Rising from the Ashes (Andrew) novel Chapter 2722

Andrew smiled at her. "And what else?"

Luna's face turned red again. She turned her head away, embarrassed. "I don't know."

Andrew stepped closer until their breath brushed between them. He whispered, "What else? If you don't say it now, we won't get another chance once we're back in Chetvine."

Luna bit her lip and mumbled, "What do you want me to say?"

Andrew kept his eyes on her and said, "You know exactly what I want you to say. Come on."

Luna opened her mouth, hesitated, then finally murmured, "I-I like you! There… happy now?"

Andrew burst out laughing and said, "Happy? I'm thrilled."

He grabbed her delicate hand and said, "Come on, let's head back to Chetvine."

Luna nodded hard, and for some reason, she felt more relaxed and at ease than she ever had before. She followed Andrew closely, unable to take her eyes off him for even a second. She kept thinking that she wished this moment could last forever.

Luna had no idea that in the years to come, she would often think back to this day. She would regret that on this afternoon filled with drifting peach blossoms, she had not wrapped her arms around the man she loved. She would feel the sting of knowing that she should have been brave enough to throw herself into his arms.

Meanwhile, watching the two of them hand in hand, Valerie said nothing as she turned away and walked off alone. No one knew that she cried by herself.

She cried and cursed through her tears, muttering, "Andrew, I hope you choke! I hate you…"

There were thousands of words in the world, but nothing hurt more than love. Especially the kind that crept up without warning.

Valerie realized too late that she had gone into this little game casually, yet somehow ended up losing herself entirely.

…

The martial emperor, who normally never appeared at such events, sighed and said, "Even if I had been there myself, I couldn't have done better than Andrew. He had already been moving toward perfection right under our noses for years.

"Now, he truly carries the commanding presence and sharp instincts of a powerful leader. With him leading the future Lloyd royal family, even if the world changes, the Lloyd family won't face any major problems."

Jerome was beyond shocked. It turned out all of this had been the Lloyd royal family's secret evaluation of Andrew.

Page after page was filled with perfect scores, analyses of his decisions, and glowing remarks. There was not a single failing note anywhere.

Top-tier families were extraordinary. Even their evaluation methods impressed Jerome deeply. Indeed, Andrew was a remarkable man.

Jerome secretly made up his mind that for the rest of his life, he had no other concerns. The glory of the past held no attraction or regret for him anymore. As long as Eric could keep pace with Andrew, that would be enough.

Life worked like that: follow the right person, and you would have already made it two-thirds of the way to success. And if you kept following all the way through, you would be living the high life.