<b>Chapter </b><b>113 </b>
<b>After </b>getting an earful from Edgar on the phone, Briar totally lost her mood for eating out.
So, they just decided to head home and whip something up themselves.
Briar was only good with needles, not with cooking, so dinner duty definitely wasn’t falling on her.
As for Ashton, who was spoiled since childhood, no one even dreamed he’d set foot in the kitchen.
So Ashton just waved his hand and had a five–star hotel chef brought straight to Moonspring Estate.
By the time they got home, the mouthwatering smell of food was already wafting out from the dining room.
As soon as Briar caught a whiff of that spicy, savory scent in the air, her frown instantly melted away. “That’s the smell of fried <b>fish</b><b>.</b><b>” </b>
Ashton nodded, motioning for her to go ahead. “Yeah, smells great. Go take a look.”
Briar slipped on her slippers and practically bounced off to the dining room. His bad mood had vanished. Even the swing of her ponytail
looked extra cheerful.
Ashton, hands in his pockets, sauntered after her at a leisurely pace, looking just as pleased.
Brandon Woodward, trailing behind them, couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
Brandon thought to himself, ‘Mr. Wade, you really know how to put on a show. This kind of move is old–school, but you sure know how to
make it work.
‘You totally know what Miss Jennings likes and even told me to make sure to get a chef who specializes in her favorite food, but now you’re pretending like it was all a coincidence.
‘Good thing Miss Jennings is too busy drooling over the food right now<b>, </b>or else your little scheme wouldn’t fool her for a second.‘
Ashton caught Brandon’s disdainful look, raised an eyebrow, and let out a quiet scoff.
‘Sure, it’s a cliché trick, but as long as it works, that’s all that matters,’ Ashton thought.
Just as expected, Ashton managed to cheer Briar right up with a single dinner. She was all smiles again in no time.
Once she had all that amazing food in front of her, Briar couldn’t care less about that loser Edgar.
After they’d both stuffed themselves, Ashton watched Briar as she poked at her dessert while scrolling through her phone.
He casually asked, “Briar, do you have any ns for tomorrow? It’s Sunday.”
Briar shook her head. “No idea. Maybe just stay home and sleep.”
Ashton was tall and long–legged. Even when he was just lounging in his chair, he would unconsciously lower his head when <b>looking </b><b>at </b>
people.
Even in such a rxed posture, he still gave off an imposing presence that was impossible to ignore.
The five–star chef<i>, </i>leading his team, had been waiting quietly off to the side.
Seeing that Ashton had no further instructions, he stepped forward respectfully and said, “Mr. Wade<b>, </b>if there’s nothing <b>else</b><b>, </b><b>I’ll </b><b>take </b><b>my </b><b>team </b>
<b>1/4 </b>
and head out now.”
Ashton nodded. “Alright, you may go.”
Brandon stepped forward at just the right moment to escort the chef and his team to the door.
He said, “You can all head straight home. No need to go back to work.
“I’ve already told the manager to give each of you an extra 300 dors as overtime pay for tonight.”
This whole dinner was something Ashton set up just to lift Briar’s spirits. Now that she was happy, he wasn’t shy about giving out some extra
rewards.
The chef and his team, who had been a bit tense before, instantly broke into big smiles. “Thank you, Mr. Wade!”
Then, everyone happily carpooled home together.
Briar finished herst bite of dessert, wiped her mouth, and said, “Ashton, I’m heading back now. I’lle over again at eleven tonight, okay?”
Coming back at eleven was obviously helping Ashton to go to sleep.”
Ashton nodded. “Alright, I’ll be waiting for you in the bedroom at eleven.”
“Sure.” Briar agreed and headed out.
If any clueless bystander overheard their conversation, their minds would instantly run wild with spicy fanfiction<b>. </b>
But both of them looked totally unfazed, as if there was nothing weird about it at all.
Once Briar got home, she went straight to take a shower as
usual.
Then, while drying her hair, she fired up herputer, nning to check the Hacker Alliance’s job board to see if there were any <b>quick</b>, easy gigs.
Just as herputer booted up, a video call from Tristan ckwell popped up.
As soon as she picked up, he blurted out, “My favorite disciple, I heard you managed to snag a Frostworm!”
Briar’s expression didn’t change. “Who told you that?”
She already guessed it had to be that chatterbox Alexia.
“Doesn’t matter who told me. Just tell me–do you have a Frostworm or not?” Tristan’s voice was practically buzzing with excitement.
Briar said helplessly, “Yeah, I do. But I’m keeping it for myself, so don’t even think about it.”
Tristan’s face instantly fell. “You’ve barely been back in the country, and you’re already trying to cut ties with me who is a poor and lonely <b>old </b>
man?
“You promised you’d give me the Frostworm. Are you going back on your word? Don’t make me cry right here. I swear I <b>will</b>!”
Briar rubbed her temples and sighed in frustration. “I did say that…”
“So you’re really going back on your promise? My life is just so miserable!”
<b>10:49 </b>Fri, 15 <b>Aug </b>O
Tristan didn’t care how awkward this was for Briar. He immediately started acting <b>up</b>, tears streaming down his face<i>. </i>
Crying, making a scene, and threatening to do something drastic were his go–to tricks for getting Briar to <b>give </b>in.
The moment Briar heard Tristan start up the waterworks again, the corner of her mouth twitched.
She said, “I know you want to cry, but just hold it in for a sec, okay? Let me finish what I have to say first…”
“If I let you finish, my Frostworm will be gone for sure. I refuse <i>to </i>listen to you!”
After all, every time they tried to reason things out–whether Briar used the soft approach with sweet words or the hard approach <b>with </b><b>her </b>iron fists–Tristan always ended up losing the argument.
Having taken enough sebacks, Tristan had finally learned that no amount of whining, iling, or drama could get Briar to y <b>by </b>his <b>rules</b>.
Briar was at a loss for words.
She thought, ‘Crying or not, this old man never misses a beat when ites to being sly!’
Briar asked, “You’re really not going to listen to me?”
Tristan: “I’m not listening!”
“Alright then!” Briar replied, “Since you want it so much, I’ll mail it to you tomorrow.
“As for Griffin Wade’s illness, we’ll just have to wait until I get my hands on another Frostworm…”
Before Briar could even finish, Tristan’s tears dried up instantly, and he asked nervously, “Wait! Did you say that Frostworm is for Griffin?”
Briar just stared at him silently, not saying a word.
Tristan coughed awkwardly. “Come on, you should’ve told me sooner! If I’d known you were saving it for Griffin, I wouldn’t have cried at all…”
He’d wasted so many tears for nothing. Now he’d have to drink some extra sugary drinkter to make up for it.
“I would’ve told you if you’d just listened!” Briar said, exasperated.
Briar thought to herself, ‘Seriously, he’s such an overgrown child.
‘The older he gets, the more childish he bes. It’s honestly impressive.
‘His favorite show to watch while eating is actually cartoons.’
He always insisted he was the smart protagonist, and anyone who tried to take him down was just a dumb antagonist to him.
Briar just wanted to roll her eyes.
She thought, ‘Of course, his dumb enemies can’t find him since he is hiding out on some random ind.
‘I actually dare him to ever show his face in public.’
Tristan pretended not to notice the hidden meaning in Briar’s words and quickly changed the subject to something less <b>risky</b>.
He asked, “I heard Frostworms are pretty pricey. Do you have enough cash on hand? Want me to wire you some<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Now that he realized the Frostworm was meant to save his old buddy, he was quick to try and get <b>on </b><b>her </b><b>good </b><b>side</b>.
<b>3/4 </b>
<b>10:49 </b>Fri <b>15 </b>Aug
Briar was never one to turn down easy money. “Sure! Just send me a million dors<b>, </b>then<b>.</b><b>” </b>
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