Chapter 2 The Gifts From Him

"Congrats on becoming single again, Alora." Tyson walked up to her.

Florence quickly put the two cards on the table into her pocket, then said while beaming, "Why the long face, Alora? You're free to spread your wings and soar since you've gotten rid of that useless piece of shit. You should be happy." She turned to Tyson and said, "Stay for lunch, Mister Cox. I'll have someone prepare a feast, and let's get to know each other a little more. We'll be a family sooner or later, after all. Am I right?"

Tyson smiled. They were both thinking the same thing.

Alora sighed as she looked at the two of them. She did not bring Tyson home to tell her family about her relationship with him. Instead, it was intended to force Ashton to give up. She and Tyson were indeed a match made in heaven in terms of his social status, but she could not think of him that way at that moment.

"Mister Cox, Mom, I'm tired. I'm going to rest for a while. I won't be joining you for lunch," Alora said.

Something that had been weighing on her mind had been taken care of, so she should feel relieved. However, for some reason, she did not feel happy. She went to her bedroom, her mind distracted.

Her photos with Ashton were neatly arranged in the bedroom. Ashton would clean them every day. He was meticulous, and she could not find any faults in him. However, he could not be the man destined to be with her.

As he exited the Latham family's mansion, the slightly piercing sunshine shone through the hair that fell gently over Ashton's forehead, hitting his face. He took a deep breath of fresh air before looking down at the intricately designed pendant in his hand.

It was easier said than done to end a three-year relationship. When the time came to call it quits on the relationship, he could not be cool about it.

However, he had indeed done everything he could. He had done his best to keep the family in harmony, tolerated every nasty family member of Alora's, and pulled strings for her in secret to help her career sail smoothly.

Suddenly, Ashton's phone rang in his pocket.

"Mister Ashton, we might need to trouble you with something." A booming voice could be heard coming from the phone.

"I'm in a terrible mood now, so it's best not to trouble me too much."

The person on the other end of the call was taken aback. "Are you having troubles in your relationship, Mister Ashton?"

"I'm divorced." Ashton did not plan to keep it a secret. He knew that the old man on the other end of the call had the means to receive the news in less than two hours, so it was useless to hide it from him.

"I've never seen you getting emotional over anything other than relationship troubles all these years. I've said Alora is not a suitable match for you. She's a woman driven by ambition and desires, and she's not worthy of you doing so much for her," the old man said.

"Enough with the nonsense. Why did you call me?" Ashton's eyebrows were tightly furrowed.

"You know about the Royal Sealift Group, one of the top three businesses in South Edren, don't you? Your father owed them a favor back then. Now that they've encountered some trouble, they've asked for my help. I would like you to lend them a hand to return the favor they've done for your father back then."

"My father is the one who owed them a favor, so ask him to return the favor himself. Why are you coming to me instead?" Ashton could not help but ask angrily.

"Your father's hands are tied. Why else would he send me to South Edren to assist you? There's also something you don't know, Mister Ashton. You and the eldest daughter from the family who owns the Royal Sealift Group had been engaged to each other since you were a child. Since you're divorced now, does it mean you can—"

"Shut up. Don't ever bring this up." Ashton immediately cut him off. "I'll pack up my things at Serene Heights now. Have the people from the Royal Sealift Group pick me up there. I'll help this once, and I won't wait for anybody."

"Alright, alright. I'll see to it that they're notified."

…

Not long after Ashton left, the Latham family's mansion became lively. Except for Alora's grandfather, the entire family had found out about their divorce, so everyone came. Florence informed them that as a celebration, she would host a feast for all the relatives that night.

"Mom, you said that the apartment at Serene Height that Alora and Ashton bought would be mine when they are divorced. Is it still true?" Howard Latham asked in excitement. He was Alora's younger brother.

"We'll talk about this later, you brat! Your uncles and the others are all here. Don't you find it embarrassing to talk about this now?" Florence glared at him.

Then, she greeted everybody with a broad smile, pulling Tyson over simultaneously to introduce him to every family member.

"Wow, the Cox family from Durmund City is a prominent family. If Alora marries Mister Cox, she'll rise to the top!" Alora's uncle exclaimed and clapped his hands. At the same time, he secretly hated that his daughter was not as successful. They were both women, but why was there a world of differences between them?

"Alora's ambitious. It depends on Alora to see how prominent our family could get in Edren County. She's the pride of the Latham family." Alora's aunts gave her the thumbs up, praising her.

Not long after, Alora's father, Gilbert Latham, also came over. He was smoking a pipe and was well-dressed. The family used to be poor and in debt, so life was tough. However, his daughter had been doing well in recent years, so he could also enjoy a comfortable life.

"Come here, Gilbert. Come and meet your future son-in-law." Florence ran over in a hurry to hold his hand.

Tyson had excellent manners, so he went up to greet him. Soon, the porcelain pipe in Gilbert's hand caught Tyson's attention. "You have good taste, Mister Latham. This is an antique porcelain pipe from the 18th century, right? I heard that it appeared in Edren County, and my father even asked me to help him hunt for it. I couldn't find it after searching for a long time. It turns out that it's in your hands."

Gilbert was stunned. "Is this valuable?"

Tyson smiled. "You must be joking, Mister Latham. Of course, this is valuable. The starting price of the bidding for this is 450,000 dollars. One probably couldn't win the bid without paying a substantial sum."

Gilbert gasped. He and his wife, Florence, were in shock as they looked at each other.

Very soon, Gilbert took out another piece of antique—an emerald signet ring where the beautiful emerald was cast in gold.

Tyson had seen his fair share of antiques, but even he was stunned at that sight. "Is that the emerald signet ring from the early medieval period? Is that real? Where did you get that, Mister Latham? You must be very well-connected! This ring had appeared in Acton back then, but I heard a wealthy businessman bought it. This is a priceless treasure!"

Finding it hard to believe, Gilbert swallowed his saliva.

He pulled Florence into the room, then came out with about seven pieces of antiques. "You're a knowledgeable man, Mister Cox. Could you help me see if these are all valuable?"

Tyson assessed them carefully for a long while, and the answer he gave, in the end, made Gilbert fall off his chair. They were all antiques and were all highly valuable. The cheapest was more than 600,000 dollars; some were even valued at a ridiculously high price!

"Where did you get all these, Mister Latham? Any one of these pieces would cause a stir among the antique collectors in Edren County." Tyson was very excited.

"Well…" Florence swallowed her saliva as if it was hard for her to say the following words. "These were gifts from Ashton…"