Hansen stood outside, staring blankly at Jenna as she disappeared before his eyes. He heard the door being slammed hard. The wind howled louder and the snowfall got heavier. He could hear the sound of vomiting inside the house.
He did not have the courage to knock on the door. He knew that even if he knocked, it would not open for him.
After standing in the cold for a while, the noise Hansen heard from inside faded away into a deathly silence. It was then that he walked away.
His phone rang.
"Mr. Richards, I found another evidence of Earl's embezzlement of the public funds. Do you want him arrested?" John's voice was full of glee on the other side of the phone.
Hansen had no expression on his face.
So what if they found evidence? Even if Earl was arrested, could he abandon Aria? She was pregnant with his child, was there a choice?
Vivian would not allow it, Marissa would not either. Even Jenna thought it's impossible.
"Let's stop here for the time being," Hansen said indifferently and hung up the phone immediately after. His voice sounded hollow and dead. Sitting in his car, he leaned his head against the steering wheel. All his hopes were crumpled. For the first time, he felt powerless. He felt that his life was a disaster.
He had never thought that he would face such a dilemma in his life, throwing him off, demolishing him completely.
At the mini bar, he drank alone. He had several glasses in a row and his head started to feel dizzy.
"Mr. Richards, why are you here, drinking alone? Did Jenna kick you out of the house?” By coincidence, Frederic came to inspect his bar and saw Hansen alone. He was amused and curious about what made him upset, therefore he patted him on the shoulder and teased him.
"Go away." Hansen was irritated. He snapped at him with bloodshot eyes.
Frederic was startled by his outburst. It seemed that this young master was really troubled. It was rare to have this special guest come to his bar, hence he hoisted him up and said kindly, "My lord, such a bad temper you have. It must be love bothering you. Come on, let's play a few rounds. As they always say, bros before h*es.”
Hansen drank a lot and his head was spinning but Frederic was strong enough that he quickly helped him up.
When the depressed Hansen was lifted up by Frederic, he thought he was floating on clouds as his footing was wobbly.
In the VIP room, Frederic called Chester and Zach to rush over immediately. When they arrived, the three of them looked at the drunk Hansen lying on the sofa lazily, his face completely flushed. Apparently, he had been drinking a lot and they were all curious why did he drink in the first place.
What troubles could the fearless and mighty Mr. Richards have possibly faced? It was very rare that he would get this drunk.
To them, Hansen was strong and never gave up easily. He managed his image very well too. No matter how busy he was, no matter how many things were troubling him, as long as he showed up in public, he would be dressed smartly in a suit and tie. However, who they were seeing at the moment was a heartbroken man, abandoned by a woman.
"Hey, Mr. Richards, wake up. Did some woman abandon you and you were ashamed? It seems unlikely but had you really fallen in love?" Frederic shook Hansen's shoulder and said playfully.
The waiter brought a hangover pill and after a while, Hansen raised his head. "Why are you guys here?"
He looked up and saw his buddies winking and making faces at him. He was surprised.
Frederic laughed and said, "Let's be honest, who was it that had made you so drunk?"
"None of your business." Hansen glanced at them with a warning stare, then stood up, about to leave.
"Wait, don't leave." The three of them got up and grabbed him at the same time. They then seated him on the sofa forcibly and said with smiles, "Hansen, we heard that you were in a bad mood and we rushed over immediately to comfort your wounded soul. It's not nice to leave when we had specially come for you, right? We're all busy but we're here. To relieve your troubles, we shall sacrifice ourselves to play chess with you all night."
Someone had earlier on brought in the four-player chess board and placed it on the table.
Hansen had no choice but to sit down and play. Time passed by in the blink of an eye, and it was almost early in the morning when they stopped.
"Mr. Richards, I heard that your father-in-law is going to be the mayor of A city. We've all heard the news. Remember to take care of us in the future," Frederic said with a smirk, holding a chess piece with a cigarette in his mouth.
"You're the smartest of us all. You found yourself a bride from a political family. I'm thoroughly impressed," Chester exclaimed with envy. "News is going crazy everywhere, saying that you didn't hesitate to divorce your previous wife so that you can have the beautiful Aria and even Earl's power... Heh, I'm just kidding."
There was a sharp noise as Hansen's chess piece was thrown onto the table harshly. "What nonsense are you all on?"
These words struck him right in his heart. The grief, anger, and pain that were suppressed bled out of the perfect mask he had put on. He was furious.
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