Indeed, Adrian had no idea why his siblings started treating him like this when they could not even care less about him in the past.

They never doted on him, and they never shared a close relationship with him. Since they were little, they had their own separate worlds. Even his closeness with Edward is only to a certain extent.

​​

What they call as familial affection is only displayed through fancy dinner nights, luxurious outings and other social gatherings. When they are together, their conversations mostly revolve around their careers and some personal matters that are not too deep. And unlike now, they never tried to encourage him to open up or look after him this way.

The most perplexing one here is Irish, though. Adrian doesn't know what's up with that laid-back and carefree attitude of hers when she's presently dealing with certain circumstances.

"What are you doing here? Especially you, Irish..." he started with a forbidding approach.

"Was my lesson for you not enough so you came to get some more?"

"Oh, so now you're talking. It's really you who did it, after all..." she said with a scowl, dropping her playful bearing and grimly narrowing her eyes at him.

"No worries. Just like what you want to happen, I'm very hurt by what you've done despite how I look now."

"How did it go, by the way? Did you lose your job or something?"

"Adrian..." Olivia called out from the side, concerned for her sister.

"Irish already gets it, alright? No need to rub salt in her wounds."

The thing is, Adrian has gone after Irish, a world-renowned movie actress and supermodel, by anonymously damaging her reputation and discrediting her for all the misdeeds that she should have long been charged for. The media had reports of her being accused of abuse, which kind of blew up as another top scandal and ultimately costed her one of the things she treasured the most - her career.

In conclusion, he may not have laid charges against her or returned the offenses she did as they were, but he did something that would be more adverse in the long run.

"For now, all I know is that I have been suspended from work. It could get worse..." Irish dismally trailed off and heaved a weary sigh while Adrian only continued looking at her apathetically.

"And with that, I've got nothing to do! So, I just decided to take a break and pay a visit in your workplace."

"Or perhaps, you're here to ask if I can take back what I've done."

"Of course not! I know you will not do it no matter what I do, anyway."

Olivia smiles a little at Irish, thinking that she has changed. If she was still the same as before, she would go straight to Gertrude and throw a tantrum like the spoiled brat that she used to be. Their mother would then deal with Adrian herself, and because he was a bit of a mommy's boy, he would eventually give in after much persuasion. Then, things would go back to the way they were before.

But now, Gertrude could not even face Adrian anymore - not after what he did to her father.

"However, since you're the main reason why I have nothing to do now, I'll just meddle in your affairs!" Irish declared with quite an assertive attitude.

"And you think I'd let you? You're really gutsy to even step a foot in here," Adrian muttered underneath his breath while she only walked closer to his desk and slammed her hands on top of it.

"Anyway, I heard something. What's this about seeing Cassidy?"

"Weren't you listening to me just now-"

"Before you kick me out, let me have a say in this. Just this once. Then, I won't bother you again."

He really can't understand why she's acting like this all of the sudden. It's really as if she finally cares about someone other than herself. She is still nosy, free-spoken and blunt, though - perhaps, even more than ever since he could no longer threaten her that easily.

'Come to think of it, Ma'am Irish has a lot of experiences in dating...' Charles, having a completely different pattern of thoughts from Adrian, suddenly recalled.

'Among us here, she's probably the only one who can give a good advice. While I doubt that the President will listen to her because of their disputes, this and that are different stories, right? He really could use some words of wisdom from a pro - not a single-since-birth like me.'

"As I said, it's a big no-no to see Cassidy now, Adrian. You may be thinking that deep within her, she wants to see you too. But what if she's one who chooses to use her head rather than obey her heart? Considering that she left and all, I think she is..." Irish proceeded to advise.

"Not to mention, you will only appear like an obsessed stalker if you keep following her out in the open. You might even annoy her to the point she will force you to divorce her-"

"As if I'd let that happen," Adrian growled almost instantly, cutting her off in the process.

"Right, right. I get it... But look, if you're gonna come after her, you'll have to put her first before yourself."

"Huh? Am I not already doing that?"

"What I mean is place yourself in her shoes. How the hell will you feel if you keep getting followed around by someone you don't want to have anything to do with anymore? Think about what she feels, not what you feel. We all get that you want her back, but at this point, there is no use forcing yourself on her."

"So, you're telling me to give up?"

"I'm telling you to think of a strategy, lil' bro. A different approach!"

"A what?"

Both Edward and Olivia find it astonishing that they are holding a decent conversation for once, and in a way, they even appear like a couple of siblings having some heart-to-heart talk.