Anne and John’s daughter was named Samantha, or Sammie for short.
“Why is she named Samantha? Brettley asked nonchalantly as he stared out the front passenger window.
“That’s because Anne explained, blushing. “That’s because I was obsessed with samosas when I was pregnant with her Both John and I agreed that it must be because of the child, so we decided to call her Samantha-samosa, Samatha, samosa, Samantha.
“Besides, the word Samantha means to blossom, and we hope that that’s what she’ll turn out to be-a blossoming young girl
Bethan curled her lips into a smile. “Well, you better drink more margaritas when you get pregnant with your second baby, then call her Marguerite-that’s French for daisy. That way, both your children will have matching names.”
Anne was amused by this and chuckled.
A split second later, Bethan tucked her smile away and asked solemnly, “But your child’s name is Sammie, whereas Bonnie’s daughter is Shelly. Isn’t this kind of confusing?”
Anne paused, then shot Bethan a puzzled glance. “Do you…still not know about Shelly’s true identity?”
Bethan felt weird about what Anne said. “Shelly’s real identity?”
“Why didn’t I hear Bonnie saying anything about it? she thought.
While she was accompanying Gwen in Saigen City, she never ceased keeping in touch with people back in Merchant City. Rosalyn and Charles were helping her to take care of her three kids. Bonnie and Jim always contacted her too.
She was even on a video call with Bonnie this morning discussing the lawsuit. However, she never heard Bonnie talking about anything related to Shelly’s real identity.
“Yea…”
Anne pursed her lip and looked at Brettley and then at Bethan. “You guys don’t know?”
Shelly was the daughter Bethan and Brettley lost; Bonnie was the one who told her about this. How was it possible that Bonnie did not tell Bethan and Brettley?
“I know,” replied Brettley indifferently with a frown before Bethan could reply. “I was going to bring Bethan back to Merchant City after settling the issues in Saigen City, but something came up, so I had to take her here.”
He glanced at Anne as he added, “We’ll talk more about Shelly when Bethan and I go back to Merchant City.”
Anne knew better than to continue with that topic after hearing what Brettley said. “So, what’s the emergency?”
Bethan furrowed her eyebrows. She did not hide and told Anne everything Adrian did.
“Adrian is a jerk!”
Upon knowing the truth about how Adrian treated Rianna and what happened to Celia after she got dumped, Anne angrily ranted, “Do you know the many things he did over the past year, using Brettley’s name? He even harassed John too. He told John that Brettley needed John’s help and asked for money so he has the capital to establish a company, or something like that.
“We’re just one of the many small companies the Morrison Group cooperated with, yet he approached us. You can tell he’s approached every company based on the list of companies Morrison Group is cooperating with.”
Brettley frowned unconsciously and looked at John, who was driving. “Adrian looked for you?”
John nodded. “It was more than half a year ago. If Anne didn’t mention it, I wouldn’t have remembered. At that time, he looked for me and told me that you said you have trouble with your cash flow and hoped that I can help you…
“It sounded fake, yes, but he was your father, so I did consider it. Anne then told me that after you left Banyan City to go to Merchant City, your company had been doing very well. Your group is one of the two largest groups in Merchant City, and the other one belongs to Bethan’s family.
“That’s when I thought Adrian was lying when he said you have difficulty with your cash flow. The next day, he came looking for me again. I told him straight away that my wife is Bethan’s best friend and that I’d tell her to inform you if he ever came to find me again. Only then did he leave and never came back.”
John sighed. “You should really look into this since you’re back now. From what I heard, there are at least tens of companies, if not a hundred, that gave money to Adrian. All he’s doing is ruining and tarnishing your reputation…”
Perhaps Brettley had expected this sort of thing would happen, so much so that he did not look surprised when John told him that. All he did was frown and looked outside the window at the scenery.
“You’re right. That’s why I came back to settle this now,” he said.
John was confused. “Are you going to help Adrian settle his debt?”
Brettley raised the corner of his lips and said coldly, “He should be responsible for his debt since he was the one borrowing money. I’m his son, but I’m not obliged to help him pay his debt.”
He switched his sitting position to a more comfortable position on the passenger seat. His eyes looked cold. “Of course, I’m looking forward to seeing how he’ll react when he’s cornered by his debtors.”
Adrian met Rianna when he was cornered, too. He was a bad businessman, but Rianna was a genius in doing business. With Rianna’s help, Morrison Group prospered and took off.
At that time, Rianna would never guess her life would end in the hands of the same man she trusted the most-a kept man who needed her to do everything for him.
John felt the chil creeping up his backbone when he saw Brettley’s expression. This man is scarier than I imagined.’
The cold vibe from Brettley scared John, and he did not dare to talk with Brettley. He merely focused on the road ahead and concentrated on driving.
The ambience in the car became silent and gloomy.
Bethan, noting how daunting Brettley looked when he talked about Adrian, coughed and changed the topic.
“Anne, just now you talked about Shelly’s identity. Does that mean her parents found her?” she asked.
Anne’s face turned pale. She did a great deal of effort to divert the topic away, but who knew Bethan would bring it up again in such a short time?
Since Brettley wanted to give Bethan a surprise by not telling her about it, Anne was not about to ruin that. Thus, she looked to the side and did not dare to make eye contact with Bethan. She tried to brush it off as she said, “Yes. They found Shelly’s parents.”
“Bonnie mentioned that Shelly’s parents must be related to my family. Now that they found her parents, are they related to the Landry family?”
Anne rubbed her glabella helplessly when Bethan was obviously interested in gossiping.
“Yes,” she said.
‘Very closely related, too.”
After Jim lost his memory, Bonnie suspected Shelly was his daughter. Thus, she brought Jim and Shelly’s DNA to get tested. The result showed that Shelly was not his daughter, though she was related to Jim, oddly enough.
At that time, Bonnie thought that Jim might have brought Shelly from a relative of his. Albeit, that was not it. A few days ago, Jim recollected some of his memories. It was then that they found out… Shelly was actually Bethan and Brettley’s daughter!
That was why it was not weird that Shelly was related to Jim, especially since Jim was Bethan’s brother and also the son of Brettley’s aunt.
Regardless, Anne could not teli Bethan that information. She kept it in her heart and looked outside the window.
“Once you and Brettley settle the issue here, you’ll know when you go back to Merchant City,” she said.
Not long later, their car arrived at the accommodation where John arranged for Bethan and Brettley. It was a place situated in the city center with two bedrooms. Even though the space was small, the design of the place was extremely comfortable, sort of resembling the life when Bethan was living overseas with her three kids.
“Anne was the one who picked this place,”
John explained proudly after seeing the shock in Bethan’s eyes. “She said that during the past five years you’ve lived outside, you stayed in this sort of place. Now that you’re back together with Mr. Morrison, you won’t get to live in such a small place. It’s good to let you recollect that moment during this short stay.”
He looked at Anne pleasingly after saying that. “Anne is always so thoughtful and caring.”
Anne blushed upon hearing John’s words. While she carried Sammie in one hand, she used her other elbow to nudge him. “It’s nothing much, really. You don’t have to emphasize it.”
“No, John is right. You’re very thoughtful and caring.”
Bethan burst out in laughter, looking at how loving the couple was. “I haven’t stayed in a place like this for a long time. Come to think of it, I do miss it.”
“Really?”
Brettley raised his brow and looked at Bethan. “What about if I buy this place? You can come to stay here occasionally and reminisce.”
Bethan curled her lips. “Why not? Though…”
She raised her eyebrows while looking at Brettley. “I don’t know if Mr. Morrison, who has been living the luxury life, would come stay with me.”
In her memories, Brettley never stayed in such a tiny place before. He was born into a prestigious family, and even though he did not have his mother protecting him, he was still the most precious, beloved child in the Morrison family.
Even at his lowest time, he never lived in such a normal house, so Bethan knew it was unlikely he would be willing to come to stay at this place with her. Not because he disliked it, but mainly because he was used to living in the big house. There would definitely be many inconveniences in his life living in this small place.
Bethan, however, did not expect what would come next before she could say out the later part of her sentence.
Brettley curled his lips and smiled. “Of course I’d come stay with you,”
Brettley said while he turned around to sit on the sofa.
His legs were too long, so he had to bend them while sitting on that small sofa and not extend them out fully like he was at home.
Nevertheless, he did not seem to be troubled by that.
He smiled. “It’s not bad here. It’s quite cozy.”
He looked up at Bethan and continued, “If you like how cozy it is, I’ll buy this place.”
“Once we settle everything and when the kids are back in Banyan City, we can stay here for one day during the weekend. What do you think?”
His eyes were so sincere, as though very certain about that decision.
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.