Mona remembered having dinner with Tim and his father a few days ago. Tim’s father had asked her about her family name and mistook her for the daughter of the Ortega Group’s owner. As the man before her said, Ortega was not a common family name in Worchester City. “Are you the manager of the Ortega Group?” Mona voiced her concern. “I’m glad you know. You should know better than anyone that the Ortegas and Fontaines are closely related. If I’m right, Mona Ortega isn’t your real name.” The man sounded calmer than before and somehow had a sense of superiority on his face. He continued, “More precisely, it’s Thaddeus and my youngest daughter. They had something in the past, but now it seems that punk is quite loyal. Even if he’s seeing other women outside, he still thinks about Selene…” The man sounded like he was talking to himself even though those words were meant for Mona. He stopped when he assumed he intrigued Mona and sighed. “But it’s history now. If you want to know
“Uncle Gomez, Mona was my ex-wife. If she did anything to offend you, just bring it up to me. Don’t give her a hard time.” “You punk. You made it sound like I’m committing a crime for having an opinion on your woman.” “Uncle Gomez, I’m not blaming you or anything,” Thaddeus said. His warm smile then disappeared and was replaced by a strict and frosty look. “But, if you do anything to her, I’ll be there to stop you.” Thaddeus was hinting his warning at Gomez. Gomez was not an idiot. He had never seen Thaddeus protect a woman to this extent before. The woman had a special place in Thaddeus’s heart, that was definite.“Thaddeus, have you forgotten the promise you made to Selene? Are you really going to protect that woman and forget your promise?” Thaddeus frowned. He was displeased by the way Gomez spoke. “That’s not what I meant. You are free to think however you want, Uncle Gomez.” He did not want to delve deeper into the meaningless topic. He gestured to Gomez and invi
Mona left Timez’s building with Gomez’s words lingering in her head. The words made her uncomfortable, but she was great at adjusting her emotions. After so many years, she had trained herself not to care about what people said. She took a deep breath to adjust her thoughts before returning to normal. She hailed a cab and went back to the studio to see Ben. Due to the plagiarism incident a while back, the studio ceased operation. As the person in charge, Ben planned to wait for the heat to pass before resuming operation in Spring. While the studio was not operating, Mona used the place to design her work. The studio was also hiring assistant designers for Mona. Mona opened the door and was met with Ben eating instant noodles in the rest area. She also noticed the ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts.She knew Ben had been through a lot lately, and it must have been devastating for him. Mona sighed and went over to clean the ashtray. “I can clean up later. Don’t get y
It took Samantha a while before she said, “You can’t sit here. It’s taken. You were sitting over there just now. So why must you sit here?” Mona curled her lips coldly and stared at the man averting his eyes. “Am I sitting somewhere I shouldn’t be, or did you two do something you shouldn’t have?” Samantha stared at the man beside her, seemingly disappointed in his stupidity. She stepped on the man’s foot under the table and looked at Mona. “What are you talking about?” Mona scoffed subtly. It was impossible that Samantha did not know anything at all. She might even be the mastermind behind all this, using the man to achieve her secret agenda. Mona had wondered how the man knew so much about herself, to the point that he spewed nonsense such as her parents’ best friends. Every lie that came out of his mouth was weak and groundless. “I’m referring to this man. He approached me and lied to me. That’s all I am talking about. Don’t get all act up.” Mona then looked at the ma
Mona was surprised as well. She shook her head at Marcus and answered with a polite smile, “I have no idea. I haven’t been talking to him lately.” “Ah, I see. No wonder…” Marcus was in deep thought. He was aware his boss had been in a bad mood lately, and it had made the office rather depressing. “No wonder what?” Mona asked as she opened the rear door. Marcus started the car and slowly drove to the neighborhood exit. He looked into the rear mirror and explained with a smile, “Actually, I noticed a pattern from my observation of Mr. Fontaine. Every time he argues with you, he’d be in a bad mood, and it would affect the office. Everyone in the office would be scared of him and dared not talk to him.” Mona shook her head after hearing what Marcus had said. "No way. You're overthinking it. Why would your boss be affected by the argument with me? He's always like that. Your observation must be wrong." Marcus remained skeptical. Was he overthinking? He might have been if it
Mona looked into Millie’s eyes. She saw the anticipation within the girl fading and it broke her heart. She pinched the girl’s cheek and smiled. “Daddy must be busy. Why don’t we go home first?” Millie frowned. She looked aggrieved and even had tears in her eyes. “But Daddy said he will come to pick me and Bobby up from the airport. He lied. He doesn't like Millie anymore!” Her sparkling eyes flickered. The tears threatened to roll down her cheeks. Bobby could not stand seeing his sister cry. He held her hand and hugged her tightly. He stroked the girl’s head and comforted her, “Daddy must be busy at work. That’s why he can’t make it. Otherwise, he will definitely keep his promise. Be a good girl, Millie. We have to be considerate.” Bobby was not much of a talker, but whenever Millie was involved, he showed the girl patience and care. He was afraid that he would mess up and make her even sadder. “You’re right. Daddy must be busy at work.” Mille rubbed her eyes and forced a
Mona looked at her phone, which showed that the ride she had booked was almost here. She smiled politely and declined Master Fontaine's offer, "That's okay, Grandpa. I just booked a ride. It'll be here soon." “Then, let’s go back to my place and let the kids stay with me a little longer.” "The children will go back to school in two days. Their house is further away, so it's better for them to settle down with us." Mona dismissed Master Fontaine once again. Then, she waved at the children and gestured for them to come over. “Millie, Bobby, say goodbye to Great-grandpa. We are going home.” “Bye-bye, Great-grandpa.” The kids obediently said their goodbyes and followed Mona away. Master Fontaine looked at the family of three and a dash of regret flashed in his eyes. He sighed. He thought that he could bring the kids back to his place for a little longer, but Mona was not in the mood to discuss matters now. The next time he could see the kids would probably be two weeks late
The busy tone was the best proof that Thaddeus was not available. Mona did not continue calling. She waved her phone at Millie and said softly, “Look, Daddy is really busy. He doesn’t even have the time to check his phone. Why don’t we sleep first? When he’s done, he’ll call. Okay?” “Okay. Millie is going to bed now. If Daddy calls, wake me up! I have something to tell him!” Mona nodded. She kissed the girl on the forehead and said, “Goodnight, my baby.” Millie closed her eyes obediently. She was already exhausted from all the traveling, and it was only because of her will to see Thaddeus that she was awake so far. Moments after closing her eyes, she fell asleep. Bobby was already fast asleep. His little tummy was rising and falling steadily. Mona pulled the blanket over the two of them. Their adorable sleeping faces melted her heart. The two kids were her everything, her sole reason to continue to work hard. She would give her everything to the kids, but she realized tha