Ch. 821..830
Coolest Girl in Town Chapter 821
Horoscope – Wolf
The group of guests in suits and couture gowns cringed as they looked at the folk band who had suddenly emerged. It was simply an eyesore for the rowdy bunch to be at the high-class modern event.
There was no doubt that this band, from its members to the music they play, was out of tune with the whole scene. Jamie was in the crowd leisurely twirling a glass of champagne as a playful smile appeared on his face.
He couldn’t help but wonder how many bad ideas were hidden in that woman’s head. The farce lasted for nearly five minutes before Alexander finally sauntered over.
Walking beside the startled Jessamine and her children, he waved a servant over and instructed, “Have them escorted out, please.”
“Stop right there.” A woman’s voice came from the side.
The moment the voice fell, Narissa, in her rivet knee boots, pushed the crowd away and slowly walked toward Alexander.
She stopped in front of him and mocked arrogantly, “Of course a major and happy event like this has to be lively. This is my wedding gift to you. Don’t you think it is bad manners to not accept a gift from a friend?”
Despite seeing that Narissa wasn’t here with good intentions, Jessamine maintained her calm as the hostess of the event. “Have we offended you in any way, miss?”
“Not you.” Narissa tilted her head and threw Jessamine a glance before her eyes drifted back to Alexander. “But he has. And since you are becoming one big family soon, you have to bear this with him.
“Do you still remember, Alexander? El left us seven years ago today. Do you even still remember her?!” Narissa’s eyes were burning as she growled. Eyes cold and claws sharp, she was like a fox baring its fangs.
It has been seven years since El went missing, but this scumbag has repeatedly been looking for women like her to replace her! Narissa fumed.
Everyone was going on and on about how loyal Alexander was, but to Narissa, Elise was an irreplaceable person. Alexander was merely trying to satisfy his beastly desires by taking home one woman after another!
If he really loved Elise, he should search for her like mad all over the world instead of trying to erase the fact that she existed.
What right does he have to accept that El has passed away even when I haven’t given up on her?!
Despite Narissa’s accusations, Alexander seemed fairly unperturbed as he only casually asked in return, “The deceased is in the past. What is wrong with enjoying the present?”
“Bullsh*t!” Narissa refused to back down. “Just admit that you can’t control your lower body. You sc*mbag! As long as I am around, don’t you dare dream of living comfortably for the remaining days of your life!”
Alexander couldn’t do anything despite her words. His plan had been immaculate, but he had failed to include Narissa as one of the variables that could affect his plan.
Seeing how the atmosphere was becoming more and more tense, Jamie finally couldn’t stand it anymore, and he put down his glass of champagne before walking forward quickly. He then grabbed Narissa’s arm and tried to drag her away. “Follow me,” he barked.
“I am not leaving!” She stubbornly pulled away from his grip.
“I am asking you again. Are you coming with me or not?” Jamie’s face had darkened now as he stood firm with his threat.
“No!” As though challenging him to do something about her, Narissa crossed her arms in front of her chest.
She was abruptly lifted up by Jamie the next second.
“Put me down! Jamie Keller, you brute!”
No matter how much she struggled, Jamie ignored her and walked away from the crowd quietly.
As Narissa looked at how the crowd was gradually becoming smaller, she became furious, and opened her mouth to forcefully bite his back.
“Ouch!”
The pain made Jamie howl as he quickly put her down. “Is there a dog in the horoscopes that I didn’t know about? Are you one of them?”
“If anything, my horoscope is a wolf! What are you going to do about that?” She combed her messy bangs and tucked it behind her ear.
“I agree.” He rolled his eyes at her. “You are a white-eyed wolf.”
“You must be talking about yourself,” Narissa rebutted sarcastically. “El is your boss, but you haven’t missed a single one of Alexander’s weddings in order to curry his favor. You are a selfish, spineless pig!”
“Can you be more reasonable? I am here because I was worried something will happen to you.” Jamie was as angry as he was helpless. “You know what kind of man Alexander is. Do you really think he can’t do something to you if you stepped on his toes?”
“Come at me then, if he has got beef. The Cubers ain’t no vegetarians!” she dismissively chided. “Just tell me if you are trying to get on his good side. Don’t use me as an excuse! You sound so selfless doing this, don’t you? Am I the one who forced you and Alexander to join hands?”
Jamie looked at her in disbelief upon hearing her words. “What have you been learning from that Quinn guy all these years? The world isn’t all black and white. Do I not need to protect the Boss’ efforts for her just because she isn’t around? How am I supposed to do that by myself without Alexander Griffith’s help?!”
“You could have told me, and I could have begged for help from my family. This is not a good reason for you to compromise with him. No matter what, it was Alexander who betrayed El. Neither of us can forgive him for El’s sake.” Narissa then looked away in disappointment.
“I don’t think so.” Jamie had his own opinions. “Boss wouldn’t have chosen him if he was that kind of person. Do you not believe in her?”
“I do, and it is exactly because of my faith that I have saved Smith Co. from so many traps people have laid in the past few years. But Alexander? He is happily living his life, I can no longer trust you men.” She sighed. The more she spoke, the more disappointed she became.
“I misunderstood you back then, so I will apologize to you. Please come back. Stop getting yourself into dangerous situations with Jayden Quinn. You have been under the limelight too much in the past two years. I am worried you may have been targeted.” Jamie took the initiative to concede.
“So be it. If a reporter is so afraid of this and that, there will be so much darkness in the world that remains hidden. I am not afraid of death. I am only afraid of dying in such a dodgy way like El did.” Narissa raised her chin stubbornly, still unwilling to listen to his persuasion.
At that, Jamie sneered, “So you want to be a heroine, a defender of justice, eh? Are you going to throw Boss’ hard work all away if your clues lead you to the SK Group one day?”
“I have never thought of that.”
“But that is what will happen if you keep this up!”
Jamie was agitated at this point. Even Narissa was startled at his rare show of anger.
She suddenly realized that neither of them could convince each other.
“Let’s just stop this. There is nothing to talk about when we are not standing on the same line.”
She then left after throwing that out.
Jamie didn’t stop her either. She was a free bird. He couldn’t stop her from failing.
Perhaps, their best way of communicating was by secretly protecting each other.
Narissa didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she headed into a lounge to think of a way to kick up another fuss.
“Stupid Jamie! Dummy Jamie! Why are you always so cruel to me every time?!”
As she mumbled to herself, she soon passed by an empty place.
A soft voice stopped her in her tracks right then.
“How is it going, Miss Cuber?”
Narissa immediately turned around, and she abruptly jumped with joy. “Elise? Is that really you?! When did you come back?!”
Narissa was already running toward Elise before she finished her words.
Coolest Girl in Town Chapter 822
His Arm Broke
“Just this morning. You’re in the spotlight today, Miss Cuber,” Elise remarked jokingly. “Who wants to be the center of attention for this? I just think there needs to be someone who speaks up for my best friend.
Everyone else in this world can forget about her, but not me. She would be sad if I didn’t remember her.” Narissa’s voice was clearly depressed as she spoke. Elise was moved by this, but she had no idea what to say to comfort Narissa.
Given the circumstances at the time, she had no other choice. As a result, she could only let everyone forget about her existence in order to ensure the safety of more people.
Narissa was an open person, which was why Elise could not tell her the truth. Telling Narissa the truth would only cause the Cubers trouble, or worse, would cost them their lives.
When Narissa noticed Elise was silent for a long time, she realized it wasn’t appropriate for her to say what she did in light of their reunion. She quickly adjusted her emotions and began vividly describing all of her other accomplishments.
“What happened today is nothing! When Alexander got engaged last year, I secretly placed over a hundred of those small and harmless snakes in the lounge! They were all so terrified that they didn’t dare to turn off the lights when they slept for at least six months! And the year before that, I cut dozens of holes at the back of Alexander’s shirt! Everyone thought it was a new trend when he greeted all of his guests wearing it. That was hilarious…”
“Oh!” She abruptly came to a halt. As if she had just thought of something, Narissa extended her hands and touched Elise’s abdomen. “What happened to the baby? Have you delivered? Where is he?!”
“He’s already seven years old, and is no longer a baby.” Elise gently smiled in response. “Let me bring you to him.”
“Sure!”
Narissa had completely forgotten about the trouble she had caused earlier and happily walked back in while holding Elise’s arm.
…
Meanwhile at the dining area, Mimi noticed that Alexia had finished her favorite dessert and that there was none left on the table. Hence, the former ran to another nearby table to look for it.
After some searching, she discovered that there was only one piece of it left. Her eyes immediately brightened as she extended her hand to take it.
Just as she managed to grasp it, a fair and long hand approached her and snatched the dessert.
“I saw it first,” Mimi softly reminded him.
“So what?” said the short-haired boy, taking a bite and declaring, “I’ve eaten it, so it’s mine now.”
Mimi was aggrieved by this. “You’re mean!” she grumbled sadly.
The boy heard it and immediately pushed her to the ground.
That made her cry, and she covered her face with her hands.
Irvin, who was nearby, heard that. When he saw Mimi being bullied, he dashed over, pushed the short-haired boy to the ground, and began punching him.
Nobody had ever treated the short-haired boy like this before. After a few punches, he finally reacted to what was going on and yelled, “How dare you punch me!”
“Why can’t I do it? You deserve it because you bullied a girl!” Irvin had no intention of ever letting him go. To him, boys were supposed to protect the weaker ones, and he despised the boy for failing to do so.
The short-haired boy became agitated and began to return punches. Both of them fought each other with all their might, neither admitting defeat.
But, thanks to his physique, Irvin was able to quickly subdue the boy beneath him.
“My arm! My arm is going to break!”
“Stop exaggerating. No man would have such fragile bones!”
“It’s really broken! I’m in a lot of pain! Let me go now!”
“Apologize to Mimi first!”
“That’s impossible!”
Seeing that the boy wasn’t admitting his mistake, Irvin increased his strength.
“Are you going to apologize now?!”
“F-Fine! I’m sorry! It’s all my fault!”
“Are you going to repeat such behavior?”
“No…”
“Stop sobbing! It’s embarrassing for a boy to cry!”
Realizing the boy was about to cry, Irvin then let go of and stood up.
The boy was no longer restrained and struggled to get to his feet. After wiping away his tears, he held his right arm and, while sniffing, said to Irvin, “If you dare, tell me what your name is!”
“Irvin White,” Irvin replied candidly. “Feel free to take revenge on me.”
The boy stared fiercely at him in response. “Fine. Just you wait. I’ll definitely defeat you!”
Irvin simply sneered at that and walked toward Mimi and Alexia. “Are you injured?”
“No.” Mimi shook her head.
At this point, a well-dressed lady dashed over.
She ran toward the short-haired boy and threw a fit right away when she saw his messy hair and shirt, as well as his injured arm. “Who did it? Which wild child did this to my son? Since you’ve dared to do so, don’t be a coward to admit it now!”
“It was me who beat him.” Irvin courageously stood out.
He wasn’t a wimp. It was a heroic act to protect girls, and there was nothing to be ashamed of.
“It’s you, huh?” The lady rushed up to him and scolded him. Pointing her finger at his nose, she shouted, “You’re a violent boy, being so cruel at such a young age! I’ll never let you off the hook if my son is disabled!”
Elise and Narissa happened to be back at this point of time. When Elise saw Irvin being reprimanded, she dashed over and drew him behind her. “Please speak nicely, madam. Don’t frighten a child.”
“He broke my son’s arm, and you tell me he’s just a child?” The lady continued unsparingly, “You’re the mother of this wild child, right? How do you intend to resolve this?”
Elise looked at the woman speechlessly before squatting down and talked to Irvin nicely, “Irvin, is what she says true?”
“Not at all!” Alexia was afraid that her brother would be punished, and she quickly ran over to hug him. “That mean boy pushed Mimi to the ground. Irvin was only trying to protect her!”
Elise knew her son’s personality well. Hearing that, she nodded, indicating that she believed him, and gave them a reassuring look.
She then stood up to speak with the lady. “You’ve heard that. Your son was the one who started this. We will cover the medical expenses, but that does not mean my son is wrong.”
“Are you saying that we are to blame despite the fact that my son nearly lost his arm? He is going to inherit the family business in the future! How will he manage everything independently in the future if he is disabled?” The woman was acting completely unreasonable.
“Yeah, that’s right. Your family has a royal throne for him to inherit, huh?” Narissa, who had been standing quietly by the side all this while, said sarcastically. “Your son is now bullying girls at such a young age. Who knows if he will grow up to be a violent criminal? Since you are incapable of teaching him well, you should be grateful that someone else is now teaching him on your behalf, in case he grows up to be a criminal instead of a prince. It will be too late to be sorry then!”
“You—” The lady’s heart was aflame with rage. “Who are you cursing?” she yelled at Narissa while pointing at her.
“The one who replied to me, of course,” Narissa replied casually, her head tilted.
“You… The lot of you…” The lady’s face was flushed with rage, but she was at a loss for words and could only glare at them angrily without saying anything.
Coolest Girl in Town Chapter 823
The Contract Ended Sooner
Elise was surprised. Narissa was always the one who suffered in silence in the past, but after seven years, she could now sternly reprimand the others. Indeed, everyone had changed a lot in the last few years.
But then again, the most important thing now was to settle the dispute at hand. Noticing that the short-haired boy appeared to be in pain, she said, “His arm is more important, and he appears to be in a lot of pain. Let’s get him to the hospital first.”
“No!” The lady refused to budge. “None of you can leave today unless I get an acceptable explanation!”
“Do you not have a heart? Your son is all pale and you don’t even feel sorry for him? Also, when did we say we are leaving? Do you think we are all as mean as you?” Narissa truly despised this type of person.
“I dare you to say it again! How could you act as if reason is on your side when your side is the one who is wrong…”
As the lady yelled, she moved closer to Narissa. A fight seemed to be imminent.
At this instant, the hostess of the banquet finally arrived.
“Mrs. Lawrence!” Jessamine walked straight to the well-dressed lady and smiled politely at her. “What happened? Why are you so angry?”
“It’s all because of these uncouth people!” The villain was usually the first to complain, and the lady drew her son in closer, pretending to be pitiful. “Look what they did to my son!”
“How could you lie through your teeth…” Narissa couldn’t stand her any longer and wanted to reason it out with her.
“Narissa.” Elise shook her head at Narissa and eye-signaled her to not act rashly.
Seeing that, Narissa had no choice but to remain silent.
Jessamine, on the other hand, had learned about what had happened while rushing here. The entire incident was simply children playing around, which somehow went a little too far, but it was not a big deal.
She swept her gaze across the crowd. When she saw Elise, she subconsciously fixed her gaze on her for a few more seconds before silently looking away.
This woman is special, she thought.
Then, Jessamine quickly returned her attention to the current dispute. As the host, she could not appear to be favoring any side.
But she knew it was the lady who was being unreasonable. Hence, she drew the lady to the side and said, “I heard that Mr. Lawrence is fighting for the jewelry distributorship in Cittadel, Mrs. Lawrence. Do you want me to tell Alexander about him?”
The lady’s eyes brightened instantly when she heard that. “Are you willing to lend a hand? If you are, we will be more than grateful.”
“Not a problem at all,” Jessamine replied. She didn’t forget to ask for what she wanted as well. “Today is a very special day to me. I’m wondering if you could show me some respect…”
Her hint was so obvious that the lady picked it up right away. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Griffith. I know what to do.”
Jessamine smiled brightly at that. “I’m not Mrs. Griffith yet.”
“Well, that is already certain.” The lady began to fawn over Jessamine. Establishing a good relationship with Alexander’s wife would undoubtedly bring many advantages in the future.
They then exchanged a tacit smile before turning back to face Elise and the others.
“For Miss Jessamine’s sake, I’ll stop pursuing what happened today.” The lady smiled as she led her son away after her words.
“Everyone, let’s enjoy the party today.” Jessamine played her part as the hostess and dismissed the surrounding guests.
When everyone had dispersed, Jessamine turned to face Elise. “Hello, miss. And you are?”
“Anastasia White.” Elise politely nodded. “Thank you for helping us. Miss Jessamine.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Jessamine pursed her lips and looked surprisingly at the three children beside Elise. “Are the three of them your children?”
“The two older ones are,” Elise smilingly replied.
“A son and a daughter?” Jessamine was struck by the coincidence. “I have a son and a daughter too. Could you leave me your name card, Miss White? Perhaps we can keep in touch in the future.”
Jessamine wasn’t the one who invited Elise, so she must have been invited by Alexander. Such a special woman was most likely Jessamine’s competitor, and she wanted to seize the opportunity to get to know Elise better.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve only recently returned to the country. I have yet to get a name card done or create a social platform. Perhaps next time,” Elise declined politely.
Jessamine was Alexander’s contracted wife, and Elise did not think it was necessary for her to maintain contact with Jessamine.
“What are you chatting about?” Alexander approached them unexpectedly and stood beside Jessamine. Then he pretended to sweep his gaze across the crowd before naturally settling on Elise. “Miss White, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Your kids are adorable.”
Alexia, who was standing there, was staring lovingly at Alexander’s face. What a beautiful face!
Jessamine’s expression froze when she heard Alexander’s words. As she guessed, he knew who this woman was. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known that she had children since he just walked over.
“Do you both know each other?” Jessamine put on a calm front and asked.
To that, Elise took the initiative to explain, “Mr. Griffith has previously dated my sister.”
“I see. Look at how fate has brought us together. Your sister must be as beautiful as you,” Jessamine fawningly said.
“I’m flattered,” Elise responded humbly.
Despite being polite to each other, they both felt an unfathomable hostility from the other.
“It’s getting late now. I need to rest after the exhausting journey. Congratulations on your engagement, Mr. Griffith and Miss Jessamine. Please excuse me for leaving first.”
Women had an incredible sixth sense. Elise was concerned that she might give the game away if she continued to stay with Jessamine and hence, she made up an excuse to leave.
“I want to stay with the good-looking uncle…”
Alexia stared firmly at Alexander and refused to leave. Left with no choice, Elise carried her and forcibly took her away.
Narissa, on the other hand, held onto Lexi and Irvin with both hands, smiling happily.
“They are adorable! Their limbs are as small as Barbie dolls’. I don’t care what you say, Elise. I must be their godmother! Nobody can take that from me!”
“Jamie has previously said that he wants to be their Godfather. Why don’t you both just date each other?” Elise replied casually.
“Fat chance! He is not lucky enough to have me!” Narissa continued to do things her way and said, “It’s decided now; I am their godmother, then. Who cares about Jamie anyway?”
Narissa had only gone away for a short while earlier and Jamie went missing. No one knew where he went.
…
Jessamine and Alexander returned to the villa late at night after sending all the guests off.
After putting the children to bed, Jessamine made a cup of Jessamine tea for Alexander, who was working overtime as usual, and brought it to the study room.
As she placed the cup on the table, she said, “Young Master Jace got into some trouble at the party today. I promised Mrs. Lawrence that you will meet President Lawrence alone at a later time.”
“All right,” Alexander replied indifferently. Then, he abruptly changed the topic of the conversation. “We should end our contract earlier. You can tell me whatever your conditions are now.”
Jessamine was still feeling glad about Alexander’s approval of her approach in handling the dispute at the party just seconds ago. The moment she heard his words, her smile vanished.
“Why?” she asked, perplexed. “Did I make a mistake?”
Coolest Girl in Town Chapter 824
You Have a New Target?
“You’re right. I always prefer the new people over the old ones. You’re not even the shortest-dating woman I’ve ever had,” he calmly replied.
Jessamine couldn’t rebut that and went silent for a while. Suddenly, she raised her gaze and blurted out, “Did you find a new target at the engagement party?”
That aroused Alexander’s alert mode and his eyes twinkled with caution. “Do I have to report my own matters to you?” His words hit Jessamine hard. “I’m sorry. I overstepped.”
Alexander had experienced a lot of these phony plays. Jessamine knew it was just a business deal from the start, and there was nothing for him to sympathize with her.
“Our agreement was for six months. I am the one who is breaching it now, so in addition to the compensation agreed in the contract, I will offer you ten million more. You should be content,” Alexander said in a business-like manner, his face expressionless.
Hearing that, Jessamine smiled bitterly, as if mocking herself. “You’re always this generous. I am, of course, satisfied.”
She stared at him as she spoke, her eyes filled with her deep love for him.
Alexander didn’t seem to realize that a man like him could attract every woman simply by standing there, without doing anything. But he was more than that; he was also wealthy and generous as well.
After spending time with him for the past few months, Jessamine’s heart was all his. Even if she couldn’t become Mrs. Griffith, she was willing to do anything to stay by the man’s side.
But now, everything ended at his call. How could she possibly accept it?
“Good to know that you’re satisfied.” Alexander’s demeanor toward her was as cold as it had always been.
She fiddled with her hands, unsure whether to bargain with him. “Can we hold out for another two months?” she mustered her courage and asked.
He tilted his head in response. “Give me the reason.”
“The birthdays of the two children are approaching and as you are aware, they adore you as their father. I hope you will be able to be with them on that special day.”
The children were her only bargaining chips now to delay his decision.
Alexander was a father himself. Hence, he understood what she meant and agreed. “Okay. Just instruct the subordinates on whatever you need. Make it a big celebration.”
In that way, no one would suspect anything if he lavished attention on Elise’s children when they returned in the future.
“Okay.” Jessamine regained her smile and exited the room, content.
…
Meanwhile, it was all cold and quiet in the Sierra Hotel’s lobby. Edmond and Margaret were occupying a sofa each in the guest lounge. Edmond was lying flat on the sofa, asleep, while Margaret was dozing off with her hand supporting her head.
“A phone call! A phone call!”
Her ringtone abruptly rang, causing Margaret to jump up in surprise and immediately open her eyes. When she saw Edmond asleep and snoring, she was so speechless that she rolled her eyes at him.
Then, she checked her phone and saw that it was her investor who called. She quickly took the phone to a nearby corner and answered the call.
Just as she put the phone to her ear and did not even speak a word yet, the person on the other end of the line happily said, “How are things going, Miss Ainsley? I assume the contract has been signed, right? When are we going to have our celebratory drinks?”
“I’m sorry, President Brooks,” Margaret pursed her lips and muttered awkwardly. “We have not seen Miss Cardashian yet.”
“What?” President Brook’s attitude immediately changed. “Are you kidding me, Miss Ainsley? Or are you planning to leave me out and earn everything yourself?”
“Of course not, President Brooks! I truly haven’t gotten it done yet.” She struggled to explain it out and could only walk back and forth angrily. Seeing that Edmond was still sleeping, she kicked him awake and, while blocking her phone’s microphone, said, “Wake up now!”
Edmond awoke immediately after being kicked to the ground, looking confused.
President Brooks’ voice became eerie. “Margaret Ainsley, don’t try to fool me. I’ve asked around about it. Cardashian is Anastasia White, your good friend! It’s impossible for you to be incapable of handling her!”
“What did you say?” Margaret was completely stupefied. “Anastasia is Cardashian? How is this possible?”
Everyone who knew Anastasia knew that she was completely tone deaf. Margaret had always suspected that Maestro Yorkson had his own special reason that no one knew about for taking Anastasia away seven years ago.
But now she was told that Anastasia was the genius pianist. That was definitely a castle in the sky!
Margaret began to wonder if Anastasia’s pregnancy had somehow instilled in her a musical talent.
“You are not aware of that?” President Brooks asked inquisitively. “Did you both fall out? If that’s the case, I’m going to withdraw my investment.”
Hearing that, Margaret immediately regained her rationality. “That’s nonsense! My relationship with her is all good. I know her well, and I believe she is just thinking of surprising me. Don’t worry, President Brooks. I’ll definitely get the contract settled!”
“I am looking forward to it, then.” He hung up the phone, feeling relieved.
Margaret, on the other hand, angrily hung up the phone as well, her face red with rage.
“What did President Brooks say?” Edmond restlessly asked after picking himself up from the ground.
“What would he say other than reminding us not to cause him losses?” she retorted with a gloomy face. “What we have to worry about now is Anastasia. Do you know she is the Cardashian we are looking for?”
“What?! That’s impossible! Isn’t she born with no musical talent at all?” Edmond even laughed at Anastasia for quite some time because of this.
“I don’t know whether she is talented or not, but we are truly the stupid ones. We couldn’t even recognize our fortune goddess when she was right in front of us! This deal is doomed!” Margaret growled in a fit of pique.
Edmond knew that she was blaming him for not conducting his investigation properly, which caused her to be reprimanded by President Brooks. Hence, he didn’t dare to respond to her words.
Margaret, on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes at him and walked away after grabbing her bag.
“Where are you going? Are you really quitting?” he yelled.
She did not answer. Instead, she walked straight out of the hotel and called Anastasia.
They would be broke long ago if she was like Edmond, all words but no actions.
Meanwhile, Elise was staring at her phone, which indicated a phone call from Margaret. She deliberately waited a few seconds before rejecting it.
Then, the call came again, and Elise repeated what she did earlier.
She smiled as she looked at Margaret’s repeated calls. Margaret’s reaction time appeared to be not as fast as before, since she only made her calls to Elise now.
At this point of time, Elise’s phone began to vibrate again.
She assumed the call was from Margaret and prepared to turn off her phone. However, when she looked at the phone, she realized that it was from Alexander’s personal number. Hence, she answered it.
“What are you doing? Why did you take so long to answer the call?” Alexander’s low voice resonated from the phone’s speaker.
“Nothing. It’s just that I’ve just returned to the country and forgot to activate the phone’s anti-harassment mode.” She was in a great mood. “How dare you call me so openly this late at night, Mr. Griffith? Are you not afraid of being found out?” Elise teased while leaning against the window.
Coolest Girl in Town Chapter 825
A Daughter Instead of a Son
Alexander answered with pride, “I’ve been plotting the whole thing over the last seven years. No woman will ever bother to answer me even if I call them now.”
Elise hummed before she started to make fun of him. “It seems like you have to call a lot of women every day.” “Ellie!” He was vexed at her teasing.
Her chuckle could be heard from the other side of the phone. “All right, I’ll stop teasing you. Then again, didn’t we see each other a while ago? Why did you call? Is something going on?”
“In fact, there’s a matter. I’m afraid that I can only get you and the children back two months later,” he elaborated. “Jessamine’s children are celebrating their birthday soon. They will leave after the birthday party.”
“No problem,” she agreed with him good-naturedly. “We’ve made it through seven years, so we don’t mind waiting any longer.”
“It’s just that I don’t want to see you and the children suffer.” Sighing, Alexander changed the topic. “By the way, you should bring Irvin to visit the child from the Lawrence Family at the hospital when you’re free. The girl, Jace, indeed broke her arm.”
Elise found his request odd. “Girl? Isn’t the child a boy?”
“The Lawrence Family have been expecting a son, but Mrs. Lawrence has failed to give birth to one. Therefore, they’ve been raising the girl in the way they would a son,” he elaborated.
Elise let out a long breath and felt a pang of sadness well up inside her. “I feel sorry for the girl.”
Not only was Jace’s gender not expected by her family, she was also being forced to use another gender to live. It was too much a hardship for a girl at her age.
“Therefore, we should never allow our children to make her suffer even more. She must feel upset after being hit by a boy, and Irvin indeed took it too far. He needs to apologize, so he can understand the consequence of acting without thought,” Alexander said earnestly.
Elise nodded even though he couldn’t see her. “I know what to do.”
As they had dealt with one matter, Alexander asked, “Is Lexi asleep?”
“She is,” Elise murmured. “She had too much fun at your engagement party. Once we came back from the party, she fell asleep after a bath.”
He was dejected to learn it. “She seems like she was eager to look for a father during the party a moment ago. How dare she sleep tight without me? Does she not need me anymore?”
A giggle escaped from Elise. “Children tend to let the memory of their words slip. You’ve got a long way to go before she acknowledges you as her father.”
“Fine. It seems like I’ll have to work harder.”
As the pair had a lot to talk about regarding the topic of children, they chatted for more than thirty minutes until they ended the call.
Once she put her cell phone aside, Elise turned on her heel and headed to Irvin’s room.
Pushing the door open, she found him sitting in front of the computer and concentrating on programming based on the information she had provided.
He only noticed her presence when she got closer to him, and he withdrew his hands from the keyboard. “Mommy, what brings you here?”
“Checking in on you.” She cast a glance at the programming codes on the monitor and concluded that he was mastering the programming skills.
“Mommy, do you have something to tell me?” He perceived her thoughts with his keen mind.
“How did you know?” She raised a brow at him.
His answer was straightforward. “Other than having something to discuss with me, you are usually putting Alexia to sleep around this time.”
“Is that so?” Elise shot him an embarrassed laugh before she shrugged and accepted his accusation. “All right, I’ll cut to the chase.”
Bending down to hold his gaze, she rested her hands on his shoulders and began with a gentle tone, “Little Irvin, the child who fought with you at the banquet just now has a broken arm. I suggest we visit the child tomorrow. How about you take the opportunity to apologize?”
Irvin furrowed his brows. “I’ll visit him, but I won’t apologize. Mommy, I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I understand that you want to protect Mimi. However, both of you are only children, and you’ve gone a little overboard. Moreover, she’s a girl.” Elise saw no point in hiding the truth from him.
“A girl?” Confusion was written all over Irvin’s face. “Mommy, there must be a mistake. I was fighting a boy.”
“That’s what I thought until we found out that she’s a girl,” Elise explained.
“I wouldn’t have known that!” He was stubborn to admit his fault. “I wouldn’t have hit her in the first place if I knew she’s a girl. She’s the one who chose to become a boy, so she should’ve taken the challenge instead of blaming her opponent for being tough!”
A long sigh escaped Elise. As she straightened up, she continued with a sad voice, “You have a point there. But will you change your mind if I tell you that she didn’t choose to not become a girl, and was forced to become a boy? Irvin, you should know that not all of us can choose the way to live our life. People won’t blame us if we don’t know they’re suffering, but we can’t pretend to not know someone is suffering after we’ve learned their history.”
He was even more confused than a moment ago. “Why can’t she be a girl? Why does she have to be a boy?”
“Her family doesn’t want a daughter, so they blame her. She must act like a boy to have a place in the family,” Elise elaborated.
At last, Irvin compromised, “I understand, Mommy. I’ll go to the hospital and apologize to her tomorrow.”
“You got that?” She shot him a curious look.
“I’m still confused,” he answered honestly. “But now, I know that she didn’t choose to become a boy. Thus, I’ve hit a girl, and I must apologize for hitting her.”
Glad to listen to his words, Elise caressed his head. “Good boy.”
…
The following day, Elise drove to the private hospital where Jace was admitted to, with Irvin and Mimi in the backseats.
Noticing she was unfastening the seatbelt to get down from the car, he stopped her, “Mommy, you’ve done enough. Just wait for us outside. We’re the ones who started it, so you don’t have to share the responsibilities.”
Elise, however, was worried about the children. “Are you sure? Mrs. Lawrence might be around. Aren’t you afraid of her?”
Irvin shook his head. “I’m not afraid of her. Don’t worry, Mommy. I’m a real man.”
After that, he slid out of the car with a bag of fruits in his left hand and Mimi’s hand in his right as they strode for the building where the inpatient department was located.
Soon, the duo found Jace’s ward.
Knocking on the door a few times, Irvin pushed the door open and walked inside.
It was quiet in the ward as she was resting on the bed. She looked like she was in better condition with a plaster cast around her arm.
“Jace?” Irvin called out to her quietly.
However, she did not give him any response.
Therefore, he and Mimi walked closer to the bed hand-in-hand, and put the fruits onto the space at the end of the bed.
At the same time, Mrs. Lawerence walked into the ward. Finding the uninvited guests in the room triggered her anger. “You little b*stards again! Who let you in?”
Her scream immediately woke Jace. When the girl found Irvin standing in front of her, she began to throw a tantrum. “It’s you! You’re the one who broke my arm! Go away, l don’t want to see you!”
“Mom, tell them to leave! I don’t want to see him!”
Afraid of their hostility, Irvin pulled Mimi behind him as he attempted to explain but failed every time.
Mrs. Lawrence was worried about her daughter’s condition, thus she snatched the bag of fruits from the bed and began to chase them away. “Didn’t you hear that? My son is not seeing you! Get lost. We don’t care about your fruits.”
Within a few minutes, the duo was being pushed outside the room.
Irvin stood at the door for one more attempt, but she slammed the door on them before the words could leave him.
“Ouch!” His nose bumped into the door and instantly swelled up.
Coolest Girl in Town Chapter 826
Give Up on Each Other Amidst Hardship
Irvin pressed a hand on his nose, and felt the tears well up in his eyes as the pain spread across his nose. “Irvin…” Feeling bad for him, Mimi reached out a hand in an attempt to ease the pain in his nose.
He was gasping in pain when he noticed her worried look, so he quickly cast her a smile. “I’m fine, Mimi. Don’t worry about me.” “Let’s go.” He picked up the fruits that were scattered on the ground before he held her hand in his own and walked toward the stairs. Then, he stopped in his tracks at the stairs when hesitation crept into his mind.
Irvin was here to apologize but ended up screwing things up. As such, he felt bad for failing his mother. However, he would have to face Mrs. Lawrence’s overbearing hostility if he turned back to the room, and it created a dilemma for him.
Hesitating after a long time, Irvin was still unable to make a decision. Thus, he turned around and led Mimi into the exit passageway instead.
Facing the exit as the duo sat on the exit stairway, Irvin decided to try for a second time once Mrs. Lawrence left the room.
As he turned to check on Mimi, he found her staring intensely at the fruits in the bag and swallowing.
He rolled his eyes slyly as an idea occurred to him, and he eventually decided he had nothing more to lose at the moment. “Mimi, let’s eat the fruits. Later, we’ll tell Mommy that Jace has forgiven us. What do you think?”
“Sure!” She nodded vigorously.
He smiled at her compliance. “Surely you’ll only agree with all my decisions. You’ll never contradict any of my statements, am I right?”
She hummed in agreement, still smiling at him.
He shook his head in resignation and took out some bananas and a dragon fruit from the bag. “Which one do you want?”
Her answer came out immediately. “The bananas! I love bananas!”
Therefore, he gave her all of them while he quietly peeled the dragon fruit.
As the bananas were small, Mimi finished one in the blink of an eye and threw its skin on the ground.
“Mimi, littering is not right,” Irvin reminded her.
Reluctant to stop eating, she negotiated, “Okey dokey, Irvin. I’ll pick them up after I finish them all. Can I?”
“All right.” He was understanding.
Smiling at him, she began to eat the rest. When she was chewing, her cheeks puffed out, as if she was an eating hamster.
Even only watching her eat had somehow eased most of his anxiety.
Meanwhile in the ward, Jace was lying on the bed when she whined at her mother, “I don’t want to eat a banana! I don’t! I told you I hate them!”
“I don’t want to force you, but eating them can prevent you from having cramps. Your father is already mad at you since you got into a fight and broke your arm during the banquet. Please, listen to me.” Mrs. Lawrence shoved the banana next to Jace’s mouth as she tried to convince her.
Pursing her lips, Jace was unwilling to cooperate.
“Jace!” Mrs. Lawrence’s patience was bottoming out. “Can’t you behave? Can you ever imagine the hardship I had to go through over the years? I also hate to force you. If only you worked harder and were a boy, we’d never have to live in such hell.”
“Do I have no right to be loved as a girl?” Growling to show her displeasure, Jace pulled the blanket away as she slid down the bed and rushed out of the ward.
Heading straight for the nearest emergency exit, she wanted to hide from others and get rid of her negative emotions.
When she pushed the door open, she wasn’t expecting to see Irvin and Mimi enjoying the fruits.
Their smiles stung her eyes and were inflaming her fragile heart.
Irvin wasn’t prepared for Jace to rush inside all of a sudden, so he rose to his feet in embarrassment and helplessly stared at her without a word.
“Why are you eating the bananas that belong to me?” She took out her anger on them as she unreasonably accused them.
“What?” He was taken aback by the accusation. “You said you don’t want them!”
“Even though I don’t want them, they’re still mine! You can’t eat them!”
At that, Jace slammed the door behind her before she rushed over to snatch the banana from Mimi’s hand. However, before Jace could even touch another girl, she stepped on the banana peel first.
At the next moment, she lost her balance and fell off the stairs.
Both her entrance and exit were so sudden that Irvin and Mimi didn’t even have the time to react to her behavior, her wail already resounding through the stairwell.
This time, Jace broke her leg.
Elise was eventually forced to see Mrs. Lawrence herself, while Irvin and Mimi got scolded.
After that, the Lawrence Family insisted on not seeing them ever again.
Moreover, Irvin learned his lesson of never littering in public anymore.
…
The following day in the White Residence.
On the morning of a weekend, Onyx was reading the newspaper on the sofa to pass his free time. Lately, the downturn in the publishing industry also gave him more free time.
Lyra seized the opportunity to serve him hot tea and snacks. Massaging his shoulders, she began, “Dear, since Adelpha has been staying in the rural area for seven years, I think it’s about time for her to come back. You see, she has nobody to depend on as she lives alone in our old residence. The local thugs and hooligans have been trying to take advantage of her, and we can’t even protect her in time if something happens.”
He rolled his eyes at her petulantly when he heard her request. “You’ll take care of her after she’s married? You already know the publishing industry is receding lately, and there is a sharp reduction in my income. How am I supposed to feed a big spender like her?”
“She won’t! Adelpha told me that she has changed a lot. She’s turning thirty years old in three years; do you want to see her become a spinster and get picked by others instead?” She put more effort into persuading him. “There’s no way we’ll ask her to marry an uneducated man. I know some people who are looking for a wife for their sons, and we shouldn’t let the chance slip.”
Pondering for a moment, he didn’t show a hint of firm disapproval as he commented, “I’ll consider it.”
At that moment, the sole servant of the residence came into the house to report. “Master, Madam, Miss Anastasia is here with the young master and young mistresses.”
As soon as the words reached them, Elise walked into the house with three children in tow.
“Oh my. There’s a lot of them!” Lyra’s eyes widened at the children as her interest piqued. She wouldn’t have thought “Anastasia” would give birth to so many children.
Onyx watched the group with a livid expression, not bothering to welcome them into the house. “Why are you even here? You’ve never called us over the last seven years, and I’ve gotten used to pretending you aren’t alive out there.”
Asking the kids to take a seat on the sofa, Elise put on a façade by making a sad face at him. “Dad, I’m your daughter and one of the Whites. You have to help me. I broke Maestro Yorkson’s piano when I was in another country, and I need to compensate fifty million. I don’t think I can pay that much even if we sell the house. Can you help me, Dad?”
“What? Fifty million?” His expression changed as he jumped to his feet in anger. “How dare you ask for so much?! What do you expect from me? Do you think I’m in charge of printing the money? I don’t have that kind of money!”
“Dad, it isn’t right to say that. As a family, we must go through thick and thin together. I’ve never asked you for any favor. This is the first and only time when I need your help. Are you that cruel to leave your daughter in misery?” She tilted her head to hide the grin forming at the corner of her lips.
“You ungrateful little b*stard! I’m not your father. We broke off relations with each other a long time ago. I don’t have any money. Don’t even try to scam money off me.” He decided to turn his back on her.
He had chosen self-preservation over bearing the hardship with his family.
“After all, I’ve been providing a roof over your heads.” At last, Elise finally cut off to the chase.
Chapter 827 I’ve Been Posing as You
Onyx’s expression kept changing throughout their conversation before it settled into a cold look. “I’m not interested in living in your house either. I would’ve long moved out of the house if I’m not looking after it for your mother. Are you implying that I have to pay your debts for living in the house? Dream on! We’ll move out right away. There’s no way I’ll take over your debts.”
At the end of his words, he turned to Lyra and ordered, “What are you waiting for? Grab some help and pick up the things.”
Sighing, Elise feigned hurt as she fell onto the sofa.
As she had briefed the children on her plan beforehand, the trio wasn’t worried about her feelings getting hurt, but gathered around her nonetheless as their curiosity piqued.
Their curiosity had created a miserable scene of the mother and her children cuddling against each other for comfort from Onyx’s perspective. Looking at them, he was even more sure of his guess, in which Anastasia had to come home because she was heavily indebted.
Thirty minutes later, as his resolution to leave the house reached its peak, he yelled at the people from downstairs. “Enough! Just pick some clothes. The documents are more important. We can come back later if you left anything behind.”
The pathetic look on her face had driven him to make the resolution of leaving the house as soon as possible, or else he would get himself tangled up in their business. He wouldn’t want to waste even a penny of his hard-earned money on them.
A few minutes later, Lyra and the servant rushed down the stairs with some suitcases in tow.
He walked over to the duo and took one of them before he pushed the suitcase toward the door without wasting a second.
A wheel fell off of Lyra’s luggage on their way to the exit. Seeing she was struggling to pull the luggage, he shoved the handle of the suitcase he was pulling into her hand. Then, he carried hers on his shoulder and dashed off of the house.
Walking over to the French windows, Elise looked at their hilarious behavior and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Irvin stood beside her. “Mommy, since when do we owe Mr. Yorkson money?”
“Winning is all that matters.” Humming, she shrugged before explaining, “Didn’t you say your grandfather is a different man from what I’ve told you? I’m just giving him a small test to see if he has changed. If he has chosen to share the burden with us, we’ll continue to consider him a family. Since he’s not willing to do that, which means he doesn’t see us as his family. Therefore, we don’t need him either. Can you get that?”
“Do people always change?” Irvin wasn’t able to accept the statement.
At that, Elise answered with a gentle tone, “A relationship built on true hearts won’t, so we only need to care about those who’re being sincere with us. It’s meaningless and unhealthy to worry ourselves over the hypocrites.”
At last, he nodded and found her words giving him the déjà vu.
Then, he recalled that the playboy, Alexander, had said the same thing.
As Alexander shared the same opinion with Elise, Irvin began to doubt if the man was as undependable as he was portrayed in the news.
Elise had no idea about the thoughts that ran through his mind. Turning to face Alexia and Mimi, Elise clapped as she announced, “Darlings, we have a new house!”
She was happy to find herself chasing the two deadbeats out of the house with minimum effort.
Meanwhile, Lyra was staring longingly at the villa even though the car was moving away from it before she tugged the hem of Onyx’s shirt. “Dear, are you sure we’re leaving the house to Anastasia just like that?”
“What an ignorant woman you are! We must leave now. It’ll be too late when the creditor comes for her.” He found no reason to stay. “The house is under her name, so there’s no way we can take it. Thus, we must keep the money cautiously.”
“Let’s go.” He kicked the driver’s seat. As an idea occurred to him, Onyx turned to his wife. “By the way, I’m fine with the matter of setting up the blind dates for Adelpha. We’ll get her back after we buy a new house.”
He decided that it was about time for them to look for a son-in-law to depend on.
“All right! I’ll call her right now.”
Within an hour after the pair made a hasty exit from the White Residence, Margaret showed up at the door.
As she was well-prepared, she took a seat on the sofa without bothering to hide the aggressiveness on her face. “Anastasia, you must know the reason why I am here.”
Calmly taking a sip of her coffee, Elise replied leisurely, “Of course. It seems like you already knew that I am Cardashian. You’re more competent than I imagined.”
“Why did you do that? Am I still your best friend? You hide your identity from me even when I have serious business to discuss with you. I had been doing nothing for a whole day in the hotel.” She only thought her friend had gone wrong with a harmless joke until now.
“What else?” Elise replied, not bothered by her questions. “After all, I’m not interested in publishing a biography. It won’t look good on us if I reject your request at the airport and lead it into a fight in public.”
Her words shifted the woman’s attention away as Margaret asked, “Why not? The cost of raising the children isn’t low. Nobody will ever say no to money nowadays.”
“I can depend on the book royalties for my previous works.” Elise’s words had a second meaning. “Since you’re here, I want to discuss the matter to stop using my pen name. I’m planning to reveal my identity to the public.”
“I told you, this matter requires planning. Your dad’s business and the procedure are the aspects to take into account. Besides, the children are young. You’ll pressure yourself if there’s a dispute later. Let’s be patient for the moment. ” Margaret lied to Elise with practiced ease.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of my own business. My only requirement is to claim back my authorship.” Elise raised her voice.
“It’s complicated. I’m afraid that we can’t do anything but wait for a few more years.” Margaret’s face turned cold as she saw Elise wasn’t convinced.
“A few more years?” Elise sneered. “Seven years ago, I had discussed the same thing with you. Now, however, you’re asking me to wait for another few more years. Is the matter too hard to deal with, or you’ve never wanted to deal with it?”
“Are you questioning my motives?” Margaret narrowed her eyes as a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.
“Seven years ago, I asked someone to look for ‘Margot Anastasi’ and see the author in person. However, the request led the person to meet you, but you never informed me about it.” The smile on Elise’s face disappeared in a split second as her usual calm eyes shone with cold glints, and a strong and domineering aura enveloped her.
At this point, Margaret didn’t need more hints to understand that she was exposed.
Pondering for a while, she sat upright and stated, “You’re right. I’ve been posing as you. Everyone in the industry has been seeing me as none other than Margot Anastasi.”
“Well, I respect you for being honest with me.” The corner of Elise’s lips curled up, but her eyes betrayed no amusement. “You’ve been only giving me the basic income over the years, but pocketed the shares and gratuity to yourself for more than ten years. I think that’s enough. Now it’s time to return them to their rightful owner.”
“And who’s the rightful owner I must return them to? You?” Margaret smiled, not taking Elise’s words seriously. “They belong to me in the first place. There’s no way I’ll give them to you. You want to tell others that you are Margot Anastasi, but you have no proof.”
Margaret then continued with a triumphant smile. “We’re the best in the industry. Do you think ‘Margot Anastasi’ can make its name recognized by others without my operation? I’m the one who accomplished Margot Anastasi. You have no right to take everything that comes with the name.”
Elise snorted at Margaret’s arrogance, and the mocking amusement showed up on her face. “So you’re saying that the authorship belongs to the publisher that promotes the work and the editor, right? What about the hard work of the author? How do you calculate them?”
Chapter 828 All Dead
“Have you heard of the story of the House of Medici? Without them, artists weren’t appreciated and supported as they wither away without the funds. The same applies to us. Without me, you won’t be anything too. We’re in the same boat, Anastasia. If you push it too far, I may just flip it over.” Margaret narrowed her eyes, and there was a threatening glint in them.
If this was seven years ago, Elise might have been wary of her. However, the time was right, and everything had fallen into place. She didn’t need to be afraid anymore.
“If that’s the case, I’m afraid this place doesn’t welcome you anymore, Miss Ainsley. The door’s that way. Please see yourself out.” Elise didn’t hesitate to kick her out.
“Well, it’s your choice to break this up. Don’t regret it,” Margaret warned her before leaving.
Elise wasn’t fazed as she picked up her coffee and slowly took a sip.
Margaret and Edmond’s relationship was at its end. She just needed to do something, and they would fall into the depths of hell. There was no need for her to be worried.
It was late at night when Elise was ready to go to bed when she suddenly heard a child crying from outside her room.
After she had listened for a while, she realized the sound was coming from Mimi’s room. So, she quickly got down from the bed and rushed over.
Just as she arrived at Mimi’s room door, Irvin also came out from his room.
“Mommy, it sounds like Mimi’s crying.”
“Yeah, I heard it too.” Elise nodded before pushing the door open and entering the room.
Sure enough, Mimi was crying her heart out on the bed.
Elise walked in and carried Mimi as she patiently comforted her, “Don’t cry, Mimi. We’re here. Don’t be scared.”
Mimi could not stop sobbing as she whimpered, “Miss Elise, Mama, and Papa are dead. There’s so much blood. I’m so scared.”
“It’s not true. Don’t worry. Dreams are the opposite of reality. Look, Mimi. It’s only Irvin and me here with you right now. There’s no blood, right?” Elise gently consoled her.
Mimi sniffled and slowly opened her eyes to see Irvin before she stopped crying.
Once Elise had gotten her to calm down, she tried to ask about her family again. “Mimi, do you remember what your last name is? Do you remember where your home is? What about your family members?”
Mimi pondered for a while but dipped her head down and murmured, “I don’t remember.”
Her blatant act of avoidance did not escape Elise’s eyes. Yet, that made Elise wonder why the young child would not tell if she knew.
She respected the child and did not force her to reveal her identity. Then, she carried her to Alexia’s room.
Alexia was also awakened by the noise just now, but she was exhausted. So, she was dozing off sitting on the bed when they entered.
“Lexi.” Elise softly woke her up. “Is it alright if Mimi sleeps with you from now on?”
“Okay.” She yawned as she scooted onto the other side of the bed with her eyes half-closed to give Mimi some space to lay down.
Elise placed Mimi on the bed, and Alexia reached over and embraced Mimi as they quickly fell asleep together.
“Mommy, why don’t I stay with them as well?” Irvin was still worried.
Elise was at a loss. “Hmm, how should I say this? It’s not convenient for boys and girls to sleep together. When you’ve grown up, you have to keep a respectful distance and not intrude on their personal space. So, the girls won’t be troubled. Can you understand that?”
“Alright.” Irvin was a little disappointed, but he did not insist. “Then, I’ll head back to bed. Goodnight, Mommy!”
“Goodnight.” Elise was wide awake after the incident and could not fall back to sleep. So, she decided to switch on the computer to look for Mimi’s family.
Her search criteria were to look for families in Tissote with both parents dead and a missing daughter. She only found four matching results that all indicated an accident had caused the families to be broken up.
The first three news had posted pictures of the missing girls, but they did not look like Mimi as she was not of the local descent and had distinctive eyes that were easy to recognize.
That left Elise with the last news about the Hoffman Family that manufactured rare earth magnets. However, the girl’s name was Holly Hoffman and not Mimi. So, this meant that all of the results were incompatible.
As Mimi was too young, they would not have entered her face into the face recognition system. So, that would not work. As a result, it was going to take a lot more effort to search for Mimi’s family.
…
On the other side of the city, Narissa pulled on the shutters with ease before dusting her hands as she got ready to leave.
Suddenly, a silver Mercedes-Benz whizzed in from the junction not too far away and stopped right in front of her.
The window slowly rolled down to reveal Jayden’s excited face. “Narissa, hop on!”
“Do we have a covert operation today? There wasn’t anything in the group chat,” Narissa asked as she leaned on the car window.
“Get in first. I’ll tell you on the way!” He reached over and opened the door for her.
So, she didn’t continue the small talk and hopped on the front passenger seat.
Just as the car started moving, Jayden could not help himself and wanted to create some suspense. “Can you guess what we found this time?”
“What? Could it be about Alexander?” Narissa answered nonchalantly.
“Not him. He always escapes when we try to stalk him. We’re guessing that there’s an informer within the reporters. So, they’ve decided to give up the lead on Smith Co. for the moment.”
Narissa nervously scratched her head and kept quiet.
Jayden turned his head to glance at her. Since she didn’t look too interested, he dropped the pretense. “It’s the SK Group! That mysterious SK Group. The leader of the group has always been mysterious, but there’s news that he’ll show up tonight to discuss the ownership of the port’s jurisdiction with the mob near the port itself.”
Narissa frowned miserably at his words. Jamie jinxed her as it was yet again something related to Elise.
“Has the SK Group committed any crime?” she asked.
“That, I’ve never heard of,” Jayden told her truthfully, but he was still excited. “But that group would do anything as long as the money’s right. So even if we don’t know what they do, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. It’s a dangerous thing for a group to live beyond the law. It’d be better for society if more people knew what’s going on inside.”
“Maybe you’re right, but I think this will be the last time I’m joining in one of your missions.” Narissa placed an arm limply on the windowsill to support her jaw. “I’m tired of the danger. I want a peaceful life.”
Jayden’s smile froze and fell, but he decided to be supportive. “Okay.”
They drove in silence for the rest of the journey. When the sky was getting dark, they finally arrived at the hideout Jayden had prepared.
After they had been on the scene for seven years, the hideout they found was very discreet and secure. No ordinary person could discover it. Soon, the mob and people from the SK Group met at the port.
There were a bunch of people from the mob standing so arrogantly while opposite them were only two men representing the SK Group. It was Joseph and another wearing a mask, making it hard to guess his identity.
Chapter 829 Only One of You Can Leave
The mob initiated a fight as they felt they had the upper hand with the number of people they had brought. The man in the mask stood still while Joseph fought them. Within minutes, he had defeated the whole mob.
The leader of the mob knelt and hit his head on the ground a few times as a sign of admitting defeat before running away with his subordinates.
It was a clear victory for the SK Group. Finally, they had gotten the authority for the port’s jurisdiction. It was the first time Jayden saw someone so good at fighting and could not help but take more pictures of Joseph.
Right then, it seemed like the masked man felt the environment was safe enough, so he slowly removed his mask.
Jayden kept zooming in on him, and when the mysterious person removed the mask, he finally saw who it was and looked at Narissa with wide eyes.
The leader of the SK Group was Danny!
Narissa was also as surprised as Jayden. These few years, she didn’t have a close relationship with Jamie, so she could not get much information about SK Group. However, she didn’t expect Danny to take over the management on behalf of Elise now.
Jayden very quickly composed himself and pointed the camera at Danny again.
These two brothers from the Griffith Family were exceptional. One was the owner of Smith Co., while the other led the SK Group. He was curious about what other surprising identities the remaining two brothers had.
His fingers clicked on the shutter non-stop, and he did not want to let go as he was afraid of missing any detail.
As he was busy capturing the scene, Joseph, who stood on the side, got a phone call and quietly walked out of the camera’s range.
After Jayden had taken pictures for five whole minutes, he was content and started packing away his gear. Then, he turned his head and wanted to tell Narissa about his achievement today, but instead, he saw a tall looming figure behind them.
He didn’t need to double-check by lifting his head to see the person’s face, and he knew it was Joseph based on the shirt the man was wearing. He knew they were no match for him.
On the other hand, Narissa met Joseph’s eyes, and they recognized each other but were discreet about showing it in front of Jayden.
Joseph politely made a welcoming gesture. “Mr. Griffith would like to meet you both. Please come with me.”
It wasn’t the first time they had met a situation like this. So, they calmly stood up and followed him to meet Danny.
Tension filled the air as their eyes met, and both parties were displeased with each other.
After seven years, Danny has grown out of his naivety. Now, he was mature and poise. He even bulked up so much that even his suit could not hide the lines of his muscle.
Danny walked toward Narissa first and looked at her meaningfully before stopping in front of Jayden, “Mr. Quinn, it seems like you’re displeased with the SK Group?”
“Everyone has a right to be displeased with anything in this world.” Jayden was unafraid and held his head up high.
Danny’s lips curved slightly as he sneered, “If you are, you should have avoided us. You’re like a fly that comes and goes. It’s very annoying.”
“Someone’s got to do the things that people hate for the society and its people.” Jayden was adamant.
“Oh? I didn’t know you were so righteous. Can you tell me what crime the SK Group committed?” He bored into Jayden’s eyes with a neutral face, but his eyes were enough to pressure him.
“Isn’t lynching a heinous act itself?” Jayden argued. “The SK Group will do anything as long as there’s money. It doesn’t even matter if it breaks the law!”
“So, what’s the problem? Whatever the law can’t solve, the SK Group will do it for them. We’ve solved so many conflicts, but why do you want to rat on us? Huh?” Danny questioned in a low voice.
“It’s just a matter of differences in personal values. I’ve got nothing else to say. Do what you will with me,” Jayden scoffed as if he was prepared to die.
That didn’t anger Danny as he looked toward Narissa on the side intentionally. “I see. It’s definitely worth it to die being accompanied by a beautiful woman. I would feel the same too.”
Only then did a hint of panic flash across his face. “You’re a man, Danny. You shouldn’t lay your hands on a woman. She’s got nothing to do with this. Let her go.”
“I should let her go because you said so? Do I look that benevolent to you?” Danny took a step back with a half-smile and said playfully, “I know. There can only be one of you who leaves, but you’ll have to decide that among yourselves!”
“No need for that. I’ll stay!” Jayden stood in front of Narrisa, blocking his eyes on her. “She didn’t want to do this job. I was the one who pulled her in. Let her go and kill me. Then, no one would know what happened today.”
At that moment, Narissa’s heart pounded as she gazed at him with admiration, like he was her hero.
She had once told Elise she hoped that the person she loved would be a hero.
A person who fought with his life for the people and would protect her in the face of danger was indeed a hero.
It had been seven years before she realized this.
Danny smacked his lips as he felt the fun drained out of the situation. He went up and snatched the camera in Jayden’s hands and slammed it into the ground before crushing it with his feet until it was all shattered beyond repair.
Then, he picked up the memory card before throwing it into the sea.
Jayden could feel his heart twist in pain at the sight. “What are you doing, Danny?”
He rolled his eyes as he warned impatiently, “Consider yourself lucky. I’ll let you off the hook today. But if one word of what happened here gets out, you won’t live to see the next day’s sun. I know you’re not afraid of death, but what about your family? Now, scram. You only have one minute to get out of my eyes. Otherwise, I can’t promise I won’t change my mind.”
Jayden didn’t even think and grabbed Narissa’s hand before sprinting away. As the two silhouettes disappeared under the night sky, a shadow slowly got down from the boat parked on the side until it reached under a light to reveal Jamie’s face.
“Always sacrificing yourself to help others. How many times have you done this? Are you going to keep wiping their ass every time?” Danny mocked him. “I didn’t know you were such a kind person.”
“What else can I do? We’ve promised Boss to take care of Narissa on his behalf. It’s our responsibility.” Jamie answered with conviction.
“Responsibility? Ha.” Danny did not point out what he was trying to hide. Instead, he just smiled and patted him on the shoulder before leaving with Joseph.
The salty sea breeze whizzed through the port in the pitch black night, and the cold air blew into Jamie’s clothes, making them flutter along with the draft. He ducked his head and silently gazed in the direction Narissa left with eyes filled with longing.
Jayden and Narissa kept on running until they got in the car.
After he took a few deep breaths, he suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Narissa.” He breathed heavily. “Would you be my girlfriend?”
Her hand holding the water bottle froze mid-air.
“I finally realized how much I love you at that moment just now” Jayden’s voice was sincere. “What about you? You have feelings for me, right?”
“I don’t know.” Narissa was flustered. “It’s exhilarating and fulfilling when I’m with you, but I always feel like something’s missing.”
He tightened his grip on her hand. “Give me one chance. Let me do something about that missing piece, please?”
Not many girls could resist such a passionate confession during a life and death situation.
So, it was only natural for her to cave in and accept his confession, “Yes!”
Chapter 830 Let’s Compare Notes Together, Shall We?
Ariel stood in front of Danny International Finance Corporation Building with a coat tightly wrapped around her body. The cold wind blew, and her body shivered due to the chilly breeze while her eyes locked on the corner of the street that wasn’t far away.
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The time stated on her watch was 11.00PM—an hour later than the latest time she usually clocked out. He’s probably not coming, isn’t he? Ariel took out her mobile phone and prepared to book a cab when she thought of that.
Out of the blue, a flash of light beamed from a distance and illuminated the entire area when Ariel had just logged onto the ride-hailing application.
Ariel kept away her phone and watched as the car stopped at a familiar spot. The door opened, and Danny stepped out of the vehicle. After that, he went around the car to open the door to the passenger seat for Ariel.
She instinctively entered the car, made herself comfortable, and fastened her seat belt. Then, she watched as Danny also got into the car and skillfully started the engine swiftly.
Danny had been consistently fetching Ariel to and from work for seven years. The only inconsistency was Danny’s increasingly mature aura and also his ability to shoulder his responsibilities alone. Right now, every gesture Danny made exuded a sense of superiority of someone sure and confident in himself.
“I thought you were not coming today,” Ariel eventually started a conversation to fill the silence.
“I got held up by some matters,” replied Danny’s heart was on the road as it wouldn’t be a good idea to get distracted when he was driving. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something before going back home?”
However, instead of answering him, Ariel suddenly asked, “Are you in a relationship?”
When Danny heard her question, he lightly curled his lower lip into a faint smile and replied, “You know me best. I’m busy all day, so how would I have the time for such a trivial thing as a relationship?”
Ariel lowered her lashes and smiled as she asked, “Actually, there’s one thing that I’m quite curious about. Don’t you feel annoyed fetching me to and fro every day for seven years?”
“I’m used to it,” Danny blurted. Regardless, he felt something was off with his words after he had the time to think about it. Therefore he immediately added, “You deserve such special treatment for being the company’s ace accountant.”
“I’m preparing to resign,” Ariel said, absolutely catching Danny off guard.
Danny’s eyes flickered slightly, and despite unknowingly tightening his grip on the steering wheel, his face remained calm as he teased lightly, “Is it because I took the CEO position? I can return it to you. Besides, everyone established this company together in the first place, so it doesn’t matter who becomes the CEO.”
Ariel smiled brightly when she heard that, genuinely happy for him. “You taking the position of CEO is in favor of everyone’s expectations. Besides, I’m not that petty. I’m resigning due to personal reasons, that’s all.”
Danny was silent for a moment. In the end, he still relented and said, “I respect your choice, but you’re an essential asset to the company. So, you must give me some time, either six months or a year, to hire someone capable enough to replace you. Whatever it is, just don’t resign now.”
“Sure. I’ll wait another year before handing in my resignation letter.” Ariel readily compromised.
After she finished saying that, she leaned against the car window. Her mood gradually sank as she looked up at the moonlit sky. Seven years have passed anyway. Will it make any difference to our situation if I wait another year? Perhaps I’m just deceiving myself. Since when exactly did I hope my relationship with Danny to be different? Was it because of his punctuality in fetching me to and from work regardless of the weather condition? Or was it because of the warmth and concern he offered when I was sick? Or was it because of his attentiveness to me, regardless of how trivial the matter was? Or was it because of his present unique charm of maturity and steadiness? But what’s the use of hope? I’m no longer young, and no matter how much I put in the effort to maintain my beauty, my condition is still far worse than Danny, who is in his prime. So we’re not destined to be together.
The car pulled over downstairs at Ariel’s apartment while she was still deeply immersed in her thoughts.
“Good night, and sweet dreams.”
Danny bid her goodbye as usual and watched as she walked up the steps. He only retracted his gaze once her figure disappeared at the hallway entrance—a disappointed glint flashed across his eyes as his mind constantly replayed the scene where Ariel mentioned her resignation in the car earlier. I learned to restrain myself and hide my feelings in the deepest part of my heart after she rejected my confession seven years ago. I never once showed traces of affection over the years and only silently took care of all her needs, just like a good friend. I’m already doing my best to keep my feelings to myself, so I wouldn’t scare her away, yet why is she still leaving?
As he thought of that, he clenched his fists and furrowed his brows due to the bitterness he felt. Then, he leaned back and rested his head on the seat. His eyes closed, he remained in this posture and only drove the car away until it was almost dawn.
…
It was already fall when the world’s top symphony orchestra arrived in Tissote to hold their first domestic concert tour.
Sure enough, someone as notable as Alexander naturally would attend such a grand occasion. As Alexander’s fiancée, it was only natural for Jessamine to walk by his side. Meanwhile, her two children ambled in front of her under the servant’s care.
Shortly after, they bumped into Elise and her children, who were about to enter the concert hall at the ticket gate.
When Jessamine noticed they didn’t have tickets in hand, she took the initiative to hug Alexander’s arm and walked up to greet them, “Miss White, you guys are here too? What a coincidence, huh? Did you guys forget to bring your tickets?”
Before Elise could say anything, Alexia acted first and replied, “We don’t need tickets.”
Jessamine smiled indifferently and said, “You can’t enter without tickets. Kid, do you want me to find a way to get you guys some tickets? But the seats may be a little behind the front row seats.”
“That won’t be necessary. Miss Jessamine, my sister and I are used to sitting in the front,” Irvin chimed in, “We came here just to buy some popcorn.”
“Sit in the front?” Jessamine purposely drawled as she curled her lips upward into a meaningful smirk. Anastasia’s two children are rather clever. They know how to cover up for her, but too bad, their overly confident statements are full of flaws. The organizer has allocated the VVIP seats to Alexander, me, and my children. So, how can they magically vacate extra seats for Anastasia and her children? Perhaps they may have never attended any musical concert at all, and they just deliberately show up here in an attempt to get acquainted with the upper-class society.
“Well, in that case, you guys must like the piano very much. So tell me: which maestro do you guys admire?”
As she spoke, Jessamine silently gave her children a wink, motioning for them to answer.
Her children were very discerning as well. Thus, they immediately pounced and chimed in when they received Jessamine’s signal.
“I like Maestro Yorkson!”
“I like Danielton!”
Irvin glanced up at Elise before he commented on the maestros mentioned, “I like my Mommy better. Maestro Yorkson is too lazy, while for Mr. Danielton, his musical pieces have lacked plenty of their soulful tempo as he’s simply busy with his relationship these years.”
While they were abroad, Yorkson and Danielton came to visit them in person basically every week and jammed with Elise when they had the time. Sometimes they would also get a little competitive. Hence, the two siblings naturally had a different insight than others, for they were subtly influenced since childhood.
When Jessamine heard this, she further confirmed that Anastasia and her family knew nothing about classical music.
Even so, she still maintained an elegant demeanor in front of Alexander. “Little guy, your insight is really unique. Your mommy must be very good at playing the piano. Am I right, Miss White?”
“Oh, thank you. You’re too kind. I’m just playing it for fun,” replied Elise modestly.
Jessamine deliberately set a trap as she had no intention of backing off in order to embarrass Elise. “It happens that I know how to play the piano myself. Shall we compare notes together if you’re free?”
“Sure.” Elise readily agreed. Just after she finished saying that, she saw the staff waving at her. Thus, she nodded and immediately took her children away. “Excuse us. We’ll be taking our leave first.”
As Jessamine didn’t expect Elise would agree so readily, she was stunned for a moment. By the time she came back to her senses, she hurriedly feigned composure as she remarked, “It’s really not easy to be a single mother. She even forgot to educate her children on the basic respect one should have for fellow maestros.”
Alexander, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke, “Don’t forget. We haven’t got our marriage certificate yet, so you’re a single mother yourself.”