When Andrew returned to the shabby little cabin, he noticed a stunning figure beside Natasha, cleaning up the area outside the house. Large and small bags of luggage were scattered around carelessly, not yet dealt with. Aspen had arrived.
As soon as she got there, she was full of energy, working alongside Natasha to clean the house. Andrew’s mood had been somewhat gloomy since leaving the Martial Tower, carrying a trace of hostility. However, seeing Aspen’s graceful and alluring silhouette from behind, he finally felt like he could breathe easy, his spirits lifting.
“Aspen, why didn’t you call me so I could pick you up?” Andrew approached with big strides, smiling.
Aspen had an apron tied around her slender waist. Hearing his voice, she turned around, delighted, and sweetly called out, “Honey!”
Andrew walked over and helped tidy the strand of hair by her ear. “When did you get here? You’re pretty impressive. You managed to find this place on your own.”
Aspen seemed very excited and said animatedly, “Honey, your family is absolutely famous in Chetvine! At the airport, I just mentioned I was going to the Lloyd family estate. Then these uniformed people came over and asked me what I was doing going to the Lloyd family estate! I figured you’re super famous since you’re the Lloyd family’s Dragon Prince. So, I told them I was looking for my husband, Andrew Lloyd! They didn’t say another word, invited me into their car, and drove me straight here.”
Andrew was speechless for a moment. Aspen’s move seemed clever, but it also came off as a bit naive.
“Next time, don’t easily trust what strangers tell you. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t reveal our relationship to people you don’t know. I’m worried someone might try to harm you. Do you understand?” Hearing Andrew’s concern, Aspen felt warmth in her heart and smiled, “Okay, I’ll definitely remember next time. I was just so excited about seeing you that I got carried away and didn’t think it through!”
Andrew patted her cheek, “How are Lauren and Fran, and Chantelle?”
Aspen’s expression turned strange. “They’re good, all doing well. But honey, aren’t you forgetting someone? Rowan, our fifth member, your new lady friend!”
Andrew froze, then broke out in a cold sweat. He chuckled awkwardly as he stuttered, “H–How did you find out about that?”
Aspen rolled her eyes dramatically. “You left, so of course you don’t know what happened on our end. Lauren, Fran, Chantelle, and I are not pushovers. Just seeing how Rowan kept coming around to hang out and casually asking about you, Lauren was the first to smell something fishy. But we couldn’t just speculate too much since that would be rude and might offend her! So we went and invited Madam Sanchez and Mrs. Rhodes over. They’re elders and don’t beat around the bush! Madam Sanchez asked Rowan straight to her face what her relationship with you was!”
Hearing this, Andrew felt his head starting to throb. “All that trouble for something so small? If you wanted to know, you could’ve just asked me.”
Aspen sneered. “Ask you? Who knows if you’d even admit it. Besides, if we wanted to catch you red-handed, we couldn’t exactly ask you first, could we?”
Andrew surrendered. “Alright then, after Victoria asked, what did Rowan say?”
Aspen’s eyes gleamed mischievously. “Rowan said she had no relationship with you, just that she knew you. Then, she went on and on with some story about how grateful she was that you took in her and Onyx Serpents!”
Andrew was stunned, “If that’s the case, then how did you all find out about Rowan and me?”