CHAPTER 4

With her son’s hand clasped in hers, she entered the lobby. They then took an elevator up to where her assistant, Tania was waiting for her.

“I’ll hand my son over to you. I’ll be meeting my client so please look after him for me. Do not let him run about.”

“Yes, Miss Cynthia.” Tania was more than happy to take on this task.

Because she could play around with this little bean, she was extremely happy.

“Zion, do you want some candy? I’ll give you some.” She took out two lollipops from her desk drawer to entice him.

Who would have known that the little boy would scrunch up his face and said to her, “I’m no longer a child. I don’t want candy.”

No longer a child? Tania tried to suppress her laughter and looked at the little bean. He was clearly still a child, and a cute one at that!

Cynthia first went to her boss’ office. Her boss was a very capable woman. A bold, 40-year-old woman of mixed descent named Linda. Having been divorced, she was now a single mother with children. That was also why she took good care of Cynthia at work. And even provided assistance to her outside work.

Cynthia greatly admired and respected her.

As soon as Linda saw her walked in, she looked at Cynthia with a solemn expression on her face and said, “Cynthia, I’ve met your client. She’s an exceedingly demanding person from a rich and powerful family. Somewhat difficult to deal with. Moreover, she has high requirements. But what she is willing to pay is beyond our expectations. You have to handle this with care. The company attaches great importance to this business.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. I guarantee you that I’ll see this through to the end.” Cynthia said confidently.

She was confident in her work because she was passionate about her job.

“OK, then I’ll leave it to you. The client is waiting for you in conference room six.”

“How should I address this client?”

“Just address her as Mrs.Leo.” Linda answered.

Cynthia instantly tensed up at the mention of Mrs. Leo. This Mrs. Leo couldn’t possibly be the Mrs.Leo that she was thinking about!

No, please let it not be her. At this moment, she didn’t want to encounter anyone from that family.

While she was anxiously making this plea in her heart, she arrived at conference room six.

An assistant in charge of serving refreshments stood just outside the door. When she saw Cynthia approaching, she took the initiative to open the door for her.

Cynthia bit her lip, took a deep breath and entered.

When she raised her head to look at the elegantly-dressed woman seated on the sofa, her heart seemed to stop for a few seconds.

Apparently the Heavens have arranged for the last person she wished to see to appear right before her. Even if she were to try, she was unable to avoid this.

It was Angela.

Looking at her, Angela raised her eyebrows in surprise. Her ruby-red lips lifted into a pleased yet mocking smile. “So it’s really you. I thought I’d misread your name.”

Looking at Angela’s face, events from four years ago whizzed through Cynthia’s mind. She had been humiliated, trampled on, driven out and had been schemed against.

Cynthia clenched her fists tightly at her side. She tried to subdue thoughts of the past and swallow back her resentment. She thought of her son. Now, she was without any power to go against these people. At present, all she wanted was to lead a good life with her son.

She loosened her clenched fists and calmly walked up to Angela. “Hello Mrs. Leonard, my name is Cynthia. I’m the jewelry designer you’ve requested for. How may I be of service?”

Angela was startled. She looked at Cynthia's calm expression with astonishment. Her sharp gaze was fixed on her. Thinking of this calm façade that Cynthia had put on caused her to be miffed.

“Hmph, the former Mrs. Leo has now been reduced to designing jewelry for me. Do you know what you’re designing this jewelry for? It’s because Jude wants to commemorate our fourth wedding anniversary. Two months after you left, I married him. How unexpected right?”

“Mrs. Leo, do you have any specific design in mind for this jewelry? Or am I given carte blanche to design this jewelry?” Cynthia ignored her snide remarks and proceeded to ask her questions professionally.

Angela’s expression changed. She had originally picked this jewelry design company to order a set of jewelry. While flipping through the pages of a magazine, she happened to see Cynthia who was unexpectedly the chief designer there.

This prompted her to choose Cynthia to design the jewelry for her. She had been anticipating Cynthia’s reaction to her current well-off state. How mad would Cynthia be? But what she had been anticipating for so many days, was what she was looking at now: the serene and indifferent expression of Cynthia.

How could she possibly accept it?

“Cynthia, don’t you want to reminisce about the past? How have you been?”

“Mrs. Leo, if you’re curious about my personal life, please leave! If you want me to work for you, please state your request.”

Although Cynthia loathed this woman to the point where she wished that Angela could just rot in hell, for her son, she would endure all the unbearable things thrown her way.

Angela looked her up and down. With a rosy and dewy complexion, dressed in a gray pantsuit that was proper and tasteful, Cynthia gave off an astute and capable aura. What was even more upsetting to Angela was the fact that Cynthia ended up in a position as chief designer.

No doubt she had some talent in drawing, but that was just a leisure pursuit. Unexpectedly, after four years, she had become very talented.

It was not supposed to be like this. The Cynthia she was hoping to see was one who was supposed to be in dire straits and powerless, or who was living out the lowest point in her life.

When she saw that Cynthia refused to talk about the past, she stood up and got ready to leave. “I’ll give you three days to hand me a satisfactory sketch. If you’re unable to deliver, don’t blame me for dismissing the affection of the past. I’ll even make a complaint to your boss regarding your incompetence. Let me see how long you can sit in that position as chief designer.” With that, she walked haughtily towards the door. Just as she reached the entrance to the conference room, she turned and raised her eyebrows conceitedly. “Cynthia, this is my territory. It won’t be so easy for you to mingle around.”

Outside the conference room, a pair of onyx-colored eyes observed the goings-on through the window. There was a distinct anger in those eyes. Darn it, dare to threaten and bully his mommy.

Cynthia clenched her fists. She felt provoked by Angela’s threats, but she would never give Angela the satisfaction of seeing her being intimidated.

She remained calm and composed, appearing not the least bit afraid.

 Angela looked at Cynthia’s unperturbed face. Her expression darkened. “Cynthia, Jude and I are very happy together. I’m warning you, you’re not allowed to appear in front of him. He feels nothing but disgust towards you.”

Cynthia curled her lips. Turning towards her, she said, “I’m not interested.”

Seeing that she had failed to get a reaction out of Cynthia, Angela thought that it was odd. Was she suffering from amnesia? How could she not remember the events from four years ago?

Why was she not the slightest bit riled up even after all that provocation?

“Mrs. Leonard, I’ll not be seeing you out.” After saying that, Cynthia opened the door and left.

She strode off in a hurry, heading to the washroom instead of her office.

Because she was starting to tear up due to the surge of emotions that she was experiencing, she did not want her son to see her in such a state. That was why she wanted to straighten out her feelings before leaving.

However, she was unaware of the little bean behind her who was staring at her figure. His heart was aching. He balled his hands into tiny fists. Mommy must have suffered!

 Angela left after having been sent off by a few employees.

Cynthia came from the direction of the washroom and suddenly saw the little bean standing in the hallway. She was startled but broke into a smile as she looked at him, "why have you come all the way here? Didn’t I leave you to play with Aunt?”

The little boy looked at his mommy with his big, shiny, black eyes. Seeing her bloodshot eyes, he reached out to hug her. “Mommy…”

“What’s wrong?”

The little boy shook his head feeling somewhat frustrated. He was still young and was unable to protect his mommy from being bullied by the bad guys. It would be nice if daddy was here.

“Mommy, if daddy was here, you would not have to work so hard.”

Cynthia was taken aback. How did this little fellow come up with such a notion?

“Mommy really likes this job! I don’t think this job is hard at all.” Cynthia said with a smile.

However, the little boy had listened in on their conversation just now. The well-dressed woman was bullying his mommy which had caused him to feel anger and hatred.

“But, if only daddy was here beside you to protect you, wouldn’t that be nice.”