After leaving Roger, the trio returned home."No joke, that chocolate bread was delicious," Danielle said, licking her lips as her boss had ordered several to share."Right? It’s a place I used to frequent with my friend when I was a student, and it seems they’ve kept the original recipes," Deborah said as she sipped her juice."The good thing is that guy didn’t take up too much of our time," Max said as he drove."Don’t worry, I never planned to stay and chat with him for long, and thanks for being with me."The siblings smiled and continued chatting with her until they arrived at the mansion.When they reached the entrance, they noticed Jayden was already waiting for them."Hello, gorgeous," he said as he opened the car door to help her out."Hello, handsome," she replied with a smile. "And what brings you home early?""We finished up quickly.""Liar.""What?""You’re here because a couple of little birds told you what happened.""No...""Mhm," she hummed, amused."Wel
Jayden was scared when he heard what she said, and seeing the pool of blood shocked him."Love, what—""Quick, call an ambulance," Deborah said, placing her hands on her belly."Oh, yes," her words snapped him out of his shock, and he quickly took out his phone to call an ambulance before notifying the hotel staff about what was happening.A few minutes later, the paramedics and some hotel staff arrived to help the couple.Seeing that she was okay, they placed her on the stretcher and started taking her to the ambulance."Don’t worry, my love, I’m right here," he said, holding her hand."Ah... y-yes... ah..." she began to feel the first contractions, and they hurt a lot."Stay calm, ma’am, and breathe slowly," one of the paramedics advised as they descended in the elevator to reach the ground floor."My love..." she reached out her hand to grab her partner’s."I’m right here, my love.""Ah... they...""Yes, I’m sending a message to my parents now so they can inform everyone
After a few minutes, a nurse came to take James to the doctor to finish his examination. Once they cleaned him up, dressed, and fed him, he would be brought to the room with his parents.Just then, the doctor stepped out to speak with Jayden. "Mr. Cooper, we’re moving your wife to her room so she can rest," he informed."I see, thank you very much.""Doctor," Nicholas approached him, a bit concerned. "Tell me, my daughter...""Relax, sir, everything is fine. It was a successful natural birth with no complications, and although James arrived a bit earlier than expected, he’s completely healthy."Nicholas smiled upon hearing this, relieved that his worries about his grandson’s health were unfounded.After answering a few more questions, the doctor left, saying he would check on the mother and baby the next day.The group then headed to room 23 to see Deborah, who had just been settled into bed."If you need anything, ma’am, just press this button to call us,” said her attending
That day, Roger could only watch as she left with the other two without even glancing his way.Honestly, he felt a bit hurt by how he was treated and even a little pathetic for having his apology rejected.‘I guess that’s how you felt when I spoke to you that way, and also when I ignored what you wanted to say to me,’ he thought, letting out a sigh.It seemed that karma wasn’t done with him yet."Roger," a voice called out, snapping Roger out of his thoughts."Huh?" Looking to his right, he saw his younger brother stepping out of a vehicle and walking over to him. "Elliot? What are you doing here?""Don’t get excited... I’m only here because Dad made me come," he said, crossing his arms."Hm... I see, and...?""I came to tell you that James was born last night.""What... last night?" Roger repeated, surprised, as he had seen Deborah just the day before. "And they’re both okay?""Yes, it was a complication-free birth, and they’re both in perfect health.""I see, well, that’s
Deborah was admiring her little one as she fed him, wondering if her mother had felt the same way when she first held her, feeling that special bond of wanting to give everything for this beautiful child."You know, I’m jealous," Jayden said, pulling her out of her thoughts."Huh? Why?" she asked, looking up at him."Because he got to be first, and I didn’t," he said, frowning slightly."What? What are you talking about?""He was the first to try," he said playfully, nodding toward James, who was nursing."Pervert..." she muttered, blushing as she realized what he meant."Well, I’ll get my turn later, right?" he teased, wrapping his arms around her from behind."No, it’s for your son.""But James will share with Daddy, right, son?" he asked, playfully caressing her back."No," she laughed, "behave yourself."Jayden smiled and kissed her bare shoulder, noticing that James was watching him."You’ll help me take care of Mommy, won’t you?""Ah..." the little one responded, mov
"Done, I’ve notified everyone," Jayden said."That was fast," Deborah remarked, smiling. "Take care of James for a moment; I’m going to the bathroom.""Do you need help?""I’m fine," she said, giving him a kiss on the lips before standing up and walking to the bathroom."James, your mom is very beautiful," Jayden commented, noticing the baby sleeping peacefully. "You know... I may not be your biological father, but I promise to love you so much because I was really excited to meet you," he said, gently caressing the baby’s arm. James stirred slightly at the touch, making Jayden smile.Deborah watched the interaction with a big smile, so she grabbed her phone to take a picture of them and sent it to her mother-in-law.Samantha: [Aw... they look so beautiful together.]Deborah: [Samantha, can you print this photo to put in James’s room?]Samantha: [You can count on me ;D]Deborah smiled at the response, knowing she had a surprise planned for her beloved. She set down her phone
"That would be better," Jayden said, pulling out his wallet and handing him some money. "Please get two sandwiches, some oatmeal cookies, an orange juice, a barley juice, and a cola. And if you want something for yourselves, go ahead.""Understood, sir. I’ll be right back," Max said, turning around to head to the cafeteria."We’ll be back, sir," Danielle said, offering him the balloons she had brought."Sure," Jayden said, smiling and taking what she offered before heading back to the room.Later in the afternoon, with all the paperwork done, the family returned home with Caroline accompanying them."I just sent a message to Christian, and he said he’ll be at the mansion in about 20 minutes.""He’s been really busy lately, hasn’t he?" Jayden commented."Yeah, with the big scandal of Deborah’s trials, he’s gained a lot of popularity and is now competing with the top law firms," Caroline said proudly."I’m happy for him because he’s a great lawyer," Deborah added.Caroline nodde
Everyone was gearing up to drop the bombshell of the latest gossip. A generous donation had been made to ensure that the scandal hit the morning news, sparking malicious rumors about the couple’s life. The goal was to rattle them enough to finally coax an interview out of them.Just as they were about to air the interview, someone arrived and stopped the show.Despite the protests, the program was immediately canceled. The reason? Someone had threatened that the Coopers would not only take legal action against the reporters, but also shut down the entire channel if any lies about the couple were broadcast.So, as expected, the reporters chose to return the donation and politely ask that they not be contacted again. They didn’t want any trouble.Of course, the ones who had schemed behind the scenes were far from pleased. It was clear that they couldn’t win this power struggle unless they found someone else to back them.“So?” Eric asked, sipping his coffee.“Our friend acted quick
Extra 40: A Happy and Perfect Life Part 2That promise came to an end for one of them three years later, as Nicholas was the first to go due to his heart, which began to fail until it simply stopped beating one cold December morning.Despite the immense pain she felt, Deborah fulfilled her father’s last wish… so they buried him with the diamond pendant that had belonged to her mother and grandfather.It was a very sad time, and everyone came together to keep Deborah from falling apart, as she now felt alone, as though she had lost her family again.But her children reminded her that she wasn’t alone, and because of this, they tried to distract her by having her organize the Christmas party.The days continued to pass, and just when they were preparing for James’ wedding, Eric and Samantha Cooper passed away due to old age.That was news that covered all the media outlets, with the headline telling a beautiful love story, as they had gone to sleep together and passed away to the n
Extra 40: A Happy and Perfect Life Part 1Time began to pass quickly, bringing good, bad, and sad moments that gradually changed the family.One good thing that happened was that after much reflection, Roger managed to make peace with his father, asking for forgiveness for all the stupid things he had done when he was younger. He also apologized to his little brother for being such a jerk.Even though he didn’t want to, Elliot reluctantly accepted the apologies because his wife convinced him that holding onto grudges wasn’t healthy.Unfortunately, the Peterson family only got to celebrate being united for a short period of time because two weeks after that reconciliation… George passed away of natural causes.That was a tragic moment for everyone, one that shook his friends, reminding them of how precious and short life is. Those who suffered the most from the loss of their Grandpa George were Howard and Fiona. But their parents, uncles, and maternal grandparents showered them wit
Extra 39: Deborah and JamesAfter lunch, and taking advantage of when his father taking his little siblings to their extracurricular activities, James sought out his mom to talk with her.“Mom,” he called out when he saw her in her study, reading some papers.“Hey, come in,” she said, looking up and setting aside the documents for a moment.“More work?”“Not exactly. These are the reports of the current buildings for sale in the city.”“Huh… are you already looking into that?”“Well, son, your sister graduates next year, and a year is not a lot of time to start a company from scratch.”“Will it already be furnished for her?” he asked, taking the documents to read them.“Yes, that’s why I want to buy a warehouse to remodel or a vacant lot so you and your dad can work your magic to build it and make it just like Elizabeth wants.”“It’s a project I can’t wait to start,” James said excitedly.“Your little siblings are also helping me, looking into sewing stores to buy industrial
Extra 38: A Father’s FearsHonestly, it was a strange conversation for James, one he never thought he’d have… in fact, not even in his wildest dreams did he imagine having this kind of interaction with the man who was supposedly his biological father.After telling him a bit about his school life, James paid the bill and said goodbye to Roger, as he had to get back to the office; he didn’t want to be away from work for too long.When he entered the conference room, he saw his father talking to some other architects.“Great, we’re all set then,” Jayden said, dismissing them. “Son, how did it go?” he asked as James approached him.“Fine, but it was weird.”“So... has he started to feel his age?”“I think so,” James replied, making a face.“And what did he want?”“Well, he just started talking to me, apologizing for being absent, and now he wants us to meet up to talk because he wants to get to know me,” James said, scratching his head. “I don’t know… it seemed odd that he wants
Extra 37: A Late Talk Part 2“Wow, sorry for the confusion.”“Don’t worry about it. My family supported me, and thanks to learning the truth, I understood why we had three grandfathers.”“I imagine you became an architect because of Jayden.”“That’s right. My motivation was seeing how his drawings came to life… it excited me to the point where I wanted to do the same, and as the days went by, that desire grew stronger, so I decided to make it a reality,” he said, his excitement evident in his words. “Though I also saw that Uncle did something similar by turning his sketches into beautiful jewelry, but that didn’t impress me as much.”“I see, but didn’t my dad teach you the basics of the company?”“Yes, Grandpa showed me the trade,” James said with a smile. “In fact, I’m a good appraiser, and I know how to make jewelry because Uncle also taught me the basics of jewelry design and creation. But I see that as a hobby because the only jewelry I’ve made has been for my mom, my sisters
Extra 37: A Late Talk Part 1“I’ll ask you again. What are you doing here?” James questioned, frowning slightly.“James… I…” Roger stammered nervously, his words catching in his throat and refusing to come out.“Are you here to apologize on behalf of your daughter?”“Something like that,” he said, finally managing to speak, though he made a face. “Would you let me talk to you?”“To me?” James asked, confused, pointing to himself. “About what?”“Can I invite you for a drink so we can talk?”“What do you want with my son?” At that moment, Roger saw his longtime rival approaching and standing next to the young man.“Jayden, please let me talk to James,” Roger pleaded.The now platinum-blonde looked confused at his rival. It was the first time Roger had called him by his name, and he could see that Roger seemed genuinely sorry and defeated. Jayden let out a sigh. “James, go with him.”“What?” James looked at him, surprised and confused.“Are you serious?” Roger said, a note of h
Extra 36: Late Regrets Part 2The next morning, during breakfast, Roger was focused on his phone, determined to reach out to James and be the one to make the first contact.“Hey, Dad,” Cassandra called out, trying to get his attention, noticing he was more focused on his phone than his breakfast.“What is it?” Roger asked, looking up.“Well... hey, what are we going to do about last night?”“What?” he said with a frown.“Come on, Dad, aren’t you going to do something about Grandpa and—”“Casandra, enough... I think whatever happened last night should have made the situation clear.”“But…”“They no longer see me as family, and they never recognized you as such, so just forget about it because it’s only the three of us, no one else.”“No…”“Cassandra, enough,” her mother scolded. “I told you yesterday not to go, and all you did was humiliate yourselves in public,” she said, looking her daughter in the eyes. “Grow up already. You lost that boy because you chased something that
Extra 36: Late Regrets Part 1Roger didn’t return home for the rest of the night. He ignored the cries of his ‘daughter’ as he headed to the nearest bar to have a drink and try to clear his mind.Seeing his father defeated and exhausted had made him stop and think.While sipping his third beer, he raised his gaze and saw his reflection in the mirror behind the bar, realizing that an old man was staring back at him... which scared him. He now looked at his hands, which had more wrinkles than he remembered. When had he changed so much?His once beautiful hair was now streaked with gray, his face showed his age, and he had dark circles under his dull eyes.When had he gotten so old?And why did he look like this?He was supposed to age gracefully, but that wasn’t the case... because what he saw in that mirror was a shell of the successful man he once was.He thought back to James. That boy had surpassed him in height; he was the version of himself Roger had always wanted to be: ta
Extra 35: Total BreakElliot was furious to see Roger and his daughter at the party.“Why did you hurt my daughter?” Roger hadn’t recognized James and just wanted to help his princess. “Who do you think you are…?” Then he saw James and, how could he not recognize him? He was Roger’s spitting image, giving the latter the same hateful look Roger himself wore.“I should ask you the same thing, sir. Who do you think you are, crashing a private event?” James asked.Roger was about to respond, but…“What’s the meaning of this?” George asked, approaching them.“Grandpa, they attacked me, and…” Cassandra started to say.“Miss, don’t call my grandpa ‘Grandpa,’” declared Howard.“Tom, call security,” Eric ordered. “Get these two out of the party.”Among the guests, a blond young man recognized Cassandra but didn’t go to help her because his parents didn’t allow it. They didn’t want to end up caught in the middle of the problem and become collateral damage, nor did they want to fall out