Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

Tears of humiliation welled up in Shawn's eyes as he clenched his teeth and muttered, "Got it!" Andrew slapped him again, harder this time. "I didn't ask if you got it. I asked if it's okay."

The weight of shame nearly crushed Shawn from the inside out. Nonetheless, he did not dare resist. He did not even flinch as he squeezed out, "Okay!"

No one missed how low he had sunk. Even Quinton, the proud heir of Blumedale, had lost all his swagger, and now Shawn had no one to count on. He was completely on his own.

Andrew looked down at him and said coldly, "You can fuck off now."

Shawn acted like he had just been pardoned from death row He scrambled to his feet and bolted straight back to the Fields family.

From that day on, he swore he would check the stars before leaving his house, and he would make damn sure Andrew was not in the same zip code. If their paths might cross, he would rather stay home or take a two-hour detour.

"Alright, Fran, let's go," Andrew said, brushing off his hands like the whole thing had been a waste of time.noveldrama

Quinton's voice darkened. "Andrew, are you seriously going to pretend you don't know Shawn is one of my men?"

Andrew glanced sideways and replied coolly, "Yeah, I know. So?"

Quinton snapped, "Then how dare you lay a hand on him?"

Andrew snorted. "Cut the crap, Quinton. When I slapped him just now, you didn't say a word. Now that it's over, now you want to step up and act like you're backing him? Doesn't that make you look kinda pathetic?"

Quinton choked on his fury. "You-"

Andrew jabbed a finger right at his nose, voice sharp and menacing. "And you! Pack your crap and haul your ass back to Blumedale. Jayrodale isn't your playground, and if you so much as touch my Moonlit Apothecary again or keep scheming after my medicine...

"Then the same fate that hit Elon and your dumbass little brother, Winston-yeah, that's gonna be yours too."

Without waiting for a response, Andrew yanked open the door of his G-Wagon, got in with Francesca, and gunned it down the street, leaving only a thick cloud of exhaust behind.

Quinton stood there, breathing in the fumes, his eyes burning with murderous rage. However, he did not show a thing-he kept it buried deep, hidden beneath a tight-lipped expression. swnovel

He would not strike now, but once he got back to Blumedale, he swore that the bastard Andrew was as good as dead.

"Christie, pack your things. We're leaving for Blumedale today," he said through clenched teeth, clearly in a foul mood.

Christina replied, “Quinton, I still have

several business deals at Stevens

Corporation that I need to handle personally. Besides, we're leaving way too suddenly. There's still a lot I haven't had time to sort out." swnovel

Quinton frowned and said, “That's not necessary. You can manage Stevens Corporation remotely from Blumedale. The sooner we leave, the better. Who knows what tha lunatic Andrew will pull next?" swnovel

Christina looked at him in surprise. "Wait... Quinton, are you afraid of him?"

Quinton's face twitched with frustration, but he smirked and said coldly, "There might be people on this earth who can scare me... But Andrew? He's not one of them."

Even though he said that, Christina could tell Quinton was in a rush to get out of Jayrodale. Deep down, she knew it had everything to do with Andrew throwing him out just moments ago..

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