Chapter 3 Make Your Call
Andrew's voice wasn't loud, but it rippled through the living room like a stone thrown into still water.
Zoey hadn't expected Andrew to come out of the study at that moment. She paused but didn't intend to respond.
Ella saw Andrew and immediately moved to the staircase, her face showing a loving smile, but her tone was firm and biased.
"Andrew, don't waste your time on her. This woman is ungrateful. If she wants to leave, let her go!"
She kept glancing sideways at Zoey.
Zoey's back straightened further. The anger she had suppressed when Ella humiliated her now surged up, provoked by Andrew's casual question. She had been hesitant about the marriage, but seeing Andrew's cold figure upstairs, all her doubts vanished.
She raised her head sharply, her voice trembling but clear.
"Where I go is none of your business."
Zoey was surprised by her own words. She had always lowered herself in front of him, speaking cautiously. But now, the accumulated grievances, resentment, and disappointment finally burst out.
Andrew's expression didn't change, not even a raised eyebrow at her words. He simply glanced at her, and after a few seconds, he spoke calmly, "As you wish."
The words felt like a dull knife slowly cutting through Zoey's heart. She suddenly found it laughable. Her earlier agitation was probably just a meaningless drama to him.
Ella smirked triumphantly.
Zoey didn't look at the second floor again, nor did she acknowledge Ella's gaze. She turned and strode towards the front door. The brass ring door swung open, and cold wind rushed into the living room. She didn't look back, letting the door close heavily behind her, shutting out the cold house and the hypocritical peopl inside.
The sky had completely darkened, and the distant mountains were bathed in a dusky golden hue by the setting sun. The last rays of sunlight were slowly fading away in the valley. The road leading to the Anderson Villa was remote and quiet, surrounded by dense woods, with only a few strands of sunlight filtering through the leaves onto the pavement. Zoey tightened the collar of her coat and walked briskly towards the city.
There were hardly any pedestrians or vehicles on the road, just a few scattered streetlights flickering. The mountain wind whipped her hair, making her eyes sting. In the distance, the city lights formed a blurry sea of illumination at the foot of the mountain—a sea of lights, but none of them offered Zoey any warmth.
Zoey looked at the empty road and muttered to herself:
"Mom, Dad, if you were still here, I wouldn't be suffering like this."
She rubbed her aching eyes and tightened her coat collar again.
Fragments of the past suddenly flooded her mind: Andrew's distant gaze at their wedding, countless nights spent alone in their bedroom, and Ella's earlier sarcastic remarks that kept hitting Zoey's nerves. It turned out that her calm demeanor was just a facade.
As Zoey lowered her head to wipe away the moisture from her eyes, the sudden roar of an engine pierced through the twilight.
A silver-gray business car, with its hazard lights flashing, screeched to a halt right in front of her. The sharp sound of the brakes exploded in her ears, startling Zoey.
She quickly looked up, her pupils contracting from the sudden bright light, ready to confront the driver, but she saw that it was Andrew's driver, Hayden, stepping out of the car.
"Mrs. Anderson," Hayden said respectfully. "The night road is difficult to navigate. I've been ordered to take you back to the apartment."
With that, Hayden swiftly opened the car door and gestured for her to get in.
Zoey hesitated, unable to understand what the Anderson family was up to. But as it was getting late, she had no choice but to accept Hayden's offer. After all, she had nowhere else to go but the apartment.
The leather seats in the business car were still warm. As soon as Zoey settled in, she felt a low-pressure atmosphere beside her.
Instinctively, she turned her head and found herself staring at a well-tailored dark blue suit—Andrew was sitting in the seat behind the driver's seat. His tie was loosened by two fingers, revealing his collarbone through the shirt collar. Unlike his deliberately upright posture in the living room, his relaxed stance still carried a sense of distant tension.
The twilight outside the car window was deepening, and the sparse streetlights flickered among the retreating tree shadows, making her uneasy. Wasn't he supposed to be in the study with Eli, "planning important matters"? Why was he suddenly here? Where was he going?