Chapter 8 The Deross Family

After Arthur left, Judith asked Andrea, "Andrea, is he really your husband? When did you get married? You didn't reveal any of this to me. But your husband was really cool just now. He's great, much better than that jerk Hank."

Andrea returned to the cashier and sat down. Judith followed and sat beside her. "We just got married. In fact..."

Andrea whispered to Judith, "My mom always arranges blind dates for me, and I find it annoying. So, I rented Arthur to be my boyfriend, to deceive my mom."

Judith was shocked. "You rented a boyfriend? Then why did you register for marriage?"

"Arthur wanted to get married directly. He's so good-looking, and he's Keith's college classmate. I've known him for eleven years. I won't be bullied if I register for marriage with him, so we went ahead with it," Andrea replied.

Judith poked Andrea's forehead a few times and said softly, "What you did is absurd! Aren't you afraid of being deceived? Even though you've known him for eleven years, do you really understand him?"

"I don't understand him, but he's an acquaintance," Andrea said.

Judith sighed, "I can only hope that you won't be deceived." Then she walked away from the cashier, saying, "I need some quiet time. Your absurdity has startled me."

Andrea shrugged. She thought, 'Is it really that terrible to make a spontaneous decision to get married? After all, Arthur is my rented boyfriend, and we have a contract.'

At that moment, Andrea's phone received a new message. She took out her phone and saw that it was from Arthur, saying that he would return to the rented house and take her out for dinner to celebrate their acquisition of the marriage certificate.

Andrea thought to herself, 'We're not really married. Why should we celebrate?' However, she didn't refuse Arthur's arrangement.

Gold Garden was a residential community that combined high-rise apartments and villas with beautiful surroundings and convenient transportation. Arthur only lived in one of the many villas under his name. Since it was close to the company, he lived here most of the time.

Arthur's true home was the Deross Manor, the most famous and mysterious Glory Manor in Aborina. It was a mansion built in the style of the Middle Ages, with breathtaking views.

However, Glory Manor was very remote. It took over an hour to drive there from the city. The security system there was extremely high, and no one could enter without the consent of the Deross family. It was said that Glory Manor's layout was very mysterious, and even if outsiders entered, they would get lost and be unable to find their way out.

Arthur drove back to the villa and honked the horn. Soon, a slightly plump middle-aged woman came out to greet him. It was Grace, the housekeeper of Arthur's villa.

"Mr. Lawrence." As she opened the villa gate, she smiled and asked, "Mr. Lawrence, why have you returned so early?"

Arthur drove into the garage. After he came out of the garage, he said, "Grace, I'm here to get a few sets of clothes. I won't be staying here for a while."

Grace asked, "Mr. Lawrence, are you going on another business trip?" Grace had been used to Arthur's business trip. She knew that Glory Group had too many subsidiaries. Although other members of the Deross family manage each subsidiary, if they ran into a problem they couldn't solve, Arthur, the head of the family, had to take care of it.

"No," Arthur replied.

"Then why aren't you staying here?" Grace asked.

Arthur was in a particularly good mood because of his marriage, so he didn't mind chatting with Grace. As he walked towards the house, he said, "Grace, there's a woman who wants to take care of me."

Grace's steps faltered for a moment, and she smiled. "Mr. Lawrence, you must be joking. Who would dare to offer to take care of you?"

Grace thought to herself, 'Mr. Lawrence is the head of the Deross family, and he only uses his mother's surname. He is still the one in charge of the Glory Group.'

Arthur smiled without explaining further. He went upstairs to his room and spent a long time selecting clothes from the wardrobe. But he failed.

Then Arthur turned around and walked out of the room.

"Grace," Arthur said.

Grace quickly appeared at the staircase.

"Grace, please call Fred for me," Arthur commanded.

Fred Lynn was responsible for taking care of the flowers and plants in the yard, and he was around the same age as Arthur.

"Alright." Grace hurried to find Fred. In less than two minutes, Fred came in.

Arthur had already gone downstairs.

"Mr. Lawrence, what can I do for you?" Fred asked.

"Fred, do you have any new clothes?" Arthur replied.

Fred blinked, a bit confused, but he honestly replied, "I bought two new outfits from Temu a couple of days ago."

He spends his days trimming the flowers and plants, so he doesn't need to wear expensive clothes.

"Give them to me. How much were they? I'll transfer the money to you," Arthur said.

"What?" Fred was stunned, seriously doubting his hearing.

Even Grace was shocked.

"Mr. Lawrence, I bought my clothes on Temu." Fred reminded Arthur.

"I know. Give them to me. I need them urgently. Don't worry, I'll give you the money, double the amount."

"But..."

Fred looked at Grace for help. Grace didn't understand why Arthur was doing this, but she was used to obeying him, so she said to Fred, "Since Mr. Lawrence asked you to get them, just do it."

"Alright."

A few minutes later, Fred handed Arthur the two new outfits he had bought on Temu.

"Mr. Lawrence, I've washed these clothes and never worn them."

Arthur took the clothes and could immediately tell that their quality was much lower than his own.

He didn't mind, took out his wallet, and handed several twenty-dollar bills to Fred.

"Mr. Lawrence, you don't have to give me so much money," Fred replied.

"Take it!" Arthur said.

Fred was startled by Arthur's glare and quickly took the bills.

Although Arthur appeared elegant, it was all just a facade. How could he afford to be soft-hearted as the head of the Glory Group?

"Grace, lend me the bicycle you usually use for exercise," Arthur added.

Grace was taken aback.

Regardless of whether Grace agreed or not, Arthur walked out of the magnificent main house with a black travel bag on his back. Grace snapped back and chased after him, shouting, "Mr. Lawrence, what are you up to?"

She thought, 'Could it be that a woman is really supporting him? But if that's the case, he should dress better, eat better, and use better things. Why is Mr. Lawrence deliberately changing his image, making people see him as an ordinary person or even a poor person?'

"Where is the key to the bicycle?" Arthur asked.

Grace handed the key to Arthur. "Mr. Lawrence, you've completely confused me."

Arthur got on the bicycle and said with a smile, "Grace, I got married. My wife is named Andrea Blanchet."

Grace was shocked.

She thought to herself, 'Did Mr. Lawrence get married? Is his wife named Andrea Blanchet? I seem to have heard this name before. It's the protagonist in the photo album that Mr. Lawrence hides in the bookcase. He treasures that album as if it were a treasure. I wouldn't have discovered it if I hadn't been cleaning the study. The album is filled with photos of a girl from her teenage years to her youth. Lawrence wrote on each photo, clearly stating the year, month, the girl's name, and age. Previously, everyone thought that Mr. Lawrence liked Ms. Mitchell. I also believed that until I found this album.'