Ice and Fire

Chapter 925 Family Will Return (Part One)

The director of the Human Resource Department would never dare say no. So he simply nodded his

head as he replied, "Yes, Mr. Lawrence."

Ivy heard them talking. She stayed and watched as the two directors walked towards the sofa inside

the drawing room. They were obviously ready to have a meeting with Lawrence, but she was rooted to

the spot.

Lawrence looked at her with contempt. He asked, "What? What do you want? Are you planning to stay

here and listen to our meeting?"

Lawrence's voice brought Ivy back to her senses. Startled, she stood up and looked at Lawrence. She

mumbled a quick apology and briskly stepped out of his office.

After his meeting with the two directors, Lawrence walked out of his office and left for a pub.

He went directly to his car and left the premises. While Lawrence was driving, he called Mike. When

Mike answered, Lawrence immediately asked his friend, "If you have nothing important to do, come

with me to the bar now."

Used to Lawrence's abrupt calls, Mike instantly replied, "Sure, I'll go to the bar with you. I don't turn

down free drinks, especially from you. I'll be there in a while."

Lawrence hung up and drove faster as he channeled his rage in to his car. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

After he reached the bar, he parked his car and walked towards the entrance. Inside, he chose to sit in

the corner, away from the crowd. He started drinking.

After drinking alone for almost half an hour, Lawrence saw Mike arrive. The latter entered the bar and

scanned the people around to look for his friend. He spotted Lawrence in the corner and without a

second thought, he directly walked to where Lawrence was sitting.

"Hey," Mike greeted. "Look, I know you're obviously annoyed because of Aria." Without asking, Mike

immediately knew why Lawrence wanted to go to a bar and why he started drinking alone. He knew

how upset Lawrence was. As Mike sat in front of his friend, he continued, "Greg, your brother-in-law,

will arrive any minute now. He seems to have a lot of free time lately."

Lawrence sighed and squinted his eyes toward Mike. He was irritated as he asked, "Why did you ask

him to come here? Who asked you to do that?" Lawrence was feeling angry - maybe it was because he

already had drunk a lot. He felt mad and irritated at Mike. He could not hide his anger as he started to

shout.

Mike calmly looked at Lawrence. He opted not to mind his friend's sudden outburst. He also thought

how Lawrence still looked charming even though he was in a bad shape right now.

Mike focused on Lawrence and asked, "Why? What's the matter? Don't tell me you're afraid of seeing

him? Are you worried what he'll think if he sees you like this?" Mike continued to stare into Lawrence's

eyes, and he wanted his friend to focus on what he was saying. He continued, "Look, Lawrence, you're

the king of this city. Don't be like this just because of a woman. You're handsome and rich. You know

you can get any woman you like. Stop wasting your time on this. Snap out of it. Is Aria really that

important? I mean, is she really worth all this?"

This angered Lawrence more. He glared at Mike as he exclaimed, "You know how I feel about her. You

know the answer to that." He looked cross as he took his glass and drunk all of the wine.

Mike also took a glass and had a drink. Then he looked around silently.

Just then, Lawrence heard his phone ring. He scowled and took it out with the intention of ending the

call immediately. He was not in the mood to answer calls right now. But the moment he saw the name

of the caller on his screen, his face softened.

Amidst the jangle of voices competing with the loud music, Mike was not able to hear Lawrence's

phone ring. All he noticed was the sudden change in his friend's face. He looked closer and saw that

the phone in Lawrence's hand was lit.

Intrigued, Mike asked, "So who is it?"

Lawrence ignored Mike's meddling and curtly said, "Sorry, I have to answer this." Then he stood up and

walked around to find a quiet place.

He opted to go to the lounge on the balcony which was on the second floor. Shutting out the noise, he

closed the door. Lawrence opened his phone and returned the call.

After several rings, the call was answered.

Cherry's voice could be heard from the other line, "Hello, Lawrence."

Lawrence smiled and warmly greeted his mother, "Hi, mother." His tone was gentle.

Cherry asked, "Are you busy right now?" Cherry wanted to talk to her son, but she did not want to

bother him. She knew how busy Lawrence could be.

Lawrence relaxed and sat down, "Nope. I am just hanging out with Mike. We're in a bar." He and his

mother were very close and he never really hid anything from her. He continued, "Why, mother? What's

up? Why do you call me?"

"Oh okay. Say hi to Mike for me," Cherry replied. "And there's something you should know."

Cherry's voice sounded enthusiastic and Lawrence could not help but smile. "What is it, mother? I'm

listening."

Cherry was out of breath as she eagerly replied, "We'll be back tomorrow. Your father, your sister, and I

will be back." Cherry could not wait to return home and be with her son. The moment they decided to

go back, all she thought of was Lawrence.

"You're going home? Really?" Lawrence was astounded. He could not believe what he was hearing. He

bolted up and was pacing along the balcony.

Cherry could hear how her son took the news and it made her more excited to go back. "Yes, we are.

Your father made the decision. Violet is very happy, too. She's packing her bags right now."

Lawrence longingly asked, "What time is your flight? I'll be there. I'll pick you guys up." He could not

stay still. Lawrence was very anxious and excited at the same time. He wanted to go to the airport

already. He wanted to wait for his family there.

Cherry replied, "It's at eleven o'clock in the morning." After a beat, she quickly added, "By the way,

don't tell your aunt and uncle. I don't want them to wait for us at the airport. You know I don't like to

bother people and I don't want our return to be very public. When we get home, we can visit your

grandparents together with your aunt and uncle."

Lawrence understood what Cherry was trying to say, he knew his mother better than anyone else. He

agreed, "I know, don't worry. I won't tell them."

"But I think Violet might have already told Alice," Cherry added after a thought, "Maybe you can go with

Alice and meet us at the airport together."

"Okay, got it." Lawrence was too eager to think of anything else, but he could not help but ask, "Mother,

will you leave again after this?"