Chapter 2 Where Do You Think You Are Running?

After having dinner at the Chandler residence, Ian personally gave Gardenia a ride home. During the journey back, Gardenia leaned back against the front passenger seat with her eyes closed. She felt as tired as if she had been in a fight with someone. That feeling of overwhelming tension suddenly melting into sweet relief could really tire someone out. "Tired?" Ian asked, as gentle and kind as ever. "Yes," Gardenia replied, shifting around in her seat. "I've calculated the return on investment for Wagner Entertainment's project, and it seems decent. Take a look at it after you arrive at the company tomorrow. If everything looks fine to you, I'll write up a business plan." "I definitely don't have any objections against a project you think is feasible. It's just that several investment firms that invested in cultural industries within the past few years haven't turned in much profit, so we have to be more cautious." Gardenia nodded and lifted her right hand to massage the space between her eyebrows. She explained, "We mainly just have to conduct due diligence investigations during the preliminary stages. I'll be sure to perform spot checks. If I discover a problem and conclude that things won't work out, I'll personally pull out of the project." Ian smiled. "Thanks for the hard work, Nia." "It's in my job description." Chandler Corporation had always paid her a staple salary. She was just doing her job, so she didn't consider it "hard work". She didn't want to really consider herself the young lady of the Chandler family just because she had accepted Ian's marriage proposal. But… At the thought of that, she straightened in her seat and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you sure about marrying me, Ian?" While waiting at a red light, Ian turned to look at her and asked back, "What are you saying? Of course I'm sure!" Gardenia frowned slightly. "I… But I'm not a virgin." Her virginity had been taken by Ansel a long time ago. Ian replied calmly, "I know. You told me before." "Do you really not mind? Don't you even want to know who took it?" Although Ian didn't know why Gardenia was suddenly bringing it up again, he didn't hesitate to repeat himself again. "Why would I mind? Why would I want to know who the man was? All I care about is that you'll be my wife and the mother of my children in the future." Gardenia wanted to say something else, but Ian reached over the car's dashboard and held her hands in his. "Don't let your thoughts run wild, okay?" "Okay." The car came to a steady stop in front of the building where Gardenia lived. She got out of the car and waved toward Ian. "It's already dark, so take care driving back home." Ian flashed her a thumbs-up. "Go on in. I'll wait until you're safely inside." He had always been like this. He never made any excessive demands and was very mindful of boundaries. It was precisely because he was such a person that Gardenia didn't feel repulsed by him. Back when she had agreed to Ian's marriage proposal, she had thought she had to get married at some point instead of constantly living in the shadow of her past. However she looked at things, marrying Ian was the best choice she could possibly make. She took a deep breath, then turned and entered the apartment building. For some reason, she inexplicably felt short of breath right after stepping inside, and even taking a few deep breaths didn't help. As she walked up the stairs, she reached into her bag to feel around for her keys. It was then that she suddenly noticed something unexpected out of the corner of her eye. A tall, slender figure standing silently at the door to her apartment—Ansel! He was so tall that he was half-shrouded in darkness, and she could only see a pair of eyes fixed intently on their prey. He was like a wild beast lying in wait to snap her neck in a single bite! She felt an uncontrollable surge of fear and reflexively tried to run. Yet, before she even got three steps away, she was bodily hauled up and pinned against the wall. "Mr. Leager…" "Where do you think you're running?" Ansel asked with a smile, chuckling at her. "Gardenia Wendell. What a nice name. It's much nicer than the name you told me, Fleur Wendell."