Love's New Bloom by Simone Hastings

Chapter 209 Total Transformation

Erin’s question made lan smile coldly. “Don’t worry, I won’t let these people off the hook. I’ll report them to the

police and get them all

arrested.”

With just two simple sentences, he made his intentions clear, and only then did Erin breathe a sigh of relief. “I

almost thought you didn’t

catch on-”

lan glanced at her from the side. “Miss Eastwood, you think too simply of me.”

“I can only blame it on your superior acting skills. I really thought you were one of those clueless rich guys.”

He snorted unamusedly and explained. “These people are driven by money. I gave them some money to appeal to

them first, making them believe that they can make a good profit from the repair cost later. This way, they won’t

have any ill intentions toward your BMW. Not everyone will choose to commit crimes when they can easily earn

money through deception and avoid unnecessary trouble.”

Erin had to hand it to him. “That was handled well, Mr. Sloan. I was quite confused earlier.”

lan smiled charmingly. “A woman should have a man to protect her.”

The suggestive glance he cast her way instantly dispelled the slightly favorable impression he’d just managed to

salvage in Erin’s eyes. He was clearly trying to seduce her with the way he looked at her.

Erin’s tone became laced with suspicion as she inquired, “Why did you stop by earlier? Were you also involved with

their scheme with the

nails?”

She let her imagination run wild, suspecting that lan had staged the whole act to make himself look like the hero

who saved the damsel in

distress.

Her remark caused lan to pull a long face, and he sounded very irritated as he retorted, “What do you mean by

that? Are you doubting my motives for helping you? Miss Eastwood, I admit that you’re indeed beautiful and the

type of woman that men would fall for at first sight.

But let me tell you, I don’t need to go to such lengths to please you.”

He then added, “Besides, the reason I stopped by the roadside earlier was that I was on a phone call. My wife,

Yvette, called me to discuss

our divorce.”

Erin gave him a quizzical look. Just telling her that he was on a phone call was more than sufficient. Did he really

need to disclose the

contents of his personal call to a stranger?

After waiting for a while and not getting any response from Erin, lan grew curious. “Don’t you want to know why

Yvette and I are getting

divorced?”

Erin had known all along, so she didn’t need to ask.

She casually replied. “That’s none of my concern. It’s your private matter.”

However, Erin’s indifference didn’t stop lan from expanding on the topic. He said, “Since we still have to stay in the

car for a while, why don’t I tell you the story between Yvette and me-”

“Mr. Sloan, you really don’t need to tell me these things. I’m not interested.” Erin refused outright.

Her words made lan burst into laughter. Erin frowned slightly and rolled her eyes at him, ultimately choosing to

ignore him.

lan’s laughter continued for some time. After he’d laughed enough, he said, “Where did you suddenly appear from,

Pamela? Your appearance is more than enough for you to step into the entertainment industry and become a star.

If that’s what you’d like, I can help you achieve it.”

Erin found this side of lan somewhat unfamiliar. His face showed a gentlemanly and open expression, yet it was

merely a hypocritical facade hiding the true nature of a beast.

A playful gleam flashed in Erin’s eyes, and she suddenly asked, “Mr. Sloan, have you fallen for me at first sight?”

To fall for someone at first sight meant to be attracted solely by appearance.

She didn’t get an immediate answer from lan. He smirked, pondered for a moment, and replied, “I can’t say it’s

infatuation at first sight, but

Erin’s heartbeat accelerated by a fraction. From the moment lan laid eyes on her, she deliberately changed her

tone and demeanor so as not to resemble her past self. However, she didn’t expect lan to still recognize her. But it

wasn’t surprising either since she and lan had been together for four years, which wasn’t a short time by any

means.

“Mr. Sloan, just be honest. What kind of thoughts do you have toward me?” Erin smiled languidly.

lan quickly glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then turned his gaze back ahead, a faint smile playing on his

face.

“To be honest, I’m not interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with you, but I’m very interested in spending a

night with you.”

Erin couldn’t help but laugh softly. “When Erin chose to divorce you back then, I thought it was the best decision

she’d made in her life. Mr. Sloan, someone like you is not suited for marriage and love. You should just stick

constantly changing women and enjoying the high life.”

Her words carried no hint of sarcasm. After seeing through lan’s true character long ago, facing this completely

uninhibited version of him now, she genuinely felt that such a man was indeed suited to live freely and

unrestrainedly. In short, he was incapable of making any

promises to any woman.

Her evaluation left lan at a loss for words for a while.

Just when Erin thought he wouldn’t say anything else, lan said impassively. “Perhaps you’re right. Someone like me

indeed doesn’t

deserve love. The only woman I have ever let down in my life is Erin.”

“What about Yvette then? Haven’t you let her down?” Erin became curious now as to why lan only mentioned her.

His tone was very casual as if he were talking about an ordinary matter as he answered, “I married Yvette because

I couldn’t get what I wanted from Erin back then. Yvette is Erin’s twin sister, and I thought marrying a woman who

looked the same could fill the void in my heart. But I discovered just two months into our marriage that she was

nothing more than a substitute for Erin. If our son were still alive. maybe our marriage wouldn’t have reached its

end. Back when our son died. I was finally able to see everything clearly.”

Suddenly, lan glanced at Erin and said in a mocking tone, “I always thought I loved Yvette… It turns out I never did.”

Surprised by his revelation, Erin asked. “Why are you telling all these things to a stranger like me?”

lan held the steering wheel with one hand and reached into the storage compartment with the other, pulling out a

cigarette. Without

looking at her, he casually asked. “Do you mind if I smoke?”

Erin paused for two seconds and said, “Go ahead, but please open the car window.”

lan didn’t say anything. After lighting the cigarette, he took two puffs and lowered the car window slightly.

“Since you were a close friend of Erin, you’re not a complete stranger. Maybe it’s because of your eyes and your

voice that I let my guard down and say whatever that came to my mind.”

He smiled warmly. “To be honest, I’ve never encountered a girl like you before, someone who can let me be myself

freely. It feels so refreshing. You really should think about what I suggested earlier, Pamela. I have plenty of money

to make you famous. Of course, I’m also quite interested in you. Talking to you feels comfortable. How about it? Will

you let me be your man?”

lan’s openness was met with a genuine response from Erin. “Mr. Sloan, I’ll also be honest with you. I’m not

interested in you at all whether it’s your money or yourself. We’re from completely different worlds. Just as you

said, you have plenty of money, you can find women who are interested in you easily. As for you and me, we can

continue being strangers after I get out of your car.”

Her rejection made lan chuckle. “It’s truly saddening that you rejected me so quickly. You could have pretended to

play along with me for a while, at least to show gratitude for my help today.”

Shaking her head, Erin remained silent. In the seven years they hadn’t seen each other, lan had become a

complete stranger to her. She still held on to the memories from their university days, back when lan was still a

simple and sincere undergraduate student. It all turned into nothingness, buried along with the passing of time.

Erin even suspected that the young man she’d loved during their university days had never truly existed. It seemed

time would eventually change anyone and everyone.

Erin couldn’t help but sigh. At least she hadn’t become the kind of person she used to dislike, but she couldn’t say

the same for lan. He’d completely become the kind of person he used to despise and look down upon; he’d also

become the kind of person that Erin disliked.

Perhaps she should adapt to this change whether she liked it or not.

On the way back, lan and Erin didn’t speak a word.

When lan drove into the city center, Erin asked him to drop her off at an intersection. He didn’t leave his contact

information, nor did he ask

for Erin’s phone number either.

Just before Erin got off the car, lan told her that he would report the incident regarding the BMW to the police and

asked her to wait for instructions on how to retrieve the car.

Erin calmly got off the car as if lan was nothing but her Uber driver. The two went their separate ways in opposite

directions.

At 7 pm, Erin arrived at Chandler’s villa on time, carrying her art teaching tools.

She was led into the living room by the butler, and as soon as she entered, she saw a handsome man sitting on the

sofa not far away.

Chandler was dressed in fashionable and comfortable home attire, holding a newspaper in his hand. The moment

he looked up, he

happened to catch Erin looking at him.

He quickly averted his gaze and casually said, “Miss Eastwood, please wait in the living room for a moment. Asa’s

aunt is in his room.”

Erin was about to respond when she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps pattering across the corridor on the

second floor. She looked

up at the source of the sound and soon saw a small figure appearing at the stairs.

Asa was wearing a handsome children’s outfit, and with a childish voice, he exclaimed. “Daddy, Aunt Yvette says

you’re so handsome your

face would glow!”