Chapter 203 - JL International Anniversary Ball (6)

16 February, Star Dream Hotel, City K

Lexi, after the confrontation with Matthew and Phillip's parents quickly retreated to where Chester was standing. She turned and said "I had no idea that they were that evil. Our parents were problematic, but at least, regardless of anything we did they did not disown us."

"True. They always tried to make the best of a situation, even though their good intentions can backfire. Your marriage to Richard being the classic example of that."

"Do not speak of that disaster."

"You have Dominic, so it cannot be that much of a disaster."

"Well given their other option, I have to acknowledge that."

"So how are you going to deal with your in-laws, sister?"

"Is ignoring them an option?"

"Baby sister, you have the ability to do so. You live at Matthew's villa or you and he can move to his on base accommodation, places that they cannot easily access. That means, unless you want to let them in you do not have to. Phillip and I on the other hand, you forget we live at the Rong Family Villa and his parents still have every right to come freely into the place. Of course, it would be nice if they respect boundaries and do not enter Phillip's suite as they like, but as you experienced, they know no bounds. I am trying to convince him to move to my Villa to prevent them from having such free access, but Phillip likes his place. Until recently I had been thinking about convincing him to build a villa for us, as I was going to give you and Dominic my villa. That now seems wasteful, and I need to make changes to make my villa suitable for both our needs, but I have to convince him to make the change first to where we will live."

Knowing how stubborn Phillip had always been, Lexi without really thinking said "Good Luck with that."

"You know I am going to need all of that, but the one benefit is that it is closer to Matthew's villa than the Rong Family Villa is, so maybe I could…"

"You are going to use my son, your nephew, to bribe Phillip to move to your villa. I thought Matthew was manipulative."

"Lexi, that is not being manipulative, it is stating a fact…"

"That is even worse, Chester, using facts to control."

Pausing, Chester looked across the room and noticed Andrew "Changing subject, what do you think of Andrew's news?"

"After getting over the shock of John finding them stopped in a car park area at the park."

"That does not sound like Andrew."

"I spoke to John yesterday, apparently what we are being told about how he found them is not strictly correct…"

"Partially undressed, or hurriedly dressed?"

"The latter."

"Now that sounds like Andrew. I never forget when he was in High School, walking in on him in the lounge room at home making out with his girlfriend. Lexi, you were on a school camp, and Mum and Dad were away for business, so I was in charge. Andrew, when he realised, I was there, jumped away from the girl…" Chester stopped, thinking. "Hang on a minute, I think it was Sally Nang even them. That brat of a brother, have they been involved that long?"

"What!" responded Lexi.

"It seems like Andrew has been keeping secrets for a long time. How about we go…"

"And mess with him? Absolutely."

Chester and Lexi moved over to where Andrew and Sally were standing talking to Paul, Steven and John. Leaning in Lexi gave both Andrew and Sally a kiss on the cheek, before saying "Congratulations you two. How long has this been in the works?"

Chester standing slightly behind Lexi said "If my reckoning is correct, it has been an ongoing relationship for about ten years…"

"What!" spat out John, looking at both his sister and Andrew, and he noticed that neither of them were meeting anyone's eye. "Chester, what do you mean?"

Andrew, realising Chester may have remembered something said, "Keep quiet Chester."

"No way Andrew. You did not say anything to me, and now what I know was fair game. I remembered around ten years ago, our parents were on a trip and Lexi was at some school camp walking in on Andrew and his girlfriend, in the lounge at the family villa, for want of a better term making out. It only has just clicked that his girlfriend was Sally, so…"

John, Paul and Steven all turned to Andrew who was looking at Sally. Sally sensing the tension, had taken a step closer to Andrew. John immediately knew that Chester was right, their relationship had been going on for much longer than anyone had suspected, but rather than reacting, he wanted to see what Paul and Steven said.

Paul looked at the scene before him. Andrew had always known that he was in love with Sally, and his actions in encouraging him to look further than Sally for a life partner now made sense. Hearing of their engagement had hurt him, but this cut deeper than he thought. Paul said "Andrew…"

Andrew bent and whispered in Sally's ear before stepping away with Paul. When they were far enough away, Paul said "Is it true?"

Knowing that now was not the time to lie "In part. We dated for a few months about ten years ago but were uncertain about whether we wanted a relationship. It was a chance meeting two years ago, that led us to now. I always told you, even when she and I were not together, that you should not fixate on Sally, as she was committed to her family. I thought she would hurt me that way, but something changed about six months ago when the relationship became completely serious. Paul, please do not think I meant to hurt you, Sally and I both value your friendship too much…"

Feeling his heart crushed, Paul said "You know how I always felt about her, but she constantly rejected every move I made to try and form a relationship…"

"My friend," said Andrew placing his hand on Paul's shoulder "Think about it, what do you want for Sally, her happiness or her? My answer is always her happiness, because she is the most important thing for me. If that means she walks away, then I will deal with how I feel. You need to figure that out for yourself but know this I do not want to lose our friendship over this, but if it comes down to a choice, I think you will know my answer."

Andrew turned and walked back to Sally, while Paul stood and pondered his words. He was right, while he wanted Sally, he knew his love for her was such that the overriding thing was her happiness. If that meant she was with someone else, he just had to bare it."

Looking up, he noticed that everyone was starting to drift towards the tables for the meal to be served.

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