Love's Tangled Web (Alex and Ellie)

The day after Christmas, at the Grant Manor, Aaron came to visit after Declan's lunch break to play chess with him.

When Aaron emered the hall, he found that only his teacher, Declan Grant, was around-who was also Diana's father. Declan, a law professor, was a son on-law by nuamage, while his wife, Diana's mother, came from one of the wealthiest families in the area. Diana's mother was an only child, and the couple hail a great relationship. Despite the wealth and influence of her family, they had never insisted on longing the children's last names.

Even the manor still carried Declan's surname, a fact that had been a well-known and often talked-about story in high society for years.

Declan greeted Aaron warmly and invited him to sit at the antique tea table, setting up a chessboard.

Aaron chatted with Declan, and not even a single game was finished before Diana, still in her pajamas, went down the stairs. Seeing Aaron, she quickly turned and headed back upstairs,

A few minutes later. Diana returned, fully dressed and looking impeccable.

"When did you get here. Aaron?" Diana asked, sitting at the tea table and toying with the black pieces in the chess set.

Aaron glanced at her and made his move on the board. Just several minutes ago.

"You made the wrong move. You should have played the corner first, not started with the edge. Diana said, reaching for the black piece Aaron had just placed.

Before she could touch the piece, Aaron grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Keep quiet while watching the game"

Declan shook his head, feeling amused. "Only you, Aaron, would have the patience to put up with her."

Dana chuckled and pulled her hand back. "What are you talking about, Dad? It's me putting up with him, not the other way around. You two can keep playing your boring game, I'm going to get something to eat," She stood up and left. Aaron tightened his grip on the black piece in his hand, staring blankly at the chessboard:

He was thinking if Harold hadn't passed away, Ellie might have been like Diana, cozying up to her father, playfully helping him with his chores, teasing him while handing him the broom to sweep the yard

Just then, a scream echoed from the kitchen, breaking his thoughts. Aaron stood up immediately.

"Are you okay?" Aaron asked, rushing into the kitchen. The countertop was a mess. A fruit knife was lying on the floor, and Diana was holding her hand, sobbing and wincing in pain

Aaron glanced at Diana's fingertip, where a small cut from the knife formed. He frowned and said, "Go find a band-aid and wrap it up. I'll take care of the rest here.

Diana ran off, returning with a small first-aid kit. "Help me with it," she said, placing the kit in front of him.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment, and Aaron spoke seriously, "Honestly, that little cut will heal on its own in a few minutes. No need to bandage it

Dana extended her finger toward him. "If you know i'll be fine in a minute, why aren't you just wrapping it up now?"

Aaron sighed.

Aaron carefully disinfected Dhana's finger before applying th

a trasing unile. "Aarun, what would you think if I asked you to date me?"

the band-aid. Diana leaned against the countertop, watching Aaron's sharp features with

Aaron Truge furand

a manent and replied coolly, "Please don't joke around, Ms. Grant!"

Diana leaned in closer with a playful smile. "Aren't you interested?"

Aaron quickly finished what he was doing, packing up the first-aid kit and turning to clear the counter. Diana, not ready to give up, followed him. "Aaron, are you still holding onto Haley "Ms. Grant, we're not suited for discussing topics like this," Aaron said, his expression more stern than usual.

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Diana posted. 'Eine, I won't bring it up. No neeil to snap at me," she teased, packing up the first-aid kit and walking out of the kitchen. Aaron Vallowed her mat, but by the time he left the kitchen. Dians was already upstairs. Aaron waste i slaying long, Fast Declan said that since the rest of the family was out, he needed someone to drink with him. Reluctantly, Aaron

stay for dinner and drink with Declan

By the time dumer ensed, Diana ludn't come downstair

As Aaron was getting ready to leave. Declan stopped him, "Wait, HIL

I have Diana drive you back."

Aaron refused repeatedly, lai Declan insisted, and soon enough, one of the servants was calling for D

When Thana fourned out Aaron was too drink, to drive, she didn't make a fuss about it. She simply agreed to drive him home. The entire ride was quirt, with neüber of them saying anything

come in. You can walk the rest of the way," she said.

More than half an hour later, Dhana parked the car by the curb. "I won't co

Aaron unfastened his sealich and turped his head to look at Diana. "For the record, I'm not holding onto Haley, and please, don't joke about things

Thana, looking out the window, huffed in a playful but proud way. "Oh What else do you want to say!"

mean to smp at you."

Aaron sighed, his tone softening. "Sorry, that was rude of me. I didn't mean t

Diana tilted her head, smirking mischievously. "If you weren't mad at me, why are you apologizing!" Aaron was left speechless. Diana chuckled and unbuckle her seatbelt, pushing him out of the car. "Taken slow, okay?" Aaron said before he left Thana glanced back through the rearview mirror and saw Aaron standing there, looking at her with a concerned expression. She muttered with

A few days later, Diana invited Ellie and Lacey out for lunch. Ellie was the last to arrive. As soon as she sat down, Diana leaned over with a grin "Come on, tell me everything about your brother and Haley!"

Ellie glanced at Lacey, who sat across from her, then turned back to Diana..

Duana leaned in closer. "So, how far did things go between Aaron and llaley before they broke up?"

Before Ellie could answer, Lacey raised her hand. "I know! Haley was planning to introduce Aaron to her parents while seeing Alex privately" Diana's eyes narrowed, and she shot back. "No, I mean, did they... you know... have sex?" "Absolutely not!" Ellar quickly interjected, feeling sure about it. She knew this because she had overheard a heated argument between Aaron and Haley about it

Ellie continued, "Aaron liked Haley, but he also knew they were from completely different worlds. He was afraid their relationship wouldn't survive under the pressure. That's why he always kept his boundaries in check? Diana sighed in relief, patting her cliest. "Oh, thank goodness"

Ellie and Lacey exchanged a glance, and Lacey raised an eyebrow, "Diana, why do you even care about that?"

Diana unirked. "What do you think? I'm plan

planning to punue lúm,"

Ellie and Lacey both stared at her, wide-eyed

Ellie wasn't paying attention to the conversation between Diana and Lacey after that, but one thing was certain in her mind-Aaron would never go

Although Aaron had always reassured her that everything would get better, Ellie knew that things wouldn't just magically improve.

And while she had repeatedly told Aura that he would find a no-materialistic girl someday, she also i need material security. Without that, everything would fall apart in the end. understood that even the best relationships

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Right now, neither she nor Aaron were in a position to talk about love or marriage.

have some big neies for you! Lacey spoke up, her voice full of gossip. "Did you hear it? Alex is getting married?"

Duan - raised an eyebrow. "I that true!!"

Ullic just sat therr, quietly..

Larry unid. "Why would flie Layton told me that Mr. Carlos Warren was in critical condition and in the hospital. He wants to see Alex get married aisl settle down as sonis as possible.

"Mrs Warren has hern pushing Alex to pick from several candidates. Layton said Alex has already promised his grandfather he'll get married soon. Ellar dala't say much, only clarifying that there was nothing between Aaron and Haley, but she didn't offer any other opinions.

When it came to relationships, things were unpredictable. Haley had pursued Aaron for more than a year, so passionately and so eagerly. Aaron had been cautious, yet in the end, he couldn't escape the fate that reality had dealt him.

et married soon

When Lacey mentioned that Alex was getting married, Ellie didn't take it too seriously. If anything, she actually hoped he would get so he would stop lingering around her like a ghost.

The pain Alex had caused her was something she would never be able to forgive, but she had to let go. She had to leave the past behind and move

After parting ways with Lacey and Diana, Eller didn't rush home. Her mom's 35th birthday was coming up, and she wanted to buy something special for her.

After Christmas, nearly every store was having sales, and Ellie wandered down the pedestrian street, browsing the shops. She spotted a white cashmere scarf in the window of a women's clothing store. The warm color made her think of her mom-she was gonna love it She entered the store and carefully checked the price tag. To her surprise, the scarf cost more than 3 thousand dollars. Even with a fifty percent descout, it would still set her back several thousand dollars.

Without a change in expression, Ellie quietly set the tag down and turned to leave. She hadn't expected the items in such a seemingly modest shop to be so expensive

"Wait, you can't leave! The saleswoman blocked Ellie's way. "Our store has a policy-if you touch light-colored items, you have to buy them. You just touched that cashmere scarf, so you need to pay

Ellar frowned and said in a firm voice, "I didn't touch it, I only looked at the price tag

She was careful about such things-being poor meant she couldn't afford to casually touch items in stores, especially in places where she felt like she might be pressured into buying She had only glanced at the price tag and hadn't touched the scarf. The saleswoman didn't let up. "I saw you touch it. If you don't pay. I'll call the police.

Another ualeswoman chimed in. If you don't have money to buy it, don't come in here. We've seen plenty of bumpkins like Elle's eyes narrowed, laer calm demeanor unwavering "You have cameras here. I know if I touched that scarf or not. Go ahead, call the

you

police.

Just then, a maddle-aged woman, presumably the store manager, approached. She looked Ellie up and down before speaking. "Miss, have you seen the sign above! It states that light-colored items cannot be tried on, touched, or handled unless they are paid for first" Ellir raised her lead, her eyes scanning the row of spotlights above her, where a small line of text was barely visible unless she looked up carefully. "Tim not paying for it. If you don't let me leave, then I'll call the police"

me explain something. Even if you call the police, the most

The store manager, noticing Ellie was about to call the police, rushed to stop her. "Let me ex they can do is give you a small discount. You still have to pay for what you touched"

policy. How about this? I'll give you a thirty percent discount,

The manager's tone shuled to a more persuasive one. "Maybe you didn't see our store poli the employer rate. Think of it as a way to make you a loyal customer.

Ellie shook her head. "I dont want it."

The manager's expression soured instantly. "We're trying to do honest business here. You've already broken our store's rules by touching our product. You thank you can just walk away without paying, huh?" Vouch

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he croped her arms. "I don't have the money. You can call the police if you want."

da manger steeted. "No money" Then what are you doing in our store? I

Trying to steal something, huh?

(That, Ellie's heart twisted in an indescribable way. Just because she was poor, she had lost count of the number of times people had used the

speal" tos humluër her.

Just then the door to the store suddenly swung

ng open..

ben. Alex came in

in and threw his credit card onto i

the counter. "I'll buy it. Put it on my Gard

Alex stood at the counter with his intense gaze locked on Ellie. She didn't look at him nor did she say a word. She simply turned and walked out of

On the sidewalk, her pace quickened. The more she tried to

to suppress her emotions, the more they threatened to explode

All she had seen was that beautiful cashmere scarf and the sale. She thought, How had I missed the fact that it was an overseas purchase store? Even with a 30% discount I couldn't afford it!"

She thought she had overestimated herself again.

Later that might, in the p private room on the second floor of the Encounter Bar, Layton entered to find Alex sitting alone, drinking his sorrows away. "Mrs. Warren was about to call the police because she couldn't find you. Why are you hiding here?"

for Ellie again!"

Sighing. Layton stepped forward and snatched the glass from Alex's hand. "Stop drinking. Talk to me. Did you go looking Alex sat on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, his head hung low as his hands gripped the empty glass in his grasp He was completely consumed by a sense of suffocating pressure as if he hadn't heard Layton's words. All that filled his mind was the image of Ellie that afternoon-her head bowed in humiliation as the saleswoman ridiculed her

Sadly, he had treated her worse than those employees had a million times. The things he had done and said to her were a hundred times more despicable.

"Hey, I swear I won't snap at you. Just talk to me," Layton said, watching Alex's emotions fray. "I heard from Mrs. V grandpa you would marry soon. Are you serious about it?"

Warren that you promised your

Sering Alex remain silent, Layton cautiously probed further. "You're not planning to force Ellie to

to marry you, are you?"

Finally, Alex raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was rough when he responded, "She'd rather stab me than have anything to do with me. Do you think I could force her to marry me?"

Layton exaggerated a sigh of relief. "I thought you didn't know that."noveldrama

Alex shot Layton a fierce glare.

Layton raised an eyebrow and said in a teasing tone. "So, you're just going to let Ellie go and marry a random woman instead, just like that?" Alex didn't respond, sitting there in silence for a long while. Suddenly, he grabbed his coat, stood up, and left the room without saying another

word

Layton watched him go, muttering to himself, "I really want to see how far you're willing to go for

Ellie

Late that night, dose to eleven, Ellie was jolted awake by the buzzing of h to go back to sleep

her phone. Glancing at the strange number, she quickly hung up

tried

Just as Ellie closed her eyes, the phone buzzed again. Lying in bed, she reluctantly picked up the phone, eyes still closed.

Tin downstars w

waiting for you. If you're not up in five minutes, I'll come upstairs to find your Alex said.

The call ended, and Ellie immediately supped to attention. She looked at the time-exactly eleven in the evening. She couldn't help wondering. What does that lunatic want at this hour?

After a brief moment of hesitation, Ellie quietly got out of bed. Joanna and Aaron were both asleep, and she couldn't let Alex come up

Carefully putting on her clothes, Ellie sneaked downstairs. In the garden outside the building, she saw Alex waiting for her. Wrapping her coat tightly around hersell, Ellie stopped a few steps behind him and asked, "So, what exactly do you want!"