Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

As evening fell, Aspen and Dylan returned to Serenity Villa. The front gate stood wide open, and Andrew sat squarely in a chair in the middle of the first-floor lobby. Aspen frowned as she stepped inside. "Why are you sitting here?"

Andrew replied, "Waiting for guests."

"Who?"

"Assassins from the Haywoods and the Goldings."

Her face darkened when she heard his words. She could not help but think Andrew had lost his damn mind for leaving the front door wide open for killers.

He glanced at her and asked, "Weren't you meeting a client? How'd it go?" Aspen's voice turned icy. "Turns out, Christina was the one looking for investors."noveldrama

Andrew raised a brow. "So? You turned her down?"

She sneered as she said, "More than that. I made sure all three of them left humiliated. That old hag Irene even got a slap from me."

Andrew simply shrugged. Aspen had never been the merciful type, and none of this surprised him. He simply ordered, "Go make something to eat. I'm hungry."

Aspen scowled. "Just order takeout. With all these people you've invited over, I can't handle cooking alone."

She pulled out her phone, only to find every restaurant refusing delivery to The Sovereign Residences.

Watching her frustration mount, Andrew smirked. "Save your energy. If takeout were an option, I'd have done it hours ago. No delivery driver in their right mind would step foot here right now. Don't torture them."

Aspen finally realized what was going on. Of course thanks to Andrew, The Sovereign Residences had become a no-go zone. At this point, even birds probably avoided flying overhead, lest they get plucked mid-flight.

"Fine. I'll cook for you, but I'm not feeding everyone else," she muttered.

The pointed remark made Natasha glance up from the couch, where she had been watching TV. She

teased, "Wow, someone's feisty net

Don't worry, just make enough for darling here. I'll... share his plate later." sŵnovel

She added, "It's perfect. If I eat after him, it's basically an indirect kiss."

Natasha effortlessly turned the tables with the practiced ease of a Black Widow.

Aspen gritted her teeth, muttering

"bitch" under her breath before

responding flatly, "Fine. I'll make two

portions. We can't have our

esteemed guest, Madam Vostokoff,

eating leftovers."

Reuben and the rest of the men still needed to be fed, and even Andrew could not let Aspen handle it all alone.

Feeling slightly guilty, he sent Dylan on another errand, leaving The Sovereign Residences once more to grab food for the group.

Dinner came and went, and darkness settled over the estate. The grounds of Serenity Villa stretched out in vast expanses

manicured lawns, dotted with net

artificial rock formations and a serene artificial lake, leaving the property feeling eerily exposed.

Only a handful of scattered streetlamps stood guard, their faint glow doing little to push back the encroaching night.

Aspen descended the stairs in her thin sleepwear, the night breeze from the open doorway causing her thin nightdress to flutter suggestively around her silhouette.

She walked next to Andrew and whispered, "Why don't you get some rest? I'll take over the watch for a while."

Andrew shook his head without looking up. "Go to bed. I'm fine."

Aspen clenched her jaw. He had been sitting motionless all day, so how could he not be tired?

She insisted, "I won't let you down. I know I'm nowhere near your level, but keeping watch is something I can handle."

Andrew's gaze flickered over her revealing attire, a smirk playing at his lips. "Planning to stand guard in your nightwear? Is that your strategy?"

His eyes traveled pointedly downward. "I don't even see a bra. Do you really think you could fight if trouble shows up?"