Ice and Fire

Chapter 922 An Indifferent Lover (Part Two)

He went to the reception area to give Lawrence time to finish his work. He went to look out the window

and was treated to a marvelous view of the city. The building was situated at the center of the city and

you could see the whole city from this height. It was indeed a relaxing view.

Ten minutes later, Mike saw Ivy leave the room, so he went to see how his friend was doing.

"Are you done?" asked Mike.

"Yes," replied Lawrence, as he tidied up his desk.

"Then let's go. We must not make Anna wait for too long. If she gets angry, she might not treat us to

lunch anymore," Mike said, gesturing Lawrence to hurry up.

Without saying a word, Lawrence stood up and walked out of his office.

When Ivy saw Mike and Lawrence hop in the elevator, she clenched her teeth and spitefully murmured

to herself, "Anna Dou, let's wait and see!"

Lawrence and Mike finally arrived at the restaurant. As they entered, they noticed that Anna was

already there waiting for them, so they hurriedly approached her.

"Hey, Lawrence, there you are!" Anna happily said as she stood up. A big smile crossed her beautiful,

pinkish face. But Lawrence said nothing.

"Hey, Anna. I'm fine, thank you for asking," Mike sarcastically said as he realized that Anna didn't

notice him. He sat beside her and continued to grumble, "Well, I hope you did not forget that you also

invited me here."

Anna laughed sweetly and then said jokingly, "There's no way I could miss such a handsome and

decent prince, is there?" She tapped Mike's shoulder and continued, "I actually wanted to apologize to

you because I didn't say anything to you at the party that evening."

"Oh, forget about it. I didn't mind at all," Mike replied, pertaining to that evening that Anna was talking

about. Mike crossed his legs and leaned on the chair comfortably while saying, "I'm just wondering.

Why didn't you let us know that you're coming back?"

"I want to surprise you both," Anna replied, smiling at Mike.

"Huh? Surprise us both?" Mike asked sarcastically. "Maybe you mean you wanted to surprise

Lawrence. I know that Lawrence meant more to you, am I right?" Mike bantered. They knew each other

back since kindergarten. When they were younger, Mike could only keep these things to himself, but

now that they're older, he could now say whatever he wanted.

Anna just smiled and didn't say a word. She picked up her handbag and brought out two invitation

cards. She handed each card to Lawrence and Mike while saying, "As you know, our family moved all

our businesses to the city, so we intend to hold a business party to all our business partners and

friends. I hope that you two can come."

It wasn't an ordinary invitation. It was specially made for the invitation and seemed to be expensive.

One could say that the invitation was intended only for the distinguished guests because of its

ingenious design – golden lettering, golden paper, and golden invitation. It could be mistaken for a gold

bar.

"Wow! This is the most exquisite and well-designed invitation I have ever received. Well, I shouldn't be

surprised since your company is the most successful investment group. This invitation just speaks for

your group's reputation." Mike teased Anna again. He put the invitation into his pocket and said, "Count

me in. I'll definitely be there."

"Lawrence, too!" Anna declared, thinking that Lawrence would come because Mike would. Her face lit

up and continued, "I will introduce you to my father."

"That's wonderful and I'm looking forward to that!" Mike exclaimed. "Maybe I can also ask your father to

invest in my real estate project."

"Sure. I'll try to help you persuade my father. But no promises," Anna said. But she wasn't really paying Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

so much attention to Mike. Her eyes were set to Lawrence who was not saying a word since they got in

the restaurant.

"Anna, I didn't expect that we'd become good friends again," Mike said. He suddenly leaned over to

Anna with a sly smile and continued, "Soon enough we'll be business partners. So, how about we get

married and merge our businesses?"

Anna was stunned at what Mike just said. She immediately dismissed the idea and said with a

disgusted smile, "What are you talking about?" She quickly looked at Lawrence's face but saw no

change in his expression, so she continued to say, "We are just friends, okay? As the saying goes, 'You

don't eat where you shit', so how can you hit on me?"

Mike laughed hysterically and replied, "Well, I don't give a shit about any saying. I think you'd make a

good wife, so I'd like to…" But before he could finish his playful banter, Anna stopped him.

"Mike, if you don't stop talking nonsense, I won't take you to see my father," Anna threatened him to

make him stop because she was worried that Lawrence would misunderstand the situation.

"Whoa, I was just fooling around. But for the sake of my company's future, I would shut up." Mike

became serious from that moment on and sat up straight. He was just indeed fooling around with the

intention of stealing Anna's attention away from Lawrence. Not because he liked her, but because Mike

was worried about Aria. If Anna and Lawrence got back together, what would happen to Aria? 'Will it be

Aria or Anna? You have to choose now, buddy, before it's too late, ' Mike thought to himself.

If anyone would ask Mike, he would choose Aria for his friend. He knew from the bottom of his heart

that Aria was the best fit for Lawrence.

The food was finally served and the three had an enjoyable feast while reminiscing their childhood

days.

After lunch, they said their goodbyes to each other and continued with their own businesses. Anna

went ahead to finalize the party. Mike was fetched by his driver to get to his office. Lawrence drove

himself back to his own office to finish some of the contracts.

While on his way back to the office, he dialed Aria's number and put the phone on speaker. The line

went ringing until the other line answered.

"Hello?" Aria's low voice surrounded the whole car.

"Hey, have you had your lunch?" Lawrence asked. He cared so much about her that he kept tabs on

her whereabouts and activities from time to time to make sure she's okay.

"Yes, I just finished. Do you need anything from me?" Aria's tone was unusually cold.

"Oh, nothing," Lawrence hastily replied. He sensed that Aria was a little indifferent and it frustrated him.

He didn't know how he would respond to her.

"If so, I need to hang up now. I have other important things to do," Aria said and hung up.

Lawrence was about to say something when he heard a lot of "beeps" from the other line. He got

distressed and thought to himself, 'So she really did hang up. What just happened?' He was confused.

He had no idea what just happened and why Aria was acting that way. He had never imagined that

their relationship would hit this rock as if they were strangers. No, even worse than strangers.

Meanwhile, Aria was sitting in the corner of her office's coffee area, holding a cup of tea while staring

outside the window. Her hands were shaking, her head down, and tears started to fall down her

cheeks. She quickly dried them up, afraid that someone might see her crying and gossip about it.

'Lawrence, I don't know if I can face you anymore. I don't know if I can look into your eyes and not cry. I

don't know how you are feeling anymore. Are you still in love with me? Do you still care for me? Is

there something I did that made you change your mind? Am I still be the only one in your heart?'

These were all the questions Aria had on her mind. Her sight started to blur as tears filled up her eyes.

She sobbed quietly and alone. She's feeling very weak now, physically and emotionally. She was

longing for Lawrence, but it made her cry even more. She wanted to hear his voice, but that call made

her sad because she was thinking that Lawrence was just doing it out of obligation and not of love. And

finally, Aria was overcome by her emotions. She cried her heart out in the corner of the coffee area.