As they sat down at the table, Samantha and Eric noticed that Jayden and Deborah were acting as if nothing had happened earlier. They were chatting and eating as if the earlier argument was just a bad dream.“Enough with this charade,” Eric said firmly.“Is something wrong?” Nicholas asked, looking confused.“You see, earlier…” Samantha began to explain.“What happened earlier was just an act,” Deborah cut in.“What?” the blond couple exclaimed in unison.“What are you talking about? What did I miss?” Nicholas looked around, bewildered.“Earlier, we were acting and arguing in public,” Jayden explained.“Huh?”“Acting? But…"“Let us explain everything,” Deborah said, taking Jayden’s hand. “You see, everything we told you earlier and what happened today was a lie. We found out something concerning during lunch with Mr. George…”-Flashback-Jayden and Deborah had taken a seat at the table, deliberately positioning themselves far from Roger.James was playing with his hands, o
Marie was overjoyed when watching her interview on television. She couldn’t get enough of seeing the footage of the supposed happy couple arguing."It looks like their happiness wasn’t as genuine or everlasting as they claimed," she commented while sipping on a glass of champagne."I told you their happiness was fleeting," Sophia said."And luckily, my son is doing his part," Isabelle declared. "I’m glad to see he used his head and managed to fool that idiot by telling her he still wants her and all that romantic nonsense that impresses women like her.""By the way, has he planned what he’s going to do about the child?" Sophia asked. "I mean, Roger made it clear he doesn’t want him.""No idea. Maybe he’ll just throw him away because he doesn’t resemble my son, so I refuse to acknowledge him.""Well, looking at the baby’s photos, he does resemble her," Sophia said, noting that despite her dislike for the former mute woman, James was a very cute baby."I don’t care. Boys are suppo
With the alert now in their possession, Deborah and Jayden started planning their next move. Their primary goal was to secure their most treasured possession.They began searching for a place to buy “it,” and now they were simply waiting for its arrival to set their plan into motion and deal with the three troublesome women.To avoid the press and the ongoing speculation about issues in the Cooper marriage, they stayed at home, enjoying their time together.Jayden took advantage of the moment to rest and spend more time with James.Deborah managed the company’s affairs through video calls.Four days had passed since the scandal, and that morning, Jayden woke up late, realizing he was alone in bed.“Ah… it feels so good to sleep in,” he commented as he left the room and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.“Good morning, dear,” Samantha greeted, reading the newspaper and sipping her coffee.“Morning, Mom,” Jayden approached and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Where are Deborah an
“Yep, check it out,” Jayden said excitedly, opening the box to reveal a bag of large building blocks.“Waaa…” James was thrilled at the sight of all the bright colors.“Wait… is the whole box filled with blocks?” Deborah asked, moving closer to see the contents of the box, which was about a meter tall.“Yep, I actually bought around 20 bags,” Jayden declared with excitement. “The idea is to build a huge castle.”“Wow… you really got into this, didn’t you?” Samantha said, looking at the toy bags.“Yes! And now we’re going to play, right, son?” Jayden said, trying to open a bag to dump its contents on the floor.“One moment,” Deborah said, taking the bag of toys away.“But, love…”“We’re not going to create a mess of blocks in the living room,” Deborah said, grabbing the box. “We’ll find a special room for block play.”“Nooo…” Jayden bemoaned.“Son, she’s right,” Eric said. “It’s better to play in a safe place to avoid accidents with the blocks.”“Well… I guess you’re right,”
“Finally, they’ve left the house. I think they’re heading to the mall with the kid,” a male voice said over the phone.“Excellent. Keep watching them,” Marie instructed, ending the call and dialing Isabelle. “Hey, it’s time for your son to play his part. They’re at the mall with the little one.”“Perfect. And lucky for us, it’s his day off, so today is definitely our big day.”“Got it. I’ll see you at the south entrance so we can find them and start the show,” she said, finishing the call. “Well, let’s get ready. Today, Jayden will be back in my arms,” she said, striding toward her wardrobe to choose a very provocative outfit.Meanwhile, Deborah and Jayden had gone out to buy more clothes for James.They entered the mall casually and made their way to the baby boutique, where they began searching for summer clothes and a few formal outfits for when they went out.“Look at this,” Jayden said, holding up a green T-shirt with a cute brown bear face on it. “Do you like it?”“It’s ad
“And so what?” Deborah frowned.“That…”“And what does it matter to you what we do or don’t do?” Deborah said, stepping closer to her beloved and placing herself between them. “And though it hurts, Jayden is the father of our child, and…”“Actually, you’re mistaken there,” a male voice interrupted from behind them.Deborah turned around in surprise to see Roger approaching.“I’m James’ father, and I hope you haven’t forgotten what we agreed on last night.”“What?” Jayden exclaimed angrily, grabbing her arm. “Deborah, what does this mean?”“Jayden… I… I actually made an agreement with Roger last night and…”“What? Are you serious?” he yelled, releasing her and stepping back. “Are you really going to let him near James? He never cared about him!”“Cooper, stop whining. No matter what you do, that child has my blood, so he will always be my son, no matter how much you try to deny it,” Roger said with a smile, moving closer to Deborah.“Stay away from them,” Jayden said, position
At a safe distance from the commotion, Sophia and Isabelle watched the entire scene with smiles on their faces.“Poor thing, she’s lost her golden goose,” Sophia mocked, sipping her juice.“And now we just need to get rid of that kid,” Isabelle said, finishing her coffee.“I guess… but there’s something I don’t understand.”“What’s that?”“Roger is going to register him as his son?”“Obviously,” Isabelle said as she stood up and tossed her empty cup in the trash. “I need George to see that Roger is interested in the kid, so he can get his position back as president.”“I suppose you’re right, but what about me?” Sophia asked, mimicking her and throwing away her trash as they started walking to their vehicle.“For now, you’ll act like a loving stepmother and…”“Forget it… I don’t want to be changing diapers, especially not for a kid who isn’t mine.”“That’s already the case, you fool,” Isabelle snapped, annoyed. “But you need to say that to bother Deborah.”“Ah… got it.”“Onc
“Let him go!” Isabelle demanded, moving in to help her son. She slapped Deborah, sending her sprawling to the ground and making her release the baby. Deborah scowled, glaring hatefully at Isabelle, who flinched under the intensity of that look. “Say another word and I swear you’ll never see your brat again,” Isabelle warned. “Talk about a hypocrite. Just a moment ago he was your grandchild, and now he’s just a brat.” “Obviously, because you’re so useless you couldn’t even give birth to a child who looks like my baby. Therefore, I can’t recognize him as my grandchild.” “Mom, enough.” “You shut up, Roger. I’m doing this for your own good,” Isabelle snapped. “With this brat on our side, we’ll reclaim everything that belongs to us.” “I’m not going to let you use my son as a bargaining chip! Give him back!” Deborah said, trying to advance towards Roger to take him back. But Sophia intervened, shoving her away. “Listen to my mother-in-law and step back,” Sophia ordered, laugh