Starting with A Divorce by Gloria Warren

Chapter 173 The Heavy Rain

“What?! He came to look for you?” Lainey said in shock.

Ainsley talked about it and Irene with Lainey right after the breakup.

Ainsley thought of the building she saw Manuel walk into that day and smiled sorrowfully, “I don’t think

so. He came for work.”

“Aisy, don’t think about him anymore.” Lainey’s voice became gentle.

“I see.”

She was warning herself every moment not to think about Manuel. But the more she warned herself not

to think, the more she would think.

“Aisy, I’ll come over and keep you company.”

Ainsley laughed. “Lainey, I know you’re worried about me. Your family is so busy right

now. Just stay home.”

“Aisy, I’m worried about you.” Lainey wanted to come over right away.

“It’s okay. It’s still a month away. You can come over whenever you’re done.”

Outside the window, there were neon lights and towering buildings. Manuel sat in front

of the floor-to-ceiling window. Ainsley’s hotel was across the street.

It was a busy part of St. Nork, with a lot of traffic on the road. He lay on the bed, still

thinking about yesterday’s events.

He had been drinking with the people from Applegath yesterday. Getting drunk and dazed, he arrived at

Ainsley’s hotel without saying what he wanted to say.

What he could remember was Ainsley’s indifferent gaze and her sense of loss before he

left

The phone rang and his eyes narrowed. It was Irene calling.

“What’s up?” He didn’t tell Irene that he’d come to St. Nork. He’d come the first day Ainsley had arrived.

“Manuel, who was it that answered the phone last night?” Irene’s voice was soft, but her tone was

unmistakably sharp.

Manuel only felt annoyance. “What’s up?” He didn’t want to answer the question.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Manuel? Why did you go abroad without telling me? I only found out about you

going abroad today after a discussion with Ormus. Did you avoid me on purpose?” Irene’s tone was

getting more and more urgent.

Manuel said in a cold voice, “No, I just had to come here.”

Irene’s voice got a little louder. “I heard that Ainsley went to St. Nork for the Decker Contest. Manuel, you

must be in St. Nork now.”

Manuel gripped the phone slowly and his tone became colder, “You’re well-informed. So

what?”

Irene giggled. “So you’re really in St. Nork. Did Ainsley answer the phone last night? Manuel, are you

going to cheer for her? I’d like to cheer for her too.”

She paused and said, “Why don’t I come there tonight?”

Manuel’s face fell. “Don’t control me, Irene.”

“Manuel, I’m not controlling you. Mathew said you should look after me and that we

should work together. This is between the Wade family and the Gage family. Of course, I have to go to

St. Nork and control the situation.”

“Suit yourself.”

Manuel hung up the phone and frowned. He squeezed his brow as he thought about what Ainsley had

said again.

“We’re just normal friends, maybe not even normal friends…”

“Sorry for lying to me all this time, or sorry because of Irene?”

He wanted to tell Ainsley, but he didn’t dare to bet on it. At least now he could still meet Ainsley. He

wanted to talk to Irene and make it clear. But he couldn’t fall out with Irene, at

least not now.

That night he got a call from Irene. She had arrived at St. Nork and wanted him to pick.

her up. He didn’t go.

Inside the hotel, Ainsley continued to work on her paper.

She was supposed to be the fastest of the group of contestants. The rest were still thinking about the

idea.

For a thesis, the idea was the most important indeed.

If it was wrong from the beginning of the topic, it would be a mess.

It took her only two days to finish her proposal. Gwendolyn was surprised at her

progress.

“That’s too fast for you.”

The competition was an academic project competition organized by the top universities abroad. The

judges were very professional. In addition to famous psychology professors from different countries,

there were also some people from the Institute of Psychology.

The professionalism of the judges and the harshness of the selection process predetermined the strong

influence of this competition.

According to inside scoop, after this competition, the experts of the Institute of Psychology would choose

their favorite ones to enter the Institute.

By the fifth day of the competition, Ainsley had stopped thinking about Manuel.

She had finished her assignment and stretched out, and Zane had already emailed her all the data she

needed. She had already started sifting through the data.

Systematizing and then classifying it in detail, she began to think about how to model it.

When she finished planning the modeling approach, it was already midnight.

Outside the window was the sound of dense rain. The weather forecast in the morning mentioned that it

would rain heavily tonight. It was raining half an hour ago, and she

didn’t expect it to continue now.

She stood up and walked to the bed. Before she could lie down, she was startled by a

fierce knock on the door.

Last time it was drunken Manuel who knocked like that. Was it Manuel again?

She opened the door and saw Manuel standing in the doorway with wet hair and body.

His eyes were scarlet and glowing with exhaustion. Ainsley jumped.

“Manuel, you…” What was going on?

His hand covered hers. The cool touch nearly made her shake the hand off.

She turned sideways, letting Manuel walk in.

“Aisy,” he said with a ****voice.

Ainsley’s sanity was gradually replaced by emotion. She felt sad. She fetched her towel and handed it to

Manuel, saying awkwardly, “Manuel, what’s wrong with you?”

“I was in front of the hotel and was afraid to go in. When I came back to my senses, I realized that it was

raining.” Manuel remained calm and collected, but he looked at her

with sad eyes.

Ainsley was shocked. Could it be that he had just been waiting in front of the hotel?

But the rain had been going on for half an hour. Did he just stand there under the

rainstorm?

She didn’t think Manuel would. But seeing him in such a mess, she wasn’t sure anymore.

“Why? You came over drunk last time. This time you’re drunk too?” She asked.

Manuel thought for a moment before saying, “Just a little.”

Ainsley sniffled hard and shook her head. “More than that.”

The smell of alcohol was particularly strong on him. It wasn’t like he just drank a little.

“Manuel, I don’t think we should see each other again until you’ve dealt with your affairs.”

If he didn’t make it clear to Irene, then it would always be an unclear situation between

them.

Manuel suddenly looked up and said, “I don’t have anything to do with Irene. I don’t like her. Aisy, and it’s

my problem that I haven’t made it clear before. But I’ve made it clear to

her today.

“She came to St. Nork?” Ainsley frowned.

Manuel nodded. “Yes, I’ve cleared it with her.”

“So she’s gone back?” Ainsley stared out the door of the hotel room, afraid Irene would jump out.

“Not yet, I guess. I’m not sure.