Chapter 66 EdwaedChloe - Nice to Meet You

• Edward was sitting in his office chair, perusing the report that Hans had just submitted. The man's brow furrowed deeply, trying to understand one by one the information printed on each page he read. "Chloe Hazel, lived in Saint Luca's orphanage for years?" Edward looked at Hans in disbelief. A big question mark now appeared in his mind. Why should Chloe Hazel, a child of tycoon Dylan Arley, spend years in an orphanage? Opposite the man was Hans, who nodded confidently. "As you read. However, I will explain in detail so you can understand better." Hans straightened his seat. Prepare to give Edward an explanation. "So, a few years ago, Dylan Arley and Patricia Hazel were forced to divorce for a clichéd reason. Dylan's extended family didn't want to accept Patricia because she came from a lower social strata." "You mean? Forced to divorce even though they already have children? Isn't this an exaggeration?" Hans shrugged his shoulders. "According to the information I got, Dylan and Patricia were secretly married on purpose. Then not long after, the woman gave birth to a daughter named Kimmylie. At first they lived happily ever after, especially when Patricia was pregnant with their second child and gave birth to a daughter named Chloe. From This is where the problems start to come. Victoria who is Dylan's mother in the end finds out that her only son is marrying a woman from a different social strata." "Ah, why the ancients were too rigid. They thought they were great because they came from A, B and C descendants." Edward protested again. Suddenly he felt lucky because he was born into a family not so concerned about social strata. Even though he was aware that he was born into a noble family, Alexander himself gave him the freedom to choose a life partner as long as she came from a good family. Now he is having bad luck until his father decides to intervene to find a future wife. Hearing the protest from Edward's mouth in his sitting, Hans snorted in disgust. "Oh come on, Ed. Let me tell you everything first. Why are you interrupting so much?" Edward giggled, amused at Hans' annoyed expression. It is his nature to interrupt other people's conversations. "Okay, I'm sorry. Please continue your story." Hans sighed once, then continued his story again. "Victoria then forced her son to divorce. Even more surprising, Patricia was kidnapped and banished far from the city of London. While her own two children were deliberately separated and then put in Saint Luca without Dylan knowing." "Oh my..." Edward's eyes went wide. "Why are Dylan's parents so mean. Doesn't that old woman think that what she separated was her own grandson?" Hans chuckled. "What's even more ironic is that after Patricia was kidnapped, Dylan was forced to marry Caroline, the woman of his mother's choice. Unfortunately, Caroline couldn't have children. After that, I'm sure you can guess how the story goes." Edward smiled faintly. "That old granny must have 'picked up' the grandchildren she had thrown away. Is that right?" This time Hans laughed while clapping his hands. The guess he gave Edward, the man answered correctly. "Exactly! Victoria brought back her granddaughter. Announced to the world that Kimmylie and Chloe are part of the Arley family. But, you also need to know something...." before Hans could continue his speech, it was clear in Edward's eyes that the man moved his seat forward. . "Mrs. Arley told the world that Kimmylie and Chloe were children born to Caroline." Edward knew very well who the Arley's were. Frederic and Victoria Arley are husband and wife born into a wealthy family. It is common knowledge that the Arley family always marrieds off their offspring to a commensurate partner or from other conglomerates. This is all done to maintain the continuity of the business and the assets they have so far.
• Marrying a woman or a man from lower strata is the same as incising a disgrace to a large family. "Oh my God!" Edward chuckled loudly. "This old woman is sneaky, Hans. So how do Kimmylie and Chloe react? Do they know that the mastermind behind all this mess is their grandmother? Yes, even though she doesn't deserve to be called grandma," Edward inquired. The man seemed even more enthusiastic to hear all the news that Hans told him. "I don't know, and I haven't investigated that far. I know that the old lady Arley died about ten years ago. Caroline followed three years later and Kimmylie after that." This time Edward gasped at the news that Hans had thrown out. "Wait a minute...." the man interrupted. "You said Kimmylie was dead?" Hans didn't answer right away. Choose to reach first for a cup of coffee that was served to him. He swallowed until the toilet, then nodded his head. "Yes, as you heard. About two or three years ago, Kimmylie died. According to the news in a car accident." Edward's face darkened. "Poor Chloe." He thought for a moment. Maybe this series of problems made Chloe different from other women in general. She was the type of person who was very secretive. "But by the way, regarding his biological mother, does anyone know what his fate is now?" Regretfully, Hans shook his head. "Unfortunately, no one knows about Patricia's whereabouts until now. Is that woman still alive or maybe dead?" "You don't have a picture at all? So that you know, I'm getting more and more curious about Chloe's family background." Hans sighed softly. "At the moment, I don't have any. But, if you need it, I can investigate more about Patricia. I promise I will find as much information as possible for you." The corners of Edward's lips pulled up into a smile. One might say a smile full of satisfaction. It was not wrong that he chose Hans to investigate this case. The big man was never half-hearted in completing the assigned tasks. "I entrust everything to you, Hans." **** Remembering an important meeting tonight, Chloe decides to leave work early. When he set foot in the house, a maid rushed over. He reached for the briefcase he had previously brought to keep in Chloe's study. "Is Papa home?" Chloe asked as she took off the black stiletto she was wearing earlier. "The big master is in his study. Been home since this afternoon." Chloe nodded slightly. He stood up and brought himself to follow Dylan, who was in his study. Knocking on the door once, Chloe stepped right in. Found Dylan sitting relaxed while looking at the photos neatly arranged on his desk. "Daddy, what are you doing here?" Chloe pulled up a chair right in front of Dylan and sat there. "Papa is enjoying the chamomile tea the maid just brought." Chloe smiled faintly. "Come on, Papa. Don't lie. Papa must be thinking about them, right?" pointed at Chloe at the photos line beside her left hand. "I can even guess that Papa just finished crying," Dylan said nothing to refute or confirm Chloe's words. This afternoon, he suddenly got carried away, even shedding tears after looking at a long row of photos of Kimmylie and Chloe when they were little. As well as a photo of Patricia when she married him. "Dad misses them," Dylan whispered. "Too many sins Papa has done to your Mama and Kimmylie." Chloe took a deep breath. He reached out his right hand to grab Dylan's wrist and gripped it tightly. "Dad, there's no need to blame yourself. None of this happened because Papa's fault. In the past, when I was angry with the situation, Kimmylie always warned me that this wasn't Mama and Papa's fault. Kimmylie even begged me not to hate Grandma. How nice. the heart of Papa's one daughter." Chloe said with teary eyes. Saying Kimmylie's name was the same as reopening old wounds that had not yet healed in her heart. "Again, I'm sorry, Papa," Dylan said apologetically. "I'm also sorry, Grandma, for doing all this to you.
• Honestly, Papa still hopes that your Mama is alive and can ---" "Pa...." Chloe hastily cut Dylan's sentence. "We can only pray, even if Mama is still alive, may God lead her back to us." Chloe His grip tightened even more. Trying to comfort Dylan from getting worse. Even though he actually knew, the detective who had been hired by Dylan to investigate Patricia's whereabouts had yet to find the woman's whereabouts. Chloe had even resigned herself to accepting the fact that her mother was gone. She remembered it was true what the detective had said a while ago. 'We've been trying to search the whole of Great Britain. It even widened the search to the Irish and Scottish borders. But your mother seems to have been swallowed up by the earth." Chloe sighed in frustration. "You mean there's no hope that my mother is still alive?" The detective shook his head briefly. "Sorry, but this case is more difficult than you might think. There isn't a single clue that can help us find your mother." "Please, please try one more time to investigate. I'll pay as much as you ask. It doesn't matter if my mother is dead, at least we know where her grave is." Chloe closed her eyes tightly as she recalled the conversation between herself and the detectives. Even before her grandmother died, the old woman didn't give a damn. I don't know where he dumped Patricia all this time. Chloe once asked, but Victoria remained silent. Choosing to carry the secret forever to the grave. "Chloe..." Dylan suddenly said. "Thank you for always being able to make Papa calm down. "Those words were enough to make Chloe feel relieved. Especially when her eyes trailed down Dylan's hazel beads, and she was sure the man's mood was starting to improve. "He said that tonight Papa wants to take me to a dinner party." Dylan remembered something, then said, "Ah, yes. Papa almost forgot about it." Dylan glanced at the watch on his left hand. "We still have an hour to get ready." Chloe loosened her grip and got up from her seat. "Then I'll get ready first." Spending more than thirty minutes, Chloe came out of her room wearing a black off-shoulder dress combined with a matching glitter clutch. Her red-brown hair was left hanging down to cover her bare shoulders. Chloe looks elegant tonight. She is dressed up as much as possible, maybe so Dylan wouldn't be embarrassed to introduce him to all his business associates tonight. "Are you ready?" Dylan held out his right hand towards Chloe. Ready to get in the car. Chloe nodded confidently. "Yes, Pa." The two of them then headed for the Hilton Hotel. Park Lane in the upscale district of Mayfair. It only took them twenty minutes until they finally arrived at the venue. The bustle, frenzy, and vitality of the exclusive party were evident in Chloe's eyes. The conglomerates gathered into one. Greet each other. Sometimes it is not uncommon to show off their respective wealth. It's a very common thing to happen. That's why Chloe didn't really like attending events like this unless it was really under a state of necessity like now. He didn't want to see Dylan saddened by refusing the man's request. While Dylan himself, since entering the Ballroom, the event has not stopped smiling at all the guests. Occasionally talk to anyone who happens to greet him. The man looked around the event room until his eyes found the object he had been looking for. Dylan quickly grabbed Chloe's wrist. Ask his daughter to follow in his footsteps. Then stopped in the crowd of men who were busy talking. "During the night Dylan. Gosh, I've been waiting for you for a long time." A stocky old man reached out his hand, inviting Dylan to shake hands. "Darren Alistair, I'm sorry I'm a little late. You know the roads are very congested on a weekend like this." Dylan welcomed the outstretched hand of the man in front of him. "I was waiting for you, don't forget you promised to introduce your daughter to me," said another old man. Dylan looked away and laughed.