Chapter 678 Don’t Insult Her
The next day, Elise had just walked out of the Elite Class in the Small White Building when she bumped into a man who was
covered from head to toe. He wore a mask over his face and pulled his baseball cap low to cover his eyes. The man stood
behind some plants to avoid getting noticed by the students.
Elise immediately recognized who the man was. “Garreth,” she said as she walked over to him. He froze for a moment and only
heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Elise. “Elise,” he mumbled as he pulled his mask down and hung his head low.
He looked like a child who had made a terrible mistake.
“We’ll talk when we’re home.” The last class of the day had just ended, so there would be students swarming out of their classes
anytime soon. It wasn’t appropriate for them to talk on school grounds. So, Elise decided to bring Garreth back to the villa. Once
they got in, he took off his cap and sunglasses.
Sofia happened to come downstairs as they entered the hall. “This is...” she mumbled when she saw the man. Elise simply
ignored Sofia’s words as she turned to look at Garreth. “You can wait for me at the study upstairs.” He nodded before heading
upstairs.
Once he was gone, Elise turned to look at Sofia before speaking with a blank expression on her face. “Miss Hawkins, I hope you
understand the upper floors are private spaces for Alexander and me. No one else should be allowed upstairs, even if my
mother-in-law is the one who arranges for them to go up. You will need to ask for our permission first.”
Sofia didn’t seem taken aback by the woman’s words, for she continued to smile at her. “Well, how am I supposed to clean the
place up if I don’t go up? How should I change your toiletries? My job is to ensure that Mr. Griffith lives a comfortable life. So, you
should trust me since I’m the professional at this, Miss Sinclair.” Sofia refused to refer to Elise as Mrs. Griffith—it was as if they
would be equals with one another if she didn’t do so.
Elise curled her lips into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I will not repeat myself. If you wish to get fired, feel free to go against
my orders.” They glared at each other for two seconds before Elise headed upstairs. Sofia remained on her spot, and the smile
on her face stiffened as a hateful look formed in her eyes. It took a while before her rational side allowed her to calm her
emotions down. At that moment, she came up with an idea. If I tell Alexander that Elise brought another man home while he
wasn’t around, what would he think of her? I heard that Elise is pretty famous in the entertainment industry. What if the reporters
find out about this?
At that thought, Sofia pulled her phone out to text a reporter she was close to. ‘I told you I’ve always got your back, right? Well, I
want you to immediately send someone over to 188, Building 6 on XX Street. Elise is having a date with her secret boyfriend,’
she typed.
‘Her secret boyfriend? Could it be Garreth, who has just disappeared?’ the reporter replied almost immediately.
Sofia stared at the text. Garreth... That’s a familiar name. She ran a search on the name, and her eyes lit up immediately. Isn’t
this the man who just headed upstairs? I can’t believe he’s the hot topic of the whole entertainment industry right now! Oh, Elise.
How dare you bring him a man as trendy as him? You asked for it, Elise. You can’t blame me for this.
‘Yeah,’ Sofia replied through text. After she was done, she put away her phone and crossed her arms. Then, she sent a smug
look in the direction of the room Elise and Garreth were in. Sofia used to be a factual journalist, so she had always regarded the
paparazzi with disdain. She would’ve never imagined herself putting them to good use. I guess it is important to have some
connections, she thought.
About 30 minutes later, the entire villa was surrounded by the paparazzi. A few of them were shouting their lungs out. “Miss
Sinclair, we heard that Garreth is in there! We came all the way here just to take a look at him. Please give us something to work
with!” one of the reporters cried.
“How long have you been dating Garreth, Miss Sinclair? Are you guys staying together?” one asked.
“Garreth, what do you have to say about the 300 million that Blitzy Entertainment is requesting?!” another one cried.
“Miss Sinclair, Garreth, are you guys sure that you guys want to stay hidden when there are so many people out here? Is this
how you should treat us reporters?” one shouted.
“We heard that Miss Sinclair helped Garreth with the termination of the contract. Is that true? Please say a word or two!” a
reporter stated.
Elise simply opened the blinds a little to peep at the situation downstairs. The moment there was movement in her room, the
sharp-eyed reports caught it and began to shout. “Miss Sinclair! It’s Elise Sinclair. She’s on the second floor! Why don’t you come
out and explain yourself?!” one cried.
She hastily shut the blinds before retreating into the room. Garreth couldn’t sit still for much longer, so he clenched his fists and
walked out of the room. “Hold on,” Elise called. “Where are you going?”
“They’re here for me. You’ll be fine as long as I leave. I don’t want to drag you down,” he said desolately.
“Leave? How are you going to leave with that huge crowd out there? You’re tiny compared to those tens of people,” Elise said
calmly. “Didn’t you just say that you want to start a new life? All of this is a process. If you want to start anew, you will need to
learn how to control your emotions,” she advised him.
“But they aren’t going to leave until they see me.” Garreth turned around to reveal a conflicted look on his face. He didn’t want to
face the media either, but this was the only way to get rid of the crowd outside the house. “I’m not telling you to stay here
forever.” Elise pulled her phone out and typed a few words while speaking absent-mindedly. “You can wait for another 30
minutes. We need one more person,” she said.
“One more person?” Garreth had no idea what was going on, but he simply obeyed Elise’s words when he saw how focused she
seemed. He took a seat quietly as he didn’t want to disturb her. Finally, Garreth got to his feet after what felt like the longest 30
minutes in the world. At that moment, Elise’s phone began to ring. She picked it up and pressed it against her ear. “I got it,” she
murmured after a few seconds of silence.
Then, she put her phone away before addressing Garreth. “You can leave now. Take the front door. Don’t say a single thing.
Once the reporters have been gathered, I’ll give them an explanation on behalf of you.”
Although Garreth had no idea what Elise was planning to do, he felt oddly safe with her. So, he simply nodded and went along
with her plan. Then, after taking a deep breath to steady himself, he headed downstairs and opened the door to face all the
reporters outside the villa. “Garreth is out!” all the reporters cried when they saw him.
The reporters squeezed toward him from all directions, and Garreth found himself in front of more than 20 microphones in a
matter of seconds. “Did Elise agree to pay for the termination of your contract, Garreth? Is that why you’re dating her?” one
reporter asked.
“Is Elise in there, Garreth? When did you guys start dating?” another one asked.
“Was Elise the one who chased after you?!”
“The rumors claim that Elise has a thing with both Kenneth and Alexander. Are you another one of her boyfriends? What do you
think about an open relationship?”
“Shut up!” When he heard the last reporter’s question, Garreth completely forgot about Elise’s words. “Elise is a good person. I
won’t have you talking bad about her like that!” he hissed coldly.