At the same time, another cafe on the same street was crowded.It was reserved too. It was rare that everyone gathered—almost everyone was there.Josiah sat next to the window with Kelly. They leaned on each other’s heads together. She was focused on reading the original version of Goethe’s poetry.He watched her giggling with his eyes widened. He was counting her lashes.Nicholas snuck out to smoke again, and Linda caught him. She dragged him back by pulling his ear.Zennie played cards with Seth while the latter chuckled. He took out three years' worth of college entrance exam simulation questions…She was dumbstruck and looked like she was dying. Seth taught her with all seriousness. “It’s been so long since you dropped out. You’ve missed the examination this year, so you must get a good result next year. As such, you must work hard now! Here, let’s do it. I’ll teach you whatever you don’t know!”Zephyr and Cordelia looked at each other. They gestured “good luck” to Zennie at
Trinity smiled and pretended to look cool like she always did, though she did what she usually would not do by wearing a checkered dress.“Hey, we can talk about anything, right?” She patted his shoulder. “It's rare to see you so troubled!”Fredric pursed his lips and lowered his voice a moment later. “Trinity, I’m really only a good friend to you, right?”She was stunned before nodding immediately.“We’re… bros?”Her smile was not exactly natural, but she agreed anyway. “Yes, of course! We’re bros!”“Then, as a bro, I have a favor to ask…”She looked at him and focused, worried she would miss out on a word.“Do tell!”“Are you preparing to shoot your new movie?”“Hmm, yes.”“Can you…” He licked his lips and said in a troubled manner, “Can you give Michelle a chance to be a minor character in your movie?”The smile on Trinity’s face froze instantly.She clenched her fists that were next to her body, her nails deep in her skin. She then let go slowly.She wanted to say no,
Zephyr held Cordelia’s hands to coax her and calmly took her to the street.The ambulance had stopped just two junctions away from them.Zephyr and Cordelia hastened their pace and saw that plenty of people had already formed a crowd around the cafe. The paramedics acted quickly with serious faces.It was to their surprise that Janine was the one hurrying after the stretcher!“Mom!?” Zephyr could not help shouting.Janine’s head snapped up to see the both of them and was shocked.Cordelia was anxious. “Aunt Baker, is it my mom—”Before she finished her sentence, she saw Xyla walking out of the cafe in one piece.Cordelia hurried to her to hold her by the arm and scanned her from head to toe, relieved to see that her mother’s gaze was not blank. This meant that her illness had not relapsed.Despite that, she looked pale and weak, like a sheet that would break with one poke.“Mom, what’s wrong?” Cordelia’s voice was trembling. “D-Don’t… scare me!”“I’m fine.” Xyla forced a smi
“Oh, nothing.” Xyla’s voice was calm. “Just sighing about how time flies. One should really take care of their health when they get older.”“Mom…” Cordelia bit her lips. The question was on the verge of her lips, and she asked in resolution after a long time, “Have you and Uncle Irwin met?”Xyla froze before nodding lightly. “Yes.”“What a coincidence!” Cordelia beamed at her in disbelief. “Do you know that he’s the one I’ve been intending to introduce to you? Uncle Irwin also has a Siamese cat, and I wanted you to meet him with Ginger the last time!”Janine coughed while Xyla remained silent. Zephyr kept Cordelia’s hand tightly in his.Cordelia was baffled for a moment, sharply noticing that these people looked off, but she was unable to tell what was wrong in particular.Janine was meticulous. She knew that Cordelia was smart and would connect the dots when she went back and thought about it. Xyla would not be able to keep it a secret despite her intention. She might as well ki
Clark returned a while later with a laptop in his hands.When Cordelia was done eating, he waved for the servants to take her cutlery away and placed the laptop in front of her.Zephyr thought that it was odd too and went closer for a look. There were rows of entries and tightly packed numbers on the screen.“These are the accounts, not the company’s, but the whole Hamerton Manor’s.” Liam’s tone was nonchalant. “Cordelia, have a closer look. See if there’s anything wrong.”“Grandpa—”Zephyr wanted to say something, but Cordelia privately put a hand over the back of his hand. She gave him a look and shook her head lightly. She knew that Liam was testing her.Since she had found out about the illegal trade on the western suburbs’ land being related to Matthew, Liam had looked at her differently. He frequently asked Zephyr to take her home for meals and sometimes asked her questions in feigned nonchalance.Smart as Cordelia was, her answers had been tactful. She had been tested on
“And…” Cordelia gave it a thought. “The security fee and personal bodyguards fee overlap. They should be removed as well.”“What?” Liam paused.Cordelia explained calmly, “Grandpa Liam, Hamerton Manor already has the most advanced security system and hired the best security staff stationed across the site. There’s no need for personal bodyguards, right? Since they’re personal bodyguards, they should go under personal accounts. It doesn’t make sense for the main household to pay for them!”Zephyr was inwardly gleeful and gave his wife a thumbs up.The issue Cordelia spoke of hit Matthew and Yale right on the head.Among the Hamerton children, aside from Zephyr, who the patriarch regarded the highest, he had male cousins who worked in the main company. His female cousins were doing well as well in their own subsidiaries.Yale was the only one who never made a cent in the family but spent lavishly each month that Clark had to rack his brain to balance his account.As for personal b
Cordelia was stunned. Her cheeks were dusted pink, and the corners of her lips turned up. Ripples spread in her heart, but she kept a nonchalant look, maintaining extremely good poise.Liam admired her calm composure.“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” he said with a chuckle. “You’ll be the lady of the house anyway after you marry Zephyr. The family business will be passed to both of you. Hah… I’ve been busy all my life. I can finally have some peace!”“Grandpa…” Zephyr looked at him in surprise, so happy that he could barely speak.“Why the face?” Liam scanned him.Zephyr smiled. “Haven’t you been rejecting this? I was just thinking of telling you about my proposal to Cordelia these two days—”“You brat!” Before he finished, Liam glared at him. “Who did you say rejected what!?”Zephyr froze.“Clark, have I disagreed with anything?”“Of course not, sir!” Clark took Liam’s side swiftly. “Mr. Zephyr, have you remembered it wrong? Elder Mr. Hamerton has always liked Ms. Cordelia
“Oh.” Zephyr nodded.Liam sighed and was deep in thought. “She’s wonderful, but her birth…”‘Birth?’Zephyr smirked. Although he looked down on Rowan—and the old geezer had probably lost his mind recently, treating him like an enemy whenever he saw him—the man was still Cordelia’s biological father.He could tolerate him. One’s love had to extend to their family too, right?Zephyr composed himself and was planning to tell Liam about Cordelia’s birth, but before the words left his mouth, Liam suddenly looked at him in resolution.“Zephyr, I’ve decided to find Cordelia a family to get her godparents!”“What?” Zephyr was astonished.“The marriage of convenience is passed down for generations among the four major families.” Liam wore a complicated gaze. “This is the rule left by the ancestors. It can’t be broken here at my time.“But I really like Cordelia, so the best choice is to give her godparents.”“Grandpa—”“I’ll find her a family with a significant background. This way,