Chapter 70

Chapter 16 Chapter 16 As soon as she opened her mouth, I knew it.

She had come here with no good intentions.

I had read enough stories about the rich and powerful, about the weight of old money, and the quiet, measured elegance of those who wielded it like a weapon.

Though I had never set foot in their world, I had seen how it worked.

Parks“ mother–she was the kind of woman you didn’t underestimate.

There was no aggression in her voice, no overt hostility in her expression.

And yet, somehow, as soon as she opened her mouth, she commanded the room.

Grace. Poised. Dangerous in a way that only the truly powerful can possess.

I had no idea what she wanted from me.

But I knew one thing.

This was more than just a simple dinner.

Still, I bowed my head slightly, politely, and greeted her.

“Good evening, Mrs. Brown.”

I expected her to answer me coldly and cautiously.

Instead-

She beamed.

“This stupid boy,” she said, giving Parks a pointed look that was half reproachful, half teasing. “He told me everything about both of you.”

Then she turned to me, effortlessly, like someone who has spent her life directing conversations.

Her eyes were warm.

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Chapter 16 Too warm.

“Honestly, what was he thinking? Handling things so badly?”

She shook her head with exaggerated dismay, “You can punish him any way you want, honey. Yell at him, hit him, leave him–it’s up to you.”

Beside me, Pax tensed.

“Whose side are you on, Mom?” he asked, a flash of irritation crossing his face.

But she ignored him.

That night, she told me stories.

About Pax’s father.

How they had built their empire from nothing.

How they had fought side by side as young men, enduring hardships and dreaming of a future neither of them had been born into.

“It’s easy to struggle together,” she mused, her fingers absently running over the rim of her wine glass.

Then, she looked up at me.

“But what about prosperity?”

She smiled.

The corners of her mouth curved slowly, deliberately.

“That’s the real test.”

Then, without warning, she smiled.

The incident left Pax standing still beside me.

“He was seven when it happened.”

I could sense he was tense, but his mother continued.

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Chapter 16 “His father.”

“Found dead in a hotel room.”

Naked.

Lifeless.

A scandal had shattered their world, shattered everything Pax had grown up to believe.

I hadn’t expected her to say something like this.

And from the way Pax looked pale, neither had he.

Not the arrogant, confident man ready to respond.Not the eloquent, charming, untouchable heir.

Just a boy.

A boy who had lost his father in the worst possible way.

His mother sighed, swirled her glass, then put it down.

“No one knows a son better than a mother.”

“Maybe that’s why he does it. Why he pretends to be poor.”

“A way to rewrite the past. A way to prove something to himself.”

Pax didn’t speak.

Didn’t look at her.

Instead, his fingers curled in his pants, his shoulders stiff and still.

“The reason doesn’t matter,” he said finally, his voice quieter now, more controlled. “Wrong is wrong.”

Then, he finally turned to me.

When he spoke, his voice was steady.

“Cecilia, I fell in love with you when first moment I saw you.”

“Will you give me a chance?”

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Chapter 16 His eyes didn’t waver.

“Can we start over?”

Backup Girl No More: Adios to my V-card and My First Love (Brooklyn)

Backup Girl 69 Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run Chapter 720