章 16: It Was The Truth

Ashley had been to the Li Mansion only a few times. Standing in front of the mansion's large doors, hesitation filled her entire being. Suddenly, determination flashed in her eyes. Just as she was about to take a step forward, the large door opened revealing a scrawny looking elderly man. He was Asian, Chinese to be exact.

Dressed casually in loose blue t-shirt and trousers that seemed too large for him, he stared at Ashley. His hands were placed on the half open door with his eyes widened. The elderly man had an expression of shock on his face.

The man's lips pulled up into a smile as his phoenix eyes curved into crescents. A happy expression replaced the shocked look on his face. "Ash.", the elderly man called out.

"Grandpa." Ashley walked briskly towards him and held on to his arm. "What are you doing out here?"

The elder pretended as though he did not hear Ashley's question. He made her face him and held her hands before speaking softly. "I haven't seen you in so long."

Ashley stared down at him. "Grandpa-." But the man did not let her speak.

"Oh, you've been ignoring me. Spending time with that nasty boy." He said miserably in an exaggerated tone.

"Grandpa~" Exasperation was heard in Ashley's voice.

"I've become so lonely." The elderly man shook his head with his eyes closed. "Everyone is neglecting me. An even my dearest grand daughter-in-law has abandoned me."

"Grandpa." The old man peeked at her through one eye squinted open before giving out a laugh. "I didn't abandon you." There was helplessness in Ashley's voice.

The elder looked into her eyes. "I'm just joking, Ash. I know my dearest granddaughter will never abandon me." He said, patting her hand gently.

Ashley smiled. She may have wanted to divorce Nathan but doing so meant losing some of the best people in her life. Some of which included Nathaniel Li, Nathan's grandfather.

"Why are you out, grandpa?" Ashley stared at the old man in askance, bringing back the previous question. Nathaniel diverted his eyes, trying to look elsewhere.

"I was just going for a walk in the garden." He spoke a bit quickly.

Ashley stared at him as though she knew he was lying. "No, you weren't." The man stared at her. "Fine, you caught me. I'm tired of this place. I want to go out."

"You might get hurt out there, grandpa." Ashley said to him

"No, I won't." The old man looked offended by her words. "Back in the day I was one of the strongest men and I still am." He then flexed his non-existent muscles.

The man talked heartily but Ashley was still worried. The old man was so skinny, and one would assume that even a small gust of wind would blow him away.

Just as Ashley was about to speak, the sound of an engine was heard from behind. When she turned, she saw a pink sports car stop abruptly near the fountain with a screech.

A young woman with long black hair, dressed in a white blouse and a tight, short, blue skirt in blue platform heels stepped out of the car. With a white bag in one hand and sunglasses worn on her face, she walked toward the two

"Grandpa." The young woman tried to hug Nathaniel but with agility, the old man dodged. Ashley covered her mouth, trying to stop her smile from being seen.

She was well aware that her grandfather-in-law did not like, no, in fact hated Eleanor, one of Nathan's siblings. Nathaniel did not dislike her for no reason. In fact, there were many reasons for his huge dislike for her. However, the main reason was that: Eleanor was the daughter of Ethan's greedy previous lovers.

Ethan Li, as a young man was known as a 'player' among the elite. He changed girlfriends every week and slept around like there was no tomorrow. Nathaniel never approved of his lecherous lifestyle.

At eighteen, Ethan had a child with one of his girlfriends. Nathaniel was infuriated and his rage heightened when Ethan refused to marry the mother of his child and continued to have many girlfriends, Nathaniel, on the other hand, could not leave a 'Li child' outside and hence, the child was brought up as a Li.

Later, at twenty-one, Ethan got married without Nathaniel's permission to a young model he claimed to love. The woman too had two children with Ethan. However, the marriage broke apart after the model found out about his many affairs which had resulted in him having one more child. All the children were brought up as Lis under Nathaniel's watch even though he disapproved of them.

Ethan's three other children were borne by three of his girlfriends he never got married to. Eleanor was the daughter of one of these women. And at twenty-four, Ethan got married once again but this time, with Nathaniel's permission. Nevertheless, Ethan got a divorce right after the woman had their first son.

Ethan's 'player' lifestyle ended when she met Ashandra. As he always said, 'she was the spring in his winter'.

Ashandra was the little princess of the Knights. She was not to be toiled with, with her three elder brothers behind her. Ethan strived to win Ashandra's heart. And as strong-willed as Ashandra was, doing that was not an easy task.

The young Ethan gave up his reckless lifestyle and changed for the better. With luck, it paid off and at twenty-nine, he married the love of his life. Later, he has a son with her.

Ethan and Ashandra's marriage was like a blessing to Nathaniel. He was grateful to Ashandra for changing his only son's life. Hence, Nathan was his favorite grandchild. And Nathan's resemblance to Ethan and intelligence like Ashandra's made Nathaniel love him even more.

The others on the other hand were not so favored.

"Grandpa." Eleanor pouted, trying to look cut but in both Ashley and Nathaniel's eyes, she looked pretty much disgusting. Especially at her age, pouting was nowhere near cute. "Are you mad at me?"

Disdain was all over Nathaniel's face. "What does your mother want this time?"

Eleanor revealed a smile. It was a cunning one. Nathaniel was well aware that aside her looks, she inherited her mother's greediness and intelligence. And this is what hurt Nathaniel's heart. He wouldn't hate his grandchildren. They were his own flesh and blood, after all. But their greed and maliciousness blocked the love in his heart for them.

Eleanor then looked at Ashley. The auburn-haired woman did not miss the glint that flashed in the eyes of the woman next to her.

"It's not about mom. It's about Ash and little brother.", she said, her eyes still on Ashley. She then turned to look at Nathan, a large smile plastered on her face.

Ashley's heart pounded. She trembled in fear. The look in Eleanor's eyes revealed everything. She realized Eleanor knew of everything going on between her and Nathan.

"Mom and I want to know if everything's okay with Ash's and little brother's marriage."

"What do you mean?" Sternness and confusion clouded Nathaniel's face as his hands moved behind him.

The place was dead silent. It was a silence that was unbearable to Ashley.

"Well, mom and I heard that little brother and Ash…are getting divorced."

At once, Ashley felt Nathaniel's gaze on her. She looked elsewhere, trying to avoid his piercing gaze. "Ash, what is she saying?"

Ashley did not know what to say because she knew it was the truth.