Chapter 93



Joseph’s statement instantly caused the atmosphere in the room to drop to the freezing point.

Charlotte’s mother turned pale as fear gripped her and she staggeringly asked, “What? You mean I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Rita, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke reluctantly, for she could stand it no longer, “Ma’am, the reason Stella has laid her hand on Charlotte is because she had pushed Noah earlier. She laughed at him for not having a mother and ridiculed him by calling him a wild child. It was all caught on the surveillance cameras and I wanted to show it to you.”

“Why didn’t you mention that before?” Charlotte’s mother turned white as a sheet and, as if grasping at straws, glared angrily at Rita and blamed her. “You’re intentionally hiding it to make me look bad, aren’t you? Why am I only talking about the fight between the girls instead of bringing up Charlotte’s problem in the beginning?”

Rita fell silent at his nonsensical denunciation as she whimpered aggrievedly, “You haven’t given me any chance to be able to tell you the whole truth.”

Charlotte’s mother looked perturbed at Joseph after the truth came out as she apologized, “Mr. Beckham, I admit it is my fault that this happened, but my daughter doesn’t know any better as she is still small. I will raise her well to be a better person in the future, her father will also take her to visit little Noah soon to make our official apologies, is that okay with you?”

gαℓησν𝒆𝓁s․com takes you on a journey “No need.” Joseph gave her an icy stare as he continued in a forbidding manner, “You have nothing to apologize to me for. However, don’t you think you should apologize to Stella’s mother for all the inappropriate and harsh words you have said to her face?”

Charlotte’s mother’s face went white as soon as she heard his request, which had sounded more like a threat, and after fixing her gaze on Hayden for a while, she finally forced out her mumbled apology: “I’m sorry.”

Hayden didn’t have much to say to her anymore, so he just turned his head to ignore her, only lowering his head to inspect if Noah was hurt anywhere.

Joseph was indeed a very influential prominent figure in City N. His words and his decision automatically dictated the outcome of any situation, as he would always be right, regardless of whether something was right or wrong.

It was evident that the woman’s air of haughtiness had been softened in an instant with just a few stern words from him.

Once the incident was settled, Hayden let go of Noah’s hand and bid him farewell, “You should go home to your father. I have to pick up Stella now, bye.”

Noah clung to her hand as an anxious gesture appeared on his face as he was reluctant to let go. He seemed to want to accompany her.

Joseph’s brows furrowed with apprehension, “Is Stella okay? I heard she had an asthma attack.”

“She’s fine now.” Joseph moved closer to her and suggested, “I can take you to the company celebration dinner tonight.”

“No, thank you.” Hayden took a step back to distance herself from him as she explained, “Stella’s condition isn’t so positive, so I’ll have to leave. I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble today, Mr. Beckham. I hope you can understand the reason for my absence at dinner tonight.”

Although Hayden had always referred to him as ‘Mr. Beckham’, the appellation was extremely irritating to his ears.

Joseph frowned deeply as the coldness began to seep into his eyes. As Noah was about to leave with her again, Joseph carried him in his arms as he quietly warned, “Don’t go anymore.”

Before this, he only had a hunch that she was distancing herself from him, but now he was 100% sure that Hayden was trying to push him away.

Noah struggled with all his might in Joseph’s embrace and had even swiped at his father’s face with his little hands, but was soon stopped abruptly by Joseph, who had a stony face as he muttered impassively, “He has his own daughter and he couldn’t care less about you, so it will be useless for you to keep following her. Let’s go home.”

Once she finished the sentence, she ignored Noah’s groan and marched toward the front door of the building with him in her embrace.

On the other side, Hayden had finally gotten Stella out of the room after taking note of some asthma precautions from the doctor. As they had exited the building, a gray-clad figure greeted them from across the street, “Here, Hayden.”

Freddie had come fully prepared with sunglasses and a cap, he was bundled up in a gray hooded sweatshirt that was an odd choice of attire for the scorching weather. As he began to beckon, he began to draw more attention to himself.

Hayden hurried into the car and said grumpily, “You should have waited for me in the car. Why did you come out, do you want people to recognize you?”

Freddie put on his seat belt and replied, “I was just worried they wouldn’t find me. Don’t worry, my cover is perfect.”

Hayden was in no mood to comment on his attire, so he just kept quiet.

Freddie was grieving over the wounds inflicted on Stella as he stroked her hand gently. “Look at you, moping around with a listless expression – are you in pain, Stella?”.

Stella, who was sitting in the child safety seat, muttered in a low, muffled voice, “No.”

“You’re just like your mom, acting so stubborn.”

Hayden smacked her upside the head angrily as soon as he heard her words. “Who do you think you mean? Don’t forget I’m older than you. If Alayna wasn’t busy with something else, I wouldn’t have asked you to pick us up, so hurry up and get going.”

The car began to move slowly, and a pair of eagle eyes from a nearby black car followed the rear of his vehicle until they disappeared from sight. The silence that reigned in the black car was so profound that you could hear a pin drop.

The driver held on to the steering wheel and, as he tried to carefully assess the distant countenance through the rearview mirror, a shiver ran down his spine.

“Ahh…”

Noah, who was sitting in the child safety seat, let out a disgruntled cry after seeing the car disappear from his view through the windshield, and immediately kicked Joseph in the knee.

Joseph turned a cold stare on his son and said, “Can’t you see she has her own life? She can’t be by your side every day, so it’s useless no matter how much you give vent to your annoyance. Even if you want a mom, it can’t be her.”

Noah was shocked and enraged by her stern look and Joseph’s curt rebuke of him, and it wasn’t long before he burst into loud wails and turned the car upside down.

“Start driving.” Joseph ordered gruffly as he ignored Noah’s tantrums.

When he had witnessed Hayden get into Freddie’s car just a moment ago, his heart instantly ignited with a burning anger that had coursed through his entire body. It was a feeling she had never experienced before, so she needed some space to decipher her feelings.

…

It was late at night now, and Stella, who had rarely slept with Hayden in the same room, asked as she lay snuggled in her mommy’s arms, “I haven’t seen Joseph in a while, Mommy. Have you two had a fight?”

Hayden was caught off guard by her sudden question. “Do you like him very much?”

“Joseph is very flashy, and he’s also very rich. If you followed him, you would live a happy life, Mommy.”

“Mommy has never thought about this sort of thing.” Hayden’s eyebrows furrowed in sadness as he suddenly asked, “If there comes a day when Mommy lets you choose between Mommy and Joseph, who will you choose, Stella?”

Stella looked up as she naively asked, “Why do I have to choose between the two, can’t I have both? You’re my mommy and he’ll be my daddy AND Noah will be my brother!”.

“What if, Joseph is your biological father? If he wants to take you, who will you choose?”.

“Joseph is my biological father?”. Stella was stunned for a moment, as that was beyond her, but excitement soon overcame her and she exclaimed, “Is it true, Mom?”

“I say it’s just a guess. Suppose he is your father and you have to choose one of us, who will you choose?”

“I’ll pick you without a doubt, Mommy!”. Stella answered without a hint of hesitation, but soon wavered from her decision as she expressed her doubt, “If Joseph is my real daddy, why can’t the two of you be together, Mommy?”

Hayden hugged her tightly, feeling exhilarated by Stella’s answers, they had comforted her, but at the same time they had weakened her. She gave an irrelevant answer to her daughter’s question, “Go to sleep, Stella. Tomorrow we have to visit your grandfather.”

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