Hansen stood outside, staring nkly at Jenna as she disappeared before his eyes. He heard the door being mmed 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 indifferentlyand 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 himpletely.


    At the mini bar, he drank alone. He had several sses 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 gueste 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 y a few rounds. As they always say, bros before h*es.”


    Hansen drank a lot and his head was spinningbut 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 sofazily, his facepletely flushed. Apparently, he had been drinking a lot and they were all curious why did he drink in the first ce.


    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 unlikelybut had you really fallen in love?” Frederic shook Hansen’s shoulder and said yfully.


    The waiter brought a hangover pind 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.


    Fredericughed and said, “Let’s be honest, who was it that had made you so drunk?”


    “None of your business.” Hansen nced 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 moodand we rushed over immediately tofort your wounded soul. It’s not nice to leave when we had speciallye for you, right? We’re all busybut we’re here. To relieve your troubles, we shall sacrifice ourselves to y chess with you all night.”


    Someone had earlier on brought in the four-yer chess board and ced it on the table.


    Hansen had no choice but to sit down and y. 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-inw 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 eximed 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 asHansen’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.


    Everyone jumped at the abrupt noise and they exchanged nces with each other.


    David was the only one who remained calm, not at all startled by his sudden outburst. He nced meaningfully at Hansen’s contorted expression before speakingcasually, “You guys are so mean, can you believe these rumors? How are you all so ignorant like those thugs around the city!”Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org.


    “If any of you dare to speak of such nonsense again,know that I’ll cut my ties,” Hansen screamed at them angrilyand stormed out of the VIP room.


    Frederic and Chester looked at each other in confusion. They were baffled by his rageand they did not understand where it came from.


    It was just a joke. They had done the same in the pastbut Hansen had never reacted this way.


    However, David sighed faintly and said, “You two brats have offended him hard with the ‘news’ you heard.”


    With that being said, he shrugged, unable to help them.


    Hansen rushed over to his car and drove blindly down the road. After a few rounds in the streets, he was still very upset.


    He took out a cigarette.


    “Hansen, didn’t you say that you wanted to quit smoking? Why are you doing it again?” As he lit the cigarette,Jenna’s voice rang in his ears. She had asked him to quit smoking one night. His hand that was holding the cigarette began to tremble as he put it in his mouth and took a few deep breaths. Only then did he manage to calm down.


    His phone in the passenger seat rang.


    It was a call from Marissa.


    “Mom, what’s the matter?”


    “Hansen, where are you? You haven’t been home for many days now. Come back soon,I have something to talk to you about,” Marissained over the phone, but there was a hint of excitement in her tone.


    Hansen frowned. It waste at nightand yet she was still awake.


    “Alright, wait for me.” He hung up, took a long drag, and drove towards Richards Manor.


    The night was long and cold. Only the dim street lights illuminated the manor. There was inexplicable loneliness to the ce as he observed.


    A brightmp in the living room of Green Jade Garden was on.


    “Hansen, you’re back.” He heard Marissa’s voice as soon as he walked into the living room.


    “Mom, why aren’t you sleeping? It’ste.” His eyes scanned the living room before theynded on a dark shadow in the corner of the sofa. Marissa was sitting there.


    Ever since Jenna left Richards Manor, he would note back ifMarissahad not called him. He did return the day beforebut it was also for Jenna. After she left, he disappeared again,not even giving a call to his family.


    “Hansen,e and sit here.I can’t sleep.”Marissawaved at him andpointed to the sofa beside her.


    His long legs strode over and sat down beside her.


    “Hansen, I just received a call saying that your dad is able to move his arm. The doctor said that this is a sign of recoveryand he might just be able to stand up.” Marissa’s face was glowing, excitement in her face and voice.


    He was awestruck. He asked hurriedly, “Mom, who gave you the call?”


    “I don’t know. I thought you would know,that’s why I asked you toe over. Didn’t you say that you asked an expert to treat your dad in the hospital? You even refused to let me visit. If it’s true, then it’s great news,” Marissa said in confusionbut her face showeduncontroble joy. If Trevor could wake up, it would be a miracle.


    Hansen was dumbfounded. He then took out his phone and searched. After a while, he walked to a corner and made a call to the hospital abroad; he quickly received an answer. It was the hospital that called them that day. As for how they knew the number to Richards Manor, they informed him that Miss Murphy had told them to deliver the message there.


    After some thought,he finally understood. It seemed that they had notified Jenna and told her about the good news. Despite that, she no longer wanted to care about their affairsand asked the hospital to call Richards Manor.


    “Mom, Dad’s condition will certainly get better.But for the time being, I don’t want anyone to know,” he said slowly after contemting.


    He could not hide this from Marissa any longer.She would be the only one to take care of Trevor when he returned.They would have to make preparations for him toe back.


    “Mom, I’ll let you know when I’m done making the arrangements.You can take care of him then. If there’s nothing else, I will go to rest now.” He stood up from his seat and headed upstairs.


    “Hansen, what about Aria? Their family keeps calling me every day. I’m done dealing with them.” Marissa also stood up. She knew thather son did not want to talk about thisbut she had to tell him.