Chapter 234: Ellia
After finishing shopping, he received one last visitor. It was none other than Ellia.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t go out, or the situation would become chaotic. At the very least, he had closed the store.
As a host, he should be the one preparing a drink for his guest, but as always, Ellia stopped him and took over that duty.
"Here you go." Ellia set the cup down gracefully before taking a seat in front of him.
Auric nodded. "Thank you."
Ellia looked down, hesitating.
Auric took a sip first before turning serious. "All right. What do you want to talk about?"
Ellia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked Auric in the eyes before lowering her head. "I’d like to thank you."
"Thank me? Why? Shouldn’t I apologize for dragging you with me?" Auric was talking about the previous incident.
"No. That incident would happen to me in one way or another. I heard that they’re targeting not only you but also the others. They’re simply trying to finish their job. In fact, because you are with me, I can meet you again right now."
"..." Auric still thought that if she didn’t come to him, she wouldn’t have experienced this kind of problem.
Ellia shook her head. "In any case, I’m not here to talk about that incident."
"Okay." Auric nodded, deciding to drop the topic.
"I want to thank you for everything. What you have done is like giving me a priceless treasure."
"Priceless treasure?"
Ellia raised her hand, gesturing for him not to interrupt her. She began her explanation. "My family is a bit special. My grandfather worked his whole life to bring the Astler Group to where it is today. Even though he has retired, his influence in the company is still the greatest.
"Meanwhile, my parents are supposed to inherit the Astler Group.
"However, my grandfather is like a wolf. He might have stepped away from management, but he monitors everything. He fights like his life depends on it every day. That’s why he’s a bit dissatisfied with my parents, who are taking things for granted.
"Since I was young, I have been doing my best not to disappoint everyone. Sadly, I realize that while I receive many privileges from being born into a wealthy family, my life won’t be as free as that of others.
"There are a lot of talks about my marriage, especially coming from my parents. Because they’re having a hard time managing the family, they’re thinking about how to advance the business.
"Since they don’t know any better, their only card is me. In other words, they want to cultivate me and marry me off so that they can advance the business, showing that they’re not incompetent.
"After knowing all that, I chose to rebel. My parents used to know that I was their doll until I was 16 years old.
"I pretended to agree with whatever they said. In the meantime, I also understood my grandfather’s character. So, I tried to butter him up in a way that he liked.
"Without my parents noticing, I received two companies from my grandfather. These companies generated a lot of cash. My grandfather thought I was capable, so if these two companies failed, he would take them back.
"Fortunately, I managed to run them successfully, so he didn’t take them back. In the end, I used them to generate even more money to buy more companies so I could generate even more money.
"Thanks to that, I was on equal footing with my parents until a week ago. My influence and shares might not be as big as theirs, but because I’m... the ’cash cow’ of the family, they can’t do much to me.
"That’s why when they tried to marry me off, I have the right to refuse.
"After all, if I’m cornered, I can retaliate with everything I have, which will significantly harm the group.
"Grandfather has never interfered because there’s no harm to the group yet. If my parents are cornering me, they’re harming the group, not me. At that time, I just didn’t care what would happen to me anymore."
Ellia sipped the tea to calm down. Auric contemplated. The situation might be more serious than he thought.
Auric couldn’t help but ask, "So when I asked to investigate that matter..."
Ellia nodded. "I don’t blame you. In the end, I was the one who decided whether to do it or not."
"But it still affected your company, right?"
"Meddling in something so big because of a small reason put my judgment at risk. As such, I gave up a company to show that this wasn’t a small reason."
"Even though you managed to prove it, losing a company is equivalent to showing a weakness."
"Yes." Ellia sighed. "As a result, my parents finally pulled ahead. They tried to take that opportunity, so I intended to fight a prolonged battle. I could recover everything in a year, so I just had to endure it for a year."
"Don’t tell me, my involvement..."
"It’s not bad. I can assure you that." Ellia shook her head. "Let me explain. Because I was being pushed back, I had to defend myself, which created a small skirmish between me and my parents.
"Of course, in this situation, I couldn’t use everything I had because that would show I was just throwing a tantrum after losing something big. That would be considered harm to the family, and my grandfather would intervene directly, which would put me at a bigger disadvantage.
"Still, that small fight weakened the group. Floyd took advantage of that small gap to swallow two companies.
"That was when my grandfather intervened. After all, our fight had caused harm to the family, so both sides would be punished. Still, the fight had to reach a truce first to retake what was ours."
Auric narrowed his eyes. "I gave them to you..."
"Yes. I suspected that you were trying to make it even, right?"
"You lost that company because of me, so I should repay you. Since the opportunity is present, I should also give you the interest." Auric nodded.
"For you, it might be just a way to equalize things plus interest, but it’s a matter of life-and-death for me."
"Aren’t you exaggerating it a bit?" Auric suddenly fell silent after seeing Ellia’s serious expression.
Ellia raised two fingers. "All this time, I’ve been able to go toe-to-toe against my parents. In fact, I’m progressing faster, so my parents are going to lose sooner or later.
"However, your action changed everything. Because of my grandfather, we’re not allowed to invite outside forces to handle our fight. After all, they would do their best to swallow the Astler Group whenever there’s an opportunity.
"But what if we don’t invite them? What if they are invited by a third party who is not aware of all this?"
"Me?" Auric pointed at himself.
"Yes, but my parents and grandfather will probably focus more on Floyd. In the end, this can’t be considered a harm to the family. After all, the company returned to the family."
"So, is that good for you?"
"Very good. Unbelievably good. For the first time, I could pull ahead of my parents. In addition, the company he chose was an essential one."
"Which company?"
"You probably haven’t heard of it, but it’s basically a training company."
"A training company?"
"Yes. It’s the company that trains the human resources that the Astler Group employs. The company’s staff, security, and all other positions... that company is the one nurturing them.
"For Floyd, this company is perfect because the people there have been trained by the Astler Group, so even if he takes over, it won’t be possible for him to bring all those talents away. In the end, we can just reestablish another company.
"So, getting this one won’t make him a target. But for you, it shows sincerity. After all, this company is essential to me.
"Just imagine how many talented people this company has nurtured. In the end, I will need people who are loyal to me to manage the company. At that time, they will put me above my parents, so in ten years, my people will fill the company and my parents will have no more say in the company.
"That’s a show of sincerity in the business world. But for himself, it’s just a safe place to strike."
"Indeed. I now know why people like to say ’messy business.’" Auric covered his mouth, containing his chuckle.
"That’s not the meaning, but I got you." Ellia chuckled. "Still, this company means more than anyone could imagine.
"The fact that I can take what belongs to my parents shows that I’m much more competent than my parents.
"In other words, the people in the Astler Group will realize that it’s better for them to side with me than my parents.
"As a result, my parents will lose their standing immediately. At this point, they can’t force me to do anything.
"All this time, I’ve been building my companies so that I can escape from my parents’ influence. I want my life.
"So, getting this company is the same as receiving my freedom. With me pulling ahead, there’s no way for my parents to catch up anymore. That’s how important that one company is to me. Now, do you understand the significance of that company? Do you understand why I want to thank you?"
"..." Auric looked away. "I can only say that you’re exaggerating."
Ellia knew Auric would say that simply because of his original intention.
Ellia said, "It’s fine if you think that way, because I will also see this situation in my own way. I just want to say that I will repay you for everything... I will repay you for giving me my freedom. If you reject it, I will just find a way for you to accept it."
"You know you’re being pushy right now." Auric scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I don’t mind you thinking of me that way." She knew Auric was just being considerate.
"Really? You might be influenced by your story. Why don’t we take a break and calm down? I think you might get a different opinion after this." Auric tried to escape. He was thinking about how to make this matter not that big of a deal.
It was like receiving an unexpected bonus. Still, he truly wanted to make things equal, not to take advantage of her. Besides, Ellia had been helping him with a lot of things, from mentoring him on many things to handling his money. If he wanted to put her in debt, there were a lot of other ways.
Ellia looked at Auric, who rushed out of the room. She sighed and thought, ’I guess I have become a hypocrite now. I told Milinda that he was obsessed with Auric because he’d saved her in her most desperate time.
’And now... I’m in the same position.’ Ellia closed her eyes. She couldn’t help but imagine the situation. It might be because she was in this condition, but her imagination became wilder than Milinda’s.
She always wanted to have a fulfilling life with a family and never be lonely again. That was why she kept picturing herself bumping into each other in a small kitchen as she prepared their meals. It didn’t have to be lavish. All she wanted was a warm family.
She couldn’t help but understand Milinda even more because after this, she couldn’t stop herself from picturing that image with Auric in it.
Auric was considerate but protective when it was necessary. When he fought back after seeing Eric in that state, Ellia knew Auric would do the same for the people closest to him.
All this time, she had been fighting her parents and playing with her crazy grandfather all by herself. Having someone to support her from behind just made her feel at ease.
’I really shouldn’t think this way, but I might not care about becoming a hypocrite anymore. No, in fact...’ Ellia’s eyes turned grim. ’...should I just stop being a good person and eliminate everyone who is after him and declare that he’s mine?’
