"What can I say? I love my beautiful Deborah so much," Jayden said with a smile. "I see," the doctor replied, handing Deborah a towel to clean off the gel. [Thank you.] Deborah gently took the towel to wipe her body. "Alright, I'll go prepare the prescription for the medications you'll need to strengthen your body and ensure that little one grows up strong and healthy," the doctor said, heading back to his desk. Deborah smiled as she watched the doctor go. "Well, Deborah, I have to tell you, next time we’re going to have to work really hard to get our little princess, okay?" Jayden said, winking at her and noticing the deep blush on her cheeks. Deborah felt incredibly embarrassed by Jayden’s direct comments, which amused him greatly. After the consultation, they picked up the medication and headed back to the car. "Who are you texting?" Jayden asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice as they walked to the parking lot. [I promised Elliot I’d tell him about his nephew.] S
"Elliot..." George looked at his son with concern. "I'm your mother, show some respect," Isabelle said, annoyed by the way he addressed her. "Respect you?" he repeated, eyebrows furrowed. "How can I respect someone who has never respected me?" he asked, his voice tinged with irony. "Although I should thank you for finally revealing why I had such a miserable childhood with you." "Were you listening?" She frowned, hating eavesdroppers. "Don't you know that's rude?" "Elliot..." "No, I didn’t," Elliot replied, ignoring his father. "And as the Junior CEO of this company, I can do whatever I want here, so I order you to leave my company." "George, say something. Are you going to let him disrespect me like this?" "Well..." George looked her in the eyes. "Elliot is treating you as you've always treated him," said George. "And I agree with his decision, so please leave now." "But... our grandchild." "Deborah just told me her baby is a boy," Elliot interjected. "So, based on y
After finishing their meal, Jayden and Deborah headed to the Cooper Group. Upon arrival, Deborah was amazed by the size of the place—the construction company boasted a spacious parking lot for its workers and machinery storage, beside its three large office buildings. "Welcome to the great Cooper empire," Jayden chuckled, seeing Deborah’s expression of awe. [It's huge.] "Well, it's necessary. We need space to store all the machinery and materials, and for the employees to work comfortably." [I can see tell.] Deborah noted the large trucks coming and going with machinery and materials at that moment. "Right this way, my love," Jayden said, taking her hand to give her a quick tour of the place. Jayden quickly explained each area they passed through on their way to the office. Upon reaching their destination, they immediately got to work, as they had a tax appointment the next day. Initially, Jayden was hesitant to ask for Deborah's help, but that opinion changed when he
"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Roger demanded to know, his eyebrows furrowing. [I was the one who saved your life when they kidnapped you. The car we were in crashed.] Deborah explained calmly. "What… that's a lie." [Why would I lie to you?] "Because by telling me this, you think I'll feel guilty and come back to you because I'll owe you something. But I won't." [I never did it for that reason.] "No? Then what was the reason?" [I saved you because we were friends, and I liked you.] "Wow, that's rich. I never had a mute friend." [That's because I lost my voice as a child. I wasn't born mute.] Deborah said, annoyed. "Enough. Your poor excuses mean nothing to me. You're coming back home with me," Roger said, grabbing her wrist forcefully. Deborah struggled to free herself, anxious because she had no way to call for help and didn't want to return to that place. “Ah…” Deborah tried to force herself to shout but only felt the strain on her throat as she
"Roger..." Isabelle was distressed by what she was hearing because it meant that her son harbored special feelings for Deborah. "Answer me, do you love that mute?!” Sophia demanded again. "I..." Roger glanced anxiously at Sophia. Now that he was living with her, it was impossible for him not to compare the two. At times, he wished he could travel back so that he wouldn’t lose Deborah. Being with Sophia made him realize how much he had undervalued Deborah's support and understanding. He regretted not treating his ex-wife better—doing more than just not betraying or mistreating her. Indeed, he regretted not doing more kind things for his wife instead of just betraying, belittling, and mistreating her. She had always been by his side... If he were honest with himself, he missed his stupid mute who loved him unconditionally. The rosy life he thought he would live with Sophia was turning into a horrible nightmare. All he heard now were complaints and demands from her instead of love
It had been a very intense night, and Sophia made it even more complicated by asking her friend to announce the news to the media. With all the drama unfolding, George had to act quickly to handle the situation. First, he arranged for his wife and son to stay in a house, as he had learned about the eviction. In reality, it was Isabelle's house. This arrangement would also give George time to deal with Sophia. Jayden also did his part and persuaded the building owner not to evict Roger, Isabelle, and Sophia for now. He wanted to avoid his family name being dragged into creating a headline of the Coopers evicting the Petersons the day after the loss of their baby. "So far, no one knows how it happened, but the fact is that a great tragedy occurred, and now Roger Peterson's mistress' baby no longer exists," the commentators could be heard saying on TV. "They say it was a spontaneous abortion, but I have my doubts." "Nevertheless, we lament this loss." "But scientifically speakin
That very morning, Frederick sat in his office, desperately searching for a plan or strategy that could resolve all his problems. He rifled through every drawer and pored over old documents, hoping to find a clue or key that would unlock the safe hidden behind a painting. He felt that if he could just open it... all his problems would vanish. "Hey Dad, have you heard the news?" The office door swung open, revealing his son, visibly excited. "I don't have time for gossip, Ernest." "It's not gossip, it's a lifeline for us." "What? What are you talking about?" Frederick asked, raising his gaze to find Ernest showing him his tablet with a news article. Frederick raised an eyebrow but took the device to read the news, a smile eventually spreading across his face as he did so. "Well, well, well, what bad news..." "That's right, Dad, and I think we can turn this drama to our advantage and make the Peterson family give up on collecting from us." "I like the way you think," Freder
"We're here with Mr. Frederick Anderson, the father of Roger's ex-wife," the presenter announced. "Tell us, Mr. Anderson, what's happening right now?" "Thank you, William. Since the divorce trial, Mr. George Peterson has been sending his lawyers to extort me, claiming I owe him a substantial amount of money that he supposedly lent to my family. Not a day goes by without receiving threatening calls from him." "So, this means the Petersons are vindictive people?" "You could say so. I only hope that this recent turn of events will humble the Peterson family." "And what do you think about the news of Roger's current partner suffering a miscarriage?" "Well, he has been a violent person, and I'm thankful my daughter freed herself from him and..." "Damn it," George muttered, switching off the television. "How hypocritical. They never cared about Debbie," Elliot remarked, his brow furrowed. "I agree with Elliot. That animal only cared about coming every month to borrow money,"
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