Ch. 211..220
Always Been Yours Chapter 211
The Sawyer Family sure has lavish spending habits!
Tessa clenched her fists tightly and forced herself to be calm. However, she could not stabilize her emotions. It was her first time experiencing the feeling of being dominated by the power and wealth of the wealthy.
The wealthy and the powerful could ruin all the effort she put in over the years with just a simple sentence. To them, doing something like this was as easy as killing an ant.
How is their domineering behavior of destroying my dreams any different from a robber!? It was the first time she ever felt so insignificant in her life. She thought she was strong and powerful; contrary to her expectations, she was completely defenseless when facing the Sawyer Group.
Queenie could tell that the news was a huge blow to Tessa, so she continued ridiculing Tessa coldly. However, Tessa did not hear a single word that was uttered. She simply felt as though her surroundings were very noisy, almost like having a bunch of flies constantly buzzing around her ears. Her thoughts were a mess. Not knowing what to say, she walked straight out of the orchestra instead.
As soon as she stepped on the road, she felt as though a large hand was firmly squeezing her heart. Even her internal organs felt as though they had been emptied out. She felt weak and sick. Her dream, her faith, and her future all crumbled the moment Queenie’s statement came out.
Inside the Sawyer Residence.
“Old Master Sawyer.” After receiving a message from Trevor, the housekeeper immediately came to Remus, who was drinking tea in the hall. “The matter at the orchestra has been resolved. From this moment on, Tessa has officially quit the orchestra.”
Behind the intense tea aroma, Remus nodded indifferently to indicate that he already knew about it.
The housekeeper hesitated slightly when he saw Remus’ calm demeanor. “But, Old Master Sawyer, won’t Master Nicholas come after us once he learns about this matter? What will we do then?”
He had more or less watched Nicholas growing up, so he had a good understanding of Nicholas’ temperament.
Nicholas was very stubborn. If something went against his wishes, then he would do everything in his power to turn the situation around. Meanwhile, although Remus was retired, he was not somebody who would back down easily either. Otherwise, he would not have dominated the market for so many years. If these two were to go against each other…
Remus snorted coldly. “Then, let him come. If that little brat dares to come after me because of a woman, then he can also be said to be very ‘promising”
He did not care whether Nicholas knew about this matter or whether Nicholas would turn against him. He had his ways to deal with his grandson, after all.
Seeing Remus’ attitude, the housekeeper did not dare to say anything else. He could only pray in his heart. I hope Master Nicholas will understand Old Master Sawyer’s painstaking efforts and keep himself and Young Master Gregory away from that woman.
Remus slowly took his cup of tea and took a sip of tea. The look in his eyes was very cold. There was no need for anybody to say anything. He understood his own grandson better than anybody else.
Putting down his tea cup, he lazily looked up at the housekeeper. “How is the progress between that girl from the Stone Family and the brat recently?”
The housekeeper replied, “According to our observations, there seems to be no progress. They have not met in private again since their last meeting.”
Remus coldly suggested, “Tell her to be more proactive. There are many women who want to enter the Sawyer Family; there is no shortage of women like her. If she continues to be so useless, I will let somebody else do the job instead.”
“Alright, Old Master Sawyer.” The housekeeper acknowledged the order.
Tessa was in no hurry to return home, but she had no idea where to go either. Thus, she simply wandered aimlessly along the streets on her own.
Her thoughts were currently a huge mess. Despite racking her head for so long, she could not figure out who among the Sawyer Family would want to target her. Fortunately, it was not as if she gained nothing from all that thinking-she had ruled out Nicholas as a suspect.
Although she had not known him for long, she believed in him. He was not somebody who would do something so insidious. Besides, he just walked out of her house today, and there was nothing strange about him at the time. More importantly, he did not show the slightest hint of guilt.
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Aside from him… who else could it be? Is it really Stefania? Tessa could not be certain that it was Stefania. Although she promised to leave Gregory, she could not deny having met Gregory three more times since then. It was possible that Stefania wanted to take revenge.
However, this matter was very strange. It was far too convoluted, causing her to be depressed. She had been mulling over this matter for half a day now, but her efforts were in vain. She couldn’t even be certain who was targeting her. There was only one thing that she could be certain of-the mastermind behind this incident was somebody in the Sawyer Family.
If I offended somebody or didn’t do a good job, then why didn’t they tell me? Why can’t we talk things out peacefully? It’s another matter altogether if we can’t come to a peaceful agreement. But, we didn’t even talk. Why pull such insidious tricks from the shadows? The bourgeoisie are powerful indeed. When they claim that they want to destroy somebody, then they really intend to destroy that person.
While stewing in her thoughts, she wandered off the pedestrian sidewalk in a
disoriented manner and stepped onto the side of the road. A row of cars honked and shouted at her angrily as they passed. However, she continued walking forward, as though she didn’t hear them.
All of a sudden, somebody grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back, whereupon a car narrowly brushed by her side. Only then did she return to her senses. She looked at the person who pulled her back in confusion, almost as though she did not understand why this person had grabbed her.
This person turned out to be a good-looking young man. He was wearing a well designed casual suit, and he looked very clean and gentle. His face was fair and amicable, making him seem rather gentle and elegant. More importantly, she had the feeling that he looked very familiar. It was just that she could not recall where she had seen him before.
After the man helped to steady her, she finally realized that it was rude of her to stare so brazenly. Thus, she quickly stood properly. “Thank you.”
The man’s gentle lips curved into a smile. “It’s nothing. But, don’t daydream while you’re walking. It’s very dangerous.”
She nodded in embarrassment. Now that she thought about it, she felt a sense of lingering fear. She had failed to notice the danger that was approaching her when the
WIM
car drove by and continued to be immersed in her own world. If this man was just one step later, the consequences would have been disastrous.
The man continued, “You have some scratches on you. They should be treated as soon as possible.”
Reacting to those words, she looked down at her arm and discovered that there were indeed some scratches. It was just that they were not serious. She was not a vain person; these injuries were nothing to her. Therefore, she smiled at the man gratefully. “It’s fine. I’ll treat them myself when I get back. Thank you for your help just now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
When he saw how uncaring she was toward her own body, he immediately frowned in response. “Women should cherish and take good care of themselves. You clearly don’t take your body seriously. Wait for a bit.” Looking around their surroundings, he finally found a relatively large-scale pharmacy nearby. He continued, “Come with
me.”
Following his gaze, she saw the pharmacy and immediately shook her head. “There’s no need. Thank you very much.”
Her injuries were not so severe that she needed to go to the pharmacy. It would not take long for them to heal on their own, so there was no need to go to the pharmacy.
“Don’t hesitate. Just come with me. It’s not like I’m going to sell you off.” The man chuckled softly. Acting as though he had not heard her refusal, he pulled her by the arm and walked in the direction of the pharmacy.
He might look tall and thin, unlike those who often exercised, but his grip was so strong that it was scary. No matter how she struggled, she could not pull her arm out of his grasp. On the contrary, her struggles hurt her arm instead.
It didn’t seem like he was a bad person. Besides, he rescued her just now. If she continued to refuse him after what he said, it would seem like she was unappreciative of his help. Hence, she sighed to herself in her heart. I wonder where this enthusiastic passerby came from. Forget it. It’s just buying some medicine. I might as well go with him.
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After entering the pharmacy, the man immediately bought some bandages and a bottle of disinfectant.
Tessa originally thought that they were only going to buy some plasters. Thus, she was a little astonished to see these two items. Isn’t this a little too much!? Who needs bandages and disinfectant for some scratches!?
However, the man gave her no chance to make any objections. He had already torn open the package of bandages and broke the seal on the disinfectant. When he was about to apply the medicine on her, she cleared her throat awkwardly. “I can do it myself.”
The man moved his hands away and avoided her. “Miss, please sit still. Your injuries are on your right hand. I’m sure it’s inconvenient for you to apply the medicine yourself. Let me do it.”
She was a little dumbfounded and mortified, but she could not refuse his kind intentions. Thus, she could only nod and allow him to apply the medicine on her.
“It might burn a little. Please bear with it,” he murmured gently.
She nodded helplessly.
Her gaze was fixed on his face. The more she looked at him, the more familiar he seemed. I’ve definitely met him somewhere before! But, I can’t recall where I met him before.
She blurted out, “Have I seen you somewhere before?”
Upon hearing those words, the man broke into a charming smile. “I thought such pick-up lines were only used by men. I never thought that women would use them
too.”
Those words made her feel a little embarrassed. She had reason to suspect that he had misunderstood something. Moreover, he was laughing at her for being old fashioned. She said dryly, “You’ve misunderstood. I’m not trying to flirt with you. I just find you very familiar-looking. I’m certain I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
The man laughed and shook his head but said nothing. Lowering his head, he continued to dress her wounds in all seriousness. He finally lifted his head when he was done. “It’s done.”
Her wounds had been bandaged very nicely. It was neither too thick nor too cumbersome. More importantly, it would not affect her arm movements. This surprised her slightly. She had originally assumed that the bandages would be lumpy because they were done by a man.
Nevertheless, they were strangers that didn’t even know each other’s names, so it was not right for her to mention her initial assumption. She could only smile politely. “Thank you.”
The man stood up and looked at her warmly. “In the future, you shouldn’t wander around aimlessly if you have something on your mind. You should look at the road when walking.”
She nodded subconsciously.
He added, “I have something to do, so I’ll be leaving first. Be careful on your way home.”
She followed suit and stood up, nodding gratefully once more. “Thank you.”
The other party nodded in acknowledgement and left in large strides. Tessa kept watching him until his figure disappeared down the end of the road. Only then did she recall his face all of a sudden. He seems to be… the main violinist of the Berlin Philharmonic… Scott Brooks! He is a genius violinist famous throughout the industry!
Not only did he win numerous prizes, but he also participated in many national-level performances. In addition, he met and shook hands with various country leaders before. In any case, he was a legend in the violin world! Most importantly, he was the first young performer in the country to perform in the Wiener Musikverein in Vienna.
She smacked her head in annoyance. My brain must have short-circuited earlier. That’s why I failed to recognize him. I had no idea that he remained in Brentwood City after the Berlin Philharmonic’s performance. What a shame! Is it too late to tell him that I wasn’t trying to flirt with him because he’s handsome but because I recognized his face? But, he has already
left.
She completely failed to notice that there was a car nearby. The car had been parked there for a very long time, and the person in the car had been quietly looking in their direction all this while. Not only did he take in every move and interaction between these two, but he also inquisitively took some pictures of them.
Kieran smiled and adjusted the sunglasses that he lowered earlier. I can’t believe I ran into this scene when I came out to run an errand.
He was very curious as to what his complicated brother would think after seeing this photo. Therefore, he casually sent the picture he took to his brother.
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Kielinlso added a message while he was at it. ‘Nicholas, I was out running errands when I saw Tessa with another man. They seem to be on a date!”
The angle of his photo was very ambiguous. From the picture, Tessa’s lightly blushing face could be seen clearly, but only the back of the man’s head could be seen. Moreover, the man could be seen kneeling with one knee on the ground and holding her hand. However, the bandages and disinfectant in his hand could not be seen.
When he saw the photo, Nicholas’ expression immediately darkened for some
reason.
At this moment, a knock sounded on the door of his office. He looked up and coldly responded, “Come in.”
“President Sawyer, Mr. Reinhart is here,” Edward said.
Nicholas nodded. “Let him in.”
Timothy followed Edward into the office with a stack of project proposals. “President Sawyer, I’ve completed my project proposal. Please have a look.”
S
Nicholas nodded and took the stack of documents from Timothy. “Explain it to me.”
“For this software, I plan to..” Timothy’s gentle voice sounded inside the room. He took his time to bring up the main points of his project proposal and explained them in detail.
After Timothy was done, Nicholas nodded. “This part needs some revision. The rest are fine.”
Timothy carefully marked that particular section.
Once everything was done, Nicholas subconsciously asked, “Does your sister have a boyfriend?”
Timothy was stunned by the question. Despite feeling a little confused as to how the conversation arrived at this topic, he answered nonetheless, “No.” Then, he asked puzzledly, “Why do you ask, President Sawyer?”
Then, he seemed to have realized something, so he smiled and began to defend his
sister. “To be honest, the only things that my sister thinks about over the past few years are making money, playing the violin, and taking care of me. She doesn’t concern herself with anything else. It’s not like nobody tried to woo her in the past. It’s just that she does not care much for relationships. Over time, those feelings tend to disappear. It can be said that she has never been in love before. Besides, we don’t have any secrets between us. Even if my sister is in a relationship, there’s no way I wouldn’t know about it. Even if she doesn’t tell me about it, I know her very well. She can’t keep a secret from me.”
After he heard those words, Nicholas’ expression softened slightly and became less hideous compared to earlier. At the same time, he was puzzled by his own reaction. What does Tessa being in a relationship have to do with me? Why did I react so strongly to it?
In any case, it was her freedom to decide whether to be in a relationship or not. It was just that he was somewhat unhappy about this freedom of hers.
Tessa returned home in a terrible mood. She fervently wished that everything was just a dream. I wish that when I wake up, I would not be targeted by the Sawyer Group; I would still be part of the Heavenly Chorus Orchestra, and everything would go back to how it was.
Feeling rather sullen, she covered herself in her blankets. She wanted to bury her head and sleep so that she could wake up from this nightmare a little sooner. Unfortunately, all the emotions in her heart were suffocating her, and she could not fall asleep. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.
Not long afterward, she heard the door of the house being opened. She got up from the bed to take a look and saw Timothy walking in through the door with a large gift box in his hand.
When Timothy saw Tessa, he hurriedly waved at her and exclaimed happily, “Tess, come here quickly! I’ll show you something nice!”
“What is it?” Tessa was a little curious.
He handed the large gift box over to her carefully, as though he was handling a precious treasure. “Open it and see.”
She suspiciously opened the box and immediately widened her eyes in astonishment. What was inside the box was none other than an extremely exquisite violin!
Unable to help herself, she reached out to touch the violin strings and asked in surprise, “Why did you suddenly think of giving me a violin?”
Seeing that she liked the present, he explained with a smile, “I bought this from a teacher who likes to collect violins. According to him, this is an excellent violin. Moreover, it has a beautiful name. Its name is ‘Nirvana.”
She nodded. She recognized this violin. It was the personal possession of an extremely famous violinist in the country, Alexander Flores.
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Alexander would perform with this violin in almost all of his performances, so this violin was extremely well-known. It was only later that the master violinist auctioned off this violin after retiring from the music scene. The violin was then bought by an anonymous buyer; it was now worth a lot of money.
Tessa never expected that Timothy would get his hands on it. Although she loved the present very much, she couldn’t help frowning. “You shouldn’t have spent so much money. I can play any old violin. Your company has only just started, so I’m sure you will need to spend on many things. Why did you buy something so expensive? What if you don’t have enough funds later?”
Timothy laughed. “You don’t need to worry about that. Just accept the gift. I know what I can do and what I cannot do. My project proposal has reached the initial stage of finalization, and I brought the materials for President Sawyer to review today. He expressed great interest in the project. That’s why you have nothing to worry about financially. I told you that I’ll take care of you and that I can make our lives better. So, I will definitely make it happen.”
The light in her eyes instantly dimmed when she heard Nicholas’ name. She didn’t even hear what Timothy said afterward.
When she suddenly fell silent, he realized that something was not quite right. She seemed to be feeling down today, so much so that she didn’t even express much excitement when she saw the famous violin. Thus, he couldn’t help feeling odd. “Tess, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
She shook her head weakly. She did not wish to tell him that she had been fired by the Sawyer Group. His career was just beginning to take flight. Moreover, he happened to be working with the Sawyer Group. Telling him about this matter would only add to his troubles.
The more he looked at her, the more he felt that his sister was being very strange today. He worriedly said, “Tess, you can share whatever troubles you are facing with me. There’s no need to suffer alone.”
She shook her head again. “It’s really nothing. It’s just that I can’t play the violin right now, so it feels like such a pity. I hope I can get better soon. That way, I can finally play this violin.”
Upon hearing her answer, he stopped thinking too much about the matter and did not suspect her again. After all, it was true that his sister had been feeling upset because of this injury all this while. Gifting this violin to her at this juncture would certainly affect her emotions negatively.
The next day, Timothy left for work very early in the morning because he had a bunch of things to do at the company.
Tessa’s emotions had calmed down considerably after a night of contemplation.
The Heavenly Chorus Orchestra is good, but it is not the only choice I have. There are countless other orchestras in Brentwood City. I will eventually find one that is suitable for me. In the worst case, she
would just have to start from scratch once more. She did not lack the courage to do so. Therefore, she created her resume and went to interview at the other orchestras with her resume in hand
“I’m sorry, Miss Reinhart. We are at full capacity at the moment. Please go back”
“Miss Reinhart, I had a look at your resume. I’m afraid you don’t have enough accumulated work experience. We are looking for people with at least eight years of working experience. Please try another place.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Reinhart…”
Unfortunately, something outside of her expectations occurred. She interviewed at countless orchestras, but none of them were willing to hire her.
All the other orchestras were clearly in desperate need of people. They didn’t even take down the recruitment notices posted on their doors. Nevertheless, the answer she received once she went inside and finished her self-introduction was a rejection; they even came up with all sorts of excuses to turn her down.
Over the next few days, she visited almost all the orchestras in Brentwood City. Unfortunately, none of them took her interview seriously or asked her to perform a segment on the spot. Repeatedly running into a wall caused her mood to sink to the bottom of the abyss. She even began to doubt her own ability.
Tessa returned home dejectedly. There were clearly no problems with her resume. She might be young, but she had quite a lot of working experience. Furthermore, she graduated from Southfield Music School at the top of her class. Even among the various music schools in the country, Southfield College was one of the best music schools there was.
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Just what is the reason for them to shut me out? Just as Tessa was racking her head to figure out the problem, her phone started ringing. It was her old music director, Trevor!
As soon as the call connected, Trevor spoke first. “Tessa, have you been interviewing around?”
She was puzzled to hear those words. She had not told anybody about her interviews-even Timothy did not know about this. “How did you know, Mr. Oswald?”
He sighed. “We are all in the same industry, so it’s only natural for the other music directors and I to interact with each other. That’s how I heard that you’ve been interviewing everywhere.”
She was speechless and did not know what to say. She initially assumed that she had been very secretive about how she had been interviewing around. Even her younger brother was clueless about this matter, so it should have been impossible for outsiders to know. Who could have known that news of her being rejected everywhere had already spread throughout the industry? However, this was not the time to wonder why everybody knew about this. It was more important to know why this was happening.
She hesitated for a long time before asking in a hoarse voice, “But, why—”
“I know what you’re wondering. But, you’re such a smart person. Can’t you tell? You’re being targeted. None of the orchestras in Brentwood City would willingly risk being shut down by hiring you. Tessa, we’ve known each other for so long. I hope you give up on the interviews. No matter what you do, the outcome will be the same.”
At first, Trevor thought that she would understand on her own. Contrary to his expectations, he continued to receive news about how she was going around interviewing everywhere even though it had been days since she first got declined. She was stuck in a constant and daily cycle of attending interviews and being rejected.
Despite being rejected repeatedly, she continued running around and asking everywhere. She worked tirelessly, like a spinning top that could not stop. It was all in hopes that one of the orchestras would take her in.
He originally did not want to tell her such a terrible truth, but he could not bear to continue watching her struggle. After all, he was well aware of how hardworking and inherently talented she was. It was for this reason that she could not withstand such a shock.
If she continued to fail at her interviews, she might start to doubt her abilities. In the end, she might never muster up the courage to play the violin again. That would be a great loss to the music industry.
He couldn’t bear to watch a rising new star fall just like that. Therefore, he decided to call her to remind her of her circumstances. He hoped that she would not be discouraged just because nobody was hiring her
When Tessa heard those words, she was shocked to the core. It’s the Sawyer Family again?
She had felt that something was odd during her interview, but she was so focused on looking for a job that she did not think about the Sawyer Group. Allirol, she had assumed that her past performance in the Heavenly Chorus Orchestralacollenderlher peers, so that was why they refused to accept her. It never occurred to her that it was inually the Sawyer Group pulling the strings from the shadows to make everybody avoid berlike the plague,
It was not until she heard the truth from Trevor that she fully understood the situation,
She did not know how she ended the call or what she said before ending the call. All she knew was that her head was filled with thoughts of rushing to Nicholas and asking him why they were doing this to her. Why must they force me into a corner like this?
After further consideration, she immediately dismissed the notion that Nicholas was behind all of this. She was certain that he was not the mastermind. The di day and night. Their statuses were so far apart that they were like two parallel lines. As long as nothing went wrong, these two lines would never intersect with each other. If he did not wish to approach her, then he could just choose to not meet her again. There was no need for him to bring Gregory to visit her again and again.
In that case, there was only one answer-the mastermind was Stefania.
Could it be that she regarded it as a breach of contract because I met Greg a few times after I resigned? Just because of that, she refuses to tolerate my presence? Stefania is too much for doing that! Thinking that, Tessa furiously made an appointment to meet with Stefania.
The two of them decided to meet at the cafe where they last met.
Having heard that Timothy had just established a company, Stefania assumed that Tessa was meeting her this time to ask for more money.
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Stefania was very familiar with the principle of spending money to mitigate disaster. Besides, it was only a few million dollars. That amount was nothing to her. She did not lack this trivial amount of money, so she might as well just hand over the money and be done with it.
However, Tessa acted very stern and righteous when refusing my money previously. Now that she is short of money and regrets her previous actions, it means that she wants something from me. Hence, I don’t need to persuade her to stay away from Greg like before. Therefore, she got straight to the point. “Miss Reinhart, have you changed your mind? How much do you want? Just name your price.”
Tessa’s expression was already cold in the first place. After listening to Stefania humiliating her in that manner, her expression practically turned to ice. “I am not here for money. There’s something I wanted to ask you, Mrs: Sawyer.” She emphasized each word carefully. “Mrs. Sawyer, you have already made me lose my tutoring job. Is that not enough? Why are you banning me from the entire orchestra industry? Don’t you think your actions are too much!?”
Being accused out of nowhere left Stefania feeling dumbfounded. “What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I ban you from anything?”
Seeing that Stefania refused to admit to her crime, Tessa spoke through gritted teeth. “Are you unaware? Fine. I’ll tell you what’s going on. After the Heavenly Chorus Orchestra was acquired by the Sawyer Group, I was fired without another word. I tried to interview at other orchestras, but none of the orchestras would hire me because they know that I’ve offended you. Mrs. Sawyer, let me ask you this: Are you planning to exterminate me completely? Don’t you think that doing this is like children playing house? Aren’t you being immature!?”
After listening to Tessa’s explanation, Stefania immediately understood the situation. She involuntarily scowled and answered bluntly, “I don’t know what you are trying to accuse me of. This matter has nothing to do with me.”
Even at this point, she refuses to admit to what she has done. Tessa’s voice suddenly turned frosty. “It’s meaningless for you to play dumb at this point. I have inquired about this matter. Everybody says that it was a directive issued by the Sawyer Group. President Sawyer has no need to do something like this. Aside from you, I have never offended anybody else; I can’t think of anybody else who would target me like this.”
Stefania was a little stunned. It was the truth that she was not behind this incident. Since Tessa had already resigned, there was no reason for her to target Tessa again.
Nevertheless, Tessa’s words were very convincing. It doesn’t sound like she is making up nonsense just to deceive me. If this is true, who else will do something like this but me? Could it be that my son has finally come to his senses? Does he plan to isolate the root cause and separate the two of them by forcing her to leave Brentwood City?
When Stefania remained silent, Tessa assumed that Stefania had acquiesced to her accusations. Thus, she straightforwardly said, “I hope you will hold back on your methods, Mrs. Sawyer. Please leave me a way out.”
After saying that, she left the café without another word.
Stefania sat there a little longer, mulling over what Tessa mentioned earlier. It’s true that my son will not corner her into a dead-end no matter how much he dislikes her. This is certainly not my son’s style of doing things. There’s something suspicious about this matter.
Ruminating over this matter was not going to give her an answer. Therefore, she also left the café. When she got into the car, she turned to the driver and said, “Help me investigate the relationship between the Sawyer Group, the Heavenly Chorus Orchestra, and Tessa Reinhart. See who is targeting her.”
The driver accepted the order. “Alright, Mrs. Sawyer.”
Ever since returning from Tessa’s home, Gregory had been in a very good mood. Not only did Miss Tessa treat me no differently from before during our last few meetings, but she even invited me to stay overnight at her home twice! The feeling of seeing her the moment I wake up is the best!
Furthermore, the doctor mentioned that Tessa’s shoulder was recovering well. Gregory was already dreaming of the day when Tessa was fully recovered. She will soon be able to return and teach me the violin.
However, he did not receive any news of her return despite waiting for a long time. Feeling very anxious, he wanted to visit her immediately, so he mustered his courage and said to Nicholas, “Daddy, can I visit Miss Tessa? Daddy, I miss her. Besides, the doctor says that she has almost fully recovered. I want to bring her back and ask her to stay with us so that she can continue to teach me the violin.” He looked at Nicholas expectantly.
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Nicholas thought back to the time when Tessa resigned from her position. She mehe not return on her own initiative as things stood, but she might be willing to return if Gregory took the initiative to ask her. When it came down to it, the right to decide was in her hands.
Hence, he said, “You can video call her. If she agrees, I’ll send you there.”
“Okay!” Gregory nodded repeatedly in delight. He had been worried that he might annoy Tessa if he kept disturbing her, so he had not contacted her recently. “I miss Miss Tessa. I’m sure she misses me too.”
Tessa was at home talking to Timothy when she received the video call notification. After hiding for so many days, she suddenly felt her heart pounding a little faster at the sight of Nicholas’ name. She was reluctant to answer the video call.
Her reaction puzzled Timothy. “What’s wrong, Tess? Why aren’t you answering?”
Not wanting her brother to overthink about this matter, she gritted her teeth and accepted the invitation to the video call.
Gregory’s face instantly appeared on the screen of her phone. As soon as he saw her, he greeted her sweetly. “Good afternoon, Miss Tessa! Have you eaten? Did you miss me?”
She did not answer his questions. Instead, she asked faintly, “What’s up?”
He was so elated to see her at this moment that he failed to notice the change in her attitude. He happily exclaimed, “I missed you, Miss Tessa. That’s why I asked Daddy to video call you. Are you free later? I want to play with you, Miss Tessa.”
“I’m not free.” She lowered her eyes to conceal her emotions and gave an indifferent answer.
He was taken aback by her words. Although he seemed slightly disappointed, he still looked at her hopefully. “I see. What about tomorrow? Or, the day after tomorrow? I’m okay with any time as long as you’re free, Miss Tessa.”
“I’ll be busy in the near future. I have something to do, so I’ll hang up if there’s nothing else.” Her expression was cold.
Reading between the lines, he understood the meaning behind her wordshil
widened his eyes in disbelief. “Miss Tessa… is something wrong?”
Her reply was frosty. “No.”
Immédiately after that, she ended the video call without another word.
Timothy, who was standing nearby, was also quite shocked by her attitude toward Gregory. Tess loves Young Master Gregory the most! Why did she refuse to meet him? Besides, she’s at home all the time. How can she be busy?
He asked worriedly, “Tess, are you atright? Did something happen?”
She shook her head tiredly. She had no intention of telling her brother about the affairs between her and the Sawyer Family.
“Then, why?” He didn’t quite understand.
She shook her head again. “It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired. Don’t you need to go to work? Hurry up and eat. Go back to work after you finish eating.”
Seeing that she was not willing to explain further, he did not force her even though he was overflowing with questions. Either way, he would respect the decisions that she made.
Gregory was currently at the Dynasty Gardens. He stared at the screen that had returned to the chat interface in shock. Did Miss Tessa just hang up on the video call?
“Daddy, did something happen to Miss Tessa? Why is she unwilling to meet me or talk to me?” He raised his head to look at his father sadly.
Nicholas had been nearby during the video call between Gregory and Tessa. Although he had not intended to listen in on the conversation between them, there was no doubt that he heard the entire conversation.
At this moment, his expression was not very pleasant. He did not know what had caused her attitude to shift so abruptly either. It was different from the time she was discharged from the hospital. This time, she seemed even more resolute than before. It felt like she had made up her mind to draw a firm line between them.
“Daddy, I want to see Miss Tessa. Can you bring me to visit her? Please bring me to visit her. She won’t be like this after she sees me.” Even though the words came out of Gregory’s mouth, he pouted sullenly. He subconsciously knew that Tessa was pulling
away from him and did not wish to meet him..
Nicholas had a vague speculation in his heart. Tessa must be facing difficulties of some sort. Otherwise, she would not have such a drastic change in attitude.
We were the ones to set up the last two meetings with her while she herself has never actively reached out to contact us before.
Always Been Yours Chapter 219
She… even offered to resign. Why did she do that? Am I missing something in the middle?
When Nicholas fell into contemplation and did not answer, large tears fell from Gregory’s eyes. “Daddy, please let me meet Miss Tessa. I really want to meet her. I’m sure she’s not serious about leaving me. Daddy…”
Nicholas’ expression sank slightly when he saw Gregory wailing so sorrowfully. He is too dependent on Tessa. This is not a good thing.
He solemnly said, “Stop crying. You have to respect her. It doesn’t matter whether she is busy or not. Even if she is free, you cannot force yourself on her if she doesn’t want to meet you.”
Gregory froze on the spot. Daddy said… Miss Tessa doesn’t want to meet me.
It was one thing to speculate on his own. However, it felt as though those words became the truth when it came out of his father’s mouth. Miss Tessa doesn’t want me anymore. I’ve been abandoned by Miss Tessa! No! It can’t be! It can’t be real!
He stood there for a while before he looked at Nicholas’ lowered eyes with reddened eyes and sniffled. “I understand.”
After saying that, he turned around and left. He only paused in his tracks for a moment when he passed by the music room. Nevertheless, he did not enter the music room and quickly returned to his own room instead.
Nicholas heaved a sigh of relief to see Gregory walking by the violin room without entering
Greg has matured a lot recently. He knows that he can’t compel others to do his bidding. He didn’t complain even when I tried to separate him and Tessa. All he said was that he doesn’t want her to hate him. He has always been very obedient. Even now, the reality of the situation has probably dawned on him.
Although Nicholas felt sorry for the sensible child, he stopped worrying that the child would kick up a fuss at home. Thus, he left and headed to the company.
Gregory was standing at the window when he heard the sound of Nicholas’ car leaving. He stared motionlessly at the car until it vanished into the distance. Immediately after that, he swiftly packed his stuff and sneaked out of his room when Andrew and the servants were not paying attention. Avoiding the surveillance
cameras in the house, he ran to the garden behind the villa.
His father might have sealed the route he last took to escape, but he had already found a new route. It was the perfect route to escape from home without crawling through a hole in the wall or going through the main gates.
He once again succeeded at escaping from the villa, but he did not show the slightest hint of joy. His head was lowered as he walked to the side of the road, stopped a taxi, and gave the driver Tessa’s address.
Although Tessa had lied that she was tired and wanted to sleep, she simply lay on the bed in a daze until Timothy left home for work. She could not fall asleep as her mind was filled with Gregory’s hurt expression. At the same time, the sound of him calling her ‘Miss Tessa’ echoed in her ears. She could sense just how sad he was. She herself was miserable too.
But, what else can I do? This is what I previously promised Stefania. I am also the one who mentioned my resignation to Nicholas and actively cut off all opportunities to interact with Greg. In that case, there’s no need for us to keep in touch anymore, right?
Nevertheless, she did not reject Gregory’s attempts to visit her afterward. She even allowed the father-and-son pair to stay overnight at her house. Therefore, she was the one who had violated her agreement in the first place.
She was the reason why things had progressed to this point. Although Stefania’s actions were overboard, it was not without reason. Besides, the status of the Sawyer Family was not something a person like her could hope to compete against. She was satisfied that she could even act as Gregory’s teacher for a short time.
Just as she was ruminating over these thoughts, she faintly heard her doorbell ringing. She opened the door only to see an aggrieved-looking Gregory standing in front of her. He shouted aggrievedly, “Miss Tessa!”
Tessa was shocked to see Gregory until she recalled her previous attitude toward him. With his personality, it was a given that he would come looking for her. Thus, she said nothing
It was just that she did not see Nicholas anywhere when she looked around. In fact, she didn’t even see anybody from the Sawyer Family. Puzzled, she brought Gregory inside and asked, “Who brought you here?”
Gregory was also brimming with questions, but he could not bring himself to ask
anything when he saw her as it seemed like she, too, was very sad.
Always Been Yours Chapter 220
Gregory opened his mouth and swallowed his questions. Then, he answered honestly, “Nobody. I sneaked out and came here.”
Upon hearing those words, Tessa was shocked, and her expression immediately darkened in response. “Do you know how dangerous it is for you to run out on your own!? There are many human traffickers out there who specialize in kidnapping children like you!”
He blinked aggrievedly. “I know I was wrong. I should not have made you worry, and I won’t do it again. But, can you please don’t refuse to meet me? Miss Tessa, I miss you. You said you are not free, so I came to visit you on my own. You can do whatever you want, and I’ll just watch from the side. I promise I won’t disturb you.”
His words rendered her speechless for a moment. She was not busy. Rather, her unemployed self was very free. She had so much time on her hands that it was driving her crazy! The only reason she said that was as a perfunctory answer to his question earlier. It never occurred to her that he would run here on his own because of something she said.
I wonder if Nicholas knows that this child snuck out on his own. The villa is very far from here. Won’t he search around like crazy once he discovers that Greg is missing? Sighing, she poured a glass of juice for him and spoke in a lukewarm manner. “Stay here. I’m going to my room. I’ll come and keep you company in a short while.”
He nodded obediently. Even so, he couldn’t help feeling sadness wash over him. It was clear that her attitude toward him had changed. He watched silently as she returned to her room and closed the door behind her, cutting off his sight.
After entering her room, she took out her phone. She took a few deep breaths before she finally tapped on Nicholas’ name to initiate the phone call.
It didn’t take long for Nicholas to answer the phone. His cold voice sounded from the other end. “What is it?”
“Greg came to my house on his own. You should come and pick him up.” She immediately ended the call after delivering the message coldly.
When Nicholas heard that Gregory had snuck out to visit Tessa, his expression immediately darkened. This child is getting bolder and bolder by the minute. He keeps sneaking out of the house. Not to mention, he agreed that he would not disturb Tessa, only to turn around and run to her house.
Be that as it may, it was certain that something was wrong with Tessa’s attitude. She used to be so nice to Greg. It didn’t look like she was just acting nice. Besides, it’s beneficial for Timothy’s company if she builds up a relationship with the Sawyer Family. Why is she pulling away all of a sudden? No, that’s not right. Her words might be firm and cold, but they were also a little strange. It gives off the feeling… that she is forcing herself to do this. Why does she have to do something that goes against her wishes?
In any case, he was not worried about leaving Gregory in her care. Before leaving the company, he instructed Edward, “Investigate who Tessa met recently and what happened.”
Edward had long accustomed to the concern that Nicholas showed Tessa. Thus, he hurriedly nodded. “Will do, President Sawyer.”
Ten minutes later, Nicholas arrived at Tessa’s door. He looked at Gregory, who was sitting on the sofa dejectedly, and his expression involuntarily darkened. Even so, it would not be right of him to reprimand the child in front of Tessa, so he faintly said, “I came to pick the child up.”
Gregory turned pale at those words. During the time he spent here, Tessa had not said much to him. She simply sat there and kept him company. Even if Miss Tessa doesn’t want to be with me, I don’t want to leave. He looked at his father pleadingly. “Can I stay a little longer, please?”
Tessa coldly said, “Since you’re here, President Sawyer, then please take him away. Please watch your child properly in the future. Don’t let him wander around on his own. He might have safely arrived at my house this time, but what about the next?”
“Miss Tessa…” He widened his eyes in disbelief. Does Miss Tessa not want to see me anymore?
Thinking that, he quickly climbed off the sofa and ran over to her. “Miss Tessa, why? Why don’t you want me anymore? Miss Tessa, I won’t cause trouble or annoy you again. Please don’t hate me. I won’t come to your house to visit you anymore.”
His aggrieved eyes reddened, and tears flowed out once more.