"What should I do? I don't want Aaron to be with that woman," Ariella repeated her question, and this time she sounded even more desperate.
She stared down at the ground with a dejected face. Aaron didn't even show interest in her during their lunch before. He only focused on feeding Kathleen even though she was just right in front of him.
Ryan thought for a while. Honestly, he too hoped the same thing as his sister. He didn't want Aaron to be with Kathleen either. His fingers rubbed his chin while his mind pondered about what kind of thing he could do to make Aaron notice his sister's affection.
"How about you come again tomorrow? But come a bit early this time. Maybe about half an hour before lunch," Ryan made a suggestion.
"Why? Are you going to ask him to have lunch together with us again? Only the three of us this time?" Her eyes glimmered with expectations.
"No," Ryan replied shortly and Ariella frowned instantly. He chuckled at her reac
She noticed that Ryan sighed in relief and a faint smile formed on his face. He nodded lightly as if feeling satisfied with her answer. "I'm sorry if this sounds sudden. Tomorrow, I have a dinner meeting with one of our clients, Mr Chang. Can you accompany me to the meeting?" Ryan suddenly asked. "Can't Tiara go with you, Mr Thompson?" Kathleen was confused by his sudden request. She was not his secretary, so she didn't understand why he asked her to go to the dinner meeting with him. "I don't want to bother her at night. I'm going to be outstation tomorrow morning. Probably until lunch hour and Tiara would be going with me. It might strain her if she needs to come with me to the dinner meeting again that night," Ryan explained. "Ohhh..." Kathleen responded slowly, turning silent because she was thinking about it. "Sorry. It's probably too much to ask. Besides, it's not even part of your job. It's okay if you can't," Ryan said considerately, d
"Her stomach would probably grumble right now..." he murmured more, remembering how loud Kathleen's stomach would grumble when she was hungry. In fact, in the past, he had heard it a few times already. He chuckled as his mind recalled the memories. "Why are you laughing? Where's your cat? I don't see any inside this room. Is it in a cage?" Ariella was completely clueless. Aaron looked at her and chuckled again, feeling funny to see her confused gaze. He didn't answer any of her questions. Instead, he stood up and went to the door. He opened it a little just enough for his head to peek out. Kathleen shifted her gaze to the Chairman's office immediately when she heard the door was opened. Aaron's head came out, staring at her intently. "Yes, Mr Castell?" She stared back at him, expecting to get an order from that man. "The food hasn't arrived yet?" He asked slowly, almost whispering. "No. Not yet, boss," she replied quickly. "Call me Aaron... or baby... or honey... or my dear..."
A little gasp escaped her mouth when that man suddenly leaned his face closer to her until their faces were only about an inch apart. His lips suddenly tried to reach hers but Kathleen unconsciously turned her head to the right, avoiding his kiss.Aaron could see that she gulped in nervousness and he could even hear the sound of her breathing getting heavy. He chuckled, feeling downhearted a bit that she rejected his kiss. But he didn't intend to make her become even more uncomfortable, so he straightened his body again and continued to eat the food."Alright. I won't force you. Let's just eat for now. I'm giving you a chance until next week. If you still aren't wearing our ring..." he stopped for a moment and shifted his gaze to the door on the right corner of the room. Kathleen followed his gaze, wondering what he was about to say."That door leads to a bedroom behind this office. I use that room to rest or in case I need to stay at the company. If you still a
"Maybe it would be best if I just leave..." Kathleen said slowly to Aaron, almost whispering.Seeing her expectant eyes, Aaron couldn't say no to her. So, he just nodded a little to allow her to leave with his heart feeling a bit frustrated. She formed a faint smile on her face after accepting his approval and she quickly cleaned up the leftover on the table, bringing them together with her as she made her way to the door. She bowed down a little at Ryan before she left and Ryan responded with a nod. Right after the office door was closed again, Ryan approached Aaron and stopped about two meters in front of that guy."What's your deal with Kathleen just now?" Ryan questioned him brazenly."Wait... Did you come here because you were angry about your sister or Kathleen?" Aaron was confused. He thought Ryan was getting angry about Ariella, but that guy suddenly mentioned Kathleen."Both! I'm angry because it was supposed to be Ariella who had lunch with you
Aaron was having a business meeting with a new client at The Capital, an exclusive private business club that could only be entered by having a membership. Being a Castell, it was undeniable that he was a member of the club and many of his clients signed collaboration or partnership contracts with him there.Tonight, Aaron was entertaining Mr Roxell that came from abroad. Mr Roxell was looking for some opportunities to localize the brand of his product in Country H and Aaron didn't want to miss that chance to be the first company to market the products in the country.Aaron was about to take out the documents related to the partnership contract when his eyes suddenly glanced a bit at the screen of his phone inside his briefcase. A text message notification appeared on the screen and he took the phone immediately. His lips were curling up when he saw the text was from Kathleen, but after he read the message, the smile on his face slowly vanished."Is there someth
"I just realized that he texted me just now and said that he couldn't make it tonight..." Ryan sighed while looking at his phone. His eyeballs rolled up a bit to peek at Kathleen's reaction. She looked calm while staring at all the food on the table.'We shouldn't have ordered first...' Kathleen murmured internally, regretting that she agreed with Ryan's idea before. She wasted her free time coming there for no reason. She began to curse the client internally, thinking of how rude of him for not telling them earlier that he couldn't come to the dinner meeting."So, what should we do now, Mr Thompson? Should we just leave?" Kathleen was clueless about what to do. It seemed like a waste for them to just leave when they didn't even touch the food yet."What do you mean? Of course, we need to eat first. The food is already here. Let's just have our dinner," Ryan chuckled and beckoned her to eat.With a heavy heart, Kathleen had no choice but to concur with hi
"Hi, how are you doing?" Aaron approached the table and spoke directly to Abigail's date. He stretched out his hand to give that man a handshake. The man stood up and reached out to Aaron's hand immediately, having a hunch that Aaron was a big shot by the way he dressed. "I'm great," the man answered modestly and smiled faintly at Aaron. "What's your name?" Aaron asked more. "Axel Livon. And you are..." "I'm Aaron. Aaron Castell." Axel was stunned when he heard that the man in front of him right now was a Castell. Everyone inside that country knew really well how powerful and influential the Castell family was. "Oh, Mr Castell. It was such an honour to meet you," Axel said solemnly. "Oh, just cut the formality. You can call me Aaron. I'm sure we both are almost the same age," Aaron talked to him casually and Axel just nodded in agreement. "Stop it. What are you trying to do to my date?" Abigail reached the table
"Where's your car?" Aaron asked when they were out of the restaurant."I didn't drive here," Kathleen replied."Then, how did you get here? Ryan picked you up?" He sounded jealous."No. I took the subway."Her answer made him feel at ease for no reason. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked by her side, leading her to his car that was parked nearby. However, Kathleen suddenly brushed off his hand and took a step backwards, distancing herself from him. She faced him bravely with annoyance flashing across her face."Why are you doing this?" She asked."Doing what?" Aaron was confused. Both of them looked like a quarrelling couple right now."This. Why did you come here?""Oh, so I'm supposed to just stay quiet and let Ryan dupe you into having a dinner date with him tonight? Is that so?" He was vexed."That's not what I meant.""Then what did you mean?""Why did you come here? You could have just
"You must be the less popular Castell, you didn't seem to be able to find anyone to mingle with at this party," Liam approached Adrian Castell from behind. The man turned around instantly at his words and scoffed when he realized it was Liam."So did you. The only Campbell who got invited," Adrian jested back."I talked with Aaron a bit just now," Liam went to stand beside him and offered to clink their drink glasses together, as a sign of affinity. Adrian just went along with it and then they sipped on their drinks while staring at the exact same spot, Sandra and her friends."She probably going to be my sister-in-law in the future. So I ought to come to her birthday party and make peace with her," Adrian remarked."Are you sure? Has Aaron introduced her to your family?""Not yet. Actually, he didn't really seem to give much thought to dating this woman... I mean, he had his entire focus on the company development, I don't think he had the time to date around.""So, why do you think
When Aaron left Sandra alone heartlessly, Seth Martin approached her. He took out a small velvet box from his suit and gave it to her. It looked like a ring box because it was small. Sandra thought it was a ring so she didn't dare to accept it."Just open it first," Seth said solemnly. He didn't put her birthday present on the gift table along with the other presents she got from her friends before. That was because he wanted to give it to her by himself.She took it carefully and glanced at Aaron that now stood so far away. The guy didn't seem to care about what she was doing. Sandra sighed heavily and opened the small box from Seth. There was a pair of pink crystal earrings inside."I thought it might match your personality. You always wore pink ballerina dress when you're teaching your students at the academy," Seth remarked."Thank you..." She replied slowly, showing almost no reaction after seeing the earrings. Her heart was still a bit disappointed that Aaron hadn't thought abou
Instantly, the word 'marriage' came up in Liam's mind. 'Did he mean having a truce through marriage?' He wondered. Aaron turned around and was about to leave him alone."Regardless, you won't be able to get back with Kathy. She didn't use our family name. So, she would be out of the picture for the truce arrangement," Liam said to die our Aaron's expectation of having a chance to be with Kathleen again."Really? Then, there's still Nora. Let's see what Kathy would think seeing her ex-husband marrying her half-sister. Let's just be one big happy family," Aaron emphasized his last sentence purposely, to piss off Liam."So, you're going to just agree to marry someone who steal from you before and ruined your company despite having a girlfriend right now? Look at Sandra right there. She's all happy thinking you love her wholeheartedly. But here you are plotting revenge on my family through a marriage arrangement. You're really a heartless guy, Aaron. Kathy would be so disappointed with yo
In the same week, Liam suddenly got an invitation to go to a birthday party at a local clubhouse owned by Castell Corporation, The Heritage. He felt odd about it because he didn't know who the person celebrating the birthday was. It was actually Sandra Wilson.A few months after Kathleen left, Aaron got back together with Sandra. He did it out of frustration, trying to find a way out of his feelings for Kathleen. The relationship went well but he never go intimate with Sandra. He still kept his boundary with her despite people starting to notice their relationship. In fact, he never made any special announcement or declaration saying that Sandra was his new partner. They were just together casually.On a Tuesday night, he held a surprise birthday party for Sandra. It was her thirtieth birthday party and Aaron invited all her friends and his friends too. Even Liam was included in the invitation. Certainly, Aaron deliberately did that to show Liam how well he moved on from his past marr
Rodney just shook his head as a response and all the policemen left his private room, giving him some privacy to rest. He was about to lie down on the bed again but his phone rang. He took it out from his suit that was placed on the bedside table, thinking that it might be a call from his family. But when he checked the caller ID, it was Nora Campbell."Fuck you! I'm not going to fucking answer that," he cursed alone while just throwing the phone back on his suit. He didn't dare to answer the call because it might be a test from Liam. Who knows what kind of trouble he might get into again if he answers the call from Nora? He had promised Liam last night that he won't bother Nora nor Kathleen again so from this moment forward, he had obstinately decided to never be in contact with any of the women at least for a few months.***"Are you sure about this?" Liam was on the phone with Kathleen. It had been two months since she left the country."Yeah... I think it would be better this way.
He saw Liam staring at him with some kind of menacing expression. Rodney got an instant reaction of trying to escape the room. He stood up and went after the door, but Liam was faster to block the exit."Not so fast..." Liam said with a sinister laugh."You just arrived..." he added and pushed Rodney's chest, making the man sit down again."I... I... I think I can't be too long here. I'm sure my parents won't let me stay out too late," Rodney stuttered in his words, trying to find some excuse to escape."Oh... come on Rodney. We're of the same age. I'm sure you could find some better excuse than that," Liam replied snickeringly."Why do you want to meet up with me anyway? We aren't that close. If this is about Kathy, I swear I never bother her anymore after she broke the engagement. I really never bother or pester her anymore. I swear," Rodney begged to be spare as Liam leaned his body closer to him and his collar was grabbed."You should have walked away silently after Kathy found y
"What did you say? What's his name again?" The man seemed in a state of disbelief. He wished that he just heard it wrongly."Aaron Castell," but Luffy repeated the same name.Liam was speechless. He glanced at his stepmother and the woman could see from his expression that something was wrong."Why?" She asked in anxiousness."Aaron came," Liam murmured to her in an almost inaudible voice."Sir?" Luffy was still in the line, waiting for the next order from Liam."Don't let him in. I'm coming there," Liam said and put down the phone.Victoria wanted to follow him out of the house but he told her to just stay inside. She was not in a stable condition right now and he feared she might lash out at Aaron for hurting Kathleen before. He didn't want the situation to get worse as their family were already enemies with the Castell.Aaron stood beside his car that stopped right in front of the main gate of Campbell's manor. He was waiting for the gate to be opened but the guard said he was not
"It's Aaron."The answer Liam gave made her sigh heavily. She felt like she wanted to berate Kathleen for making such a major decision without discussing it with her. Aaron Castell was the only legitimate heir of Castell Corporation. Even though that young man was not yet in charge of the company right now, everyone knew he would be the one who would replace Edward Castell to take control of Castell Corporation later. In short, Aaron was not someone that anyone would want to mess with. Now her daughter had been associated closely with that man, even to the extent of having married together. If Kenneth knew about this, Victoria was sure her husband would surely accuse Kathleen of trying to betray Campbell Corporation."This is bad. Don't tell your dad about this. I don't want the other Campbell to pick on Kathleen again. Are you sure they had really divorced? Why did they divorce? Wait... during the microchip launching event... we did introduce Kathy to Aaron. Did he not know that she
Later that evening when it was time to clock out from work, Aaron received a call from Detective Leon. He didn't hope to get much news about Kathleen that soon because he just hired the investigator this morning."Mr Castell, I'd check and saw your wife's car driving around the city about three days ago in the morning. And then later that day she parked in front of a hotel, I'm guessing she stayed there for a day. The next day, her car was seen driving into the Campbell's manor. And it never gets out from there until today. I think she's probably there inside that residential," Detective Leon explained through the phone.Aaron was silent to hear that information. But a smirk slowly appeared on his face. 'So, you're not that innocent after all. In the end, you returned to your vile family again,' he muttered internally, slightly having his mind assuming the bad about Kathleen again. He felt a bit disappointed that she left him before, thinking that maybe he was wrong. But after the det