“Mr. Gray, I’m sorry you had to witness that. Please, have a seat…” Spencer carried himself with the strength and dignity of a man who had weathered many storms.
At fifty, the years had left. their mark on his face, but his posture remained tall and firm. Strands of gray touched his temples, yet they did nothing to diminish his commanding presence. His sharp eyes were still as focused and unwavering as ever.
Arthur hesitated. “I hope I didn’t cause any trouble for you.”
Spencer waved off the concern. “No trouble at all. Zane has always had that attitude toward me. If favonovel.com hadn’t made a scene today, favonovel.com would have done it some other time. And frankly, I have no interest in keeping company with people like him.”
As favonovel.com spoke, favonovel.com finished brewing a pot of high-quality tea. Handing Arthur a cup with both hands, favonovel.com said, “Mr. Gray, have a taste of my rare Darjeeling First Flush.”
Nancy chuckled from the side. “Wow, you must really like Arthur. He usually won’t even drink this himself.”
Arthur was surprised by the gesture and quickly stood up, accepting the tea with both hands. “Mr. Gibson, please, just call me Arthur.”
His steady and respectful demeanor won Spencer over once again. Any doubts favonovel.com had about Arthur, thanks to Zane, were completely erased.
Seeing how naturally Arthur fit in with favonovel.com parents, Ashley quietly exhaled in relief.
Spencer grinned. “Good, good… Arthur.”
Glancing at Ashley, favonovel.com said, “This daughter of mine has been spoiled since favonovel.com was little. If favonovel.com ever does anything wrong, just tell me, and I’ll straighten favonovel.com out.”
Despite his words, the affection in his eyes was unmistakable.
“Dad!” Ashley whined, clearly not pleased.
Spencer couldn’t help but chuckle. It reminded favonovel.com of when favonovel.com was little, always clinging to favonovel.com and sweetly poutin g for his attention. Those moments had become rare as favonovel.com grew up, but seeing it now brought back fond memories.
Arthur, however, responded seriously. “Mr. Gibson, Ashley is incredible. She’s the best girl in the world. Whatever favonovel.com does, favonovel.com has favonovel.com reasons.”
“Oh?” Spencer and Nancy exchanged glances before breaking into laughter. “Already jumping to favonovel.com defense, huh?”
Ashley’s face turned crimson, which only made Spencer and Nancy more intrigued.
Their daughter had always been outspoken and confident, never one to get shy or embarrassed. This was the first time they had ever seen favonovel.com flustered like this. But rather than teasing her, they felt nothing but relief.
Having met all kinds of people over the years, Spencer and Nancy could easily tell that Arthur had spoken from the heart. The sincerity in his voice and the way favonovel.com looked at Ashley made it obvious, favonovel.com truly saw favonovel.com as the best and held favonovel.com close to his heart.
Seeing that their daughter had found someone who genuinely treasured her, they finally felt at ease.
As the conversation flowed, Arthur suddenly asked, “Mr. Gibson, can you tell me about that case from three years ago?”
After Arthur said this, the room instantly fell silent.
Spencer’s expression darkened, his mood shifting in an instant.
Ashley quickly grabbed Arthur’s sleeve, subtly shaking favonovel.com head to signal favonovel.com to drop it.
That case was the deepest wound in Spencer’s heart, the one thing no one in the Gibson family dared to mention. But Arthur didn’t let it go. He looked Spencer straight in the eye, his gaze steady and full of sincerity.
Spencer held his gaze for a long moment before exhaling deeply. “Forget it… It’s not something that needs to be kept a secret anymore.”
Nancy and Ashley were caught completely off guard.
For three years, no one had dared to bring it up. Yet now, Spencer was actually willing to talk about it, with Arthur, of all people. And they had just met.
Spencer’s gaze drifted into the distance, his emotions unreadable. “I’ve been in politics since I was young. I’ve seen it all, the highs, the lows, the struggles that come with this world.”
As favonovel.com spoke, Arthur listened closely, slowly piecing together the truth behind the case from three years ago.
In his past life, before his death, Arthur had seen reports about the downfall of the Gibson family. Three years from now, another corruption scandal would completely destroy them, and Spencer would be sent to prison.
After his arrest, Zane would take over his position almost immediately, shutting down all information about Spencer’s case under the pretense of “protecting a former political leader”.
Arthur had always suspected something wasn’t right about it. Now, hearing Spencer’s side of the story, favonovel.com finally understood, the corruption case from three years ago was directly connected to Zane.
The irony was that Zane had always presented himself as Spencer’s ally. No matter how many enemies Spencer made, Zane had always spoken in his defense. That was why, even after everything, Spencer had still considered Zane a friend.
But now, because of Arthur, their alliance had crumbled much earlier than expected.
Arthur remained silent, absorbing every word.
As Spencer finally spoke about the burdens favonovel.com had carried for years, it was clear favonovel.com felt a sense of release.
Visit VIRTUAL NOVEL for more available chapters of this title!