good people!"

Alex didn't know who the woman was talking about, but her voice contained a trace of sadness and bitterness.

It seemed that she had been hurt by some man before, so she had lost her confidence in all men. What kind of unforgettable relationship did that man have with her that could still injure her so deeply?

"Granny, that Zora—" Alex wanted to ask her who Zora was as, after all, he was the heir to a very wealthy family. He should be able to help Grandma.

Before he could finish his sentence, the grandma, Georgina Fox, waved her sleeve. Alex felt a strong gust of wind as he was lifted through the air.

"Bam!" His body sharply hit the wall. He felt a pain in his back.

"I told you! Don't ask me things that you shouldn't ask!" Grandma looked at him coldly.

Alex's back hurt, and he was even more shocked. She just said that her power had deteriorated, but she seemed to be so strong. He couldn't even imagine how strong she would be when she was at her peak.