“Hello everyone, welcome to summer class,” Mrs. Chucks, the head teacher, said, addressing the children.“Psst,” Thomas hissed from where he stood, adding under his breath, “Summer class sucks.”“Shut up!” Another kid warned beside him, glaring at Thomas.Thomas stared the kid down, shooting out his tongue in his direction.“Thank you all for coming. I believe with adequate preparation, this year's competition is going to be a spectacular event, and also, as usual, we have someone from the competing school in LA here with us for summer class this year,” Mrs. Chucks continued with a big smile on her face.“Isn’t that cheating?” One of the senior kids shouted from the crowd.“No, it’s not Evans,” Mrs. Chucks said, squinting her eyes and raising her brow in the direction the boys voice had come from in the hall.All the kids had been summoned to the school hall for an address before lesson commenced.The Imperial College had a reputation to protect, and Mrs. Chucks had to make sure every
Daphne was silent for a few seconds before she said, “Well, it’s personal.”"I thought you said the SPARK designer was coming." Bella said.Daphne's brow rose up, clearly showing how pissed she was, and before she could respond, Elliot stepped in.“Okay then, we best start the meeting then,” Elliot said.“Yes, I’ll get everyone down here and speed up the team,” Mick said and walked away.“We are not supposed to start for another fifteen minutes, right?” Bella asked.“Yes, but we can make do so Daphne can get to her meeting,” Elliot replied.“Would you like to join the meeting?” Elliot asked Whitney“Naah, I’ve seen your face; now I can go rest at my hotel,” Whitney replied.“Okay, I’ll catch you there later,” Elliot replied with a smile."Bella, you too,” Whitney turned back to say, adding, “Nice to meet you, Ava.”“Sure,” Bella replied, waving as Whitney left.“We’ve got a lot to do; are we going to stand here all day?” Daphne askedBella and Ava rolled their eyes and went back to the
Nathan stared at Kim, mentally wishing he would not say anything that would hinder him from being able to get to Tyler after he got the report.“...to announce that the succession plan has been put on hold,” Kim finished.There was a shocked look on Peter’s face, while Clara, who looked utterly confused for a minute, smiled broadly as she realized this gave her more time.“Father? What is this about?” Peter asked.Nathan stood there, his face neutral and unreadable as he sighed deeply. This gave him more time to uncover all of Tyler’s atrocities and get him disqualified by his grandfather.“I’ll see you around Grandpa,” Nathan said.Timothy nodded and replied, “You all can leave now; that is what I wanted to announce, and I involved Kim so you all can believe it since he is a lawyer after all.”“Thank you, grandpa,” Tyler said with a smile, feeling more confident that he had a chance now.“I didn't do it for anyone; okay, everyone out now,” Timothy said again.Nathan walked out of the
Peter Crawford waited for the others to leave, pacing, patiently waiting for Kim to leave them too.“Do you have something you wish to say?” Timothy asked“Yes, I do. Can you please leave us, Mr. Kim?” Peter asked.“Definitely, I’ll be in my office down the hall,” Kim replied, closing his suitcase and walking out of the room.“Let’s hear it,” Timothy said with a careless wave of his hand."Father, you need to reconsider your decision,” Peter said, adding, “You don’t have the strength to continue running everything, father. Why did you change your mind?”“Nothing; I just want to keep things as they are for now,” Timothy responded.“You were supposed to return to work for just a period of time. Putting the succession on hold simply means you want to continue working, or does this have to do with what Tyler did?” Peter asked.“Are you concerned about me or your sons?” Timothy asked with raised brows"Father, don’t say that; you know I’m concerned about you, and we both know since the acc
"What happened?" Amber asked, looking at Jenna."I did not hit her eye," Jenna insisted defensively."Okay, everyone sit down, and you just tell me what happened," Amber said, placing a hand on her waist.The other kids sat down quietly, waiting for Amber to settle Nola and Jenna."I spread my hands sideways and hit her arm," Jenna explained."Okay, so why are you holding your cheeks, Nola?" Amber asked, looking at Nola with raised brows."She hit me on my face!" Nola insisted, almost screaming."She said, Eye, you're holding your cheeks, and I don't even know what to believe," Amber muttered under her breath."I want to speak to my dad," Nola said."Now let's not start calling Daddy; we can just say sorry, okay. I'm sure Jenna is sorry, aren't you Jenna?" Amber askedJenna looked at her hand and then nodded her head as she replied, "I'm sorry.""And you too, Nola; I'm sure you're sorry for pushing Jenna, right?" Amber coaxedNola folded her hand on her small chest and said, "I want t
Ava looked at Elliot, then at Bella, who shook her head at her, trying to dissuade her from speaking.Ava could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on her, but it didn't get to her."Can we get on with this meeting?" Daphne's sharp voice pierced through the silence; her eyes narrowed in disdain.She sat in her chair like a queen, her cold expression daring anyone to challenge her."We don't have all day Ava," Elliot said, his voice calm but encouraging, giving her a small, supportive smile.Before Ava could respond, Bella quickly interjected, "Okay, why don't I step in and—""I said," Ava interrupted, standing up as she added, "What is the unique selling point?" Her eyes locked on Daphne as she continued, "All that is listed is unique, sure, but nothing screams at me or grabs my attention."Daphne's eyebrows shot up, her lips curling into a sneer as she said, "And what exactly do you know about fashion to say all that?" her voice filled with mockery, adding, "We aren't making clothe
The silence at the table was thick with tension as Clara and Wyatt glared at Tyler."What does Avery have to do with anything?" Tyler asked, his voice rising, eyebrows knitted together in frustration.Wyatt leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "The fact that you even know her is the problem.""How could you be so reckless?" Clara snapped, her eyes narrowing, "You got something this important handled by someone inside the organization? Without thinking?""I didn't think—" Tyler began, his tone defensive."Clearly, you didn’t!" Clara cut him off, her voice sharp and laced with anger. "You put us all at risk.""Mom! I’m not a child. I can clean up my own mess. Avery isn’t some loose end. She’s loyal to me!" Tyler shot back."Loyal? There’s no loyalty in this war, Tyler. How long do you think that loyalty will last if someone offers her something better? More money, perhaps?" Clara asked, scoffing.Tyler glared at his mother, replying, "You don’t know her like I do. She wouldn’t b
Elliot and Daphne looked back to see who had called his name. Standing there amid the chaos was Joel, an urgent look on his face as he signaled for Elliot to come over."Joel?" Elliot muttered to himself, his brows furrowed in confusion.Joel was his personal assistant, and the fact that he had come only meant one thing—meetings.Nathan gently pulled Daphne away from the group to the back of the room, approaching Joel."Humm, everyone, let's be calm," Mick's voice broke through the murmurs.The room became silent as they quieted down to hear what Mick had to say."We'll reach a conclusion regarding the SPARK designer soon, but for now, let's all focus on working on the design as earlier stated," Mick continued, finally getting everyone's attention."Okay, Hmmm, I believe this is where I step in," Bella said, standing up at Mick's signal."Yes, thank you," Mick muttered as he handed over the mic to her."Okay, hello everyone, I'm Bella, the creative director for this project. I'm going
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'