"Well, it's not like he said anything; he just..." Nora replied trailing off."If he didn't say anything, how then did he threaten you?" Nathan asked, confused, as he turned to look at her."We were just talking about Thomas, and he mentioned something that..." Nora explained."Why were you talking about Thomas?" Nathan asked, his brow arched in question."I was, hmmm, telling him to..." Nora tried to explain, unsure how she was to tell him.Nathan sat silently staring at her, waiting for her to explain herself."You know what? Let's forget about it; Tyler was probably just being his typical self," Nora stated."Are you sure?" Nathan asked."Yes, I am; moreover, it's not like he and Clara would do anything if Timothy eventually allows Thomas name to be input as your successor," Nora mentioned in joy.Nathan smiled and lay beside her, drawing her into his arms and sighing deeply."Are you good?" Nora asked.Nathan closed his eyes, breathing in her very essence, but instead of seeing No
"What more is there to know?" Nathan asked Mike"I checked, and it seems there was a major accident around her parents house that night, but I'm not sure if she was involved." Mike explained.."So you're saying because there is no record of her, it means she probably was in the accident?" Nathan askedMike nodded his head and replied, "Well, probably.""What are the chances of that happening, Mike? It sounds like a script out of a movie," Nathan replied."I just feel like we should…" Mike started to say."While you keep looking into that, there is something important I want you to do for me," Nathan stated, cutting Mike off."Okay, what is that?" Mike asked."I need you to look through the file of Tyler's contract with the group on being the sole proprietorship for food-related ventures," Nathan stated."Okay, I'm not sure if getting that file would be easy; it's probably with the legal team and your father alone," Mike replied."You're just going to have to find a way; whatever I do
“Mummy!” Jenna shouted, running into Ava's room and jumping onto the bed in excitement.“Oh, God,” Ava groaned, feeling the solid weight of Jenna bounce on top of her.“Why are you up so early?” Ava asked, rolling onto her back to glance at the ceiling with a sigh.“It’s way past breakfast, Mom,” Jenna replied, propping her chin on her hands and staring at Ava.“Really?” Ava mumbled, turning her head to the clock on her nightstand, adding, “Oh, no—school! You're going to be late!”“No, Mom, there’s no school, remember?” Jenna replied, with a grin.Ava blinked, her mind scrambling until it hit her—summer classes were over.“Oh, right,” Ava muttered, brushing back her hair, as she let out a deep sigh.“Mom, I fell asleep before you came home last night,” Jenna murmured, a slight pout forming on her lips.“Oh, sweetheart, I got back really late; I’m so sorry.” Ava brushed a tender hand across Jenna’s cheek, adding, “Where’s Jordan?”“He’s downstairs with Aunt Bella,” Jenna replied.“What
Nora took a deep breath, her expression tight as she turned to Nathan."What?" Natha asked."I need you to tell your grandfather that we would not be able to hold the competition on Saturday due to a minor fire outbreak.""No, I'm not doing that; you should be the one to tell him yourself," Nathan replied, his eyes narrowed, with a shake of his head."You know my relationship with him is shaky, and just when he starts talking to me, you expect me to go to him with excuses?" Nora asked, crossing her arm defensively on her chest."I know how that sounds, but you should take responsibility; I mean, it's not something you should postpone the competition over," Nathan insisted, sighing deeply in frustration.Nora's eyes flashed with determination as she stood her ground, her voice dropping a notch."Yes, I will, Nathan. I'm not having people see anything but the best on that day. For all we know, your grandfather might just have Thomas acknowledged and admitted into the family book as your
"Uhmm, why would you think I don't want you to see a client?" Tyler asked, trying to cover his nervousness with a shrug."You sent the memo to him, right?" Peter asked."I sure did; it's possible the mail didn't get to him," Tyler replied with a shrug.Nathan knew there was more to what he was saying, but he chose to let it slide and faced his father."Who is the client?" Nathan asked."Get into your car and follow us," Peter replied and got into his car.Tyler's face hardened as he turned to Tyler and said, "You can just go about your daily work; okay, you don't have to come."Nathan's lips spread into a smile as he replied, "Don't worry, I have all the time in the world."With that, Nathan turned and headed to his car again."Where are we going?" Lucas asked Mike."Follow Mr. Crawford," Mike replied, pointing out Peter's car."Do you have any idea who this client is?" Nathan asked."No, but I could find out," Mike repelled."Okay, do that," Nathan muttered.Up ahead, Peter's car mai
Bella had a skeptical look on her face as she asked, "Why are you so concerned about what you told me last night?"Ava smiled, trying to cover up her nervousness as she replied, "It's not like that; I just wanted to know if I said something you'd taunt me with later."Bella shook her head and replied, "Well, except for one thing though.""And that is what?" Ava asked again."Mom, when are we leaving?" Jenna asked.Ava glanced over and rolled her eyes, noticing that Jenna's plate was still half full of food."As soon as you are done with your food, sweetheart," Ava replied."But, mummy, I'm not hungry anymore," Jenna muttered, pushing her food around on her plate."The faster you eat, the sooner we can go; eat your food, Jenna," Ava muttered, pointing at her plate."Okay," Jenna grumbled, pushing her spoon all around the plate."Mom, I'm done," Jordan shouted, dropping his spoon and standing up."Not so fast, Jordan; you need to wait for your sister to finish before we can leave," Ava
"Ava!" Bella called from the living room as they waited for her to come downstairs.Ava gazed at the text that had previously diverted her attention before she had mistakenly ended the call.'The announcement is tomorrow'The words stared out at Ava as she stood rooted, pondering what she was going to do next."We just might come bundle you from the room," Bella called out again.Ava sighed deeply and got changed as she decided to put a call through to Noah later."We were all about to get bored waiting for you," Bella said, rolling her eyes and causing the kids to chuckle."Sorry, we can go now," Ava said with a grin."Yeah!" The kids shouted as they all walked out of the door.Under a few minutes, they were at the cinemas with the kids jumping up and down with excitement."Okay, stay with Aunt Bella, and I'll go get the tickets." Ava instructed before leaving.It was an animation movie, and although Ava would rather do something else, she had promised them so there was no way out of
"Keep your voice down, Bella," Ava cautioned, looking back to make sure the kids were not looking their way."What? You expect me to remain silent after you just dropped such a huge bomb on me?" Bellas asked, looking shocked."Here is your order, ma'am," an attendant said to them."Thank you," Ava replied, with a warm smile as she took two cups of ice cream.“You need to say something,” Bella whispered, picking up the remaining three cups.“I am going to explain as soon as we have the time,” Ava whispered back, turning to head over to the kids.“Well, all we’ve got is time, Ava, so you better start speaking now,” Bella replied in a hard tone.“Yeah! Ice cream!” Jenna shouted in excitement as Ava placed a cup in front of her.“We’ve got about twenty minutes, so let’s dig in,” Ava said as she took a seat beside Bella.Bella’s eyes were shooting lazers at her, wating for her to speak. There was a mixture of shock, curiosity, and anger in her eyes, and Ava understood why she should feel t
Ava took a step towards the door, but Bella held her back, shaking her head at Ava."No," Bella said.There was a bit of silence in the room before they heard Noah speak again."She does not know, nor does she know about the contract," Noah said."Wow, I can't seem to believe that she does not. Well, it's a good thing that she accepted your proposal; all we need to do now is speed up the wedding process." Beth said."Of course, that should be real easy." Noah said."After all the groundwork you have put in, it should be easy. I actually thought Philip was going to spoil things for us; it turned out he was only after his own pocket," Beth said."Yeah, there was no need to worry. As long as it did not affect what I had planned with Ava." Noah replied."It all feels like yesterday, though," Beth muttered."Yeah, it's a good thing my proposal to partner with Elegance and Style all those years ago was not successful. Now I get to own a part of it all, which is much better. My dream to vent
Nathan was frozen, unable to move an inch as he stared at Noah on his knees before locking his gaze with Ava."Say yes," people chorused around them.Ava took a deep breath and then looked at Noah and said, "Yes."A round of applause and gleeful cheer rose from the group around them as Noah slipped the ring on Ava's finger."Thank you," Noah said as he stood up and hugged her."Congratulations," everyone said as they walked past them."Let's find our table," Ava said.They both walked into the main hall, leaving a frozen Nathan still standing there.As soon as Bella saw Ava, she jumped up and walked over to her and hugged her tightly."Didn't seem like you both were that serious yet," Bella whispered, a forced smile plastered on her face."Neither did I," Ava whispered back with a forced smile."I need to check something at the back; my store is showcasing some of our latest collection." Noah explained."Okay," Ava said.Noah kissed the back of her hand and excused himself. Ava watche
The room went silent as they all looked up to see who the man was pointing at."Oh my god!" Ava exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared at her.She could not believe her eyes. How could she do something so wicked, so heartless?"Mom?" Tyler called, looking confused, "Did you do it?"Clara had her head to the ground, unable to lift it up to face Timothy."Oh, God," Peter said, falling back against the couch as he held his chest.Nathan's hand clenched into a fist at his side as he looked at Clara through death-stricken eyes."Take him outside; there are a lot more persons that would need to follow him to the police station." Timothy instructed the security guys.Clara went to her knees and begged, "I didn't know what I was doing; I'm sorry.""So you killed my mother? Why? What did she do to you? And then you threatened me to leave town. What did I ever do to you?" Ava asked, choking back tears."No, your mother's accident was a natural cause; I had nothing to do with
Nathan's words fell like a bomb as jaws dropped in shock. Everyone in the room looked from him to Nora, waiting for her to refute his statement."Did he speak with you?" Nora slipped, the words coming out of her lips before she could think."Oh my god," Wyatt exclaimed.Everyone started to speak at the same time, the whole room going into an uproar as they all tried to speak over each other.Ava sat there, her face neutral as she took in what was happening."Quiet!" Tyler shouted, bringing the room to a sudden silence.Nora's eyes darted from Nathan's to Timothy's, who sat awestruck, staring at her."Where is Thomas?" Ava asked."None of your f*cking business!" Nora shouted at her.Nathan turned, noticing Ava for the first time since he walked into the house."Ava?" Nathan called softly."Surely you do not want him to hear all this, right?" Ava snapped, getting visibly angry at Nora's lack of consideration."I will go make sure he isn't anywhere near and get one of the housekeepers to
"Thank you for having me, doctor. So you're saying he can get the transfusion tomorrow?" Nathan asked."Yes, he can. We have taken quite a bit from you, and it's a good thing that it matches, and we can give it to him. However, this might be a temporary fix, but let's get over this hurdle first, and then we can talk about the next step." The doctor explained"Okay, thank you so much. Do I get the results?" Nathan asked."Of course, I believe you would want to have a read-through yourself." The doctor replied and added, "You can pick it up at the lab on your way.""Thank you, doctor. I'll be on my way. Tomorrow, I'll be here with Thomas," Nathan said."We will be expecting you." The doctor replied, standing up to shake his hands before Nathan left.Nathan walked over to the lab and requested his results from the nurse at the station."Good day, Mr. Crawford, give me a minute, please." The nurse said and walked towards a table.She picked up an envelope and discovered there was another
"They have taken the sample; we would get the results tomorrow," Nathan explained."That was fast," Clara muttered."I will stay with him; you guys can go home; it's been a long day already," Nathan said."Okay, call us if you need anything, okay?" Peter said."I will," Nathan responded."I am staying with my son too," Nora insisted.There was no reasoning with her, so Nathan allowed her.The night was long, but by the time it was morning, Thomas was feeling much better."The results are not out yet, but he can be discharged. We should be able to book an appointment for when he would come in for the transfusion in the next two days," the doctor said."Okay, that's good. Thank you, doctor." Nathan responded.By the time they got home, it was almost midday. Everyone was waiting for them in the living room."Hey there, champ, How are you feeling?" Tyler asked."I'm fine, Uncle Tyler," Thomas responded.Timothy walked down the stairs at the moment, smiled at Thomas, and said, "You feel be
By the time they got to the garage, the sun was setting, and Nathan was already exhausted."Now it's good we all came here as Nora suggested. We haven't been seen in public together for a while." Peter said, a satisfied smile on his face."I agree," Wyatt seconded.Thomas held his mother's hand, who had refused to give him a smile or say as much as a word to him since losing the competition."Why do you look so sad, champ? You'll win the next one, okay? Tyler said, ruffling his hair.Nora pulled Thomas away from him and placed him behind her.Nathan picked him up and smiled at him, saying, "Do you want ice cream? Don't worry about the competition, okay? You'll get another chance."Thomas nodded, finally smiling at his father as he replied, "Okay."Nathan touched his forehead and looked over at Nora to ask, "Is Thomas on any medication? Why is he running a temperature?""Nothing is wrong with him. He is probably just pretending since he does not want to get scolded for losing the compe
"How did you find out?" Timothy asked."That has nothing to do with the answer you are supposed to give me," Ava responded as she folded the tissue and walked over to a wastebasket in the corner of the room.Timothy stood up and walked over to the window, a grim expression on his face.Ava stood silently behind him, waiting for him to speak, and at last he did."Your mother saved me from a car accident," Timothy stated.Ava was not so sure what he was talking about. She was vaguely aware of the accident but not her mother's involvement in it."Olivia was at the location of the accident that day. Ruth, Nathan's mother, and I were on our way to the factory that fateful day when it happened." Timothy narrated."The same accident Nathan's mother died in?" Ava asked."Yes, your mother pulled me out of the car, but it was too late for Ruth; she died as the car blew up." Timothy said, his voice cracking up, so he paused for a second."Is this why you built a whole textile factory with my mom
Nathan turned back to face Nora and asked, "What are you talking about?""I... I mean, did he…" Nora replied, trailing off as she took in the confused look on his face."Did who?" Nathan asked again, before adding, "I really don't get a word of what you are saying.""Oh, I mean, did you have a discussion with Tyler because you sound like him blaming me for whatnot?" Nora quickly said to cover up her slip."What in God's name did Tyler do this time around?" Tyler asked, coming up behind Nathan."What don't you do?" Nora asked, not really in the mood to get on his bad side since she still needed his help."This is not the time for this. Where is Grandpa?" Nathan asked the both of them."Where else? He has gone home, something you would know if he had told you, but oops," Tyler muttered, covering his mouth as he added, "You both aren't exactly on good terms right now, right?"Nathan's face hardened, but he forced himself to relax, keeping in mind they were at a public event."Tyler, you'