Ch. 261..270

Always Been Yours Chapter 261

When they witnessed their master being assaulted, Silas’ bodyguards hurriedly rushed forward and wanted to surround Nicholas, but were kicked over by the bodyguards from the Sawyer Family.

All of a sudden, the situation was reversed where the men working for the Reinharts were either laying on the floor or kneeling as they cried out in pain.

With a face as solemn as the grim reaper, Nicholas paced to Silas. “Where’s Henry

Tompkins?”

Even if Silas was an idiot, he could now tell that Tessa didn’t have a fall out with Nicholas. Furthermore, Nicholas even came over specially to help her.

Threatening Tessa was a child’s play to him, but in front of Nicholas, he didn’t dare to throw his weight around as he did not dare say a word.

To Silas, Nicholas was simply too terrifying and he wouldn’t mind giving up on the USB flash drive if it meant that his life could be saved. Even if his company went bust, so be it.

However, it was clear that Nicholas didn’t want him to have an easy way out. When Silas didn’t answer him, he peered at him from above. “Where is he?”

Whether it was from the pain or from the fright, Silas couldn’t be sure, but his back was instantly soaked in perspiration. His face was also covered in a layer of cold sweat as he had been fished out of the waters.

Striking back would only mean his own death, and he lost all guts as he hurriedly ordered his injured bodyguard, “T-Take that brat, no. Bring Mr. Tompkins out. Quickly.”

After receiving the order, the bodyguard quickly scrambled off to release Henry. Besides Silas, all the other bodyguards were motionless and remained as quiet as mannequins. None of them even dared to help Silas to his feet either while the noisy Amber didn’t dare to make a scene.

Soon, that bodyguard returned from the dark room with Henry while shouting, “We’re back. I’ve brought him here!”

At the sight of Henry, Silas felt spiteful and relieved at the same time; spiteful because after going through so much hassle, the hostage he had finally abducted was

released just like that. At most, he had given that brat Timothy a beating, but he also had a taste of his own medicine because that earlier kick from Nicholas had almost sent him on his way.

However, Silas was relieved that he didn’t take it out on Henry after bringing him back; otherwise, he reckoned that his ending would be even worse than now.

After his release, Henry was still a little lost, thinking that Timothy had really handed over the software in exchange for his safe release. Hence, when he saw Timothy, he yelled, “Tim, don’t give it to him! I’m fine!”

Seeing that Henry didn’t sustain any more injuries and was merely locked away without being deeply hurt, Timothy breathed a sigh of relief. “I didn’t give it to him. Don’t worry,” he assured with a chuckle.

It was only then that Henry took a good look around and saw an expressionless Nicholas, after which he whispered to Timothy in surprise, “Isn’t President Sawyer… Why is he here?”

“We have misunderstood him. He’s innocent and I could only save you without a

glitch because he came to help us out this time. Or else, I think I’ll really need to use the USB flash drive in exchange for your life,” Timothy said, grinning.

Still shocked, Henry said, “Okay, that’s good. That’s our blood and sweat, and we can’t give it away no matter what, not even if it’s in exchange for me.” Then, he turned to Nicholas. “Thanks for your help, President Sawyer.”

In reply, Nicholas nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

“P-President Sawyer, I have already handed him over and didn’t harm him further. Will you let me go?” Silas asked, looking at him pleadingly.

Henry spat and looked at Silas, who was still on the floor, with contempt. “You have no shame at all. Earlier, you were not like this when you came to our company to rob. us. Where’s your swagger from before?”

“You!” Humiliated publicly, Silas was a little embarrassed and wanted to curse him, but when he spun his head and saw Nicholas’ face, he suddenly lost his voice.

For some unknown reason, he felt that it would be even more shameful if he started cursing in front of Nicholas.

This was the attitude of a true elite; even without cursing, he was able to instill fear by just standing.

Ignoring what Silas was thinking in his head, Timothy stepped forward. “I’m warning you for the last time. Don’t disturb our lives again.”

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“Okay, okay.” Bobbing his head eagerly, Silas immediately felt as though a huge stone had been lifted off him. Looks like he’s not going after me for responsibility.

While he was still rejoicing, Edward took out some papers. “President Sawyer, I found the agreement which was signed before.”

When Silas heard that, his face visibly paled.

“President Sawyer, Silas had obviously violated the agreement by finding fault with them. In addition, he’s also involved in kidnapping and abetting injury against others.”

A terrified Silas knew that he would definitely end up in jail if this was reported to the police. Scrambling to his feet, he cast Nicholas a pleading look. “President Sawyer, I won’t dare to do it again. From now on, I won’t cause them any more trouble. I’m a man of my word!”

At the same time, Amber was equally terrified upon hearing that. Her daughter-in law was already behind bars for months and her granddaughter had just been arrested. If her son was also sent to jail, how would she be able to survive by herself?

Losing all her guts from earlier, she pleaded anxiously, “President Sawyer, please have mercy and let my son off. I promise I won’t let him cause any more trouble in the future.”

“What do you mean?” Nicholas said, looking at Tessa.

All eyes in the room turned to Tessa as well. Some had a pleading gaze, a few were imploring her and there were also some who were determined.

Tessa’s crisp, cool voice echoed. “It’s pointless to have mercy on them and just let the law deal with them. Also, there’s a surveillance camera with a voice recorder next to it. Take all of it as evidence,” she pointed out, gesturing to the lens pointed at herself.

Once again, Silas slumped to the floor. Initially, he wanted to use the surveillance to blackmail them, but unexpectedly, Tessa also knew that his voice recorder was there. Earlier, I had said so much about my plans, but now…

Nicholas nodded, gesturing to Edward to collect the evidence.

Even though he didn’t say anything, he had another deeper understanding of Tessa’s

personality again. In the beginning, he thought that she was quiet and weak, but he later realized that she was also a little tough. And now, she could even stand with reason instead of her blood and kin, was brave with her feelings and also a little sassy.

Her attention to detail kinda drew Nicholas’ attention a little.

After leaving the scene to Edward and his bodyguards, Nicholas sent Tessa and the rest home before driving alone to Sawyer Residence.

In the house, Remus was having tea while playing chess by himself, and the butler, Andrew, rushed to him after receiving a call.

“Something happened, Sir.”

“Speak.” Lifting his eyes, Remus looked at him lazily and continued with his tea and chess, looking so strategized as if everything was within his control.

“It seems like Young Master Nicholas has already noticed that it’s us and canceled our instructions using the Sawyer Group’s name earlier. He even clarified everything and it looks like everything will proceed normally.”

Remus snorted. “So what? What can he do even if he knows about it? It’s only a matter of time before this matter is.exposed and we didn’t plan to hide it from him either.”

Of course he knew his grandson like the back of his palm.

“Nicholas would do this simply because he’s willful and felt that the Reinhart siblings had suffered this unwarranted trouble because of him. That’s why he helped them to solve all those problems. In addition, that little lass, Tessa, will back off after just a small warning. It has always been like this the last few times before, but it’s her brother who has been targeted this time. So, she’ll probably get mad and sever all contact with him.”

Giving it a second thought, Andrew thought that it was true. Moreover, Nicholas had a strong personality and wouldn’t do something knowing that it would end up in him being snubbed. Hence, Nicholas definitely wouldn’t stand to take this.

Once he cooled down for a couple of days, he would completely ignore Tessa.

So, the old master has already considered everything. Then, there shouldn’t be any problem to break these two up, Andrew thought and bowed slightly. “What a wise plan you have, sir.”

Continuing with his tea and chess calmly, Remus said, “Come and play with me.”

Andrew nodded. “Yes.”

Just a while after they started playing, a bodyguard walked in briskly and whispered something into Andrew’s ears. Instantly, the expression on his face fell.

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“What happened?” Remus asked, raising his gaze.

Andrew answered truthfully, “Old Master Sawyer, maybe Young Master Nicholas isn’t as simple as we think. After canceling the instructions, he followed Timothy home and ran into Tessa being bullied by some people. Then, he took care of the thugs and went upstairs together with the siblings.”

Then, he continued, “A short while after, they went to Silas’ place in a big group and beat up Silas and his bodyguards, and even dragged him to the police station to settle their family problems for them. I’m afraid that Master Nicholas is serious this time. It’s said that Tessa was really so mad that she even said that she wanted to break all ties with Master Nicholas and Gregory, asking him not to disrupt their lives. However, Master Nicholas has somehow managed to turn her mind around.”

Upon hearing that, Remus paused mid-air from taking a sip of his tea and slammed the cup hard on the table. The composed look on his face had completely disappeared and he looked a little furious.

“That rascal!”

After all his meticulous calculations, including correctly predicting Tessa’s reaction, he didn’t expect that it was his own grandson who didn’t act according to his expectations. Let Tessa be if she’s angry and left in a huff, he thought. Why did he talk her around and explain things to her?

Remus never imagined that the grandson whom he had brought up himself to be so outstanding that no one else in Brentwood could match him, that high and mighty young president of a company, would do all this for Tessa’s sake.

It was based on this point alone that the Reinhart siblings had to go.

“That lass has to go,” Remus said solemnly.

A concerned Andrew asked, “Sir, we already interfered with these two siblings thrice, and Master Nicholas is well aware of it as well. He’s not dumb, and he’ll definitely be suspicious. If we continue to make a few more obvious moves, he’ll start to investigate and we probably won’t be able to hide what happened back then. When that time comes, things may get very complicated.”

Remus snorted softly. “I have a way to deal with that. Just do what you are told.”

In fact, he knew very well that with Nicholas’ intelligence and ability, it definitely wouldn’t take him long to find out the truth.

So what even if he finds out, though? He hates the woman who abandoned Greg to the core, and it won’t change anything even if that woman is Tessa. The only thing that would change is, the two people who were previously nice to her would hate her and find her disgusting. At that time, she won’t even be able to stay in Brentwood without the need for me to chase her away.

There was nothing good about a woman who would give birth to a baby out of wedlock for money and abandon her own child.

Remus’ plan had almost never gone wrong, and he was sincerely doing it for the Sawyer Family and Nicholas. Undoubtedly, Andrew knew how much Remus had poured in and wouldn’t go against his wishes. “Yes, Sir,” he answered with a nod.

Nicholas had been standing outside the door of the main hall for a long time and overheard a big part of their conversation. Since a long time ago, he already knew that Remus had secretly sent someone to follow him, but such a menial thing didn’t bother him.

Judging from all the things that recently happened, he vaguely felt that Remus was really hiding something from him, and it was an important thing at that. Unfortunately, these two elders had been in the business world for decades and were very sharp, knowing what should be said and what not. When they were speaking, a lot of important information was directly skipped over.

Years of working together had created a strong rapport between them, and some things were understood without even the need to say it out loud.

Therefore, Nicholas didn’t hear anything useful, but a seed of doubt had been planted in his heart, and he marched in with big strides.

“You’re here?” Enjoying a sip of tea from his cup, Remus returned to his usual leisure self and greeted his eldest grandson with a smile. “You’ve been making frequent visits here recently, rascal. Are you here to have a game of chess with me?”

Knowing that Remus was avoiding the topic with him, Nicholas didn’t fall for it and asked straightforwardly, “Just what are you hiding from me?”

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The smile on Remus’ face fell a little. “There’s a lot of that. Which one are you asking about?”

“Grandpa, you know what I’m asking about, and this will be the last time I’m asking you. Why exactly are you picking on the Reinhart siblings so much?” an emotionless Nicholas asked.

After Remus snorted, he answered, “Picking on them? I’ve told you the reason very clearly the last time. That girl is not good enough for you, and you should stay away from her while it’s not too late. If you keep being so close with them, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“Grandpa!” Nicholas exclaimed angrily.

“What? You have the guts to raise your voice at me and challenge me because of that woman? Nicholas Sawyer, there’s a limit to my patience as well, and you keep trying it time after time. Do you really think that I’ll just let you do as you wish?” he snapped.

As he stood motionlessly, Nicholas’ sculptured face was incredibly grim. Even though Remus had always been a man of his words, Nicholas wasn’t a person who couldn’t scheme either. If both of them really went head to head against each other, nobody could predict who the winner would be in the end.

And just like that, they were in a silent stalemate for a few minutes.

Finally, Remus sighed, as though he was defeated by Nicholas’ stubbornness.

He said, “I am the one who brought you up, Nicholas, so I won’t ever harm you. All you have to know is that no matter what I do, I do it for your own good. It’s undeniable that you’re running the company well, but relationships are complicated. When you were schooling and in the military, you didn’t have much contact with girls, and I’m worried that you’ll be misled. If you really want someone like Tessa Reinhart, there are plenty of girls like her on the streets outside. She’s nothing special and you can just forget about her after having a fling with her. However, if you’re really looking for a wife, you have to search for one from a prestigious family because that’s the correct choice. If you really think that you’re having too much free time despite the work in the company, then you can look for Hayley who’s missing you very much.”

A solemn Nicholas said immediately, “I don’t like Hayley. Don’t bother to match us up.”

Once again, Remus’ anger sparked. “Who do you like if not her? That Reinhart girl? Don’t even think about it because it’s impossible. As long as I’m still around, she can forget about stepping into the Sawyer Family.”

Nicholas’ voice turned a few notches colder. “You should enjoy your retirement in peace, Grandpa. Take care of your health, and if you’re bored, just do some gardening while cultivating your health and well-being. Don’t interfere with my affairs again. Also, don’t make any decisions for me and hurt innocent people in the name of ‘for my own good.”

While Remus took it that Nicholas had indirectly admitted his liking for Tessa, he was furious when he heard all the sarcastic and hostile things that his grandson had just said. “Nicholas Sawyer, if you really want the best for her, tell her to obediently leave Brentwood. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“If that’s the case, then there’s nothing to discuss between us. You can give it a try,” Nicholas threatened in a low growl and left the place directly in big strides.

After he left, all the peace and leisure which were previously on Remus’ face were gone. In its place was menacing fury. “Damn it!”

Meanwhile, Nicholas was looking glum after leaving the mansion. Although Remus refused to tell him the reason he was picking on Tessa, he was already sure that Remus had a great deal of malice for her.

What would the exact reason be to make a weak girl like Tessa the target of Remus’ attack to the point where Remus would do all that he could to match Nicholas with another?

Could it be… Tessa is Greg’s birth mother? Nicholas wondered.

It seemed that there were a lot of similarities between Tessa and Gregory’s biological mother-seafood allergy and musically gifted. In addition, Tessa even had the same scar and tattoo which that woman had. All these were simply too much of a coincidence.

The woman from before was arranged by Remus, so he definitely knew who she was. However, if Tessa was that woman, why didn’t she recognize Remus, and why did she get close to Gregory? Wasn’t she the one who abandoned him?

Everything was just so odd.

Seeing that Nicholas didn’t look good after leaving the Sawyers, Edward could guess that Nicholas didn’t manage to get the answers which he wanted from Remus.

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“What are we going to do now, President Sawyer?” he asked tentatively.

With a stoic face, Nicholas answered, “We’re going back first.”

Things had been happening one after another recently, and he needed to gather his thoughts properly. Turning to Edward, he asked, “Do you think that Greg and Tessa resemble each other a little bit?”

When he heard Nicholas’ question, Edward’s heart skipped a beat. Did President Sawyer guess it as well? Previously, Edward and Kieran were merely suspicious, but they lacked the guts to conduct a DNA test on their own, so Edward was so shocked at the sudden question that he broke out in cold sweat.

Turning his head stiffly, he turned to Nicholas. “You mean a biological relationship? Do you want me to have a test done?”

“No,” Nicholas rejected him decisively.

“But, President Sawyer—”

“Let me think about this matter. Start the car,” he instructed in his husky voice.

It was true that he had his own considerations; if he impulsively ordered for the test and it turned out to be her, what would he do? However, if it wasn’t her, what would happen instead? For all these reasons, he hadn’t thought over it carefully yet.

It wasn’t a good time to conduct the DNA test now because he still needed to observe the situation for a little more.

Lifting his gaze at the rearview mirror, Nicholas caught sight of a black sedan car behind him, which was maintaining almost the same speed as his car, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Now that Remus had openly ordered people to monitor him and if this was how he wanted to play, then he shouldn’t blame Nicholas for using the same method against

him.

“Send someone of our own to closely monitor everything that Old Master Sawyer is doing and inform me immediately once there’s anything,” Nicholas instructed coldly.

“Yes, President Sawyer.” Again, Edward’s heart skipped a beat. Looks like these two are really going to confront each other.

Although Edward was working for Sawyer Group, he was firstly Nicholas’ man, so he would definitely do as instructed by his boss. Therefore, he acknowledged the

instruction and made the arrangements.

At the Sawyer Residence, the atmosphere in the mansion had a weird aura after Nicholas stormed out. It was so quiet, and nobody dared to make the slightest sound..

The look on Remus’ face was incredibly unpleasant and he reckoned that Nicholas was determined to go against him this time. The heir whom he had nurtured with his own hands was now willing to confront him because of a woman.

Even if it happened to someone else, they wouldn’t be able to accept it either.

Andrew refilled Remus’ cup of tea. “Sir, don’t be mad. Master Nicholas hasn’t experienced such a relationship in his youth whereby it’s his first time encountering a person like this. So, it’s unavoidable that he’s smitten with her. In the future, he’ll definitely understand all your efforts for him.”

“Hmph, it will be too late by that time.” After Remus snorted, he slammed the table with force again. “I can’t allow him to destroy himself because a woman.”

“So, what should we do now, Sir?” Andrew asked with a bow.

“Not only are we targeting the Reinhart siblings, we are also after everyone around them. Investigate all of them carefully and don’t miss out on anyone. There’s no need to do a clean job,” Remus answered emotionlessly.

Andrew nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

Remus clearly wanted to make it obvious that he was targeting Tessa and Timothy to the point where they would be left alone and helpless, thereby pushing them into a dead end

However, this was the result of their own doings. In the beginning, he had given them the chance, but they didn’t cherish it and continued to do as they wished instead.

On this day, Timothy went to university since he had some things to get done there. Right after he walked through the main entrance, a group of people had blocked his path.

Lifting his head, he took a glance at them and saw that it was Bruce with his annoying friends. Recalling what happened at the bar, Timothy wanted nothing to do with them at all and moved to the other side.

Despite that, Timothy was still surrounded by them before they started to snigger.

Without saying or doing anything, Bruce and his friends merely gathered around Timothy as though they were watching a show.

An annoyed Timothy lifted his eyes and stared right at Bruce. “What’s the meaning of this, Bruce?”

“I don’t mean anything, but what about you? Why are you blocking my path for no reason?” Shoving Timothy’s shoulder strongly, Bruce then took a step back and sneered. “Reinhart, have you heard that a good dog will move out of the way? You’re still in my path now, though. Looks like you’re not a good dog. Get out of the way!”

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Timothy’s face instantly became glum after hearing that, but he was different from Bruce; he had always been polite to others and almost never said anything menacing or sarcastic.

Now that he was hearing all this, he didn’t know how to react all of a sudden while the sniggering around him became louder.

“Bruce, the bookworm from your class is nothing. Can he even speak?”

“That’s right, how can you expect a dog to say anything? It would be terrifying if he really did.”

One of them roared out in laughter and said, “What a joke! Someone like him have the guts to throw his weight around in front of you? It can’t be true that the two masters from the Sawyer Family are helping him.”

Holding his fists tightly, Timothy hissed, “Don’t go overboard. You guys are the ones standing in my way.”

“Oh, he really spoke! Master Liston, he’s speaking about you. What should we do now?” another of his sidekicks asked with a sneer.

“He’s just a cripple who looks cute enough to charm others. The masters from the Sawyer Family took a liking to him simply because… But his sister has good looks, too. Maybe this is what these siblings have relied on to get into their good books. Forget it, I’m not saying anymore. You guys know what I mean,” Bruce said, thoughtfully giving Timothy a once-over.

Laughter echoed from around Timothy and showered him with it as he understood what Bruce meant behind his words as well.

Everything he had now was acquired through his own efforts and it was fine if he was insulted, but not his sister. Lunging forward, he then landed a punch on Bruce’s face.

Immediately, blood trickled from the corners of his lips.

“What are you boys doing?” At this moment, the principal, Julius, suddenly came out and looked at Timothy sternly. “All of you, to my office!”

After casting a glare at Timothy, Bruce followed behind Julius as a gleeful smirk appeared on his face. You’re done for, Reinhart.

In Julius’ office, Bruce started first by saying, “Mr. Chance, look what happened. I don’t know what has gotten over him, but he punched me straight in the face. Look at my face now that he has hit me. How am I supposed to go out looking like this?

Furthermore, I have witnesses. So many people around had seen his actions.”

Julius turned to Timothy. “What else can you say? You even dare to start a fight at the university gates, which is something that had never happened here before! Can you take the responsibility if something like this affects the university?”

“Mr. Chance, it’s true that I won’t be able to shoulder this responsibility, but I wasn’t the one who started it. Bruce was the one who insulted me first,” Timothy said with a solemn face.

“He insulted you? What did he say?” Julius asked.

At the thought of those insulting sneers, Timothy helplessly pursed his lips. It didn’t matter what happened to him, but his sister’s reputation had to be protected.

“You can’t answer him, can you? Mr. Chance, he was the one standing in my way and I said something to get him out of the way, but I didn’t know why he turned violent and came straight at me with a punch. If my father knows about this, he’ll think that the university is mismanaged.”

Then, he cast a delighted look at Timothy.

Hearing that, Julius’ face instantly became stoic; the Liston Family had some shares in the university, and his higher-ups had also told him to find a reason to evict Timothy, no matter what. So, now was a good time to do it.

“The university won’t tolerate a student who starts a fight. Timothy Reinhart, you’ll go through the withdrawal procedures now. I’ll inform your sister for you.”

After Tessa received the call, she immediately took the day off from the orchestra and rushed to Timothy’s university.

The second she went into Julius’ office, she hurriedly turned to her own brother. “Tim, are you alright?”

Timothy nodded his head. “I’m fine, Tess.”

“Of course he’s alright, Miss Reinhart. Why don’t you take a look at me and ask me if I’m alright? The one who got punched is me, and all you care about is your brother the minute you came here? Hmph, both of you sure are birds of a feather and exactly the same,” Bruce sneered in annoyance.

“I dare you to say one more thing!” Taking a step forward, Timothy looked like he was going to hit him again.

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Hurriedly, Tessa stood in front of her brother and stared at Bruce. “Excuse me, if you didn’t do well in your literature classes when you were young, I would suggest you retake the subject, and I’ll pay for all your medical bills and other fees.”

Stumped for words, Bruce glared at Julius and hinted that he should say something.

Julius cleared his throat. “Miss Reinhart, I didn’t ask you here to educate my pupil but rather to settle the case of your brother hitting someone else. The university has decided to expel him. Follow me to complete the procedure.”

“What’s the reason?” she questioned coldly. “The reason as to why my brother hit someone and also, what about the evidence?”

“So many people in the school saw it and they’re all my witnesses. Furthermore, there’s also surveillance at the university entrance. You can check it out yourself” Bruce couldn’t help but interject.

Convinced that Timothy wouldn’t start a fight without a reason, Tessa was still worried that she wouldn’t be able to view the surveillance, so when she heard that, she nodded cheerfully. “Sure, let’s check the surveillance then.”

In the end, the surveillance showed that it was Bruce jostling around,and the people around him were sneering inaudibly, but this was enough.

“The one who blocked Timothy’s path first was him, and was the person who pushed him first. Also, he was the person who was speaking the whole time. So, I don’t understand why the university is only taking actions against my brother,” Tessa said indifferently.

“This..” Julius muttered in embarrassment.

Timothy was a good student, starting a company even before graduation, and this was very helpful for the university’s publicity. However, Julius couldn’t defy the instructions from the higher-ups at the same time.

Between the fate of a student and the survival of a university, Julius was still able to tell which was more important.

Then, Tessa added, “If the university insists on expelling Timothy, then Bruce and the group of students in the surveillance have to receive equally severe punishments.”

While he couldn’t offend the Liston Family, he was also unable to refute Tessa’s reasoning. And so, all of them entered a stalemate just like that.

After a long while, Julius said, “Timothy’s actions have affected the university in the

end. I can revoke the decision to expel him but he has to have a huge demerit. He won’t be able to study abroad and has to stay home to repent for a period of time.”

Upon hearing that, Timothy didn’t say anything else anymore. As he had already started his own company and it was now taking off, he didn’t plan to study abroad either. However, he was still upset that he was almost expelled and had a huge demerit because of something like this.

However, the university had already made it clear that they wanted to punish him, and he had a hunch that even if he didn’t have a demerit this time, they would still find another excuse to pass judgment on him. When that time came, they would probably expel him for real.

After coming out of Julius’ office, Tessa was a little baffled. “Tim, what happened? What did he say that made you hit him?”

Shaking his head, Timothy didn’t want his sister to hear those nasty comments.

On the other hand, Tessa didn’t want to force him if he didn’t want to tell, but she thought that the university’s attitude was a little odd. “Why do I have a feeling that your university is picking on you and completely silent about the other student named Bruce Liston?”

This was the same question on Timothy’s mind, but judging from everything that happened recently, it was only possible that Bruce was the one who set up the trap today.

“His family is a shareholder of the university and he has been doing mean things in the school. I went to him for help the last time but he turned me down. After that, Master Kieran helped me out, and I offended him because of that. Maybe it was since that time that he held a grudge against me and used this opportunity to get back at me when he heard the rumors that we’ve fallen out with the Sawyer Family.”

Thinking about it, Tessa thought that it made sense as anger sparked within her. “These people are just bullying others because of their background. This is too much!

Tim, don’t brood over it. You’re an outstanding person, and you’ll only be staying home for a short period. There are so many people with demerits and you can come back in the future.” In a second, she gazed at her brother with concern.

Shaking his head, Timothy responded, “I’m fine. In fact, I will have more time to spend on my work and you now. Didn’t you say that I lost some weight? I’ll use this opportunity to rest well.”

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Tessa’s heart wrenched even harder for her brother at that and she sighed with a nod. “Okay, so are we going home now?”

To that, Timothy shook his head. “I’m going home later because there’s a bunch of work to do at the company. Now that I have the extra time, I can get them all done.”

At first, Tessa wanted to advise him not to work so tirelessly, but when she recalled how lost she was when she lost her job previously, she thought that he wouldn’t be bored to tears if she let him go to work; at least, he still had a job.

The last thing she wanted to see was her brother depressed, so she didn’t try to talk him around

“Okay, I’m going with you, then. At the same time, I can buy the employees some refreshments or something to cheer them up.”

As the Sawyer Group had made a clarification earlier, many aspects of the company were going smoothly now.

Hence, when they walked into the company, they heard the sounds of keyboards tapping; it was completely void of the chattering it used to have as everyone was working seriously.

Seeing everyone engrossed in work, Tessa was also a little delighted. Looks like Tim’s company is running well.

Taking out the refreshments, she placed it gently on their desks, and the employees spun their heads around in surprise. When they saw that it was her, they exclaimed happily, “Thanks, Tessa!”

Smiling, she answered, “You guys have been working hard. Have something to drink to relieve some tiredness. Work is important, but more so your health.”

“You’re so kind, Tessa.” Grinning happily, the programmers thanked her.

In the early days of the company’s establishment, Tessa would come here often to reward them. Even though they hadn’t officially set up the company yet and were kind of free, she didn’t tell them off at all.

Similarly, everyone in the company had a very good impression of her, taking her as their own elder sister and were always happy to see her.

At this, Tessa’s real brother just turned a blind eye to it. Well, what could he do since his sister was such a likable person?

So, Tessa stayed in the company and chatted with them for a while to help them unwind while Timothy went to look for Henry with a drink.

The moment he walked into Henry’s office, he saw that the most bubbly person in the company was actually sitting in a daze. Unwittingly, he was puzzled and went to tap him on the shoulder, passing him the drink. “What happened? Why the long

face?”

When Henry lifted his head and saw that it was Timothy, he forced out a smile and took the drink from him. After he opened it, he took a huge gulp and lowered his head again, looking very distressed.

At the same time, Tessa didn’t want to disrupt the other employees at work and came in as well. Upon seeing Henry’s bitter face, she assumed that he was upset that Timothy was punished by the university.

As Timothy was a rather well-known person in the university, the news that he was punished because he hit someone had already spread throughout the campus. Even if the both of them didn’t say anything, Henry must have heard about it as well.

The both of them had always been great friends. If something happened to Timothy, Henry would be the first to stand out, just like the last time at the bar.

And now that he heard Bruce had set up a trap for Timothy and caused him a huge demerit, he was probably more agitated than Timothy himself.

Next to her, Timothy had the same idea, and he flashed Henry a smile. “It’s fine, I was merely given a demerit, which will be written off sooner or later. It’s great that I don’t have to go for classes now because I’ll have time to be in the company and not bump into Bruce.”

Instantly, Henry jerked his head up, looking at him in disbelief. “You have a demerit? What happened?”

In a few simple words, Timothy told him what happened, skipping the part where Bruce made assumptions about him and Tessa.

Even after that, the expression on Henry’s face became even more distressed, and he said in a huff, “What’s happening now? Why are all of you in trouble? I really.

From this, Tessa could tell that Henry didn’t know about this, and probably something else happened on his side as well. “Forget about what happened to Tim. The demerit is already done and there’s nothing we can do to change that now. What happened at your side?”

“It’s not about the company but my dad. Today, he was investigated out of the blue and his unit wants to fire him,” Henry said while grabbing his hair in frustration.

Always Been Yours Chapter 269

A stunned Timothy muttered, “Mr. Tompkins? How did it happen?”

He had met Henry’s father a few times. An honest and sincerè man with very few words, Mr. Tompkins had always been meticulous in his work and was the type of hard-working worker in his company. Generally speaking, he wouldn’t have made such a huge mistake that would cost him his job.

“That’s my question as well. My father is a cautious person who has made almost no mistakes in his unit for almost thirty years. After this sudden investigation, my old man has locked himself in the room and refused to come out.”

“Didn’t they tell the reason why he’s fired?” Tessa asked.

“They did, saying that he had violated their code of conduct. They went through a bunch of stuff, including his cell phone and computer. In the end, they came up with a software and called it the evidence. They’re simply unreasonable!” The more Henry thought about it, the angrier he became.

“Then, did you try to ask?” Tessa asked again. “For an issue like this, you have to confront them personally to make things clear. They can’t just frame the innocent.”

“Of course I did, and I went straight after my dad told me about it. Not only did they not give me an answer, they even said that I was disrupting their company’s protocol and wanted to call the cops on me. Unreasonable!” he said in a resigned manner.

Today, he had made a few trips back and forth, but he was thrown out every time without even the chance to explain anything. He even pulled some strings and went inside to look for the company owner directly, but still, nothing could be done.

After hearing everything, Tessa and Timothy exchanged glances with each other.

Somehow, they felt that this issue had a striking resemblance to what had happened to Timothy today. The only difference was that the evidence provided by the university was weak, which was how Timothy avoided being expelled.

On the other hand, what happened to Mr. Tompkins was sudden and the other party was unreasonable to have fired him without listening to any justifications.

The other party really had evidence in their hands, and even if all three of them felt that this incident was weird, they couldn’t say what was wrong about it.

Patting Henry’s shoulder, Tessa comforted. “It will be fine. Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding. When the truth comes to light very soon, they’ll definitely allow Mr. Tompkins back to work.”

“That will be the best, but I’m worried that his company won’t admit their mistake. There isn’t a company who would voluntarily admit their mistake and not let their employees take the blame,” Henry said, helpless. “Moreover, even though my dad doesn’t speak much, he’s very stubborn. Even if they come and look for him after giving him the boot, he would never return as well because he’s a very proud person. Still, he had worked in that company for so many years and has developed feelings for it. Always busy with work, he must be upset now that he suddenly lost his job, and I think it will be difficult for him to snap out of it.”.

Tessa was silent for a few seconds; she happened to understand this kind of feeling. For sure, he would be feeling upset because when Nicholas wanted her to return back then, she had also turned him down directly.

After a sigh, she then commented, “You shouldn’t worry so much. Mr. Tompkins will be fine. It’s not a big deal if he has an early retirement since you are capable of providing for them. You can even let them go on vacations.”

Nodding in agreement, Henry responded, “I think the same as well. I’ll speak to him again when I get back.”

On the other hand, Timothy patted his shoulder without saying anything. Sometimes between best friends, there was absolutely no need to say anything extra when just one small gesture was the best encouragement.

Casting the both of them a grateful look, Henry recovered his spirit and energy. “Okay, I’m alright. Let’s get back to work. There are many things to get done today.”

“Wait a moment, you guys can’t go in. Who are you people?”

From outside the office, a commotion had started.

“Get your boss out here,” a very rough, loud voice boomed.

“Sir, do you have any business here? May I ask if you have an appointment?” the receptionist asked.

“Why does a small sh*tty company need an appointment? I want to see him right now; otherwise, I’ll tear down this garbage company of yours,” the man threatened.

As the man sounded really vulgar, Timothy couldn’t help but furrow his brows and exchange a look with Henry. Turning back to Tessa, he said, “Tess, stay inside for now. I’m going outside to check it out with Henry.”

Always Been Yours Chapter 270

Tessa wanted to follow them out, but Timothy was afraid of any possible accident. Hearing the noise, he knew that the visitor surely had ill intentions. Therefore, he could not let Tessa get hurt. “It’s fine. Just stay in here.”

At this moment, the person outside was still shouting. Upon hearing the constant shouting, she frowned. “It’s fine. I’ll go out with you guys. It’ll be fine. If you keep delaying, the person might really start causing trouble.”

Since he was powerless against Tessa, Timothy could only let her go out with them.

And thus, the three of them appeared in the staff office area together. The big man turned his head as if he could sense their presence. “Are you three the bosses here?”

Timothy answered in a deep voice, “What are you guys trying to do here? Why are you looking for the boss?”

The man responded, “Your previous project was substandard. So, I’m here to ask for compensation on behalf of my boss. Don’t you know how important reputation is to a small company like yours? How can you guys irresponsibly develop such minor software? It’s no wonder the company is such a small one.”

As soon as Henry heard this, he immediately burst into anger. “What are you talking about?! Don’t you know anything about the art of speaking? If it’s the problem about the project, you should just say that there’s a problem with the project. Stop your personal attacks!”

“Are you saying I’m not good with my words? Why don’t you see for yourself? Go ahead and see whether there’s any problem with the software you guys had developed,” the strong man sneered and threw the thing on the table.

Henry suppressed his massive anger. Just as he was about to lash out, Tessa had stopped him. “Don’t rush. Let’s take a look first. Then, we’ll talk about it.”

Upon hearing that, only then did Henry sit down indignantly.

Later, Timothy calmly took the USB flash drive and plugged it in. Then, he clicked open the software. After a while, a very obvious bug appeared in the software.

Timothy and Henry looked at each other. They could still recall that this software was indeed developed by their company and they had just given it to the first party a couple of days ago

This software was a small and simple application. It only took the company two days to complete the order from the receipt to its delivery. Even so, both of them had checked repeatedly. Hence, they were very sure that there was no problem with the

software at that time.

In a flash, Timothy quickly found the bug with the swiftness of his fingers. Then, he fixed the bug again. However, other problems instantly appeared again and continuously popped up.

Then, he tried other methods again as he wanted to find the source of the problem all at once.

“How’s it going?” Henry asked, feeling anxious.

However, Timothy shook his head. “This is a very complicated virus. I’ve seen it on the Internet a while ago, but no one has been able to crack it yet. They still can’t find the precise details of the problem.”

“These software bugs, they are linked one by one. It is as if there’s no end to it. No matter how many times we’ve solved it, they will still appear in the future.”

After Timothy finished speaking, the face of one of the employees in the Research & Development Department turned pale in fright. “B-Boss, it wasn’t me. I didn’t do this. It really wasn’t me. There were no such problems when I developed it.”

“It’s fine. I know it’s not your doing.”

After giving the employee a pat on his shoulder, Timothy looked at the strong man again. “Sir, this software was indeed developed by our company. However, the problem isn’t the software itself. Rather, it has been tampered with by others,”

Before Timothy could finish, the strong man directly interrupted him. “I don’t want to listen to your nonsense. Anyhow, it’s the problem with the software. You also admitted it yourself. I won’t make things difficult for you guys either. I have called the police while I was on my way here earlier. The police will be here in a while.”

Upon hearing that, Timothy could not help frowning. “Although I don’t know much about Information Technology, I just mentioned that someone had maliciously tampered with the software. Isn’t now the time for us to find a solution? It’s still not too late to find out the mastermind, isn’t it? Why must you make hasty conclusions?”

The strong man sneered, “It’s no use telling me these. Our boss said that if it requires the lawmaker to solve the issue, then we shall bring this matter to the police station. At worst, we don’t want to use this software anymore, but we still have to talk about compensation.”

“You! Don’t you understand human language?! We have already told you that we should find the problem and solve it at its core. Besides, you shouldn’t be asking our side for compensation. There’s no defects with the software when it was given to your company. Why are you guys only coming over and making a fuss after two days? Who knows if any of you have done anything to the software in between the

two days? Are you trying to extort money?”