Chapter 275
That evening, Jayden went home with Theodore and Eliana. Anthony, who had been waiting for them in the living room, greeted them with a smile. “Hey, Theodore, Eliana.” Then he turned to Jayden, holding up a pile of toys from the sofa. “Jayden, check out what I got you.”
But Jayden’s eyes immediately went to Eliana.
Eliana felt a little weird under his gaze. He wasn’t her brother, after all. “Go on,” she urged him.
“Okay,” Jayden replied, finally moving toward Anthony.
Lainey, who had just walked in, instantly felt uneasy. She shot Eliana a look, as if Eliana was about to snatch her precious son away.
Eliana couldn’t care less. She had never seen Lainey as her family, and she didn’t bother to explain.
“Theodore, let’s head back to our room,” she said.
“Okay, Theodore replied.
Meanwhile, Anthony patted the pile of toys next to him and smiled at Jayden. “Jayden, I bought these just for you. The salesperson said they’re all the latest. Go ahead and see if you like them.”
“Thanks, Anthony,” Jayden said, but he didn’t open any of the toys.
Anthony paused, a little surprised. “You don’t like them?”
Jayden answered honestly, “I do, but I need to focus on my studies lately, so I probably won’t have much time to play with toys.”
Lainey and Anthony were both stunned by his words.
Meanwhile, upstairs in their room, Eliana murmured, “It’s strange. Jayden’s grades aren’t great, but Anthony still bought him so many toys. Is
he trying to apologize?”
Theodore, who was taking off his coat, replied, “Probably not.” Eliana looked at him curiously. “Why?”
After sitting down, Theodore explained, “Anthony never cared about Jayden’s troublesome behaviors and poor grades. I guess he just wants to see Jayden become a good–for–nothing so that he can never become a threat to Anthony.”
Eliana let out a soft gasp. “No way.”
“No way?” Theodore pointed to his chest, where he’d once taken a bullet.
Eliana’s breath caught, Theodore went on, “Barbara is a girl; she’ll get married one day. So, she being capable actually works in Anthony’s favor. She can help him win over her husband’s family and build connections for him.
“But Jayden’s a boy, and he has just as much right to inherit the Russell Group.
“Anthony will be much older after Jayden grows up, and by then, the power within my family will have to be split up again. Anthony’s too ambitious to ever let go of what he’s got.”
Eliana felt a chill run all over her. ‘If what Theodore said is true, then Anthony is seriously scary!‘
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10:09 Tue, 5 Aug
Chapter 275
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Downstairs, seeing that the toys weren’t working, Anthony grabbed Jayden’s shoulders and said helplessly, “Jayden, why didn’t you tell me and Mom about the parent meeting today?”
Jayden’s heart sank. “You two wouldn’t remember anything unless I told you, right?”
“Jayden, come on,” Lainey quickly cut in, unable to bear hearing his accusation. “I didn’t forget, I just…”
Jayden interrupted her. “You just loved your card games so much that you chose to forget the meeting, right?”
Lainey looked embarrassed.
Jayden then turned to Anthony. “As for you, Anthony, maybe you didn’t forget, but my grades are so bad that I’m not even worth you showing up for, right?”
Anthony was just about to say something, but just then, Barbara came home from school.
“Mom, Anthony, I’m going to do my homework,” Barbara said, trying to slip away when she noticed the tense atmosphere.
But Anthony’s expression darkened. “Barbara, stop right there.”
Barbara stopped in her tracks and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Did you put Jayden up to asking Theodore and Eliana to go to his parent meeting?” Anthony questioned.
“Huh?” Barbara feigned innocence. “A meeting? I didn’t know anything about that.”
“You-” Anthony’s tone grew sharp, but Lainey quickly cut in, “Forget it, Anthony. Let Barbara do her homework.”
‘They’ve only just managed to patch things up. I can’t let them fall out again,‘ Lainey thought.
“Alright then,” Anthony said, waving his hand at Barbara. As she was about to leave, Jayden called out, “Barbara, wait! I’m coming to study
with you!”
With that, Jayden dashed after Barbara, not even glancing back when the toys Anthony bought for him tumbled to the floor.
Lainey told the maid to pick up the toys, then sighed with a complicated look. “Anthony, be positive. Jayden wanting to study is actually a good thing.”
She used to beg for this, and now it was finally happening.
Anthony murmured absentmindedly, “A good thing?”
“Yeah, now that Jayden is making progress, he’ll be able to help you in the future,” Lainey said, only then noticing the odd look on his face.
“Anthony, what’s wrong?”
“Help me?” Anthony snapped out of his thoughts and gave a peculiar smile. “That really would be a good thing.”
Meanwhile, Barbara noticed Jayden cupping his face and grinning like an idiot the moment he walked into her room. She asked, “Weren’t you asking me to help you with your homework? What’s with the grin?”
Jayden stared at his report card–still dead last in the class, but for once, he felt fired up inside. “Barbara, having Eliana as my sister–in–law is honestly the best thing ever!”
Barbara finally realized why he was grinning and smiled along with him. “Right? It really is awesome.”
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Chapte: 275
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The next day, at the Burke Group.
Linsey was in Hudson’s office, speaking up in her usual businesslike tone, “Mr. Burke, we have a lunch meeting at noon. You should get ready; we need to leave soon,”
After spending some time working together, Hudson had gradually gotten used to Linsey’s fast–paced style, and the improvement was
obvious.
He was not only looking more energetic than ever, but he was also getting so much more done at work. Even if someone told him to run a few laps around the company, he’d probably agree without a second thought.
Just as Linsey was opening the office door for him, Hannah walked up and said, “Dad, I was hoping we could have lunch together today.”
Linsey stepped in between them. “Mr. Burke is busy.”
Hannah shot back, annoyed, “Linsey, ever since you started working here, Dad’s been too busy for anything. Now, I can barely even get a
word in with him.”
“If you have something to say, you can talk about it at home,” Linsey replied, turning to Hudson. “What do you think; Mr. Burke?”
Hudson also thought it was better to focus on work while at the office. “Hannah, let’s have dinner together at home tonight. This deal is really important for me.”
Hannah couldn’t hold back any longer. “Dad, what’s more important–your business or me?”
Hudson hesitated for a moment, but then, he noticed Linsey’s watchful gaze.
He thought, ‘I’m working this hard so my wife and daughter won’t look down on me anymore. How can I just give up halfway because of Hannah? I can’t go back to being that pushover I used to be.’
“I’ll make it up to you another day,” he said, then left with Linsey.
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