Both sides were at their coldest, least cooperative attitudes, and it was fanning the growing frustration within Mark’s chest.“This restoration project is going to cost at least $100,000 just for the most basic repairs, and this is only the gross estimates! For a house like that, a house worth around $1.5 million, it will demand even more money. It could literally cost millions!” he said.Arianne understood the reasoning behind mentioning the money. He was trying to make her bend under his will! But she would not yield, so she countered, “Oh, I see. Well, I have a couple of hundred thousand with me, so I’ll withdraw all of them for this and borrow the rest of the amount from you. Don’t worry, I’ll repay you. I may not be working, but I have a side income from my café. One day, I’ll return all of my dues.”Mark drew in a deep breath before fuming. “Must you insist on talking to me like this? Who says anything about wanting you to return that money?”“If that’s not the issue, then w
A while later, Mary returned with bad news. “I tried calling her, but it didn’t go through! She mentioned that she was looking forward to several days of unfettered revelries, so maybe she’s planning to keep her phone offline throughout so that no one can disturb her…? B-B-But what do we do, then?”Mark’s lips quivered as raw emotions slowly took control of his features. “Oh, alright… Brava, brava… But two can play that game! Stay out there! Stay out there and don’t come back! I can take care of my son, no problem! I’ll bring him to my company! I don’t, for one, believe that she’s capable of not coming back to see her baby for a month! This time, I’m not going to plead with her to come back!”Mary had the foresight to duck as far away as possible to save herself. She could see it, as clear as day. The war had begun because both sides refused to concede.It was eight in the morning. As planned, Jackson West appeared before the main entrance of the Smith Enterprise.Alejandro’s was a
Jett had to admit that Alejandro thought ahead. He might have given up on removing Tiffany’s baby himself, but he knew what to say to fool Jackson into doing the dirty for him. That little conversation just now was enough to plant the idea in Jackson’s head that the baby wasn’t his, therefore playing on the man’s insecurities and banes.Regardless, the scene from before had made Jett very worried. He had always been Don Smith’s subject, for starters, and though he now answered to Alejandro, he was still expected to work for Don. What would happen to him when the truth of his work was out? Don could want him dead, or Alejandro could make him die. Either way, the only fate that awaited him was death. That was how much of a nightmare both sides were.The worst of all was that Don had been contacting him more and more often lately. This would not bode well.Jett continued to push Alejandro into the building and took notice that the anxiety level within the building seemed to have dialed
“You never thought of me, your disgusting little bastard grandson, as someone who would one day be by your side as you die, anyway, “ Alejandro said steelily. “What, have you forgotten the crap you’ve done, huh? Now you want to enjoy the life of a grandfather surrounded by his grandchildren? Give me a break. None of your sons are alive, and the only heir you have is a lame grandson who is too busy to be playing balls with Grandpa. Have your bodyguards be your playmate, old man. If you’re done lecturing me, get out of my way. I’ve got business.”Don turned crimson with rage. “Why you son of a—”Jett stepped out and stopped him. “Master Don, Mr. Smith is doing fine. The company is well, too. He has made quite an achievement since he arrived at the Capital. You should relax.”Don stared straight at Jett for a few seconds before replying, “Alright, then. You take good care of him. I’ll be off.”Jett answered him with a hum and hung his head, afraid that Don might find incriminating sig
Tiffany’s head was thrown into a knot. She could not fathom whatever was in Jackson’s mind. Sure, she wanted to be successful in her career, but she never thought of giving up her baby for that. When she heard about her pregnancy, the emotion that overwhelmed her was genuine, surprised jubilance. Ever since she saw how adorable Smore was, she had wanted a child of her own.Tiffany planned to request maternity leave when she was near her delivery date, then resume working after that leave expired. Never had the thought of abortion crossed her mind.“No. I’m not giving up on the baby. I don’t even think its gonna affect my work in any way, either,” she said.Jackson was quiet for a beat before replying, “Listen to me. Get an abortion.”That was when Tiffany understood that her perspective was never included in Jackson’s consideration.The realization chilled her. “Why? Just, why? Can you at least give me a reason? You can’t—you can’t just tell me to let go of a kid for no frickin’ r
“What are you doing here alone?” Tiffany asked, sobbing intermittently when they met. “Where’s Smore? Can you really leave him at home?”Although Arianne felt uncomfortable, she did not show it. “Don’t worry, his daddy is with him. What’s there to worry about? I’ve decided to come here for a few days to have fun and keep you company. How are things between you and Jackson?”“He thinks that Alejandro is the father of the baby.” Tiffany sobbed. “He wants me to abort it. I hung up on him angrily, and he hasn’t called me back since. He’s going to drive me crazy…”Arianne wiped her tears off. “Alright, don’t cry. Pregnant women shouldn’t cry. The baby can feel it whenever you’re sad. It’s not a myth, it’s true. Suspicion is one’s greatest enemy. It can destroy trust between two people. There are two ways to solve this now; either you and Jackson have a nice chat and convince him that the baby is his, or you take a paternity test and show him the proof. I don’t recommend you aborting the
Mark pulled out his phone countless times, feeling the urge to call Arianne. However, he was afraid she would reject his calls again. That, in turn, would only upset him. He had to endure this. He needed to stop spoiling her so much and that included Aristotle. They were both too spoiled.Suddenly, someone gently pushed the office door open. A tall, slender, and pretty young woman dressed in office wear with her hair tied back into a loose ponytail glided into the room. “Mr. Tremont,” she said in a soft voice, “The director has asked me to bring these documents over. I didn’t knock as I was afraid of disturbing the baby. Should I leave these on your desk?”Mark nodded. “Put them down,” he softly replied, “I’ll look at them when I have the time.” As he spoke, he noticed that the woman had taken off her high heels and carried them in her hands when she entered. She did not use the readily-available disposable slippers. “There’s a shoe cabinet at the door with disposable slippers readil
The meeting did not take too long since Mark could not stop worrying about Aristotle. The meeting that would have taken at least two hours was promptly shortened to one hour because of his son. He skipped through everything that was not important.He returned to the office and found that Aristotle had stopped crying. Thanks to Janice’s extensive efforts in cheering him up, the little man was staring up at her blankly. He did not seem happy, but at least he had stopped crying. Mark heaved a sigh of relief, walked up to her, and said, “You’re certainly good with children. No one could soothe Smore except for his mother.”Janice became slightly more reserved when he returned. She stepped aside. “Smore? Little Smore? What a cute nickname!”Mark gazed at his son and smiled. “That’s right, his mother gave it to him. We’ve gotten used to calling him by that name. His real name is Aristotle Tremont.”Janice stared dazedly at Mark for a few seconds. Everyone in the office had mentioned that