Seth scoffed at his words and shook his head a little. He and Ryan slowly sat back on the sofa near the entrance door. Ryan beckoned Kathleen to sit with them but Aaron held her hand, stopping her from going there. "We better say hello to Sandra first," Aaron said and Kathleen nodded in understanding. He looked around again and saw Sandra near the food table. So he went there while having Kathleen walk side by side with him. "It's merrier than what I had expected," Aaron commented and he could see Sandra had her lips curling up while turning her head to face him. Yet, when she saw Kathleen, her face fell instantly. "Aaron... you... brought your... secretary,' Sandra replied hesitantly. She stared at Kathleen for a few seconds showing a hint of discomfort in her gaze before she looked down. "Yes. I'd been meaning to introduce her properly during the barbecue the other day. But I just thought I don't want to ruin the mood for you. But you met her before already. I think it's time tha
"Probably because all the teachers were wearing light pink dresses today. You kind of give the vibe as if you're one of the ballet teachers here. Is that purely a coincidence or do you deliberately dress like that to attract attention?" Seth approached them in a casual yet indifferent manner. He only had his eyes focused on Kathleen, looking at her like she was some kind of prey."How ridiculous? Do you really think Kathy had that much time to go here and look what everyone was wearing before we came?" Aaron was slightly irritated by the indirect accusation made by Seth."And why not? She had much time seducing her boss," Seth replied and gave a smirk to the woman.Kathleen just stared at Seth meticulously. She wondered if this man knew about her true identity as a Campbell. He seemed like he was having some kind of interest in her since she entered the ballet academy earlier. The man met her eyes and didn't even feel intimidated to look away. In fact, it was quite obvious that his ga
"How about we go meet your parents... right now?" He said while looking at her seriously."Now?" She was stunned that she blinked a few times. Her head slowly looked forward again, having her mind thinking what she should say to him."I..." she lost her word.Aaron scoffed and chuckled in disbelief. He didn't want to admit it, but Seth was right. Apart from her name and her educational background, he knew nothing about her. He didn't know the name of her parents, he didn't know how many siblings she had, and he didn't even know where her family lived."Why are you being so secretive with me? I don't even know anything about your family. I did know about you but I knew nothing about where you came from or who was your family. And you don't even want me to meet them. In fact, you also refused to meet my mother. Why?" He demanded her explanation while showing a vexed expression."Aaron... I...""Did you even take our relationship seriously?" He wondered."Did you even love me for real?"
She laughed awkwardly to brush him off and pushed his chest a bit. Aaron smirked at her. He could see her face was turning red and she avoided looking at him."You don't have to be shy. We had done it so many times already," he said while getting ready to get off from the car."Where are you going?" She asked in a panic, holding his thigh to stop him from getting off. The man chuckled while shaking his head. He turned to her and tilted his head a bit, signalling her to get off with him."I'm getting us the royal suite again. Come out with me. Let's stay here for the weekend," he said bluntly and went to open the car door beside her. He got off without hearing her reply."Are you serious?" Her eyes widened as she stared at the man who was now walking around the car heading towards the opened door on her side."Come on," he grabbed her wrist brazenly and pulled her out of her seat. Aaron closed the car door and then threw his car key to the hotel valet."Aaron, I didn't bring any clothe
Instantly, Kathleen remembered again the argument between Aaron and Seth that happened at the ballet academy before. Ryan was trying to break the two before the fighting got intense. 'Am I really not a nice lady? Aaron got on bad terms with everybody because he was with me. All his close friends disliked him now because of me,' she murmured inwardly, wondering if she was the cause of all the arguments that arose between Aaron and his friends."There was a bit of misunderstanding... But it was not really that bad," Kathleen replied softly."I knew it!" Tiara exclaimed in exasperation. She sighed heavily and it could be heard clearly by Kathleen."I'm really sorry, Ti. I'll buy your favourite coffee on Monday, okay?" Kathleen tried to coax her."And lunch too," Tiara added her demands. Yet before Kathleen could reply, Aaron suddenly came out of the bathroom with a small towel around his neck. He wiped his face slightly before he caught her on the phone."Who are you talking to?" He ask
"Are you sure it would go smoothly like how you planned in mind?" Kathleen asked him in return with a hint of hope in her eyes."Of course, honey. So... are you in with my plan?" He stroked her cheek lovingly while looking deep into her eyes.Kathleen nodded slowly with a faint smile on her face. She really wished what Aaron said could be a reality, but she was scared to hold her hope high for it. It was not even certain and she haven't told him about her true identity yet. She was not even sure if he would still want her after knowing the truth. That would be the deciding factor for her."Great! Then we need to plan this properly. I'm going to buy your engagement ring. We'll get engaged two weeks before the launching day. Then a week after, I'm going to tell my mom to file for a divorce from my dad. After that, we could proceed with the wedding arrangement. We'll have it privately in a church, with only you, me, my mother and my private lawyer. You need to wear a wedding dress too an
The next day, Kathleen went to work as usual. On the journey to the company, she stopped by a coffee shop to buy Tiara's favourite coffee and some pastries for her breakfast. Thirty minutes later, she arrived and headed to the top floor immediately. Kathleen tiptoed out of the VIP elevator and peeked at Tiara's desk. The woman noticed her arrival and instantly shot her an icy glare while pouting her lips sullenly. "One Caramel Macchiato for the most beuatiful princess Tiara..." Kathleen said flatteringly while putting the coffee cup on the desk. "That's not enough," Tiara replied coldly, having her eyes only on her laptop, avoiding looking at Kathleen who was now standing beside her desk. Kathleen smiled and squatted down slowly. She was holding a brown paper bag in her hands that was filled with different kinds of pastries. Tiara inhaled naturally and the delicious smell of the pastries instantly hit her nose, making her gulp some saliva. "Princess Tiara doesn't want to forgive m
"Now?" Kathleen responded while meeting his gaze. He just nodded and so she followed him into his office room. Tiara gave her the look as if asking what was going on, but Kathleen just shrugged her shoulders."Aaron told me about his plan to move abroad after launching the microchip project. Are you aware of that?" Ryan asked directly right after the door was closed.Kathleen stared at him with uncertainty, wondering if she should answer his question. Her brows knitted slightly, clearly showing that she was not comfortable with the topic of the conversation."He had told you, hasn't he?" Ryan spoke more. He too just observed Kathleen's expression to try reading what was on her mind. Still no response from her."You knew that he's going to bring you along with him, right?"She looked down instantly avoiding his gaze, and it was a clear sign that what he guessed was true."Are you sure about that, Kathy? Did you really agree to leave with him? He said the other day that the two of you a
"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