An Ordinary Lowlife.

After Andrea had spoken to Diana, she was about to walk to Gael when her phone rang.

Seeing Hannah's name on the screen, she immediately answered. The sound of her baby's cries in the background made her heart sink."

"What happened?" Andrea asked, rushing to meet Gael.

"I think he misses his mother." Hannah replied. She has tried every trick in her book to calm Kai down, but the baby just kept crying. Who wouldn't know would think she was torturing the poor child.

"I will be right there; just try your best to stop him from crying." Andrea ended the call and, without thinking, grabbed Gael's hand, interrupting him from a conversation with a middle-aged man.

Just from the look in her eyes, Gael could tell that something was wrong. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Kai needs me; we need to go back."

On hearing that, Gael immediately grabbed Andrea's hand and left the anniversary party without looking back.

From across the room, Raya watched in silence, just as she had since he arrived. Her gaze dropped to her own hand, and a quiet ache settled in her chest. Those big hands of his had once held hers too.

.....

Andrea immediately rushed to her son's room and saw Hannah still trying to calm Kai down.

Gael stood at the doorway, watching as Andrea took her son from Hannah.

His gaze followed her as she sang to the baby, gently swaying around the room.

And like magic, Kai became quiet, but Andrea still continued to sing to him until he fell asleep in her arms.

Hannah walked to Gael and whispered, "I feel it in my heart, Gael. She is truly the woman for you, and I hope that everything will work out well."

Gael cast a bored glance at her and replied, "Get some rest, Aunty Hannah. Someone is already waiting for you downstairs to take you back."

Hannah sighed and glanced back at Andrea, who was gently placing her baby into the crib, and seeing no emotion of love or care in Gael's eyes, doubt began to creep into her heart. Is there really no salvation for him?

Andrea was so focused on her baby that she didn't even notice when Hannah left the room.

Gael glanced at his watch and finally broke the silence. "It's been seven minutes since he fell asleep; why do you keep watching him?"

"Because he is beautiful," Andrea replied, without taking her eyes from her baby.

What was beautiful about a child whose cries were capable of shaking the building?

Gael kept his thought to himself and said, "It's already late; it's best you get some rest before he wakes up again."

"Did you know he was going to name you the CEO?" Andrea asked, shifting her gaze from her sleeping baby to Gael.

"I knew. Since Henrick rejected the CEO position, the only person Maxwell Ashford would give that position to was me. A man like my grandfather believes that blood is thicker than water, and that is why, even though Lucas is considered the eldest of Grandpa's grandchildren, Henrick and I will always be his only grandsons."

"If Henrick had introduced me to your grandfather, then wouldn't he have accepted me?"

Gael remained quiet for a few seconds before he spoke, "Would you have survived?"

"What?"

"You can't deny that Henrick's death has changed you. Your blood right now is flowing to get revenge for your husband's death and to protect your son from experiencing that same fate. If all these were not in your life and you were introduced to the Ashford family as their daughter-in-law, then what would you have done whenever they would treat you like trash?

"I...."

"You would have endured it. For the sake of Henrick and your son, you would have endured it all because you already believe that you aren't good enough."

"You don't know that for sure."

Gael's lips curled into a mocking smirk as he asked coldly. "Really? What exactly is your worth, Andrea? After your parents died in a fire, you had to spend your remaining years in an orphanage. You barely even finished college and were able to land a job as a teacher, so tell me in what way you are suitable for the heir of the Ashford family. Or do you think having his child is enough for you to become his wife? There are also a lot of women who wouldn't mind giving him lots of kids, so what exactly made you think you are special? You are just an ordinary lowlife who got lucky by opening her legs."

*Pak!*

Andrea widened her eyes when she realized that she had just slapped Gael. She didn't even know when she had raised her hand to him.

Gael sighed, gently caressing his slapped cheek. His cold gaze returned to her as he continued,

"When people say these words to you, you'll get angry—just like you are now. But when you realize that your anger only amuses them more, you'll beg Henrick to leave with you. He won't, because he hates leaving things unfinished. Slowly, the light in your eyes will fade, and before you know it, you'll be a shadow of yourself. And once you're in that state, they'll bring another woman into his life. She'll come from a wealthy and powerful family. You'll think he's cheating on you, and before you even realize it… you'll be the one ending your own life, leaving behind your son to grow up alone in a cold world."

After hearing Gael's words, the anger Andrea once felt disappeared. Perhaps everything he had said was true, but...

"And what makes you think my life won't end the same way?" Andrea asked.

"Because you aren't looking for their acceptance. What you want right now is to give justice to Henrick and to give your son his rights. Our contract is only for two years, and after that, you might not see me again, and that is why, within these two years, I want you to be a woman who one will need to think twice before messing with because it is the only way you can protect your son."

"I understand, but what happens now?"

"Nothing. We wait until Grandfather calls you himself."

"And if he doesn't?"

"He will. Right now, Grandfather is eager to know if you will approach him first or not. My advice is to let him approach you first, no matter how long it takes." Gael said and looked at his watch.

"It's late; you should get some sleep." He turned to leave when he heard Andrea's voice.

"How is it that they haven't figured out that Henrick is dead?"

Gael turned back to Andrea and noticed her clenched fist before replying, "A month ago, after Henrick gave up his position as the CEO of the Ye Group, Grandfather threatened to disown him, and since then he has not spoken to him. Grandfather still thinks Henrick is being rebellious and will soon come around, and so he has not bothered to contact him, and as for the rest of the family, they don't really care if he is alive or dead. Also, Henrick died in another city with a false name, and I ensure that his real identity was not leaked."

"That means..."

"It means the only person who knows about his death, apart from the both of us, is the one who killed him. For us to find the killer, it is best the news of Henrick's death remain a secret."

"I understand."