Chapter 5

John spoke up just then, alleviating the awkwardness.

"Dicky waited for you for over an hour. He usually naps earlier."

Cordy's heart skipped a beat, but she pursed her lips and said, "Actually, Mr. Levine, you could've just explained that I'm not his mommy."

John simply watched her with his black eyes quietly then, and the sudden silence left Cordy wondering if she had misspoken.

Still, she did not dwell on it and continued, "The fire was just an accident anyway. You didn't have to bring me lunch or have those maids take care of me. And how much for the phone? I'll wire the money to you."

"I thought you were smart, Ms. Sachs."

Cordy was at a loss. Was there anything about her that made her look stupid?!

"Dicky needs a mommy," John continued in his alluring voice, as if it was only natural.

"So?" Cordy raised a brow.

John simply kept his dark eyes fixed on her for a long while.

After the pause, his pitch seemed to deepen. "And he likes you. So you might be able to tell that I'm wooing you, Ms. Sachs."

Cordy was speechless.

She could never have told. All she felt was that everything he did was imposing!

"You don't need to respond immediately, Ms. Sachs. After all…"

John then trailed off, as if musing on the right words, "We're not acquainted yet."

Obviously, they were just strangers who crossed paths by chance.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Cordy said, "Don't you think you're being a little childish about a relationship, Mr. Levine?"

John raised a brow—she was already a difficult person, and she appeared even more distant now.

"Wooing me just because your son likes me? Am I just a tool to you? What if your son stops liking me and chooses another woman to be his mommy one day? Are you going to woo her too, Mr. Levine?"

Cordy paused to calm herself just then, as she noticed that she was getting a little harsh. "I'm sorry, Mr. Levine, but I don't share your perspective."

"Wooing has nothing to do with my son. He just happens to like you too, just as I do," John said plainly then.

Cordy actually thought she had misheard.

A sudden declaration of love… It must be a joke, right?!

They had just met hours ago!

"You don't have to worry about my son falling for another woman either, Ms. Sachs," John said, enunciating every word. "Devotion runs in our family."

Cordy was left speechless again.

Did that man just endorse himself and his son at the same time?

Even offering her… a promise?!

Still, she was not about to be caught in his pace, not to mention that she absolutely could not respond to the feelings of people she just met. "Whatever you're aiming to do, Mr. Levine, I'm serious when I tell you that I'm rejecting you."

John simply stared at her with his jet-black eyes.

"Please don't bother me ever again, Mr. Levine. All you have to do is offer me due compensation—"

"I reject your rejection," John said, cutting her short with an assertive tone.

Anger flashed in Cordy's eyes. "Do you even know my past? I'm not as ideal as you'd like to think."

"I never doubt my judgment, nor do I take issue with a person's past."

"Someone told me that before too, and you saw how that ended up."

Therefore, how would she ever trust a stranger she just met?

"Don't compare me to scum."

The ward suddenly turned silent.

John's thin lips twitched ever so slightly, his expression so icy it left Cordy's heart skipping a beat.

His reaction made her feel as if she had genuinely insulted him.

Still, she suddenly laughed without knowing the reason herself.

Probably because there was still someone in this world who would side with her.

In everyone else's perspective, Kyle was too good for her—a notion shared even by her own biological father.

There was a change in John's gaze as she watched her laugh, and he said, "In the days to come, I will demonstrate the difference between myself and scum, Ms. Sachs."

In other words, he would go all out to woo her!

With those words, he turned to leave, seemingly reluctant to waste more time on this matter.

After all, no one could change his mind after he made a decision.

"Mr. Levine." Cordy quickly stopped him when she came to her senses.

John stopped, but he did not turn around.

"I suggest that you find out about my past first."

"I don't have to."

With those short and direct words, he left without stopping this time.

-

Cordy returned to her ward and got into bed.

When she glanced at the phone, she remembered that she had yet to wire the money for it to John.

Still, she soon decided against it—he did not look like he would miss the money, and she could just consider it compensation for her emotional distress.

She hence dialed an unfamiliar number that she had engraved in her memory. "Mr. Jacobs? It's me, Cordy Sachs."

"Good afternoon, Ms. Sachs."

"I wish to inherit Starstream Group—the company that my mother left me. Would there be any issues?"

"Of course not," the lawyer replied right away. "Your mother made it clear in her will that the company belongs to you. You can claim it anytime you want."

Ever since her mother's death, Starstream Group, whose main business was in fashion, had been taken over by Simon as custodian, even after Cordy was sent abroad. Cordy had wanted to take over and manage it when she returned to the country with Kyle, but she had poured her time and strength into saving Jessop Corp from its crisis instead. Unable to divert her attention, she had set the idea aside until now.

"Please do accompany me to the company's office when the time comes."

"I will be ready whenever." Andrew Jacobs agreed to it right away.

-

Cordy stayed at the hospital for a week, and Richard would visit frequently. While she did not hate it even though it took up most of her time, that meant seeing John from time to time.

That being said, she did not find him repulsive—after he 'declared' his love to her the other day, he did not actually do anything.

In fact, there were times he was so quiet he might as well have not existed.

She hence began to wonder if he had actually just said that out of the heat of the moment, or if he perhaps did not have any idea what 'wooing' entailed.

The only thing that qualified as effort was his insistence that Winston delivered her meals every day, which also happened to fit her palate better with each passing day.

As Cordy packed her things, she took away only the phone John had given her.

"Mommy, will I ever see you again?" Richard gave her a miserable look, wistfulness showing all over her face.

The boy was certainly a stark contrast against the seemingly nonexistent man who stood nearby.