Beatrice looked at the grandeur of the Lloyd mansion as soon as Andrew cut off the engine before the manor. Her glinting eyes looked at the familiar place where she had been quite a few times.
No matter how many times she arrived here, it seemed to amaze her every single time. It was like a fine wine that was growing better as it grew older.
The new imported fountains from Italy in the garden alone were enough to scream about the riches of the family.
Elara was surely a lucky bitch who enjoyed all the luxury without even deserving it.
It also made Beatrice question what exactly Elara really did for the elder of the house to agree to her marriage with Andrew.
As far as Beatrice knew and found out about the woman, she didn't even belong to a high-circle family, nor did she have any influence in the society. The only good thing about her was that she passed out from a prestigious college, which she was sure was because of the scholarship program of that college.
If only she had that kind of connection to look further into her information through the college forum. Then again, she didn't try hard either.
Elara was a worthless woman for this family anyway. Thus, for the elder to agree to her becoming Andrew's wife was really suspicious and…
"Beatrice, are you there?" Andrew asked, snapping Beatrice out of her thoughts.
"Hmm?" She asked, blinking her eyes innocently.
Andrew observed her for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"I have been calling you for a couple seconds. Anyways, I asked if it would be alright for you to stay alone with my mom and sister. I need to go to meet my father in the office. He just messaged me," Andrew said, and Beatrice nodded with a smile.
"It's okay. I am familiar with your family. It's not a problem," Beatrice said, and Andrew heaved a sigh of relief before he stepped out of the car with Beatrice, leading her to the entrance of the mansion.
The butler greeted them at the entrance, and Andrew told him to take Beatrice to where Candice and his mother were.
The butler bowed before leaving with Beatrice.
Once they were out of sight, Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation before schooling his expression.
The last thing he wanted was for his grandfather to suspect anything of the problem between him and Elara and threaten him with taking away the family business again, the same thing he uses every time he suspects anything.
But usually Elara is present to sort out such suspicions. Today… Andrew shook his head and ascended the stairs to the first floor, where his father's office was, and probably where his grandfather was at too.
Once out of the door, he lifted his hand to knock when the door opened from the other end.
His father, Heather Lloyd, raised his brows.
"Come in," he said, and Andrew followed, his gaze meeting his grandfather's, who was sitting with a document file in his hand.
"Grandpa," Andrew said.
The man looked up from the file, and a smile stretched on his lips as he greeted his grandson.
His smile indicated that he was angry about something, and Andrew heaved a sigh of relief.
"What are you reading?" He asked to start the conversation fluently.
"Nothing, son. It's just a contract about the field near Lake Calamity. Despite being a disaster-prone area, the government is putting it on sale. It has great potential for future developments. I am wondering if it's worth investing." The man said before he placed the file aside.
Andrew nodded.
"Dad, you wanted to talk to me?" Andrew asked. Heather nodded at his son and pulled out a contract from his table.
Downstairs, Beatrice smiled at Carla and Sophia.
"Carla, Mrs. Lloyd," Beatrice bowed to them.
Sophia, pleased with her etiquette, waved her hand in dismissal.
"Come on, sweetheart. You are making me feel old. Just call me Sophia." Sophia smiled and signaled for her to sit beside her.
Beatrice walked to the place and sat down elegantly before looking at Carla.
"You wanted my suggestion on something, right?" Beatrice asked.
Carla's eyes lit up at her choice of words.
Beatrice smiled inwardly. She deliberately used those words even though Carla clearly needed help with the entire lyrics. This would make the girl think she wasn't asking for help and maintain her pride, which in return would put her in good books before her.
"Right. I wanted some suggestions on an idea of mine." Carla clapped her hands before she winced.
Beatrice, who had already heard about Carla being slapped by Elara, raised her eyes in fake concern.
"What's wrong, Carla? Even your left cheek is swollen. Did something happen?" Beatrice shifted closer to Carla and held her hand.
Carla was immediately reminded about the incident from the restaurant and glared at the table in hatred.
"It's all because of that cheap woman. She dared slap me in public!" Carla said.
"Who are you talking about?" Beatrice blinked her eyes innocently, and Carla sighed before shaking her head.
"It doesn't matter now that you are here. You are much better than her. Let's get started with our work. I have to submit this piece tomorrow," Carla said.
Beatrice, who was waiting to add some more salt and spices to Carla's wound and instigate the matter more, sighed inwardly.
Then again, she will get many such opportunities now that Elara has started to cross the line with her tantrums and started to distance herself, no? The thought alone calmed Beatrice's impatience, and she nodded at Carla.
They sat in the living room talking about Carla's desire to write a song about vengeance.
"Actually, Elara had proposed an idea, and I really liked it. She was supposed to prepare those for me like always, but she backed out at the last minute. This is the rough idea I remember from her idea. It's quite good. Can you write something with this time in mind?" Carla asked.
Beatrice pressed her lips into a thin line. She didn't like how her work would be compared to Elara's already.
For someone to write a song, not only talent but also the right kind of emotions were needed.
Keeping in mind how she wanted to take everything back from Elara that she stole from her, Beatrice closed her eyes and wrote a few lines to match the tone, adding some metaphors and personification to make it sound enchanting with a deeper meaning.
It took them an hour to finally come up with a song worth submitting.
Carla read the lyrics and nodded subtly.
"Well, this should do. It's not exactly that great, but there's not much we can do about it," she said.
Beatrice's smile faltered a bit, but she forced it back again.
"I am glad I could help with the idea," Beatrice said, and Carla looked up with knitted brows.
"The idea was mine, and I was quite clear with what I wanted already. You just suggested some words. Don't try to take the credit," she said.
You bitch. You didn't know even the first line of the verse, and you claim you were clear about everything? If only I didn't need to ride on your hatred for Elara, I would've never entertained a dumb shit like you. Beatrice thought inside her head while keeping her smile intact.
"Of course, I just suggested a couple things," she said.
Carla smiled in satisfaction before she took a photo of the lyrics and sent it to the company to assure them she was ready with her lyrics as promised.
Once done, she went straight to her room to keep the lyrics safe.
At the same time, Andrew, along with his father, Heather, and his grandfather, William, descended the stairs.
As soon as William's gaze fell on the woman dressed in white, seated on the couch, his brows furrowed.
Who was this woman? His granddaughter-in-law didn't look like this. He wondered, his eyes narrowing into slits when Beatrice turned to look at them before standing to greet them.
"Mr. Lloyd,"
"Senior Lloyd," Beatrice bowed to Heather and William.
Heather nodded in return at Beatrice.
"What is this woman doing here?" William asked, not even bothering to throw another look at her.
Beatrice's smile froze for a second before she schooled her expression.
"Dad, what are you saying? She is a guest," Sophia chuckled and stood to mend the situation.
William scoffed loudly.
"Any guest is welcomed here, but not a woman who wants to come between my grandson and his wife," he said loudly before turning to Andrew with a hard look.
"Where is Elara?" He asked.
Andrew cleared his throat.
"She is at her friend's house, Grandpa. She said she wanted to stay at her place since she was back in the country after a long time and wanted to catch up with her," Andrew said, telling the same story he had been telling everyone.
William scoffed.
"Just because she is staying at a friend's house, do you think you got the chance to roam around with this woman? How brokenhearted she would be after she would hear about this?" William shook his head in disappointment before hitting his cane on the floor.
"Call her. Call her now. I want to talk to her," William said.
Andrew froze in his place, swallowing hard.
How was he supposed to call her when she had blocked him? And if his grandfather heard about it, he would surely cause a ruckus and worsen his health.