Mike was silent for a moment before he asked, "What exactly did you see?""You knew," Nathan muttered, walking slowly towards the car."Knew what?" Mike asked before adding, "Is this about Ella's contract?"Nathan turned to him slowly, his brows raised as he replied, "I believe you already know who I'm talking about.""Uhh, I didn't want you to get pissed; you have a lot going on with you already," Mike replied."Well, I won't be pissed if that was all I saw," Nathan replied."What else did you see?" Mike asked"Something you probably didn't want me to see," Nathan muttered."And what would that be?" Mike asked with his hands in his pocket as he walked slowly to match Nathan's pace.Nathan didn't reply, too embarrassed by what he was feeling to even put it to words."Let's go; I'll drop you off at home," Nathan replied instead."Okay," Mike muttered with a shrug, deciding to leave the issue."We didn't get to talk about Ella's contract," Nathan stated as they got into the car."There'
"Dad!" Thomas exclaimed, running down the stairs with a broad grin on his face."Hey, champ, be careful or you'll fall," Nathan called out with a smile.As he got to the last step, Nathan scooped him up into a big hug as he twirled around with him."How is my champ doing this morning?" Nathan asked."I'm fine, Daddy," Thomas replied."I can see that," Nathan replied as he swt him on his feet.At that moment they heard someone coming down the stairs and looked up to see it was Nora."Dad, can I go to school with you?" Thomas asked, holding onto his hand."Your mom is taking you already," Nathan replied.As Nora got closer to them, she said softly, "Nathan."Nathan looked at her, knowing fully well he couldn't stay angry at her in front of Thomas.He sighed deeply and replied "Okay."Nora grinned, walking into his arms and hugging him."Thank you," Nora replied."I'll see you guys around," Nathan said as he stepped away from Nora and turned to kiss Thomas on the head."Mom, let me go wi
"Did you mention we were coming to the Sage head office?" Ava asked as they worked into the building.Bella's brows squeezed in confusion as she thought about it for a minute before she shook her head."I am not sure, but I think I did," Bella replied with a shrug."Good morning and welcome to the Sage group." A receptionist stood up to attend to them."Morning, I am Isabella Brown, and I am here for a meeting with Elliot Sage," Bella introduced.After a few minutes of clicking, the receptionist looked up with a smile and said, "You can go right in, Ms. Isabella. Mr. Sage's office is on the last floor.""Thank you. You're most kind," Bella replied, flashing a sweet smile in the receptionist's direction."Well, I don't think you mentioned," Ava muttered as they walked into the elevator at the end of the hall."Elliot really liked your idea at the last meeting, and he personally insisted that you come for the meeting with me," Bella responded."Oh, I see," Ava muttered under her breath.
"I must say I'm impressed." The voice said it over the phone.Nathan's eyes widened as he finally placed the voice. His head bobbling up and down in a nod to acknowledge the statement."Good day, Mr. Lee," Nathan said, a smile spreading across his lips."I didn't really believe you had what it took to handle such a sensitive project, but your grandfather insisted. Well, I must say, after reading the report before me, the Crawford group is in safe hands," Mr. Lee stated."Thank you, Mr. Lee; that is very kind of you. Does this mean you agree with all the stipulated conditions in the report?" Nathan asked.Around him, everyone went by their work, trying not to get the attention of Nathan. Beside him, Mike hung back, giving him space and privacy."Well, to a large extent, I would send back my response, and then we can finalize," Mr. Lee responded."Okay, I will be waiting for that," Nathan responded.As the call ended, a big smile played on Nathan's lips, satisfied with himself."Looks l
"Daphne?" Elliot called, turning his head to her sharply.Nathan walked through the door, a frown appearing on his face at the tension in the room."Was that directed at me?" Ava asked, looking from Bella to Daphne."Who else would I be talking to? How did you end up in this meeting anyway?" Daphne asked."What is going on here?" Nathan asked.Everyone looked up instantly, surprised to see Nathan, as they had all been distracted by Daphne's words to notice his entrance."Hey, Nathan, you came; I didn't think you would." Elliot said, standing up."You made it obvious you wanted me to," Nathan replied as he walked around the table to sit beside Daphne."You might as well just leave," Daphne said again, not ready to let the matter go."I specifically asked her to be here," Elliot interjected.Daphne turned sharp, surprised eyes in Elliot's direction as she asked, "Why would you do that?""She seems to have a mind for it, and moreover, she works with Bella, so it shouldn't be a problem,"
At the imperial college, preparations were underway for the competition as various classes were undergoing the final preparation.In Jordan's class, as Pitts walked in, Maxwell asked, "Mr. Pitts, how many of us?""How many?" Pitts asked, confused"For the competition," another girl shouted from the back of the class."Oh, I see," Pitts replied with a grin."Yes," Maxwell muttered.There was already a pre-selected list of some students, one in which the decision was currently being made."We will know that by tomorrow," Pitts assured them."Awwww," the students grumbled, discouraged that Pitts didn't want to tell them."Okay, okay, let's get back to work. Where are we?" Pitts asked the class."Simple equation," Thomas shouted from his seat in the middle of the class.Pitts nodded with a grin as he said, "Impressive Thomas."While the class went on upstairs, a meeting was taking place in the left wing of the school building."It's nice to see you all here today," Mrs. Chucks said, smili
"For someone who thinks there's something left out, you actually look clueless," Nora said as she saw Mrs. Hillary on her feet."You have to hear what I have to say first before you can decide that," Mrs. Hillary replied.Everyone at the table wondered what it was she had to say."Very well then, you have the floor," Nora replied, interested to hear the nonsense she was going to spew from her mouth."I believe that the letters that would be sent would invite the parents to grace the occasion. I would like to say that we can have the parents of the competing children at this year's competition too." Mrs. Hillary said.Nora was silent for a minute as she tried to make sense out of what she had just heard."We don't do that for a reason. We can't have every parent fly in from all over just to witness the competition," Mrs. Anderson responded."Yes, I don't think we should," Mrs. Orpha added.Nora smiled, thinking about how sweet it would be to show everyone how low Ava had fallen. What b
Noah remained silent as he stared at Nathan for a few seconds. He didn't think he needed to give him an answer."Well, that's between Ava and me," Noah replied.The response made Nathan more pissed, but before he could give a response, Ava stepped in and stopped them."Can we focus on the slides, Daphne? Sorry if we interrupted?" Ava said."Sure, it's, okay, thank you, Ava," Elliot said, standing up as Mick continued the presentation.After about thirty minutes, they had gone through all the slides and had narrowed all the designs to a final five."Now, down to the final selection," Bella muttered, a victory smile on her face."Yeah," Nathan muttered, checking his watch as he stood up."Wait, you're going already?" Elliot asked in surprise."Yes, I've got a meeting to attend," Nathan replied."Okay, thank you so much for coming," Elliot replied."No problem, bye everyone," Nathan stated as he walked out the door."Bye." Everyone echoed in response except for Ava.Nathan rode down in 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'