Beyond the Divorce

He contemplated for a moment, but before he could respond, a call from Ardie came in, informing me that he was on his way to pick me up.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

With that, Fred and I had to conclude our conversation. We walked out of the coffee shop together, and he extended his hand toward me, his tone now more affirmative. "I'll make the arrangements and visit Foswood soon. We can talk more then."

"Great, I'll be waiting for you in Foswood. We were kind of in a rush today," I responded.

As we came downstairs, Ardie arrived.

I asked Grayson to bring down my bag and told him to investigate Fred's situation thoroughly. After all, this issue with the windows was significant. I couldn't afford to overlook any hidden dangers with Urban Builders; otherwise, everything could be compromised, posing a danger to the project.

I secretly felt fortunate that I met Fred today, which had allowed me to discover the ongoing internal struggle within his company that had not yet subsided.

In the car, Ardie said, "Arnold will call you in a while. He's found out that you're in Solaris."

Like clockwork, my phone rang as Ardie finished speaking, and it was Arnold.

I chuckled and showed Ardie my phone, "Look at him. He's probably getting all anxious."

"Exactly. He wants to know how long you'll be staying," Ardie replied with a smile. "Answer it quickly."

I promptly answered the call, and Arnold's voice came through. "Hey, how did you end up in Solaris?

"Just wait for me. After I go back to the country. I'll take you to Solaris again. I'll make sure you eat and explore everything. Ardie's an old-fashioned guy, all constrained by the system. If I had known you were going to Solaris, I would have stayed longer," He rambled on incessantly.

I had no chance to interrupt.

"I'm here for work, not to play," I laughed, cutting him off.

He interrupted me immediately. "Stop... You shouldn't always focus on work. That's so annoying. Why does a pretty young lady like you only think about work? Don't let my brother and Atlas corrupt you. Don't you know the importance of balancing work and leisure? If you want to be efficient at work, you need to let loose. It's the truth."

He insisted, "Besides, you work in Foswood, and you're still working in Solaris too. Why don't you say you work even when you're sleeping?"

I burst into laughter at his playful banter. Just as I was about to interject, he continued.

"You need to manage your work and life well. You can work your heart out Foswood, so when you come to Solaris, you can eat, drink, and have fun like crazy."

His absurd reasoning had me laughing uncontrollably.

Ardie, who was driving, chimed in coldly, "If Atlas finds out about this, he'll have you killed."

When Arnold heard Ardie, he shouted at him, "Hey. Ardie, are you stupid?"

I looked at Ardie and almost couldn't contain my laughter.

"Chlo's our sister, and you're letting Atlas control her. Are you dumb? After hearing Arnold's words, Ardie nodded and to my surprise, agreed. "You're right."

Arnold felt affirmed and turned to me proudly. "See, Chlo? I'm right, aren't 12 Wait for me to come back. I'll take you to Solaris again. I'lmake sure you get to know all the fun places in Solaris."

He confidently declared, "You'll be able to bring Ava along by then."

"You can't let yourself become a money-making machine. It'll be enough as long as Atlas is making money. You have to learn to spend. That's what smart women do. Otherwise, he'll spend the money he earns on other women."

"He'd never do that," I defended Atlas.

"Wow. I can't believe someone so naive still exists!" Arnold exclaimed.

I couldn't stop laughing, and even Ardie, who was driving, joined in. "You've crossed the line."

"How did I cross the line? I'm just protecting my sister," Arnold insisted.

"But what kind of reasoning is this?" I protested.

Both of them burst into laughter.