"Your card?"Sophia grimaced and handed it over.Roger took the card and entered the details into the system. "I can offer you 1,500.""What? Why? That necklace is worth at least 5,000! Or don’t you know how to tell a genuine diamond?""Of course I do, but in its current state, the diamonds look dull due to wear, sweat, and makeup residue," he explained, showing her the flaws he mentioned. "And here, you can see where the metal has been scratched by other pawn shops, so this piece is already damaged and won’t fetch much in resale. Plus, your history shows you’ve never reclaimed any of your pawned items."Sophia gritted her teeth, feeling humiliated as she noticed the other employees snickering at Roger’s words. "Are you trying to get revenge on me?""I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just telling you what the system says.""Liar.""I’m not, but don’t think I don’t want to get back at you for stealing and scamming me out of a lot of money. Now that I think about it...
Meanwhile, at Peterson Group, things were bustling as they began preparing the small summer collection.At that moment, Deborah arrived at the company, helped out of the vehicle by her beloved."My love, are you sure you’ll be okay?" Jayden asked."Yes, I already told him I’ve arrived, so he should be down from his office any minute.""Okay, and sorry, my love, but I won’t be able to join you for lunch today.""It’s fine, don’t worry. Just focus on your work.""Okay, love," Jayden said, giving her a kiss on the lips. "Hey, if they can’t drive you home, call the company and have them assign a driver to pick you up, alright? I don’t want you taking a taxi.""Okay.""Promise me.""I promise, love. I’ll call to ask for a car since you and my dad are busy," she repeated playfully.Jayden laughed and, after giving her one last kiss, returned to his car while waving goodbye as he headed to the construction site since they were close to finishing the hotel.She waved back until the
"That’s a better arrangement. You’ll have support because caring for a baby isn’t easy during the first few years.""Everyone’s told me that," Deborah said with a laugh.Just then, the door opened, and Elliot returned, carrying his sketchbook and a portfolio.Fabian was with him, holding a tray with three glasses of juice and some folders."I think that’s enough for today, Fabian," George said when he saw the folders."This is the last batch for today, sir. In the afternoon, you’ll be free to review all the finalists’ designs from the contest.""Alright," George said, letting out a sigh."Here you go, Deborah," Fabian said, handing her a glass."Thank you.""It’s strange to hear you talk, but it’s a nice change," he remarked before leaving to return to his desk."Look, Debbie," Elliot said, sitting close to her as he opened his sketchbook. "These are the drawings I made based on the idea you told me about in your messages," he said, handing her the notebook and opening the po
As the days went by, it became increasingly difficult for Deborah to stay active, which frustrated her a little. She felt useless because even taking a few steps would leave her tired."You know, son, you’re not making this easy," she complained, pausing her typing for a moment to stretch a little, as she couldn’t stay in one position for too long. "Love, we need to finish this work because, with my flexible schedule, there’s no excuse for not taking a vacation," she said, feeling a little kick in response.She chuckled, realizing she was now arguing with her baby.Deborah made a face as she remembered how that morning, she had argued with Jayden for the first time, thanks to her hormones. She didn’t want to be left alone at home.Part of her understood why he needed to go to work, but another part didn’t because she wanted to spend the whole day with him."Ah... what are we going to do... it’s the first time I’ve argued with your dad... and he left for work upset and sad becaus
"Well, I don’t know... I had a big argument with Deborah this morning and... I don’t know... I don’t know why it happened, but I feel bad because we’ve never fought before.""Well, son, every couple has disagreements in their married life," his father said, taking a sip of his drink. "What’s important is how you resolve that conflict without making the problem bigger.""Hm..." Jayden sighed and took a big gulp of his drink."Can I ask what the argument was about?""It was about work because today she asked me to stay with her... but I had to come in, and when she kept insisting, I decided to call you to say I wouldn’t be coming in. Then suddenly, she got mad and pushed me out of the house, telling me to leave because it was obvious I cared more about work than her.""Ah... so that’s what happened," Eric said with a knowing smile, recalling a similar experience with his own wife. He had a pretty good idea of what was going on. "In that case, son, don’t worry; this isn’t anything se
As the days passed, Jayden began to discover a new side of Deborah, one that he liked, a lot.He finally understood why some of his coworkers had told him that when a woman is pregnant, she can develop multiple personalities.He hadn’t believed it at the time because back then, his partner only got a bit irritable when she didn’t get the sweets or food she wanted. But now he was slowly re-discovering a woman who was eager and passionate, something that surprised and delighted him.So, to avoid a repeat of the previous situation, he decided that this weekend he would devote himself entirely to his beloved."Good morning," he said playfully, kissing Deborah on the lips as he felt her stir a little."Good morning," she replied with a smile."How are my loves this morning?""A little sore and tired.""Well, that’s because someone didn’t want me to stop last night," he teased, noticing how she suddenly blushed."Um... I don’t know what you’re talking about," she said, turning her g
"It was just a scare, and that’s why I’m recommending this brand because it requires a trick to remove," Omar explained, demonstrating how it worked."That’s good because a baby’s instinct is just to pull," Samantha commented."In that case, please install this protector on all the low sockets in the house," Deborah requested."Of course," Omar said, making notes in his planner. "Now, let’s move on to the main area—the living room," he continued, projecting some images on his laptop. "Jayden mentioned that you currently work from home, so although we’re changing the furniture in the living room to these," he said, showing the new layout in the projection, "they’ll be made of comfortable and easy-to-clean materials. In this space on the right, I’ll create an area where James can be close to you but without invading your workspace, complete with built-in storage where you can keep his things if you need to change his diaper.""I like that. This way, I won’t have to leave the room whe
After discussing all the significant changes they wanted for the house, Omar left with Jayden’s parents to see what modifications would be made to the annex to ensure the remodeling didn’t compromise comfort."It looks like Omar is going to be very busy," Deborah commented when she was alone with Jayden."That’s true, and technically, that’s a good thing.""Yes.""Well, since we’re here, come with me. I want to show you something," Jayden said, taking her hand and guiding her through the house until they reached a specific room.When they arrived, she noticed a sign on the door that read: Jayden’s Building Block LabJayden smiled and opened the door, revealing a fantasy-themed room.Deborah had seen it in some photos he had shown her, but seeing it in person was a different experience. She noticed many detailed projects on the large table in the middle of the room, which seemed to depict a large city with trees and even vehicles."What do you think?" Jayden asked, both embarras