7. Purple City

"Purple City."

"What?"

"I will go to Purple City."

It was three days after Ariadne was discharged from the hospital. She had been staying in Jennifer's place.

She didn't go to the mansion. Xander had given her the mansion, but she refused to accept. The mansion would only haunt her. And going to her father was out of questions, so Jennifer insisted on staying here.

She even didn't go to the mansion to collect her belongings. Fortunately, she had all of her documents with her.

Grandpa and Jennifer made the necessary arrangements for her departure. Only the place was not selected.

After some thought, she decided on Purple City. It was a developed city, and she would have many career opportunities there. She needed to make a lot of money so that she could meet their needs.

She had some savings from her online job. In addition, her mother had left her a fortune. She had kept it with her.

She wouldn't take anything from Xander or her father. She also turned down Granpa's help as she had enough money for now. She just needed to find a good job as soon as possible.

"Are you ready?" Jennifer asked.

"Yes."

They were going to visit Mary, Ariadne's babysitter. She was like a second mother to her. She had taken care of Ariadne after her mother died untill she was chased out from the Miller residence.

Mary used to protect Ariadne from Emma and Crystal's bulies. Emma became enraged and falsely accused her of stealing. As Mary was a friend of Emily, Ariadne's mother, Aaron Miller didn't turn her over to the police. After Mary left, Ariadne was left alone, and eventually went abroad to study.

Ariadne sighed as she recalled the past.

She wanted to say goodbye to Mary as she remained as close to her heart as ever.

...

"I have transferred the money, Mama Mary. If you need anythig in the future, please contact me at this number." Ariadne gave Mary a contact number.

They were sitting on a torn sofa in Mary's small cottage. After losing her job at the Miller residence, she was unable to find another as she was lebeled a thief.

Over the years, Ariadne sent money to help her survive. No one knew that Ariadne used to work online to support Mary. She never used her father's or Xander's money to help Mary.

"Did you change your phone number?" Mary was confused.

"Yes, Mama Mary."

"Oh. But why does it sound like you are going somewhere?"

Ariadne had always visited her on a regular basis, but today was different as Mary suspected.

"I am leaving for abroad, Mama Mary."

"What? Why?"

"I want peace in my life." Ariadne explained everything to her.

Mary gave a sympathetic nod. She knew everything about Ariadne's life. Her heart ached for the poor child. She regretted her inability to help Ariadne as she couldn't able to protect her from those evil women.

"I will go with you." After a while, Mary spoke.

"What. No." Ariadne denied.

"Don't say no. I promised your mother that I would take care of you. But I have already failed her." Mary lowered her head.

"It wasn't your fault."

"But this time it will be if I don't accompany you. You can't live in a foreign country alone. Who will take care of you? I couldn't keep you safe from them, but I don't want anything to happen to you this time. I am going with you. I don't want to hear anything about this." Mary said with determination.

"I have no one here either. Take me along, Aria. We will build a new life for ourselves together." Mary pleaded.

Ariadne, no doubt, needed someone reliable by her side. She eventually agreed after some consideration. As everything was settled, they booked tickets the same day without wasting time.

..........

In the old mansion, William sat on a chair, drinking tea.

"Miss Ariadne's flight departed at 2 pm, Sir." the butler informed him.

"hmm" William nodded.

"But I don't think she actually went for Aerola. It's very close from here."

"I know. She doesn't want anyone to know where she is and it's best for everyone..... for now." William replied calmly.

"Oh" the butler nodded in understanding. "I am thinking about how the young master will react when he learns about her daparture. Is this truly the end of their relationship?"

William said nothing but he appeared to deep in thought.

.....

Meanwhile, Crystal was discharged from the hospital as well.

After a few days, everyone returned to their normal lives.

.....

It was three days after Ariadne had left.

In a meeting at Blake Corporation, Xander sat quietly in the main seat. A presentation was being delivered on a large screen in the dimly lit room. Mr. Hales was discussing the development of a new restaurant.

However, Xander was unable to concentrate on what the man was saying. His life was a mess, and he was having difficulty focusing on work these days.

He did not realize when the presentation ended. He regained his composer as the room brightened after the presentation. Looking around, he realized that everyone was looking at him. Mr. Hales waited for Xander's feedback.

"Leave the file here. I will review it later and provide feedback. The meeting is over." he said in his usual serious tone.

"Yes, Mr. Blake." Mr. Hales did as instructed and left the conference hall, followed by everyone except Xander's assistant, Jose.

The room became silent. Xander took in the peace of the silent room.

"Did you finish the task I assigned you?" he asked Jose.

"Yes sir, 100 million has been allocated to Miller Group's fund. Miss Crystal will be here tomorrow to discuss the combined project."

"What? Will she come in person?" Xander told Crystal to rest for a few weeks before returning to work.

"Yes sir, she has started going to work today. She called earlier to schedule an appointment with you for tomorrow."

Xander admired this aspect of Crystal. Regardless of their close relationship, she always maintained a professional demeanour at work. The room became silent again.

"Has Ariadne been discharged from the hospital?" After some hesitation Xander finally asked.

"I don't know sir. Do you want me to get the information?"

"No need. It was a minor injury. She was supposed to be discharged that same day."

Eleven days had passed since Xander forced Ariadne to apologize to Crystal. Ariadne was injured the same day, but he made no attempt to learn about her condition. This time, Ariadne had gone too far, and he was furious with her. He didnt even want to hear her name. He felt sorry for crystal. So he made some arrangements to compensate for her loss and make her feel better.

"We are leaving early today. I need to bring a file from the mansion."

"Ok sir."

..........

A black rolls Royce pulled out in front of the mansion. Xander stepped out of the vehicle and rang the doorbell.

He had an irritated expression on his face as he thought about the woman he would encounter in the mansion. He gave Ariadne this mansion and some other assets as alimony.

He was well aware that Ariadne had a strained relationship with her family and the recent events made it nearly impossible for her to stay with them. He also didn't want to do anything with the house that held her memories.

A maid opened the door. Xander felt relieved that it was not Ariadne as usual. He came here today to take away all of his belongings.

"Oh, good evening, Sir. I wasn't informed of your arriving."

Xander ignored her and entered the mansion. Jose was trailing him.

"Go to my room and bring all of my belongings" He instructed Jose.

"Ok Sir."

Xander assumed Ariadne was in the bedroom since she was not downstairs. He sent Jose so he wouldn't have to see her. He went into the study and rummaged through the files. He observed that the mansion was quieter than usual.

After a while, the maid brought some refreshments as Jose returned with some of Xander's clothes. Xander grabbed his coffee mug and took a sip. Jose did as well.

"Do you need anything else, Sir? Will you stay for the night?" the maid asked, lowering her head.

"No."

"Ok, Sir."

"Where is Cathy? I didn't see her on my way here."

"She is on leave, Sir. Her health has not been great lately."

"Oh."

The maid stood there with her head bowed.

It had been some time since they arrived, but there was no sign of Ariadne. Xander pondered in his mind. On other occasions, she would come to see Xander as soon as she learned he was here.

"Where is Ariadne?" he could not help ask.

"Hmm.. Madam, Sir? I don't know." The maid looked at Xander, perplexed.

"What do you mean by you don't know?"

"She didn't return after Miss Crystal's accident."

"What?"

"Yes, Sir. Even her clothes and other belongings are still there."

Xander looked over at Jose, who nodded in agreement.

"And you are informing me now?"

"I am sorry, Sir. I had no idea I needed to inform this. I thought she had moved out of here, as you two are..." she didn't finish her sentence.

After dismissing the maid Xander went to their room. It was empty, and there was no sign of Ariadne, as the maid had said. He opened the closet and noticed all of her dresses were neatly organized. He became angry.

"What is the meaning of this?"

.....

"Sir, Miss Ariadne was discharged from the hospital ten days ago." Jose informed him as they drove back to his penthouse.

Shortly after their conversation with the maid, they left the mansion, and Xander asked Jose to look into Ariadne.

"Where did she go after her discharge? Did she go to her father's house then?" Xander asked.

"I don't think she went to her father's house."

"Did she go to Grandpa's?"

"No, Sir. She is probably staying somewhere else or with a friend. Should I get information about her wheresbouts?"

"No. She is playing a hard game. Just ignore her. We have nothing to do with her anyway since she signed the divorce papers."

Even though they were divorced, Ariadne couldn't demand alimony as Xander had made her to sign an agreement prior to their marriage. It was entirely up to Xander whether or not to give her anything after the divorce.

Suddenly, he thought of something. "where are the divorce papers?"

Jose brought the divorce papers. Ariadne didn't sign the page that mentioned alimony.

"The lawyer informed me that she doesn't want anything from you, Sir. I forgot to inform you as you have been very busy lately."

Xander's face turned dark as he clenched his teeth. He didn't bother checking the divorce papers after Ariadne signed them. He simply instructed Jose to keep them with him.

'What is this new game, Ariadne?'

He wondered to himself.

'Is she trying to gain my sympathy with this?'