Ch. 171..180
Always Been Yours Chapter 171
Apart from Kieran and Nicholas, the office was bustling with people.
At this moment, Nicholas raised his head and looked at Timothy. “Come over here and take a look for yourself.”
After giving a slight nod of his head, Timothy walked over to the computer.
Next to him was a technician clicking on the screen. “There’s a problem here-it looks like something invisible is blocking the video. I’ve tried several methods, but haven’t been able to bypass it no matter how I try to start the program. Is there a bug?”
“Let me see.” With that, Timothy’s fingers began to fly so rapidly across the keyboard that the only evidence of what he was doing was the sound of the keyboard clacking.
Not long later, he pressed the Enter key and stopped moving.
The light that indicated the software was working lit up and the originally frozen video began to play as well. Following that, ethereal music began to play in the background.
“Is it working now?” the technician asked with some surprise.
It was after Timothy inclined his head once more that he explained, “It’s not a bug. It’s a hidden protection software that I previously installed. As I was afraid that our information would be stolen, installed the software and was prepared to unveil it on the eve of the listing, but kept forgetting to inform you guys about it. I apologize for the trouble.”
Hearing that, Nicholas lifted his head and deeply looked at Timothy.
On the other hand, Kieran threw his arm around Timothy’s neck with a smile. “Who knew that you had such hidden depths, you little scoundrel? You’re more capable than I thought.”
In response, Timothy offered a somewhat embarrassed smile.
The only reason why he had installed this software was precisely because of the incident where his computer had been snatched by Silas and Lauren. He was afraid of such a situation happening again.
The technician was so astonished that he commented, “How could we not have discovered it before?”
“I set it in such a way that it wouldn’t lock unless the program was shut down,” Timothy explained. “Since you had kept the program running before, you wouldn’t have been locked out. Today must have been the first time you exited the program. I’ll teach you how to unlock it now.”
Since all the employees present were elites of the IT industry, the only reason why they had been bamboozled was because they hadn’t known of the hidden protection software. Now that they were aware of it, they were quick to learn the method to unlock it.
They understood the basics in a short while.
Then, another technician asked, “Are there other programs apart from this which are locked in a similar way?”
“Yes, I installed them on five programs in total. Each one has a different method of unlocking, which are these…” Timothy moved the mouse once again to point out the remaining four areas.
Then, the technicians quickly memorized the methods to unlock the respective softwares. “Not bad; you’re very capable. We weren’t able to discover this software even after working on it for ages.”
An apologetic Timothy smile. “It’s my fault for not mentioning it earlier, though. Once again, I’m sorry.”
After pointing out a few key parts for the technicians to take note of, he looked at Nicholas. “If there’s nothing else that you need, President Sawyer, I’ll be leaving now. Do call me if there are any other questions.”
Tilting his head, Nicholas questioned, “How’s your company doing?”
“We’ve found the physical space that we need and are beginning to hire people, but it’ll take a while before we’re on the right track,” Timothy replied.
Nicholas nodded. “Let me know if there’s anything you need my help with.”
Although he was angry at Tessa’s departure, he was not one to distinguish between personal and public affairs. Thus, he naturally wouldn’t vent his anger on Timothy, who was not involved in the situation.
Moreover, he had admired Timothy’s way of resolving issues without dragging it out.
Furthermore, he was a firm believer in fostering talent and Timothy was an IT genius who deserved his assistance.
After a moment of hesitation, Timothy said with some embarrassment, “There is a small matter that I may need your help with.”
Looking up at him, Nicholas responded, “Tell me.”
“The Berlin Philharmonic is coming to Brentwood City to perform, but the tickets have been sold out. Sawyer Group has more influence and connections than me, so I was wondering whether you’d be able to help me secure a ticket. Of course, it’s okay if you aren’t.”
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Since Nicholas had already offered his assistance, Timothy was no longer bashful and instead made his request in a few short words.
The moment that Timothy mentioned about an orchestra, Nicholas didn’t need any clarification as he knew why Timothy was asking. Thus, he replied, “I’m not too sure, but I’ll have Edward ask around.”
After a pause, he continued, “How’s your sister’s injury?”
An exasperated Timothy replied, “She hasn’t been able to sit still since leaving the hospital and keeps looking for something to do. That’s why I want to get her a ticket to the concert. Otherwise, I have no idea how else she’s going to keep herself busy.”
Since he wasn’t a chatty person, he ended the conversation at that point and simply thanked Nicholas once more.
However, Nicholas’ expression had slightly darkened at the statement. After Timothy left, he glanced at Kieran and ordered, “Handle this.”
“Huh?” Kieran asked in a somewhat manner.
“The tickets.” With that, Nicholas swept out of the office, leaving his brother behind.
Although Kieran was somewhat dumbfounded, he couldn’t help but curl the corners of his mouth upward when he recovered his composure.
It was because Nicholas’ actions had betrayed him. Despite being exasperated at Tessa that no one had dared to bring her name up in front of him for the past few days, here he was, so eager to help her find a ticket the moment the orchestra was brought up.
Why was it that Kieran had to look for a ticket when Nicholas was the one who made the promise, though?
After thinking about it, he decided that his brother probably had hundreds of matters to attend to and would be too busy to personally look for a ticket.
Very well. I can help with such a small matter.
At the worst, I can get back at him later.
Not long after Timothy returned to his workplace, someone came by with a ticket.
When he received the ticket, he thought to himself, Tessa would be thrilled to see it.
He immediately went home as he was eager to see his sister’s happy expression.
“Guess what I have for you, Tessa?” Timothy beamed at her the moment he entered the door.
Taken aback, Tessa shook her head. “What is it? You’re acting so mysterious.”
“Look at what it is!” Timothy brandished the ticket in her face with a smile.
Upon seeing the ticket that was difficult to obtain, she cried out with a pleasant surprise, “What? Weren’t they sold out? How did you get one?”
Although he had been about to say ‘through Nicholas,’ on a second thought, he decided that she wouldn’t be thrilled if she knew that it was Nicholas who helped now that she had drawn the line
between them both.
So, Timothy guiltily replied, “A music teacher at school gave it to me. Something happened to come up in her schedule and she couldn’t make it.”
Tessa smiled in happiness. “Thank you, my darling brother.”
She hadn’t been in a good mood as of late and even though she went about her day with a smile, he had been able to sense that her emotions were forced, rather than it being genuine.
It was only now that Tessa was genuinely ecstatic did Timothy breathe a sigh of relief.
He had no other wish; it was only to give his sister a good life at any cost.
Somewhat amused by him staring at her with a smile, Tessa asked, “Why are you looking at me like that? Did you do something behind my back?”
Timothy’s grin broadened. “Don’t slander me. I’m only glad to see that you’re happy.”
After they chuckled at each other, he proposed, “By the way, will you come with me to buy a car tomorrow?”
“Sure, I’ll come along with you. It’s about time that you have your own car, anyway,” Tessa agreed with a nod.
The next morning, they set out for the car dealership together after getting ready for the day.
Since there weren’t many people in the shop that early in the morning, a salesperson greeted them the moment they entered the door. “Sir, miss, is there anything I can help you with?”
“I’d like to look at cars that companies use,” Timothy replied.
The moment the salesperson heard that, he led them in the direction of an exhibition area while saying, “We have many models here. Take a look at this one first-many people have been purchasing it lately.”
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It was a brand that Timothy was familiar with-he had done some planning and studied all of the major car brands.
The car that the salesperson showed them was pretty much what he had expected, but it didn’t feel quite classy enough.
Since he was looking for a car for corporate use, he would have to look for something better.
Although he was not a vain man, there were some principles of the industry that he understood.
Since his company was just starting, he would undoubtedly need to travel to his clients. If the car looked terrible, the client would inevitably doubt the ability of the company and look down on it. It wouldn’t be worth it to have such an unnecessary doubt.
On the other hand, if the car was perfect, it would look like he tried too hard-not an outcome that he wanted either
“Can I look at the Mercedes instead?” he asked, pointing at a black Mercedes-Benz.
The salesperson’s eyes instantly brightened when that question was heard. “Of course. You have good taste, sir. That model was released this year and some people have been purchasing it as well. It has sleek lines and good performance while being cost-effective. It’s not that expensive.”
The trio then walked over to the car. After getting into the car, Timothy tested out its different functions and how it felt under his hands before turning to look at Tessa. “What do you think?”
“Not bad.” She nodded.
This model was much better than the one they had previously looked at, and for someone who was about to start his own company, he was better suited driving a Mercedes as well.
“We’ll take this one, then.” Timothy inclined his head at the salesperson before turning to Tessa. “Next, let’s look for a car for you.”
“Me? I don’t need one.” Tessa waved her hands with a frown.
Although they were somewhat well-off now, they were not meant to be splurging their money. Now that he was about to start his own company, there would no doubt be a lot of places in the future where he would need to spend money on.
To spend it on a car for her would be too much of a waste!
“It’s fine, Tessa. Let’s get you one. I’ve long thought about buying a car for you, and now that we’re already here, we might as well get you one. Otherwise, we’d have to come again in the future, and that would be so troublesome.”
Although Timothy knew what his sister was worried about he’d already decided before coming over that he would get Tessa a car.
After all, he wanted nothing but the best for her.
“There’s no need to buy one for me. It’s not like I’m always on the go, anyway. The vehicle would only be sitting there and collecting dust, which would be such a waste.” Despite Timothy’s reassurances, Tessa was still unwilling.
Seeing that Timothy was extremely generous, the salesperson at the car dealership hurried to interject, “It’s rare for a brother to dote on his sister so much, miss. You should accept his gift. Even if you don’t head out a lot, there might be a day when you’ll need to leave the house. It’ll come in handy then. I’ve
been working here for at least five or six years, and this is the first time I’m seeing a pair of siblings with such a good relationship. Truly, I’m envious! Since your brother wants to give you a car, why shouldn’t you accept it?”
An exasperated Tessa could only nod. “It’s for home use, so it needn’t be too extravagant.”
She quickly chose a car that was worth 250,000.
By the time they completed the paperwork, it was already noon.
Since they were too lazy to cook at home, the siblings dined outdoors before heading back:
Upon arriving home, Timothy told his sister, “I have to go to work, so I can’t keep you company this afternoon. Do be careful when you’re home alone and don’t do any heavy labor, okay? If there’s anything that you need done, just wait until I’m home.”
“Okay.” Tessa nodded with a smile. “It’s not like I’m a three-year-old. I don’t need you to accompany me. Quickly head back to work as company matters are more important.”
“Be careful when you attend the concert tonight, then. Stay safe and call me when it ends so that I can head over to pick you up,” he exhorted softly.
“I know, I know.” Once again, she inclined her head.
As she watched his confident figure leave the house, she felt in a much better mood.
Without Tessa even noticing, Timothy had grown into an adult who was much more mature in speech and action than he was as a child. He had such a bright future as well and would be opening his own company in the blink of an eye.
As she reflected on how he had changed these past few years, she suddenly realized that he doted on her so much that her motherly attitude had somehow turned into a maidenly one.
Truly, she was all too grateful to have such a good younger brother.
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Tessa went to select the outfit that she would wear to the concert in rather good spirits. In the end, she wore a dress in haze blue that had a tad bit of starry decoration before heading to the International Convention and Exhibition Center.
Meanwhile, Nicholas returned to Dynasty Gardens. Upon seeing him, the butler, Andrew, went forward to greet him, “Master Nicholas, Young Master Gregory has been in the music room for the entire day again.”
Nodding his head, Nicholas passed his coat to Andrew before striding off to the music room on the second floor.
Gregory was inside wiping the violin strings with a special cloth so carefully that he didn’t even notice when Nicholas entered the room. His behavior caused Nicholas to frown before calling out in exasperation, “Greg.”
When Gregory heard the greeting, he looked up before lowering his head to continue what he had been doing once he saw that it was Nicholas. He carefully and mechanically wiped the strings while treating Nicholas as an invisible person and didn’t even give Nicholas another glance.
He hadn’t addressed Nicholas as ‘Daddy’ for the past few days and apart from their argument a few days ago, he hadn’t spoken to Nicholas either. His son’s lukewarm attitude toward him left Nicholas in a truly bad mood.
In his twenty-odd years, he had been ever victorious, be it in school, the army, or even the corporate world. He was able to get what he wanted to the point where no one was able to make him feel fear. Yet, he was now defeated by a child. For the first time in his life, he understood what a setback was.
With a sigh, he slowly approached Gregory and handed him two tickets. “This is for tonight’s orchestra Are you coming along?”
Alas, Gregory only continued his motions, not even glancing at the tickets that his father handed him.
An undeterred Nicholas continued mildly, “No? If you aren’t, I can give these tickets to someone else, but you must know this is Tessa’s favorite orchestra from Berlin.”
Seemingly catching Nicholas’ drift, Gregory looked up at him as if searching for a lie. At the same time, the little boy was trying to guess whether Tessa would be attending. However, Nicholas intentionally remained silent and only smirked at Gregory in response to the little boy’s question.
After they stared at each other for a while, Gregory found the answer that he wanted from Nicholas’ gaze and snatched the tickets. “I’m coming.”
When he saw the word ‘Berlin’ on the tickets, Gregory’s eyes brightened in happiness. Whatever music that Miss Tessa fancied, he would make an effort to attend the concert as well. Then, he would be able to see Miss Tessa! Who would know whether Miss Tessa would be elated or surprised to see him?
Upon seeing the vigor return to his son’s eyes, Nicholas finally let out a breath.
For the past few days, Gregory had been as lifeless as a block of wood as he went about his day listlessly. The most active thing that he did was shut himself in the music room and space out with Tessa’s violin in his arms.
“If you want, we can go, but you’ll have to eat first,” Nicholas instructed with a deliberately stern face.
Of course, Gregory didn’t care what expression his father now had and only thought about seeing Miss
Tessa again. So, he vigorously nodded. “A promise is a promise!”
With that, he ran down the stairs and sat at the dining table while declaring; “I want to eat, Andrew.”
When Andrew heard that Gregory finally wanted to eat, he frantically nodded. “Of course, of course. I’ll serve you at once, Young Master Gregory.”
After turning back to see that Nicholas was no longer furrowing his brows, the weight in Andrew’s heart was finally lifted. The father and son had at long last reconciled.
Meanwhile, Gregory ate in an enthusiastic manner and accepted whatever dish he was given. His pale face gradually regained its color. It was possibly due to his eagerness to see Tessa that he ate at lightning speed.
Soon, he was soon so full that his little stomach swelled. After finishing, he lifted his head and wordlessly stared at Nicholas to urge Nicholas along.
The concert would start at six in the evening. If they left now, they would be able to make it in time, but they would be late if they delayed any longer.
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At this juncture, Nicholas couldn’t help but smile at Gregory’s liveliness. He quickly packed their belongings whereupon they left the house together.
“Faster. Faster!” Gregory urged throughout the entire journey.
Truly, he had hoped that he would be able to meet Miss Tessa as soon as possible.
If only he could attach a pair of wings and fly to Tessa’s side at this moment!
By the time the father and son arrived at the International Convention and Exhibition Center, the check in process was close to the end, but there was still a line at the entrance.
Although he was in Nicholas’ arms as they waited in line, Gregory craned his neck and scanned the area as if searching the crowd for Tessa.
His eyes suddenly brightened as he stared at the front of the line. The frontmost woman in the haze blue dress looked like Tessa!
Gregory was eager to rush forward to hug Tessa and tell her just how much he had missed her during these few days.
However, he recalled that she was dodging him during this period of time and hadn’t called or video called him. Afraid that she would run away if he called out to her, he forcefully swallowed his shout while his eyes remained bright and excited.
Noticing Gregory’s reaction, Nicholas followed his son’s line of sight to spot the figure.
Instantly, his gaze turned complicated.
At this moment, Tessa had no idea that there were two pairs of eyes locked on her. Now that her ticket had been inspected, she entered the concert hall and headed to the second floor.
It was only when she arrived at her destination that she realized she had the best seat in the house. At a glance, there were only about a dozen other seats like hers.
The reason why VIP seats were so named was that their occupants had the widest views and the best treatment.
At this moment, she couldn’t help being astounded. Since the ticket had only mentioned ‘2nd floor’, she had no idea that her brother was able to secure such a good seat for her.
Meanwhile, Nicholas entered the concert hall with Gregory and entered the booth opposite Tessa. They were facing each other from a distance.
However, because Tessa didn’t care about who sat opposite her, she never glanced over and had no idea that there was a child staring at her.
“It’s Miss Tessa!” Gregory, who was in the other booth, joyfully and longingly stared at her. He had truly missed a lot.
If it weren’t for the fact that he was still in Nicholas’ arms, he would have pounced over there at once. Then, he would climb into her lap and burrow into her embrace as they enjoyed the music together.
Reading his thoughts, Nicholas warned.in a low voice, “I only brought you here today to look at her, but I do not permit you to head over there to greet her. If she wants to come back, she will come and look for you on her own. This is just like when someone has to apologize after they’ve done something
wrong and intend to reconcile. Do you understand?”
Although Nicholas’ words had entered Gregory’s ears, he ignored his father and kept his eyes on Miss Tessa. In his heart, he thought, Who doesn’t know that? However, what if… What if Miss Tessa isn’t willing to return?
No, he would not stupidly agree to his father’s order just like that.
The entire audience was seated ten minutes later. Given how hard it was to secure tickets to the performance of an international orchestra, there were naturally no absentees after a ticket had been purchased.
Seeing that the audience was packed and the hour had arrived, the music director took the stage to make a short speech.
“And now, I declare that the performance formally begins!”
With that, he withdrew.
The curtain behind him instantly drew back to reveal the large orchestra already set up onstage.
With a flourish of the conductor’s baton, the concert began.
Tessa fell into a trance as she listened to the powerful music.
Since her gaze had been drawn to the orchestra on stage, any hustle and bustle around her fell on blind eyes and deaf ears.
This was the Berlin Philharmonic-the most famous orchestra in the world.
She sadly glanced at the concertmaster’s seat. It was the position of her dreams in which she had yearned for and been looking forward to.
Ever since she started learning the violin, she had dreamed of the day when she would stand on the magnificent stage and fluidly, confidently, perform the piece that she excelled at.
However, now that her arm was injured…
The day of Heavenly Chorus Orchestra’s performance abroad was fast approaching and her arm had yet to fully recover, which meant that she had missed her golden opportunity.
As she listened to the heart-stirring ensemble from the orchestra, grief and unhappiness once again crept into her heart.
That night, the Berlin Philharmonic’s performance went on for two hours before it finally ended.
After the music director declared the end of the concert, the audience was allowed to disperse and Tessa followed the crowd moving at a snail’s pace to the exit.
She idly watched the performers leave the stage. Although she felt like she could still hear their music playing in her ears, she felt somewhat unfulfilled.
That was because she couldn’t help imagining what it would be like for her to also be standing onstage.
With her whole head full of the earlier performance, Tessa would have stood there lost in thought as she replayed the audiovisual feast she experienced earlier that night if it weren’t for the fact that the hall was closing.
Since she was lost in thought, she didn’t notice the child and the adult following behind her.
Seeing that Tessa was about to leave and head home, Gregory became somewhat anxious. He longed to run up to block her path and demand, “Come home with me, Miss Tessa!”
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However, Nicholas was still tightly gripping onto Gregory’s hand. Even after struggling for a long time, he could not free himself from Nicholas’s grip.
As Gregory swung Nicholas’ hand, he beseeched, “I want to chase after Miss Tessa, Daddy. May l?”
“No,” Nicholas answered with a dark face and in a cold tone.
The moment Nicholas said that, Gregory lost his temper and whipped his head to glare at his father, whom he now treated as a dictator. “You’re a meanie, Daddy! You’ll allow me to look at Miss Tessa, but won’t let me say hi to her!”
It was clear that Nicholas was bullying him by keeping Tessa just tantalizingly out of reach.
Pouting furiously, Gregory watched as Tessa followed the crowd out of the exhibition center.
Meanwhile, after leaving the exhibition center, she looked at the time and found that it was still early
enough where Timothy might not be done with work yet. Thus, she didn’t immediately call him.
At this moment, her surroundings were beautiful and she hadn’t had such a relaxing day in a long while. Since she was already there, she might as well take the opportunity to stroll around.
While meandering along the path, she was lost in her thoughts once again and forgot to keep track of where she was going. It was only when she stopped moving that she realized the exhibition center was no longer in sight.
Her surroundings were unfamiliar and she was obviously lost.
Once Tessarealized that, she pulled up a navigation system on her cell phone and intended to return along the same way that she came from.
However, she had only managed to make it until halfway when she passed by a park where the adjoining path was somewhat dimly lit. She turned on the flashlight on her cell phone, but when the area in front of her became bright, she realized that there were several people blocking her path with a sinister smile.
A somewhat panicked Tessa made to turn and look for another way back, but the moment she did so, several more people appeared behind her and blocked her escape path as well.
These people were wearing ear studs and tight, ripped jeans while there were heavy chains around their necks. With sudden clarity, she realized she must have run into a group of gangsters!
One of the gangsters leered at her. “You must be lost, little missy. Why don’t l escort you out?”
Due to the number of people the other party had, she feigned calmness and tried to sidestep them so that she could evade them and walk away.
However, before Tessa could even leave the circle, the gangsters shrank its size and trapped her in the middle, after which one of them tutted at her. “What are you afraid of, little missy? It’s not like we’ll eat you up. We’re simply hoping to escort you out because you’re lost. In return, why don’t you drink with us as a toast to our chivalry?”
An annoyed Tessa snapped, “Get lost!”
However, they only began to laugh raucously as if they had heard a joke. Then, the fattest gangster rubbed his chin and responded, “You know, this chick has quite the spirit. I like it.”
At this moment, she couldn’t help remembering the events of the other day.
Tessa immediately paled and her palms started to break out in sweat. She didn’t want to stay a moment longer and had to leave at once!
“Leaving? I’m afraid it’s not so easy. I think you should serve us first. Play with us for a while before we’ll consider allowing you to leave.” A lecherous gaze wandered her body. “What a nice figure you have.”
She coldly warned, “Don’t you dare touch me or I’ll start shouting.”
“Shouting? The whole park is filled with our people. You can shout if you want. The louder you shout, the more we’ll like it. Isn’t that so, guys?”
As the group closed in on Tessa, her face paled even further. “Help!!!”
“Oh my, you’re really screaming. I’m so scared-Ah!!!” As one of the gangsters reached out toward her, his hand was blocked by someone else and it had violently jerked backward before he could even touch her or finish with his words. “Ahhhh!”
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At this moment, the gangster squealed like a caught pig.
Only then did everyone come to their senses and notice a tall man in a suit and leather shoes interrupting them. Instantly enraged, they stopped paying attention to Tessa and started flocking around Nicholas.
After a round of fighting, all of them were scattered on the ground and wailing in pain.
Standing coldly in the middle of them, Nicholas turned to look at Tessa. “Are you okay?”
Shocked by the scene, she nodded numbly. “I’m fine.”
At this moment, Gregory emerged from behind Nicholas and kicked several of the gangsters hard. “Don’t you touch my Miss Tessa, you bullies!”
Coldly, Nicholas warned them, “The cops are arriving soon. You can stay if you’d like a shortcut to jail.”
Knowing they were no match for this man and feeling even less like being arrested, the group of gangsters scrambled up from the ground and fled the park so quickly that they nearly stumbled over their own feet.
Seizing the opportunity where Tessa had yet to come back to her senses after the gangsters left, Gregory rushed forward and threw his arms around her leg.
Dazedly, Tessa looked down at Gregory.
Lately, she had been acting like she didn’t care about him, but now that she was looking at him, she realized how much she missed him.
Unable to help herself, she reached out to rub his head before suddenly thinking of something and retracting her hand. “Why are you both here?” she asked.
Calmly, Nicholas answered, “We were passing by.”
At the insincere answer, she couldn’t help grumbling to herself, There’s no such coincidence in the world.
On the other hand, Gregory glared at Nicholas before saying, “Daddy is lying.” And then, he looked back at her. “We went to the concert, and then we followed you here because we saw you walking over
here.”
Not expecting such a truth, Tessa paused.
At that moment, she looked down at Gregory, and saw him refusing to let go of her leg and staring up at her with bright eyes. Clearly, he was thrilled.
However, she had spoken very decisively before, and she suddenly didn’t know how to face the father son duo standing there. After a moment of silence, Tessa finally said, “Thank you both.”
With a grin, Gregory waved a hand. “There’s no need, Miss Tessa. You don’t need to thank us.”
Flushed and chubby, the little boy looked both adorable and sensible, and Tessa couldn’t help wanting to hug him.
However, right as she was about to touch him, she stopped once more.
Since Gregory had his eyes on her, he naturally noticed her actions and immediately let go of her leg.
Hurt, he lowered his gaze to stare at the ground.
Only a while later did he lift his head and ask softly, “Do you hate me now, Miss Tessa?”
His timid behavior nearly shattered her heart, and she reflexively hurried to justify her behavior. “No, of course not! I love you so much. Why would I hate you? It’s just that my arm is still weak from the injury, and I’m afraid of dropping you if I pick you up.”
Brightening at her words, Gregory asked, “Really?”
Nodding, Tessa tried to placate him, “Really. I can’t carry you, but I can hold your hand. Do you want to hold my hand?”
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Gregory broke into a smile. Before Tessa held her hand out, he beat her to it by taking her hand and grinning at her. “You are so kind,”
Tessa couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
No matter how confident she had sounded about her life without them, she still couldn’t bring herself to be harsh toward the little guy when facing him.
She could never reject the kid’s request and couldn’t bear to see him upset.
“Daddy’s car is over there!” Holding Tessa’s hand, Gregory walked toward Nicholas’ car. The child kept swinging her hand the entire time and he said, “Miss Tessa, I haven’t met you for days! Do you know that I really missed you?”
After he said that, he nuzzled his face against her hand, looking content.
Upon seeing how excited he was, Tessa twitched the corner of her lips without saying a word.
As a matter of fact, she didn’t know how she should face the kid and his father. What she had said in the hospital that time had been too harsh, and she would be eating her words if she were to give Gregory a glimmer of hope at that moment.
At present, Tessa’s head was in such a mess that she had lost the ability to even think.
She didn’t know how she should bring it up and what she should say after that; all she could do was to remain silent to ease the awkwardness.
When she had entered the car, Nicholas looked at her and asked, “Where do you want to go?”
He posed the question before Tessa managed to return to her senses. After a moment of silence, she replied, “Uh… anywhere is fine.”
It was a casual question that Nicholas didn’t expect an answer to, as he had noticed that Tessa seemed to be in a daze. Therefore, he turned to Gregory and asked. “How about you? Where do you want to go?”
Gregory paused for a moment and responded, “Can we go and watch a movie?” He then shyly added with pursed lips, “I heard from Uncle Kieran that the movie of my favorite anime-Detective Conan-is in theaters now. I have never watched a movie together with Daddy and… Mommy. I want to know what it feels like.” After he said that, he timidly glanced at Tessa.
Tessa felt a lump in her throat when she saw him this way.
Gregory had always been a bubbly and adorable kid who never failed to charm the people around him. However, he had never mentioned anything like that. Now that he had mentioned this, Tessa really wished to embrace and comfort him.
Nicholas was equally stunned as well as he had never been to that sort of place, so he never expected that his son would make such a request.
Nonetheless, it was a rather minor request, so he wasn’t against the idea of three of them watching a movie together.
Yet, the main concern at that moment was what Tessa thought about that. He turned to her and asked, “Do you want to go? You don’t have to force yourself if you don’t.”
Tessa initially wanted to reject the idea as she was still concerned about what she had said at the hospital, but when she turned to her side and saw Gregory eagerly looking at her with pleading eyes,
she found the words that she was about to utter just couldn’t leave her mouth.
After a moment of hesitation, she nodded and agreed. “Sure.”
Gregory’s eyes instantly lit up, shining as bright as a star as he looked at Tessa. “Thank you, Miss Tessa. You are the best!”
Tessa smiled and reached out her hand to ruffle his hair.
At about 9.00 PM, Nicholas, Tessa and Gregory arrived at the cinema.
When they entered the premises, Nicholas found that it was rather noisy with a lot of people inside, which made him frown subconsciously.
Even so, since he had agreed to bring Gregory here, he couldn’t break his promise of watching a movie with his son.
As Nicholas had never bought a movie ticket before this, he didn’t know how to do so. His gaze was fixed on the long queue beside him, which seemed to lead to a self-service ticketing machine.
With his brows knitted, he stared at the queue, as though he was carefully observing the process of purchasing a movie ticket.
Tessa, who took notice of how Nicholas kept staring at the machine, was puzzled at first, but the reason behind his strange behavior suddenly dawned upon her. “President Sawyer, could it be that you have never been to a cinema before?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Nicholas pressed his lips and nodded, as he had nothing to hide. “Yes.”
As the first in line to succeed the Sawyer Group, his family had been raising him with elite education since he was little.
Since Nicholas was in elementary school, he had had endless lessons every day.
Always Been Yours Chapter 179
When he grew older, he had enlisted in the army and after he had returned, he entered the company to become the president. Since then, Nicholas had been so busy with work almost every day that he did not have the time nor chance to relax in this sort of place.
Looking at his expression, Tessa was able to gauge his situation, so she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the high and mighty president.
It suddenly dawned on her why he was able to remain unexceptionally calm and contained every time she saw him, and he never seemed anxious or flustered no matter what happened.
“Wait for me. I’ll go get the tickets with Gregory.” With that, she took Gregory by his hand and queued up at the end of the line.
When they returned, Tessa brought two cups of coffee and a large box of popcorn with her, while Gregory was slowly and contently sipping the beverage that he was holding in his hands.
Upon seeing them coming back, Nicholas remained calm as he automatically took the food and drinks from Tessa.
He could accept having coffee while watching a movie, but he frowned when he saw the large box of popcorn. Why did she buy popcorn?
Tessa grinned at him. In her opinion, popcorn was a must-have when watching a movie at a theater. It was her favorite, and Gregory, who had never tried popcorn before, seemed eager to give it a try.
Upon seeing that, Tessa gave the child one.
Gregory took a bite. Crunch! He giggled happily. “Miss Tessa, this is yummy!”
Tessa turned to Nicholas. “Would you like to give it a try?”
Nicholas stared at the weird-looking food and started doubting if it was edible.
Tessa found that he seemed adorable when he was acting out of character. Subconsciously, she took the popcorn and brought it to his mouth. “Just give it a try. Maybe you’ll find it yummy too.”
Staring at the yellowish popcorn, Nicholas was a little hesitant, but he still opened his mouth to eat it. His lips accidentally grazed Tessa’s finger in the process. Meanwhile, she felt as though her finger had been struck by lightning. The numbing sensation caused her to immediately retract her hand while her ears flushed.
Seeing that Gregory didn’t notice their interaction, she looked around and said, “They are checking the tickets. Let’s head over.”
At that moment, Nicholas finally realized what had just happened, and his gaze was unfathomable as he watched Tessa fleeing the scene. Then, with a calm expression, he followed her while holding all their stuff in his hands.
After having their tickets checked, the trio entered the theater together. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the movie they had chosen was a newly released film, hence the occupancy rate was high with almost all the seats occupied.
As a child, Gregory wasn’t required to purchase a movie ticket, but there weren’t any empty seats around them.
“Gregory, come here. You can sit on my lap.” Tessa picked the kid up and set him down on her lap.
As a matter of fact, when Tessa first heard that Gregory wanted to watch Detective Conan, she had
slightly doubted that a five-year-old kid could understand a movie that required strong deductive reasoning
Although this movie wasn’t violent, she had wondered if it would traumatize him.
However, it was soon apparent that her worries were unnecessary. About one third through the movie, she was incredibly thankful that she didn’t pose her initial question at Gregory. Otherwise, she would have felt humiliated.
This was because of what Gregory was quietly whispering to her at that moment. “I suspect that the lady in the red dress is the killer.”
Feeling stunned, Tessa murmured back at him, curiously yet incredulous at the same time, “How did you know?”
Nicholas chimed in from one side, “It is her indeed.”
“Huh?” Tessa’s head was filled with questions. What’s wrong with this father and son? We are only a third through the movie, so why are they making a conclusion so early? They even sound adamant when they say it!
Nicholas thought that Tessa was confused and wanted him to explain his reasoning. So, he leaned in at her and whispered, “That’s simple. Look at the woman’s wrist-there’s an inconspicuous cut that couldn’t have been made by herself judging from the angle. Also, look at the vase…”
Always Been Yours Chapter 180
“President Sawyer, I’m sorry to interrupt. Maybe you aren’t aware of this, but spoiling the movie is a shameful act, let alone when doing so in a cinema,” Tessa growled through gritte
He chuckled at her comment, which frustrated her even more. What’s so funny about it? It’s normal to go along with the plot when watching a movie, so I shouldn’t be blamed for being unable to grasp the plot, right? Besides, spoiling the movie affects the whole watching experience!
Gregory let out a soft chuckle as well. “Miss Tessa, don’t worry. You can ask me if you don’t understand anything.”
Argh! I’ve had enough of the two of them! Don’t they know that the joy of watching movies ftes in not requiring us to use our brain? They should at least be kind to the producer by being enlightened at the very end of the movie and praising, “Oh, I see!” Isn’t that a better way to watch a movie?
However, Tessa broke into a smile the next instant. The father and son not only look alike, but are equally intelligent as well. Could it be that this is the work of genetics? No, I shouldn’t be thinking about all these when I’m watching a movie. I should be nice to the producers by watching the movie from the beginning till the end. Fine, I’ll forget about the spoiler and pretend that I knew nothing at all. Hence, she paid full attention to the deduction process, completely practicing the act of watching-without-thinking throughout the movie.
However, Tessa still found the father-son duo funny when they were spoiling the movie. She chuckled and shook her head, attempting to shake away the messy thoughts before she took the coffee by her hand and sipped it.
When she returned the coffee to its original position, she suddenly felt a stare from Nicholas.
“What’s wrong?” she asked in puzzlement.
Nicholas calmly replied, “Nothing, but the coffee that you drank is mine.”
Tessa’s face flushed crimson when she heard that. l-Isn’t that the legendary indirect kiss? What did I just do?! Come to think of it, Nicholas kissed me before, so an indirect kiss is insignificant compared to that, right?
Nonetheless, with such thoughts in mind, she still turned to him awkwardly. “I’m sorry. It was unintentional. If you mind, I’ll get you another cup of coffee.”
He casually responded, “There’s no need.”
“Alright.”
Tessa thought that Nicholas wouldn’t drink that cup of coffee since the movie was about to end, so she continued to pay attention to the screen.
However, when she noticed what he was doing through the corner of her eye, she was rooted to her spot at that instant.
She felt as if her head had exploded and she started screaming inwardly, H-He’s actually taking that cup of coffee and sipping it as if nothing had happened? But I drank that before!
Upon seeing that, Tessa could no longer focus on the movie, nor could she force herself to respect the producers by finishing the movie.
As she couldn’t focus at all during the second half of the movie, she had no idea if Conan’s deductions and the details of the crime-solving was just like how Nicholas had explained.
Finally, after a long excruciating wait, the movie ended and they exited the cinema.
Nicholas carried Gregory in his arms while Tessa walked next to them. She suddenly realized that the end of the movie also signified her parting with the child.
At that thought, she felt reluctant to leave.
Gregory, who realized this as well, was equally reluctant to part ways from her. He looked at Tessa pitifully and asked, “Miss Tessa, are you going home now?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
A shred of disappointment flashed through Gregory’s eyes when he heard her confirmation. He looked at Tessa sadly but this time, he didn’t stubbornly insist on her to go home with him.
Instead, he whispered, “Daddy, let’s send her back.”
Nicholas was slightly stunned but he still nodded. “Let’s go together.”
Truth was, Nicholas was a little shocked that Gregory didn’t act like before-crying and pleading for Tessa to keep him company. It seemed like the latter had become a little more mature.
Nicholas was glad to see him acting like this. It was the right decision to bring him out today, he thought, but he still felt a little distressed for the child. This little guy really adores Tessa, which is why he chooses to respect her and not force her against her will by insisting that she stay with him.