That night, Edward made a phone call to his son, Aaron. Strangely that man answered his call straight away as if he was expecting it. Usually, Aaron wouldn't even pick up his call. Even if he was to pick it up, he would wait until it was like the fifth time Edward call before he did so."Hmm..." Aaron just hummed as a greeting, having lost the sense of respect or closeness with his father."Your mother came to see me this morning. We discussed a few things," Edward said awkwardly, didn't know how to start the conversation."Hmm... okay," Aaron replied simply, well aware of it because his mother informed him this morning too. Lily reminded him to tell her if his father didn't call him tonight. Looked like the old man listened to his wife and that made Aaron feel a bit amused. That meant his mother still had her strong charm of influencing his father's mind."Come to the company whenever you're ready. The CEO position is all yours. And... don't worry about the debt, I had informed Noah
"Sorry to bother you," Adrian added, sensing Aaron's hostility. He scratched his head a bit looking shy for some reason.He was four years younger than Aaron. They grew up almost together but Aaron was never friendly to him. Back then, Adrian couldn't understand why Aaron hated him. But as he grew older, he gradually saw the reason and he began to accept it. He tried to be understanding and never took it to heart whenever Aaron shunned him away, refusing to make any connection or interaction with him. The day their father requested Lily Castell to allow him to work in Castell Corporation, Aaron left the company.Adrian never hoped much of getting a chance to work there. In fact, he thought he didn't deserve it. But then a few years later, Lily suddenly gave the green light for him to join the company. Originally, back then he was supposed to be the Managing Director. But since Aaron left, their father gave him the CEO position.Adrian always knew that it was not really his right to ta
"Are you really going to be like this again, Liam? Why did you always question me whenever I did something good for the company? The other day, you questioned me after I got ten project collaborations for Campbell. And now, you want to question me again about my microchip project?" She retorted calmly."It's not your project, isn't it? You stole it from someone," Liam accused her directly."Excuse me?" She chuckled in disbelief, looking at him with her eyes flaring with annoyance."Of course, it's my project! Do you think it's easy for me to find a group of engineers working on some potentially profitable microchip project? It wasn't easy and I worked hard to find it for our company so we didn't have to beg Aeroxx for their microchip like you did before. Are you a dog? Begging for their food as if Campbell aren't capable enough to have our very own microchip project?" She insulted his past action critically and that made Liam slightly offended.He scoffed at her and shook his head in
His eyes became reddened and he tried hard to hinder his tears from falling. His breath was getting heavy as he tried to mention his apology to her."I'm... sorry, Kathy. I'm so... sorry that you... had to go through that," he looked down only towards the table, feeling truly ashamed to even meet her gaze. He felt so bad for her. He felt horrible inside knowing Nora did all those things to her. He was there right beside Nora all this time. They lived in the same house, they went to work at the same company, so how could he not notice any of it? How could he not know anything about the scheme?"Please... I know I might sound shameless right now... But could you let it slide this time...?" Liam begged.He had a sudden thought about their father. That old man won't be able to accept this situation. If what Nora did get exposed, not just their father but the whole Campbell Corporation could fall to the ground. This was a high-profile crime and Nora was not messing with just anybody. It wa
The next morning, Liam Campbell came to the office and saw a list of invitations on his desk. It was for the microchip launching event that would be held by the end of the week at Emerald Hotel. He scanned all the companies that were invited there and didn't see Castell Corporation or Aeroxx Corporation. His brows knitted, wondering why Castell was not invited. Amidst his thought, Nora suddenly entered his office without knocking."I won't invite Castell. They're only going to ruin the mood with their moody attitudes. That family don't like getting beaten," she said with no apparent reason as if she could read Liam's mind."How about Aeroxx Corporation?" Liam asked, seeming uninterested in the matter, but still asking just in case Kathleen was asked to attend the event later by their father."Aeroxx?" Nora burst out laughing."Yeah, Aeroxx. What about them?" Liam kept his serious gaze."Aeroxx had closed down, in case you forgot. There is no more company named Aeroxx in our country,"
On the night of the launching event day, Aaron told Kathleen that he had an unexpected meeting at Castell Corporation. While Kathleen said she had promised to hang out with Tiara at the mall. Aaron left the house first, wearing his normal suit to work. Kathleen left half an hour after, wearing a navy blue evening dress. She tried to dress simple so she wouldn't attract any attention during the launching event later. The last thing she wanted was for her picture to be taken by some photographers while she was not aware and got posted online. If that happened, her true identity would be exposed and Aaron would know instantly. She also brought some spare clothes with her, casual ones for her to change after the event ended. That would be her clothes when she came home so Aaron won't suspect anything.Aaron was on his way to Emerald Hotel for the microchip launching event. He arrived there early, but he waited inside the car, still thinking whether he should go in or not. Somehow, after A
Kathleen looked at Nora without saying a word. She was truly baffled to see how much Nora could pull up an act right now as if she never hurt her before. To be able to remain reserved and behaved like she was sinless, Nora was really such a terrifying person.Kathleen's mind slowly rolled back to the past when they were just young teenage girls. When Nora entered college to take a fashion design course, Kathleen had always looked up to her, having admired her sister and hoping that someday she could take the same course too. But her father had a different plan for her and she was forced to study business. Strangely, learning business was actually where her talent was. But the point was, back then Nora wasn't like this. She was not someone who would scheme on people. She loved helping her friends, especially those who studied fashion design together with her. 'What happened to you?' Kathleen wondered what was the reason that triggered Nora to change her attitude drastically. She was re
Now that he looked at her face again, she really resembled Kathleen a lot. 'What's going on?' Aaron's heart started to beat fast."Yes, Jones. I'm not using Campbell as my surname to avoid conflict with Kenneth's relatives. We had a daughter together. You should really meet her. Kathy rarely socializes with people. She really needs to be more outgoing like Nora. Right, honey?" Victoria said."Yes. You should meet our daughter," Kenneth agreed and the couple turned around to beckon their daughter to come forward and meet Aaron.Kathleen gazed up when her father called her and she instantly looked his way only to notice that Aaron was right there, standing in front of her parents. His expression looked calm, yet his eyes showed it all. The ultimate surprise, the shocking truth. It was finally here, happening to both of them in such an unexpected situation."Kathy, what are you doing just standing there? Come here," Victoria pulled her daughter's hand and now Kathleen stood in between th