After her first announcement, the woman raised her volume and repeated herself, “Gregory Hall! I want you to put your tablet aside!”
Unfortunately, the child went dead silent and dismissed the woman’s instruction.
That prompted the woman to yell, “Now!”
“Hmph! You’re not my mother! What makes you think you have the right to control me?”
As they started bickering, the scene of a lovely mother and son duo crossed my mind. I felt bad for the woman, but I couldn’t hold back my laughter and started chuckling in silence.
I knew it was better for an outsider to stay out of their affair. Since I was right at their blind spot, I inched away and took cover behind the wall.
Suddenly, muffled sounds of steps could be heard, and the child let out a sharp cry, “Hey!”
Similarly, the woman greeted, “Anthony.” It turned out that the wealthiest man in the country was there.
Anthony ignored them and instructed the child, “You’re supposed to address me as your father.”
In spite of having a wall in between us, I could feel Anthony’s frustration. The child, who could barely express his thoughts, caved into his instructions and greeted, “Daddy!”
A few seconds after he made a silly face and stuck his tongue out, he ran away from the man he called his father as though he was afraid his father would teach him a lesson.
Surprisingly, his father paid no heed to him and allowed him to run away.
A few seconds later, the woman’s gentle voice could be heard, suggesting in a sincere manner, “Anthony, it has been two months since our last meal together. Please let me spend some time with Gregory.”
“Sometimes, certain things in life take more than grit. If you can’t educate a child, why don’t you stay away from Gregory in the future?” Anthony threw a sarcastic question at the woman in a callous tone.
“What do you mean?” The woman seemed to be startled by the man’s reply.
“You can’t even understand that? If that’s the case, I can’t possibly allow him anywhere near you.” Things grew increasingly awkward between them as Anthony deadpanned his reply.
Irked by his response, the woman raised her volume, yet it was evident she had been trying her best to keep her wrath under control. “No matter what, I’m your fiancée! Soon, I’ll be Gregory’s stepmother! Why are you treating me like this?”
Anthony fiancée? Thora?
I felt bad for the so-called president of a listed company because, at the end of the day, she was just another woman. Despite trying her best to please the man she loved, her effort was to no avail.
Judging by her reply, this kind of interaction seemed to be the case for a long time.
“Our engagement is nothing more than an agreement between my father and yours. As long as I refuse to give my consent, you will not be my wife. If it weren’t because of our families’ relationship, do you think I’ll allow you to confront me in such a manner?”
The man’s rhetorical reply sounded more like a warning in disguise.
I used to come across Thora on the television. She was a gorgeous woman as well, yet Anthony seemed to be relatively indifferent.
Anthony ignored Thora and reached for his phone, instructing without a second thought, “Joseph, pick Gregory up from The Jade and bring him back.”
Soon, he looked at the little boy and asked, “Gregory, you know what to do, don’t you?”
The little boy nodded and answered, “Yes! I’ll be waiting for Mr. Campbell!”
Anthony nodded and turned to face Thora, remarking sarcastically, “A little boy can read the mood in the room better than you. I can’t help but wonder who’s the one behind Ziegler Corporation’s achievements.”
Shortly after, the sounds of someone marching out of the room could be heard. I thought the little boy was the only one left behind because I could only hear the sound of him playing with his tablet.
Suddenly, the voice of glass being shattered into pieces reverberated in the spacious room.
Crack!
It took me by surprise; the woman was way more aggressive than I had imagined. I was worried about the child, yet his reply proved my concerns to be unnecessary.
The boy seemed to have gotten used to it. He started remarking sarcastically in a manner similar to his father’s. “Daddy said you should stop wasting your time if you’re aware of the outcome that’s in store for you.”
Oh, God! He must have learned from the best, huh? That’s even more sarcastic than his father’s remarks!
I gasped on behalf of the pitiable Thora because she had to go through the same thing again after being picked on by the boy’s father.
Another woman’s voice could be heard out of the blue. “Why are you getting worked up over such a trivial issue? Are you sure you’re not going to regret wasting your effort in building up your image in front of the child?”
“Why don’t you go ahead and give it a try? If you were in my shoes, I don’t think you would be able to even go through a day! There’s nothing I can do to get him to open up to me! He said…”
She continued sharing the things Anthony had said with the mysterious woman in the room.
The woman went dead silent when she heard Thora.
In the end, Thora heaved a long sigh and complained, “The Hall family shouldn’t have fought over the custody for the boy! Since Anthony has to take care of his son, he doesn’t have time for me!”
“Enough! Aren’t you aware of the things you’re supposed and not supposed to talk about in front of the boy?” It was pretty obvious that the mysterious woman was superior to Thora. She had the guts to reprimand the woman without holding back.
A few seconds later, the other woman brought something up to divert Thora’s attention. “Anthony asked Dad out for a meal. Why don’t you tag along? He’s been acting like a different person since that incident, but the Hall family is on your side. If you can’t even stand this, you should forget about becoming his only woman. Have you seen him being romantically involved with another woman over the years? He’s not just giving you a hard time, but it’s everyone—”
“I hate the fact that he considers me just another woman!” Thora was shouting at the top of her lungs, but she soon replied in a hushed voice a few seconds later, “I don’t think you will ever get it. Let’s forget about it and head over to join your father.”
“Come with me.”
A few seconds after the duo walked out of the private room, silence fell once again.
I hid behind the wall for another short while. Once the room went completely silent, I tiptoed my way out.
As soon as I reached the entrance, I had an odd feeling. When I turned around, I noticed the little boy I encountered on our way back home from the hospital, Gregory, had his eyes glued to me with a bright grin.
He stood upright and seemed to be anticipating my arrival because he wasn’t surprised by the stranger in the room the slightest bit.
When I thought things were way too awkward, Gregory broke the silence and asked, “Have you figured out everything?”
Slightly taken aback by his question, I asked, “What?”
“That woman who was here a few minutes ago!” Gregory tucked his arm and orated, “She’s my father’s fiancée, but we don’t really like her! Actually, the feelings are mutual between us! Since someone has to marry my father, can you be the one? I like you! You look just like my mother! Can you be my mother?”
The boy with chubby little cheeks behaved like an old man. I started chuckling, finding his choice of words hilarious.
I placed my hands on my knees and leaned forward to carry on with the conversation. “You’re not supposed to poke your nose into the adults’ businesses. You’re just a kid. On top of that, you need to stop addressing a random woman as your mother because that’s rude.”
I looked at him in the eyes and made myself clear in a serious manner, yet I got increasingly discouraged as I went on because I couldn’t bring myself to get mad at such a cute little boy.
To be honest, I could barely suppress the urge to pinch his chubby little cheeks – he was too adorable.
On the other hand, Gregory seemed to have misperceived my words as he asked sulkily, “Do you hate me?”
What? How could I possibly hate you when you’re so adorable?
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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