Chapter 33: Creditor-Debtor Relationship

As soon as Mr. Bates had left, Melissa could no longer hold back her anger, "Look at them! They are holding their noses up high in the air! Years have passed, and they haven’t changed a bit. I don’t understand how you put up with them."

"I tolerated them for ten years; that was nothing." That was indeed the truth, and if Victoria Greg hadn’t insulted her mother, she wouldn’t have flipped out on her. She had learned it long ago; the best way to deal with such people is to ignore them.

"You literally have no communication with the Greg’s?"

"No, there’s still one relationship between them and me."

"What is it?"

Edie smiled, "Creditor-debtor relationship, when I pay off the money they used to raise me, I no longer need to give in to Victoria."

"When are you going to pay them off? You can barely survive on what you earn. By the way, it was Stanley Greg’s responsibility to raise you, and you shouldn’t have to repay him!"

Edie shook her head and said, "The reason why Victoria is always so rampant in front of me is that I lived in their house and used their money. If I paid them off, I get my dignity back."

"I’m just worried about you, why do you have to live such a hard life?" Seeing Melissa worrying about her, Edie hugged her with a smile on her face, "There’s no need to worry! I got in a big production recently, and I can pay off my debt immediately after I get paid!"

"WOW! You’re going to be famous!"

"Of course! When I get famous, I definitely won’t forget about you."

The two of them laughed in rejoice, Melissa suddenly thought of something and said, "Wasn’t that Stuart’s butler? I thought you two had a fake marriage, why does he treat you so well?"

Edie could not explain it to Melissa since she couldn’t figure it out herself. She said ambiguously, "I don’t know either, but Stuart is actually a kind person, he’s not like what others think of him."

Melissa stared at Edie suspiciously, "Edie, why are you blushing?"

"I’m not, there’s nothing to blush about." Edie was all flustered.

"Edie, don’t forget that he’s gay, don’t fall for him. When your deal terminates, leaving your heart on him is not a good idea." The words made Edie feel as if a bucket of ice-cold water was poured down on her.

She bit her lip and said with a nod, "I know that." She does not only know that he’s gay but also knows about Aaron. How could she possibly fall in love with him?

"Okay, let’s take you home, it’s late."

As Edie walked out of the mall, Stuart looked down and took a sip of coffee. "So the lady in the red dress is your woman," Todd said assertively. Not from experience, but from what he knew of Stuart. He could tell that something was going on between them just by the way he looked at the woman.

Stuart didn’t avoid the topic and said, "She’s your sister-in-law." Todd got all worked up and asked without stopping, "She’s pretty, which family is she from? How come I’ve never seen her before? You really got married? You’re speedy, and it was a flash marriage?"

This time, Stuart couldn’t be bothered to answer. While they talked, Todd’s phone on the table lit up, and it was a message. Todd held it in his hand and glanced at it, sighed, and said, "She burns money quick. She spent more than three million in one night."

Stuart couldn’t remember her at all. He said in a flat tone of voice, "Don’t overdo it, you’re only playing with her."

"I know, such a woman can only be a plaything. I spend money on her, and she pleases me, it’s fair."

Stuart was not interested in complicated relationships between men and women. "All is fair." He said coldly. Todd smiled, his alluring face had a tinge of cynicism, "Yes, the man is responsible for making money while the woman is responsible for being pretty.

What’s the point in making so much money if the man can’t let the woman he wants to be with spending his money?" Stuart heard something else in his words. He knew about Todd’s past, seeing him being upset made Stuart frown, "If you can’t let go, why not try and get back with her?"

"Get her back. Why? I am better off without her." Todd laughed even louder. However, there was a hint of bitterness in his smile, which he tried to hide. If he really couldn’t be better without her, how did he know that Stuart was talking about her without even mentioning her name?

Todd is fooling himself. Everyone has a story. Stuart was not the nosy kind since Todd didn’t want to talk about it, he stopped persuading him. Mr. Bates came back at this point in time, bowed respectfully, and reported what had happened.

Todd made a strange laughing noise, "Wow, Greg’s family are rampant, putting on such a display in public." Stuart’s slim eyes squinted, covering up the sharp radiance in his eyes. "The Greg family... " Stuart sneered. Todd sighed with a smile. Dare to touch the tiger’s back? Someone is going to get in trouble.

The clock on the wall slowly struck twelve, Edie waited in the living room in boredom. She stood up and walked to the fridge to pour herself a cup of milk. The door opened all of a sudden, and a familiar footsteps approached.

Edie choked on her milk as she tensed up and started coughing fiercely. The steady footsteps hastened at once, and a big hand patted her gently on the back. "Why drink in such haste." His voice was soft like nothing had happened this morning.

Edie was startled, her eyes were red from choking, she couldn’t speak. A pair of crystal clear eyes stared at him like they were saying, "the blame is on you."

Stuart’s mouth curved into a smile, his eyes deepened as they landed on the milk above Edie’s lips. He reached his fingers and tenderly rubbed off the liquid. His fingers touched her soft lips, which brought her an indistinct numbing feeling.

She started to breathe faster and get weak in the knees. She was queasy as though she had butterflies in her stomach. She could feel herself getting warm inside, and it was only one touch.

Edie didn’t expect his action, her face turned pale out of fright and tried to push him away out of instinct until she met with his focused eyes. It looked as if he was doing something important.

She involuntarily put down her half-raised hand.

"Are you a kid? Getting food all over the place?" As Stuart finished cleaning the milk on Edie’s mouth, he took back his hand as if nothing had happened. Edie’s face blushed at once, she widened her eyes and pointed at him, but couldn’t speak. "You... you..."

Stuart lowered his head and said in a deep and charming voice, "Me?"

Why is he acting like he’s seducing me? Are all gay men this good at hitting on girls?

He moved Edie’s heart without even looking at him. She turned around and walked towards the direction of the living room with her head down. Stuart didn’t seem unpleased, and he gazed at her from a distance.

Suddenly, he raised the hand he used to rub her lips and lightly rubbed it across his own. He could still smell the faint sweetness of the milk in the air.