“Good, then you should get out of the house more often,” Anna said with a smile.
Sitting next to her, Peace handed Mona a bag of potato chips and said, “I think your kid will probably be a lazy bone. They won’t even move in your stomach.”
“Would anyone be lazier than you?” Anna asked, rolling her eyes.
“I’m serious. Mona said that she hadn’t felt a single movement from her baby when she was more than six months pregnant, and she wondered if something was wrong with the baby. So, she went to the hospital for a checkup, but everything was normal. Guess what? She was nearly eight months pregnant when the child kicked her for the first time.”
Mona, too, couldn’t help but laugh. She said, “Yep, that’s a lazy kid.”
A while later, Emily and Ryan arrived with their baby, Zac, who was a spitting image of Ryan but had pink cheeks and a round little tummy. When Zac saw Anna, he extended his chubby little hand and said, “Aunt Anna, hug!”
Anna then snatched him from Ryan’s grasp, exclaiming, “Wow! You’ve gained a lot of weight, haven’t you, Zac?”
Zac smiled and kissed Anna on the cheek. Emily was jealous because Zac had refused to hug her since she arrived home.
Seeing Emily was a bit upset, Ryan took her hand and comforted her, “Honey, don’t be sad. You don’t spend much time at home. So, Zac might be shy when seeing you. Just give him some time, honey. You’re his mom. He loves you!”
At that point, the music began to play and the first model went on the stage.
“The outfit is designed by a designer who just graduated from college,” Mona explained to them. She was involved in the design process of each item, so she knew a lot of the details.
“It’s quite nice,” Anna said, nodding. Suddenly, she thought of something, so she turned around and asked, “By the way, isn’t Daydream’s show also held today? Has their show begun as well?”
Mona nodded and looked around the stage. “Fortunately, we devised a backup plan and invited many other celebrities. Two-thirds of those on the original list did not show up at our show as they have promised.”
Hearing her words, Anna frowned. At that point, she was more convinced that Beatrice was a strong opponent. Then she asked, “What? Two-thirds of them didn’t make it to our show? Did they tell us they changed their mind before the show began?”
“Certainly not! Beatrice wouldn’t allow them to do so because she didn’t want us to have time to prepare. She poached those celebrities from our list, although there are many other celebrities in the entertainment industry. She only did it to catch us off guard!”
“We have a long history of working with these celebrities. So, we know what Daydream is up to, but they don’t. But why would they do that?” Anna asked. Then she reasoned to herself, Most of the celebrities we invited have previously collaborated with our company. They know that breaking a contract is a minor offense, but offending a partner is a major blunder. Not to mention that they’re well aware of Lemon’s relationship with the Carousel Group. I just can’t see why they would take such a big risk.
“What kind of offer can Daydream make to persuade so many people to offend Lemon and Carousel?” Anna asked.
“You mean they went not because the offer was good but because Beatrice might know their secrets?” Mona asked.
Peace casually said, “Is it difficult to tell? Almost every celebrity in showbiz has their dark side.”
Seemingly enlightened, Mona’s eyes glowed. Then she said in a hurry before standing up, “I have to go backstage now.”
“Watch your step,” Anna yelled behind Mona’s back while Mona walked away happily as if she hadn’t heard anything.
Shaking her head, Peace said, “She’s about to have a baby! Why does she still walk around like that? She had better not give birth backstage later.”
“Shh, Mona’s fine. You don’t have to worry about her,” Anna said.
“You knew she was coming here to make sure the show would go smoothly, but why didn’t you ask her not to come beforehand? Why do you act like you have nothing to do with Lemon while you’re the biggest shareholder of it?” Peace said in dissatisfaction.
“Actually, I don’t have the energy to run this company. You see how busy I am at the hospital! Last year, I told Andrew at the shareholders’ meeting that I wanted to sell my shares to him for a low price. But he was not interested in it. And it took me quite some time to persuade him to agree to the proxy shareholding.”
***
As the lights in the venue changed, the first show of one collection ended. The second collection was all about clothing for young girls.
“Tammy’s here!” Peace said excitedly as soon as she spotted Tammy. She then quickly took out her phone and prepared to take pictures of Tammy. Meanwhile, Peace kept waving towards the stage, looking more excited than Anna.
Wearing a stunning blue dress, Tammy walked on the stage with composure. The hem of the dress was studded with diamonds, and they shone like the entire galaxy. While posing for the photo, Tammy winked at Peace with her right eye. The next second, everyone started clapping, and some were taking pictures of Tammy.
Peace exclaimed cheerfully, “Amazing! She looks like a professional model! Guys at her school must be crazy about her, right? By the way, why isn’t Matthew here? Is he busy with something else?”
Anna replied, “I just called him, and he said Jasper had sent Tammy something from the United States to the office. He was on his way to her apartment to deliver the package.”
“The apartment? You mean the duplex on the building’s top floor, right? Is Tammy still staying there?”
“That’s right. She would rather live there than at home. That breaks my heart.”
Hearing Anna’s words, Peace laughed and asked, “You know, I get her. Every time she came home, you would keep nagging at her. I wouldn’t go home either if I were Tammy.”
“Oh, and now you’re lecturing me? Don’t you forget that you guys are spoiling her more often than me. And you have to be blamed for it, too.” Pouting, Anna said.
While the fashion show was going on, a black car arrived at the office building. Matthew stepped out of the car, carrying a large delivery box. He then told the driver, “You don’t have to wait for me. You can get off work now.”
“Thanks, Mr. Wright.”
The car drove off as Matthew walked into the building. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. As soon as Matthew left the elevator, he saw the door to the apartment. When he opened the door, he heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.
Is it Tammy? But… Didn’t she go to Lemon’s show today? Is this show over now? Thinking of that, Matthew removed his jacket and placed the box on the table. He then took a can of lemon tea from the refrigerator.
At the same time, Alicia was taking a hot bath in the bathroom. She thought, This city is fantastic! Even the hot water here is better than that in my hometown. Amber’s apartment is wonderful! I’ve always wanted to live in a beautiful house like this one.
After the shower, Alicia wrapped herself in a large bath towel. She looked around before realizing she hadn’t brought her clothes with her. And she paused for a moment before deciding to go out and get her clothes, assuming that she was the only one there. Then she walked out of the bathroom.
The instant she saw a boy standing in the living room, she screamed. Panicked, Amber dashed back into the bathroom, shut the door, and yelled, “Who are you?! What are you doing here?!”
Hearing that, Matthew froze. He frowned and asked, “I should be the one to ask you that. How the hell did you get into MY HOUSE?”
“What? What are you talking about? This is Amber’s house!”
“Who is Amber? And who the hell are you?” Matthew asked as he approached the bathroom. Knowing that Tammy often forgot to lock the door when she left the house, Matthew thought, The girl must have snuck in the house. What is she up to? Also, who the hell is Amber?
In the bathroom, Alicia’s face had turned pale from fear. She stood in the bathroom helplessly, only wearing a bath towel. And she regretted not taking the phone into the bathroom right now. Then, through the translucent bathroom door, she saw Matthew standing just outside the door. And when she saw the toilet plunger next to her, she came up with an idea.
The next second, Alicia yanked open the bathroom door and dashed out, holding the toilet plunger in the air. “Pervert!” she yelled while pointing the plunger at the boy a few steps away. “Don’t get any closer! I’ll call the cops right now if you get any closer!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! I should be the one to call the police!” With a long face, Matthew said impatiently.
Alicia’s heart skipped a beat when she saw his arrogant demeanor. And she snarled, “Don’t think they won’t believe you’re a pervert just because you’re a cute guy!”
“For the record, YOU BROKE INTO MY HOUSE! I own this place! Who are you to call me a pervert?! Are you out of your mind?” Matthew snarled back, his face flushing from anger.
“You’re insane! This is my boss’s house, not yours!”
“Who is your boss?”
Alicia quickly grabbed her phone from the coffee table before Matthew could finish his sentence. “I’m calling the police right now,” she said as she dashed behind the couch.
“OK, call them as you want,” Matthew said, nodding his head with composure. After saying that, he turned around and walked away.
“Where are you going? You can’t leave here!” Alicia yelled.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.