Ash Rose 5

Chapter 5 

Alexander frowned, his irritation barely concealed as he retorted, 

“Trending?” 

“It’s definitely something Vivienne did again. She already caused Annabelle to nearly drown, and now she’s making this whole thing public.” 

“How far does she want to go to make things difficult for Annabelle?” 

His assistant didn’t dare speak bluntly. 

Instead, she cautiously suggested, 

“Mr. Sinclair, maybe you should take a look first. There might be more to this story.” 

She pulled up the trending video and handed the phone to Alexander. 

He pressed his fingers to his forehead, casually glancing at the screen before sneering, 

“What more could there possibly be?” 

“Are you saying I was wrong to suspect…” 

His words suddenly caught in his throat because the video on screen didn’t follow the direction Alexander had imagined. 

He watched as Annabelle, paralyzed in her legs, stood up and arrogantly confronted me. Then she climbed onto the railing and jumped into the pond. 

Alexander rushed over and jumped in after her, saving her. 

He yelled at me. 

Refused to hear my explanation. 

Even forcibly held me under water. 

His fingers trembled as he gripped the phone. 

The red exclamation mark that had popped up earlier flooded him with panic. 

He immediately dialed my number. 

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is not available…” 

Three calls, all the same response. 

I had blocked him. 

Alexander was completely thrown. 

He told his assistant, 

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“Find out where Vivienne is right now.” 

Then he grabbed his car keys from the desk and rushed out of the office. 

“I’m going to see Annabelle. I need to get to the bottom of this myself.” 

At the family estate, Annabelle stood trimming the backyard flower beds, humming softly with her phone nearby. Taking dainty little step, she savored the victory she had wrested from me. 

“Miss Moreau, Mr. Sinclair just suddenly came back. He’s heading this way!” 

“What?” 

Alexander’s sudden return caught Annabelle off guard. 

She hurriedly ordered, 

“At this hour, why would Alexander come back all of a sudden?” 

“Hurry! Get my wheelchair ready.” 

As Annabelle quickly settled into her wheelchair, Alexander appeared right then. 

With a sweet smile, she heard the quick footsteps behind her, maneuvered her electric wheelchair around, and asked in surprise, 

“Alexander, why are you back from the office so early?” 

“Did something get left behind?” 

“The morning sun was nice. It’s rare. So I borrowed some shears from the workers to trim the flowers.” 

Alexander’s eyes fell on her legs. 

His face gave nothing away, no hint of anger or pleasure. 

“How are your legs doing?” 

Annabelle looked a little guilty and instinctively touched them. 

“They’re fine.” 

“Just after Vivienne pushed me into the water. When it rains, my knees hurt worse. But as long as you’re here with me, I’m not afraid of any pain.” 

Alexander smiled. 

It was a strange smile that made Annabelle feel increasingly uneasy. 

He slowly walked over to the rack holding the large garden shears. 

The shears were placed quite high, around chest level for Alexander. Anyone standing could reach them easily, but for Annabelle, sitting in her wheelchair, they were completely out of reach. 

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At that thought, his gaze darkened as he repeated her words, 

“You’re not afraid of any pain?” 

Annabelle nodded and reached out to hold his hand while pushing her wheelchair forward. 

“Yes. With Alexander here, I’m not afraid of anything.” 

Alexander glanced at the hand she clung to but he didn’t pull it away like he usually did. 

Instead, he suddenly grabbed the large shears. Suddenly, he lunged the sharp blades toward Annabelle’s legs beneath 

her. 

In a flash, Annabelle didn’t have time to fake it anymore. 

Only her body’s most basic instincts responded. 

She screamed uncontrollably and immediately bounced up from the wheelchair, dodging the attack, 

“Ah-ah!” 

She stood up.