Chapter 25
After seeing James and knowing he wasn’t depressed about his legs, Aria felt relieved.
Mentally exhausted from the past few days, she fell into a deep sleep against the car window as soon as she got in. The driver
wasn’t going particularly slowly, and occasionally her head would hit the window with a “thud” sound.
“Drive more carefully,” Archer frowned, reaching out to pull her closer, letting her head rest on his shoulder.
The driver immediately slowed down.
Seeing how deeply she was sleeping, Archer slightly narrowed his eyes. “Go to the apartment.”
The driver was surprised, “Mr. Duncan, weren’t we supposed to take Miss Jackson home?”
“That can wait.”
The driver swallowed his words and silently raised the partition behind the front seats.
The car changed direction, and Archer’s gaze fell on her fair profile. His expression seemed to carry a hint of tenderness that was
difficult to detect.
His phone rang. Archer frowned, intending to hang up, but when he saw it was his grandmother calling, he abandoned that
thought.
“Grandma, what is it?” He softened his voice, apparently concerned about waking Aria.
“What are you thinking, young man? A few years ago, you said you were still young and only wanted to focus on your career, then you ran off abroad. The Duncan markets have expanded several times over, and now you’re thirty. Thirty years old!
“I’m not even forcing you to have children. The Duncan family isn’t that traditional. You could adopt from a branch of the family if necessary, but you at least need to find a partner!
“I’ve lowered my standards so much, but look at you–all these years without a woman in your life. You’re not going to tell me
you’ve gotten together with Ethan, are you?”
Archer’s grandmother, Marianne, had been a Broadway actress in her youth and had studied some opera after retirement. She
was physically robust with an extremely loud voice, causing Archer to rub his ear and hold the phone farther away.
When he heard his grandmother suggest he might be with Ethan, his eye twitched violently.
“Grandma, I’m not that desperate.”
“Then find yourself a partner!”
Archer sighed softly, glancing at the young woman sleeping sweetly on his shoulder. He spoke, “Grandma, please lower your
voice a bit. Your future granddaughter–in–law is currently sleeping on my shoulder. If you keep being so loud, you’ll wake her.”
1/2
*Clatter!*
Archer clearly heard the sound of a phone dropping to the floor on the other end.
“Yes, I have a partner now.”
When his grandmother picked up the phone, her hands still trembling, she heard this unexpected statement from her worrisome
grandson.
“She’s sleeping next to you?” his grandmother asked cautiously, indeed lowering her voice this time.
“Yes.”
His grandmother’s voice grew hoarse as she scolded him, “Is this how your grandfather and I raised you? Who gave you
permission to behave this way before marriage? How will this poor girl face the world after you’ve ruined her reputation?”
Archer made a noncommittal sound, “I’m not married, but she is.”
His grandmother nearly choked, the scolding words still stuck in her throat when Archer added, “But she’s getting divorced
soon.”
“Can’t you speak without such dramatic pauses?” His grandmother’s hand was itching to smack him.
Archer replied casually, “Weren’t you a stage actress, Grandma? You should know this is called dramatic dialogue–it increases
the visual impact and creates a storyline with twists and turns that audiences love.”
His grandmother was so angry she hung up.
Archer clicked his tongue softly, not at all surprised by being hung up on..
He knew his grandmother well. After what he’d said, Marianne would definitely have someone investigate Aria’s background.
Aria had always been above reproach–an exemplary student in elementary school, high school, and university. Her only flaw
was marrying that philandering fool, Larry Spencer.
