Ch. 1131..1140
Chapter 1131 No Need for Apologies
Nicholas merely gave voice to the truth nestled in the minds of both the grandfather and grandchild. There was even a touch of sarcasm in his tone.
Wanda and Horace looked sullen as if they were children caught in a lie. Standing at the side, Kieran was relieved.
He matched his brother’s mockery with a twinkle in his eye. “Speaking of which, I must thank Miss Muller for her preferential treatment. Even though she ordered my kidnapping, she made sure to remind the thugs she hired not to hurt me. Thank you so much.”
His voice dripped with sarcasm.
Wanda’s eyes flushed red with embarrassment.
An ashamed Horace stuttered, “Wanda, h-hurry up and apologize to Master Kieran!”
As reluctant as she was to admit to any wrongdoing, she had no choice but to obey. “I’m sorry, Master Kieran.”
Kieran accepted her apology graciously.
After all, this was what Wanda owed him.
However, he wasn’t about to let Wanda get off so easily. So, he quipped, “It’s too bad that my poor sister-in-law and unborn nephew can’t be here today. They have suffered so much more compared to me.”
Horace interjected, “You’re right, Master Kieran. I’ll bring this worthless granddaughter of mine to apologize to them personally tomorrow.”
He wasn’t a simpleton. In his heart, he was aware that Kieran was fighting for justice on Tessa’s behalf, so he simply took the initiative to make amends.
Horace also believed that the Sawyers wouldn’t let him, the family elder, be the one to apologize to Tessa.
So, he was right in this regard. Nicholas wouldn’t have accepted his apology.
Yet, the reason for his refusal wasn’t what Horace had thought.
He merely didn’t want unrelated people to affect Tessa’s fragile emotional state.
Besides, even if Wanda apologized, she most probably wasn’t sincere, which was why Nicholas saw no reason to waste Tessa’s time any further.
“There’s no need for apologies. As I knew you and my grandfather were close, I called you here to tell you what we’ve discovered. There’s no need to apologize. What’s done is done. Besides…” Nicholas paused for the dramatic effect before he delivered a cutting remark. “It’s a bit too late to start disciplining your granddaughter now. It doesn’t matter. I’ll overlook her crimes this time. However, should this happen again, I won’t mind helping you deal with her personally.”
He stared coldly at Wanda with a dark and heavy expression.
She trembled before his intimidating gaze while Horace looked dour.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had been humiliated so terribly.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was suffocating and stagnant.
Clearly, nobody was in the mood to eat.
Noticing all this, Remus sighed before he announced, “Well, that’s all for today. Ian, please arrange a car to send Mr. Muller and the others home.”
“Right away, sir.”
Ian left to make the necessary arrangements.
Horace was too ashamed to linger any further. Dragging Wanda behind him, they both left for the Sawyer Residence.
After they left, the restaurant lapsed into an uneasy silence.
Everyone seemed depressed. It was like death had just occurred.
Suddenly, a clattering sound was heard. Stefania had only just fully processed what had happened before she angrily cried, “Wanda always seemed like a nice, courteous girl. I never would’ve expected her to be capable of such vicious things. This is too much!”
Her excellent upbringing prevented her from uttering a harsher rebuke.
Even so, she was very angry with Wanda.
Remus remained silent all this while.
Tobias and his sons were equally quiet on this matter.
After a long rant, Stefania finally exhausted herself. She gulped down the glass of water on the table to quench her thirst.
Nicholas turned to the sullen old man and drawled, “Grandpa, I wonder what you think about today’s events.”
“What are you trying to say?” Remus stared harshly at Nicholas.
He knew all too well that his grandson always had an ulterior motive in mind when he talked.
Chapter 1132 Can’t Let Him Go
Remus was correct in his thoughts. Not backing down, Nicholas returned his grandfather’s cold stare. “All these years, you’ve been setting me up with a ton of women. Nearly all of them are like Wanda. If they can’t have me, they want to destroy me. I hope you’ll finally stop setting me up on dates.”
At that, Remus’ expression soured even more. Stefania and her husband also frowned, but they elected not to say anything. On the other hand, Kieran stared at his brother with something akin to awe.
In their family, the only one who dared to rebel against Remus was his brother.
When Nicholas saw that the old man had no intention of speaking, he continued, “Do you know how bad it hurts to watch strangers tear Tessa and the unborn child in her belly apart? It feels like my heart is being stabbed repeatedly. You are a father yourself, so you should know how horrible that feels.”
A hint of guilt surfaced in Remus’ bitter features. However, he had never been soft with anyone in his life and he didn’t plan on starting now either. Even if he wanted to be compassionate, he could only ever speak harshly.
“Everything I do is for your sake. None of this would have happened if you didn’t insist on being with that girl.”
It came as no surprise that the air around Nicholas froze.
He retorted, “Please do me a favor and never do anything for my sake again. I’ll let Wanda off the hook this time, but the Mullers are dead to me. Don’t expect me to join in if you ever feel like getting chummy with them.”
Nicholas stomped out of the restaurant without caring about how angry or disappointed Remus looked.
Remus was furious as he glared at everyone around him. “How dare he blame this on me?”
When Kieran saw that things were getting dicey, he hastily fled to the old man’s side to appease him. “Grandpa, don’t be angry. Nicholas didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, I think he meant what he said. Everything that I have done is for his own good. If I were to be frank, although that Tessa girl is still somewhat an inadequate match, she wasn’t even worthy enough to stand near him before all of these.”
The old man continued to fume and rage.
There wasn’t much Kieran could do. He could only try to assuage Remus’ rage with platitudes and flattery.
Remus wasn’t the only one fuming. On the way home, Horace’s face was as dark as ink and his body shook with rage.
Wanda knew she was in trouble. Pursing her lips, she began to apologize profusely. “I’m sorry, Grandpa. I embarrassed you today. It’s all my fault.”
While the two seemed like they had an amicable relationship on the surface, there was always a covert tension between them.
Unable to hold himself back any longer, Horace roared, “If you know you embarrassed me, then why did you do something so stupid?”
Wanda bit her lip while tears welled in her eyes.
Her tears slightly doused the rage in his heart, which then softened his features. Yet, he was still furious. “I used to be so proud that you could see the big picture. Now, it seems that only applies to your work. When it comes to personal affairs, you’re narrow-minded and foolish. I’ve cautioned against being involved with that Tessa girl several times. Yet, you’ve ignored me. Why? Is Nicholas the only man in the world? Our family has been humiliated today because of you.”
His words had negated all of Wanda’s previous hard work.
This made her feel aggrieved as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I know what I did was wrong, but I’ve never loved anyone like this before. I can’t just let him go.”
Looking at his despondent granddaughter, Horace quelled his anger momentarily. “Look, Nicholas is a great man. I can see why you’re so infatuated with him, but others are just as good as him. Why are you so dead set on him?”
Wanda began to pour her heart out. “I know, I know. Everything you say is true, but I can’t help it. I don’t care that he’s about to get married. I love him. I wish I didn’t, but I do.”
Horace was stunned by this outburst. For a moment, he was speechless. Sighing, he said, “Now things will be weird between our families. I don’t know how we should act moving forward.”
“I’m sorry, Grandpa. This is all my fault. I didn’t think things through.”
Chapter 1133 Unrepentant
Wanda once again feigned sincerity as she apologized and admitted her mistake. Horace side-eyed her, and under the light, he could see that Wanda’s cheeks were red and swollen.
Earlier, to calm everyone in the Sawyers down, Horace had no choice but to slap Wanda hard. However, no matter how angry he was with Wanda, he still felt sorry for her. “Do your cheeks still hurt?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt anymore,” Wanda replied as she shook her head, dismissing the pain. However, in her heart, she knew that Horace’s anger was gone after he saw the pitiful facade she put up just now.
Then, she lowered her eyes, hiding the raging hatred in her eyes under her long eyelashes. I don’t understand! Why did things turn out this way?! Also, that b*tch, Tessa! It was all thanks to her that I suffered from humiliation today! I will make her life miserable, or I’m not Wanda Muller!
Wanda had clearly bore great resentment toward Tessa for the incident that took place today.
…
In Dynasty Gardens, after Nicholas returned home, he went straight to the music room when he learned that Tessa was practicing violin with Gregory in the music room.
However, he involuntarily stopped as soon as he reached the door. His eyes gleamed with a soft glow as he looked at the scene in front of him.
Currently, in the music room, Tessa and Gregory stood side by side with their backs facing him. The back silhouettes for this adult and child duo were very sweet.
Not wanting to interrupt such a lovely scene, Nicholas quietly watched them while enjoying the music. He only made his presence known by applauding loudly once the music ended.
It was also at this moment that Tessa and Gregory realized his presence.
“Daddy!” Gregory happily put down his violin and ran toward Nicholas.
As for Tessa, she made her way toward Nicholas slowly while supporting her waist. Then, with a smile, she asked, “When did you come back?”
“I arrived home when you two were playing the violin just now.”
As Nicholas spoke, he naturally reached out and hugged Tessa, letting her cuddle up to him.
When Tessa felt Nicholas’ thoughtfulness, the smile on the corner of her lips became increasingly brighter.
Remembering Nicholas’ purpose of visiting the Sawyer Residence this evening, she asked with concern, “Have you solved the matter?”
Since Nicholas knew Tessa cared so much about this matter, he didn’t hide the truth from her either and immediately answered, “It’s solved, so Wanda probably will restrain herself from committing the same mistake in the future.”
Nicholas suddenly paused for a while at this point. Then, with a bit of guilt in his voice, he added, “I’m sorry for what happened this time. I’m sorry I couldn’t get the fairest outcome for you.”
A sense of warmth filled Tessa’s heart, for she could feel the concern in Nicholas’ words. She knew that Nicholas loved her dearly and had pity for what she had gone through. At the same time, she, too, could understand Nicholas’ dilemma. Therefore, she shook her head while smiling and comforted him by saying, “It’s okay. After all, you need to consider the relationship between the two families.”
Meanwhile, Gregory had only a hazy notion of the conversation. However, he did know that Wanda, who used to come to their house often, bullied Tessa.
At once, he pouted and said in a fierce yet adorable manner, “Daddy, let us forbid Miss Muller from coming to our house in the future. She is a bad person.”
“You are right, Greg. I will forbid her to come in the future,” said Nicholas, agreeing with Gregory’s suggestion.
Tessa, who was beside them, smiled as she listened to the conversation between the two.
Nevertheless, she didn’t stop them from discussing the topic. After all, she wasn’t entirely a magnanimous person. Frankly speaking, I can’t bring myself to act as if nothing happens and treat Wanda like an honorable guest of our family, especially after everything she did. She was someone who tried to destroy my family and robbed me of my husband!
After that, they kept on chatting and laughing for a while before they went back to their respective rooms to rest.
Even so, the incident still came to light on the Internet.
Early the next morning, news condemning Wanda was all over Southend’s Internet.
‘So much for a wellborn heiress. Wrecking another woman’s family with extremely vile means.’
‘Being a mistress under the guise of love! Is this truly how the upbringing of a socialite should be?’
At first, netizens didn’t understand what was going on. However, when they clicked on the headlines and read the articles out of curiosity, they soon realized that Wanda was the real mastermind behind the previous assault incident. In fact, through those articles, netizens also found that Wanda even kidnapped Timothy for her own selfish desire.
For a moment, the entire cyberspace plummeted into a state of shock.
‘F*ck! This has completely blown my mind.’
‘Is this woman desperately longing for love? Must she set her eyes on another woman’s husband?’
‘What’s wrong with the heiresses these days? It looks like they will destroy everything that they can’t get their hands on. Is it because they grew up living an overly privileged life?’
‘Right now, I just want to know if this woman was arrested by the police.’
‘Yeah! I think it’s dangerous to let people with such an extreme personality roam around in the community like this!’
‘All of a sudden, I’m pretty scared of the heiresses around me. I’m really scared that one or maybe some of them will fancy my husband and kill me, as well as get rid of my corpse.’
Chapter 1134 Tarred with the Same Brush
Within seconds, the Internet was almost filled with netizens throwing spiteful remarks against Wanda and ridiculing the other wellborn heiresses. In other words, stuff happened, and the other heiresses just had to take the blame for the things they didn’t do.
For that reason, they hated Wanda to the core. One by one, they went online and justified their innocence. ‘Please don’t compare us to this woman. She does not represent all of us!’
‘She knew that the man has a wife and a family since the beginning, yet she still insisted on being a home-wrecker. Our mindset isn’t as debased as hers. We still know the definition of civility.’
‘Wanda Muller, just how desperate are you in longing for a man’s love? If you truly are so desperate, I can treat you to an exciting evening in the nightclub and hook you up with any men that you like. Just don’t tarnish my reputation like this!’
In fact, there were even some bad-tempered heiresses who immediately tagged Wanda on their social media accounts and lashed out their anger at her on the Internet. Some even went as far as to conduct a background check on Wanda and disclosed her information on the Internet.
Once again, ridiculing remarks were made against Wanda by the netizens when they read the information about Wanda.
‘I see she grew up abroad. It’s no wonder that she doesn’t understand civility.’
‘Wow! ‘She even graduated from a prestigious school! Judging from her horrible character, I really have no idea what knowledge she even gained from her years of attending such a prestigious school!’
In just less than half a day, Wanda became notorious in Southend.
The atmosphere in Dynasty Gardens was full of warmth, but the same could not be said for the fierce revile happening on the Internet.
After breakfast, Tessa looked at Nicholas, who was still accompanying her. Then, she asked curiously, “It’s almost 9:30AM. Aren’t you going to the office?”
“Nope. I’m going to accompany you today.”
As Nicholas spoke, he held one of Tessa’s hands affectionately.
Tessa smiled happily and rested her head on Nicholas’ shoulder. As she grinned, she said, “Although you are here with me, it’s still a little boring with just the two of us at home.”
“How can you say it’s boring when I’m here accompanying you?” he asked as he lowered his head while pretending to be displeased with Tessa’s words.
Blinking, she replied mischievously, “Oh, did I mention the word boring just now? No, it can’t be. You must have misheard.”
“Well, aren’t you mischievous?” Nicholas said as he tapped the tip of Tessa’s nose in a doting manner. “I’ll take you shopping once Greg finishes class later. Since the baby is coming, we should grab this chance and prepare her things.”
“Yeah, we can do that. I want to personally decorate the baby’s room.” Tessa nodded while a soft glow beamed in her eyes as she thought of the baby.
Finally, Gregory finished his class later in the afternoon. After washing up and getting dressed, they were ready to head out.
However, they didn’t expect that they would run into Stefania, who got off the car as soon as they arrived at the front door.
Looking at neatly dressed Nicholas, Tessa, and Gregory in front of her, Stefania subconsciously asked, “Are you guys going out?”
As soon as he saw Stefania, Gregory obediently greeted her, “Hello, Grandma!”
Meanwhile, Nicholas and Tessa nodded to confirm Stefania’s doubt. Then, they asked, “Mom, what brings you here?”
“I’m a little worried about Tessa. I’m worried that the incident that took place before would affect her mood. Things will be problematic if her bad mood affects the baby’s condition later. So, I came to check on her, and then I’ll take her out to get some fresh air,” Stefania replied, not hiding her purpose of visit.
Although Stefania’s words sounded like she was worried about the baby, Tessa could tell that Stefania was worried about her. This finding sparked so much joy in her heart, for this indicated Stefania had accepted her and began to have concern for her emotions.
“Thank you, Mom, for your concern. I’m fine,” Tessa thanked Stefania with a smile.
Stefania nodded upon hearing that and said, “It’s good that you are fine. Since you guys are going out, I guess I’ll just head back home.”
As soon as those words escaped her lips, Stefania turned around and was ready to get in the car.
Seeing this, Tessa hurriedly called out to her, “Mom, why don’t you come with us? We are going shopping too. We are going to buy things for the baby.”
Stefania was a little touched when she heard Tessa invite her to join them.
“Can I?” she asked while looking at Nicholas hesitantly.
After all, Stefania could tell that Nicholas was very possessive of Tessa when she lived in Vienna last time.
Moreover, Nicholas would try to prevent others from disturbing them as much as possible whenever the two were together.
Sure enough, Tessa had also noticed Stefania’s hesitant gaze, after which she was rendered speechless. Then, she glared coquettishly at Nicholas.
“Mom, of course, you can join us. Besides, you have taken care of Greg before. Furthermore, with you around, you can help out by providing references when I’m buying things for the baby. Isn’t that right, Nicholas?” Tessa cast a sidelong glance at him with a warning in her eyes.
Chapter 1135 Embarrassing Story
After letting out a hearty laugh, Nicholas said in a doting manner, “You are right, honey. Mom, you should come with us.”
Hearing that, Stefania nodded happily. “It’s indeed troublesome when it comes to buying things for a baby. You need to be meticulous while paying attention to many details while purchasing baby products. Like myself, I sure went through a lot of trouble when I prepared the things Greg used when he was a baby.”
At once, she pulled Tessa’s hand and talked about her past experiences of raising Gregory.
Gregory also obediently listened to Stefania’s story. However, when he heard Stefania sharing his embarrassing story like bed-wetting with Tessa, he instantly panicked and protested, “Grandma, how can you tell Mommy about such an embarrassing story? My image has been ruined!”
Unfortunately, considering he was still young and petite, no one took his protest seriously at all. With ease, Stefania told Tessa all of Gregory’s embarrassing stories from his days as a toddler.
While on their way to the shopping mall, laughter constantly sounded in the car.
Once they arrived at the shopping mall, they headed straight to the baby store—a place where Tessa could get clothing, furniture, toys, food, and accessories geared toward newborns, babies, and toddlers.
When the employee in the baby store saw Tessa and the others, she immediately greeted them with an occupational smile, “Welcome!”
“We’re just going to look around casually, so you don’t have to follow us,” Stefania said, rejecting the shopping guide’s help. Then, she took Tessa to shop around the store.
Since it occupied the space of approximately 5 to 6 stores, the baby store was spacious and even provided a complete range of baby products.
“Later, when the baby has been delivered, you still have to try to breastfeed the baby as often as possible. Even so, you still need to prepare some baby formula in case your body can’t produce sufficient breast milk. But there’s no rush for the baby formula at the moment. When the time comes, I will just ask someone to purchase from abroad the baby formula Greg drank when he was young.” Stefania disseminated the general knowledge of raising a child with Tessa as she walked.
Tessa listened attentively while Nicholas memorized them carefully. As for Gregory, he was very puzzled as he listened to what Stefania said. Therefore, he asked, “Grandma, did I use so many things when I was still a toddler? Why can’t I remember anything?”
“You were still young at that time. Of course, you can’t remember anything,” Stefania answered while looking at Gregory with a loving smile.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the store’s clothing section.
Looking at the small and delicate outfits in front of her, Tessa felt her heart was about to melt, especially when she saw the princess dresses for baby girls. At that moment, she and Stefania couldn’t control their urges and they would constantly take the ones that caught their eyes.
It was until the time when they were about to check out that Tessa realized they had taken way too many dresses. “This… is too much. I think I should put some of these clothes back.”
As she spoke, Tessa moved her hands and wanted to take the clothes from the shopping cart. However, Nicholas stopped her.
“We can just buy them all if you like.”
“It’s just too many. The baby can’t finish wearing all these clothes,” she rebuked and disagreed with Nicholas.
Yet, he took her hand and reassured her with a smile, “It’ll be fine. We can let the other babies wear them in the future.”
In other words, Nicholas was implying that they would have more babies in the future.
At once, Tessa’s face crimsoned. “I never said I was going to have another baby with you,” she said while hitting his chest shyly.
Holding her hand, he chuckled in a low and joyful voice.
At the same time, the staff members and the other customers around them were envious when they saw how Nicholas and Tessa had interacted.
“They have such a good relationship.”
“Yeah. I envy them so much.”
In fact, some people even recognized Tessa.
“Isn’t she Tessa Reinhart, the talented musician who was in the spotlight on the Internet a few days ago?”
“So, it was her? Then again, her husband is handsome.”
“Miss Reinhart isn’t so bad looking herself either. They are like a match made in heaven.”
When she heard the comments, Stefania felt a little tactile in her heart when she once again looked at Tessa and Nicholas. If we are to exclude her not-so-prestigious family background, Tessa and Nicholas are indeed like a match made in heaven when they stand side by side like this.
Just when Stefania’s thoughts were scattered, Tessa’s airy voice rang beside her ears. “Mom, sorry for keeping you waiting. We have checked out. Let’s go shopping in other stores, shall we?”
Stefania snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing Tessa’s voice and nodded in response.
Then, they walked out of the baby store and headed to the clothing store selling branded women’s outfits. However, they didn’t expect they would encounter Stefania’s friend, Margy Anderson or better known as Madam Ross, at this moment.
“Stef! It really is you!”
A well-dressed lady walked toward them with a smile on her face.
When the lady saw Nicholas and Gregory, she greeted them with a kind smile.
“Madam Ross,” Gregory greeted her obediently.
Nicholas, too, nodded courteously.
At this moment, Margy also noticed Tessa, who stood next to Nicholas.
Chapter 1136 My Daughter-In-Law
“And who is this, if I may ask?” Of course, Margy knew about Tessa. However, since the Sawyers had never clarified Tessa’s identity, she felt it was somehow inappropriate if she greeted Tessa with the wrong title.
Gregory probably knew Margy very well. Therefore, he hugged Tessa’s thigh and bragged, “Madam Ross, my mommy is pretty, isn’t she?”
Margy was a little surprised when she heard that. At once, she turned to look at Stefania.
Sure enough, Stefania understood the look that Margy gave her. Hence, she pointed at Tessa and introduced openly, “This is my daughter-in-law, Tessa Reinhart.”
Tessa was stunned a little after she heard Stefania introduce her as her daughter-in-law.
After coming back to her senses, she couldn’t stop feeling happy. Madam Sawyer finally acknowledges me!
Stefania was rather understanding as she looked at the grinning Tessa. With a tender glow glimpsed in her eyes, she urged, “Hurry up and greet Madam Ross.”
Tessa came back to her senses and immediately greeted Margy obediently, “Pleasure to meet you, Madam Ross.”
Although Margy was shocked inwardly, she did not show it on her face. With a smile, she praised, “Such a well-behaved young lady.”
Then, they chatted for a while before they parted ways.
After that, for the rest of the day, Tessa shopped with Stefania in the mall for the whole day. It was a fruitful shopping spree for them.
Tessa was exhausted by the time she arrived home later that day. Glancing at the still energetic-looking man next to her, she couldn’t help but whine, “Darling, my legs are sore.”
“I will massage them for you.”
Since Nicholas was already distressed about Tessa walking for too long today, he immediately sat down on the couch next to her and started massaging her legs.
Seeing this, Gregory very sensibly walked around and stood behind Tessa. Then, he said obediently, “Mommy, let me massage your shoulders for you.”
As for Tessa, she enjoyed being taken care of by Nicholas and Gregory. At the same time, she felt extremely blissful to live such days.
After a while, Andrew came over and informed, “Master Nicholas, Mr. Jackson is here.”
By the time Andrew had stopped speaking, Edward was in the living room.
When Tessa saw this, she immediately wanted to withdraw her legs. After all, in her perspective, it was still acceptably fine for her if they wanted to have some kinky lover fun in private. However, she thought she’d better restrain herself a little in front of Nicholas’ subordinates so as not to let Nicholas lose his cool image in front of his subordinates.
What she didn’t expect was that Nicholas’ puzzled voice would ring beside her ear just when she was about to move her legs. “What’s wrong?”
Looking at his expression, Tessa could only remind him helplessly, “Mr. Jackson is here.”
It was almost as soon as she stopped that Nicholas understood what she meant. “So what if he’s here? Just sit here comfortably.”
Nicholas didn’t care about the image he portrayed in front of his subordinates. For him, nothing was as important as Tessa.
As a result, Edward witnessed the scene whereby Nicholas was massaging Tessa’s legs by the time he came in. The lofty, god-like President Sawyer is actually giving someone a massage now?!
Although he was stunned for a while, he was honestly used to it by now. President Sawyer has always been rather unprincipled when he’s in front of Mistress.
“President Sawyer.” Edward respectfully stood not far away from Nicholas.
Glancing at him, Nicholas asked, “What’s the matter?” As he asked, not once did he stop massaging Tessa’s legs.
Tessa, who sat next to him, was a little restless on the other hand. She was very embarrassed to show this side of theirs to Edward.
Pretending that he didn’t see anything, Edward looked down as he reported today’s work.
When he was about to finish reporting, he even brought up the situation relating to Tessa. “It seems that many media outlets wish to invite Mistress for interviews these days. They called the company, and there was even an offer for a TV station’s variety show. The production team said they hope Mistress could attend the show.”
“They have invited me?” Tessa was surprised.
Edward nodded in confirmation. Then, he added with a smile, “Mistress, you are quite popular in Xerthania right now.”
“No way!” She was in disbelief.
When he saw how shocked Tessa was, he explained, “It’s not impossible, Mistress. You were indeed slandered two days ago, but now that the matter has been clarified, everyone naturally sees your excellence. Not only that, you even gained a group of supporters.”
As Edward spoke until the end, he looked at Tessa with admiration. “Speaking of which, mistress, the number of your Twitter followers has increased to one million. That is just the result within these two days.”
Tessa was even more astonished when she heard what he had said. What? Is it true that the number of my Twitter followers has increased?
As she thought of this, she took out her mobile phone and logged on to her Twitter account—a platform where she would share her daily activities and interact with her fans. Once logged in, she discovered that it was as Edward said. As of this moment, her Twitter followers surpassed a million. In addition, her new followers even greeted her by leaving tweets under her Twitter post.
Chapter 1137 Decline All of Them
Edward stared at the pleased look on Tessa’s face. “Miss Reinhart, do you have any thoughts about these interviews and programs?” he asked.
Tessa frowned and thought about it for a moment before she shook her head. “You can decline all of them for me.” Even though she was famous, she had no plans of joining any reality shows or interviews. What a shame, he thought. “Do you want me to decline all of them?”
He reckoned that it’d be fine to reject some reality shows, but he figured that it’d be good for Tessa to participate in some interviews.
She knew why he found this a shame as he was thinking about his career. “I don’t find these things useful for me, and I shouldn’t strain myself with my current condition. Furthermore, I’d just like to focus on making music—it was never my goal to be a celebrity,” she replied with a smile.
After hearing her words, Edward felt a pang of admiration for Tessa as she remained loyal to her initial goal. However, before he could praise her, he felt a chilly sensation running down his spine.
As soon as he looked up, he saw his boss giving him a hostile glare. At that moment, he realized that he had made a foolish mistake. Boss probably wants Miss Reinhart to rest at home; I can’t believe I made the mistake of asking Miss Reinhart to continue working. No wonder Boss looks so annoyed at me!
“You’re right, Miss Reinhart. I’ll reject all of those people now.” He hurried off at once as if people were chasing after him.
Tessa was puzzled for a moment before she heard Nicholas’ icy grunt coming from behind her. “At least he’s smart enough to know what’s going on.”
As soon as she turned around, she laughed when she saw the grim look on his face. It seems like there’s a strong correlation between the look on Nicholas’ face and Edward running off. “I’ve already rejected him. Why do you have to be so fierce toward him?”
“He was being too inconsiderate.” Nicholas was already thinking about how he was going to lecture Edward later. I need to make sure he knows the right thing to say.
Of course, Tessa wasn’t aware of all of this—she simply found the grumpy look on Nicholas’ face extremely adorable. She couldn’t help but reach her hands out to pinch his soft cheeks.
Nicholas had been deep in thought, but he snapped back into reality when he felt something on his face. He didn’t stop her—he simply gazed at her lovingly as he allowed her to continue rubbing his cheeks.
Gregory, on the other hand, didn’t seem too pleased.
Earlier, Gregory had been quiet when his parents were talking, so he expected his mother to praise him and pinch his cheeks instead. “You should be squishing my cheeks instead, Mommy! I was being a good boy.”
Nicholas immediately felt annoyed when he saw his son stealing his spotlight.
However, Tessa didn’t realize anything—she was simply mesmerized by her son’s cute expression. “Okay, let me squish your cheeks. Yeah, your cheeks are softer than Dad’s.”
Gregory was pleased that she was playing with him, so he shot his father an arrogant look.
Nicholas felt worse after that and he turned to look at Tessa grumpily. “Are you calling me old?”
“Hey, I didn’t say that.” She immediately shook her head when she realized the change in his expression. The small and cozy family continued fooling around with each other, and their laughter was so loud that it could spread across the whole of Dynasty Gardens. The atmosphere was extremely pleasant and warm.
Later that night, Tessa showered and washed up. She was about to go to bed when she received a call from Sofia. “I didn’t disturb you, did I, Tessa?” she asked.
“No. Is anything the matter, Miss Sofia?” Tessa asked.
“Well, I have a friend who would like to interview you. My friend happens to be in town now. Would you be free?” Sofia asked.
“Well… You can pass me your friend’s contact number.” Tessa ended up agreeing with Sofia’s request since Sofia was her teacher.
Sofia quickly introduced her friend’s magazine company after hearing that Tessa was willing to do the interview. “My friend is the chief editor of ‘Trendy Youth’ magazine. Her name is Yulia, and their company primarily conducts interviews with outstanding and successful young adults. For example, all the top designers and entrepreneurs would go for interviews with them, and some people would kill just to get an opportunity to be interviewed by Yulia. I believe this is a great opportunity for you as Yulia requested the interview personally. That’s why I really hope you’ll take this chance.”
Chapter 1138 The Interview
Tessa was touched by how thoughtful her teacher was. “Thank you, Miss Sofia.” They talked on the phone for a while before ending the call. Nicholas edged closer when he saw the smile on Tessa’s face. “What did Miss Sofia tell you? You look really happy.”
“Miss Sofia has a friend who’d like to interview me, and she told me about it because she thought that it’d be a good opportunity for me,” Tessa answered as she told Nicholas all about her phone call. When Nicholas heard about the magazine she was talking about, he nodded in admiration. “Miss Sofia sure is thoughtful.”
“Yeah, of course. She’s my teacher.” Tessa tilted her chin up proudly. Nicholas found her extremely adorable, so he beamed as he pulled her in for a hug. “In that case, I’ll tell Edward to make the necessary arrangements tomorrow.” Tessa nodded.
…
The next morning, Edward fixed a time and location for the interview. The interview was set to be in the afternoon at Dynasty Gardens itself. As Nicholas had said, there was no need for them to hide anything now that the public knew everything. That afternoon, Yulia brought her staff over to Dynasty Gardens. They were stunned by the grand and luxurious interior designs that surrounded them the moment they walked in.
Since Tessa was pregnant, they didn’t chit-chat for long—they simply greeted and introduced themselves before they jumped straight into the interview. “Based on the news that was released online, it seemed like you lived a really tough life, Miss Reinhart. Yet, even under those tough conditions, you managed to persevere. It’s clear that you love the violin. Can you tell me how you managed to pull through that tough period?” Yulia asked with a smile.
It was clear that Yulia had prepared herself before the interview—she had done her research on Tessa’s past. Tessa had a faraway gaze in her eyes as she recalled the past. “It wasn’t so much of perseverance—I think I was forced into that situation. As announced on the news, my brother had a problem with his legs, and we needed a lot of money to treat him. I wanted to give up on my dream to focus on work, but he told me that he would give up on his treatment if I gave up on my dream. That was how I ended up sticking with what I liked.”
Even though Tessa spoke in a neutral tone, everyone could hear the struggle she went through in her voice. Yulia felt a strong sense of compassion for the girl, and she gently asked another handful of questions. Tessa replied to all of them patiently, and Yulia went on for a while before she brought up Tessa’s love life.
Tessa glanced at the camera with a starstruck look in her eyes. “Well, if I have to come up with an analogy for my life, I’d say my life is like chocolate that tasted bitter at the start but sweeter later on. My earlier years were filled with a lot of pain, but the sweeter parts came after I met my husband.”
That night itself, this interview was broadcasted on the Internet. The netizens had an abundance of positive things to say about Tessa, and Wanda felt her hatred for Tessa grow after she watched the interview. “How could that b*tch be so lucky?” Wanda was furious, but she didn’t have an outlet to release her anger. Furthermore, the number of good comments Tessa received on the Internet was almost equal to the number of harsh comments that Wanda had received! I’m the young mistress of the Muller Family! How could they make me sound like some evil witch? On top of that, Nicholas called off all the collaborative projects with my company! Wanda thought.
Wanda went to work the next day. Samantha went to Wanda’s office and knocked on her door after she heard that Wanda was at work. “President Muller, Sawyer Group ordered their staff to send the termination agreements over this morning.” Samantha handed the documents to Wanda as she spoke. Wanda’s expression darkened when she saw the documents on her table. “Did Sawyer Group say anything else?” Wanda asked through gritted teeth.
“No. The person left right after sending the agreements over,” Samantha replied. “They’re heartless. Are they planning to cut all ties with our company?” she asked in a rather frustrated tone.
Chapter 1139 Dodged a Bullet
Wanda’s expression darkened as well. She was extremely unhappy about the situation. “I want you to keep an eye on the company. I’m going to go over to Sawyer Group for a while.” After giving Samantha her orders, Wanda grabbed her keys from the table and headed out of the office.
“Let’s have a chat, Nicholas,” Wanda said as she entered Nicholas’ office. Edward followed closely behind her with a guilty look on his face. “I’m sorry, President Sawyer. I couldn’t stop her.” Nicholas shot Edward an icy glare before giving him a stern warning. “I don’t want you to make the same mistake again.”
“Got it!” Edward nodded.
Wanda was annoyed at how Nicholas seemed to be ignoring her, so she strode toward his table and continued speaking. “You don’t have to be so cruel, do you, Nicholas? I know I made a mistake, but my reputation has gone down the gutter now. Don’t you think I’ve already received the punishment I deserved? Why won’t you give me a chance to learn from my mistakes?” she asked.
“Well, if every person who makes a mistake gets a second chance, wouldn’t that be unfair to the victims? Anyway, there’s no hard rule saying that I have to forgive you. Do you think you can get away with it by acting as if nothing had ever happened?” Nicholas was direct and harsh with his words, and Wanda found herself speechless for a moment.
In the end, Wanda had no choice but to lower her voice as she begged him. “Nicholas, our families have a lot of history together. I hope you can consider that before terminating all our joint projects.” Muller Group had only started their business for a short while, so they would definitely suffer a huge loss if Sawyer Group were to call off their partnership. Even though Wanda’s intention had simply been to stay in Southend when she first started the company, she had also put in a lot of hard work and effort into the company. She had sacrificed her all just to get the company to the position that it was in right now.
Nicholas scoffed. “Well, it’s too late for regrets now. There’s no turning back. You don’t have to pester me, either; I’m not going to change my mind.”
Wanda looked as if she had just been struck by lightning upon hearing his words. She stumbled a few steps back as she stared at Nicholas with a look of disbelief. “Are you that heartless? Our families have been working together for decades!”
“Well, why didn’t you think of our decades of partnership when you took action against my wife and child?” Nicholas asked in return as he shot Wanda a mocking glare. “You should be glad that our families have been doing business with each other for such a long time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so nice—I’d do more than just cut ties with you. If anyone else dares to threaten my family or the people I love, I might not even spare them their life!” Nicholas’ glare turned icy as he looked at Wanda.
Wanda was so shocked that she could feel herself trembling with fear. “Well, you dodged a bullet this time, Miss Muller,” Nicholas commented. “I won’t do anything to you because of the relationship between our families. However, I won’t provide you with another chance if you do anything stupid again.” After warning her, he turned to stare at Edward. “Send her out!”
Wanda’s face was pale as she left Sawyer Group. She was still gloomy after she got back to her company. Once again, Samantha came knocking on the door just moments after Wanda entered her office. “Bad news, President Muller. A few companies have called and requested to terminate their partnerships with us.”
“Which companies are you referring to?” Wanda asked. Samantha quickly ran through a list of the companies that contacted them. Many of these companies had only asked for a partnership because of how involved they were with Sawyer Group—all of these companies were Sawyer Group’s trusty clients. If these companies decided to terminate their agreements, it’d be a huge blow to the company. Wanda felt extremely bothered as she thought about this. Samantha could tell that Wanda was unhappy, but she couldn’t find the right words to say even after some time.
Wanda noticed the look on Samantha’s face, so she questioned Samantha. “Is something else the matter? You can tell me everything at once.”
“Well, a lot of our staff feel uncertain about their future with this company. They’re all paranoid—they’re worried that the company will go bankrupt eventually.” Samantha spilled the truth in the end. It only makes sense for them to be worried, Wanda thought to herself.
Chapter 1140 Terminated Partnership
Wanda frowned for a moment before giving Samantha her orders. “I want you to calm them down. I’ll find a way to talk to the other companies,” Wanda said. “Got it!” Samantha left after taking orders.
In the meantime, Sawyer Group’s termination of its partnership with Muller Group became a hot topic on the Internet. All the netizens thought that Wanda deserved what she got. ‘Ah, how nice! Good job, President Sawyer,’ someone commented. ‘I think she deserves more than just losing a partnership with Sawyer Group. A shameless woman like her deserves to be jailed and reformed. Let’s see if she’d do anything nasty after that!’ someone added.
‘Am I the only one who thinks that President Sawyer is like one of the olden-day Roman emperors who’d give up their whole empire for a woman they loved? I can’t believe he ditched this project that was worth billions!’
‘It’s just a few billion—that’s nothing to President Sawyer,’ someone else replied.
Tessa felt rather worried when she saw these comments as she scrolled through her phone at home. That night, she hesitated to speak a few times after Nicholas got home. She didn’t know how to bring the topic up. After all, Nicholas was only doing all this for the sake of avenging her. Before she said anything, Nicholas could already sense a change in her behavior. After dinner that night, Nicholas found a way to distract Gregory before he brought Tessa out to the garden for a walk.
While they were on the way out, Nicholas confronted her. “Do you have something to say to me?” Tessa’s footsteps came to a halt, and she looked at the man in front of her for a while before she finally spilled her thoughts. “I saw the news online this afternoon, and I know that you terminated all your partnerships with Muller Group. I’m worried that this might affect your company,” she uttered. After a short pause, she continued expressing herself. “I know you’re trying to stand up for me, but I don’t want you to put yourself through unnecessary trouble just for me.”
“Don’t worry. I agree that this wasn’t the wisest act, but it doesn’t affect me at all.” Nicholas let out a faint smirk when he saw the worried look on Tessa’s face. “Nothing matters as much as you do.”
Tessa was utterly touched upon hearing his words. Right then, she recalled the comments that she had seen online earlier. “The netizens were right, after all. You’re like a Roman emperor who’d give up his empire for his lover.”
“Well, that sounds about right. All I know is that my priority is caring and pampering you,” Nicholas said as he gazed deep into Tessa’s eyes. Tessa could feel her cheeks turning red. “Aren’t you afraid that you might turn me into a spoiled brat?”
“No,” he replied. “I know you’re not that kind of person.” Nicholas’ tone was filled with confidence as he pulled her in for a hug.
The next morning, Tessa and Nicholas had just finished their breakfast when someone rang their doorbell. “Who is it? It’s so early in the morning.” Tessa glanced at Nicholas puzzledly. Nicholas didn’t have an answer either. “Can you check who’s here?” he said to Andrew, who was standing beside him. Andrew nodded and hurried off.
Soon enough, Andrew came back in with an exotic-looking girl who looked like she was in her mid-twenties. She was dressed in a gray formal suit that made her seem especially fair. She had dark hair, brown eyes, and a rather foreign look. Her strong aura filled the room the moment she stepped in. It was clear that she was an independent and gorgeous businesswoman.
Andrew hastily introduced her to Tessa and Nicholas. “This young lady here claimed that Miss Sofia was the one who sent her over, Miss Reinhart,” he explained.
“Miss Sofia?” Tessa was puzzled, so she took a long look at the girl. The girl spread her lips into a wide smile the moment she met Tessa’s gaze. “Hello, Miss Reinhart. I’m Alice. Sofia sent me here to work as your assistant. Moving forward, I’ll be in charge of all your schedules and other arrangements, including some personal arrangements.” Alice nodded at Nicholas after greeting Tessa.
At that moment, both of them were still stunned by Alice’s beauty. Nicholas, in particular, couldn’t recall himself having ever met someone who looked as elegant and classy as Alice. Tessa was just as shocked after hearing Alice’s introduction—Tessa hadn’t expected Sofia to send her an assistant. After returning to her senses, Tessa got Alice to take a seat before Tessa began to ask Alice for updates regarding Sofia and the orchestra.