Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Lady Mary has gone to the office. I’ve informed her. Lady Mary seems to be very defensive against Madam.”
“Remember, no one is allowed to enter the villa or go near Jason without my permission .”
“Yes, Sir.”
Max hung up the phone, stood up, and walked from his desk to the window, looking at the building across the street. As he did so, the door to his office opened. Darius’ voice came from the doorway, “Max.”
Max turned to look at the man in the doorway. Darius took a glance at his thin, resolute lips, and narrowed his eyes.
He greeted without emotion, “Dad”, then slowly walked towards the couch. Darius stood in front of Max, and asked, “Your mouth, what happened to your mouth?”
Max gently touched his lips with his long, thin fingers and replied very serenely, as if nothing had happened, “Someone bit me.”
“Mary?” Darius asked.
A sharp gleam flashed in the depth of his eyes.
Max looked a lot like Darius, but did not resemble Sophia at all. Not even one bit.
“Dad, if you already know all about it, why are you still asking?”
“Max, you tell me the truth. Five years ago, when you were drugged, the girl that night was Mary, not Sandra. Am I right?”
“…”
“So what are you going to do about it? Do you still intend to marry Sandra and leave Mary and Jason behind?”
“She’s not willing.” Max sneered coolly, “Dad, if you can convince her, I can marry her anytime.”
“What the heck are you talking about?”
Darius suddenly turned very solemn, “Max, Jason is your child. You can’t just ditch your responsibility to Mary and Jason simply because she doesn’t want to marry you. Besides, it’s normal for her not to accept you. It must have been very hard for her to have lived on her own for the past five years. Since you promised her mother, and now that Mary has given birth to your child, you should shoulder your responsibility.”
“Dad, you rarely came home all these years.” Max asked carelessly, “I haven’t asked you either, about your relationship with Mary’s mother. So how are you two related, anyway?”
“We were friends.”
Max asked, “So, you had another woman before you married my mother, right?”
“Max, is this the reason why Mary doesn’t want to accept you?”
Darius asked rhetorically, pretending that he didn’t get it. Max’s expression turned gloomy. He did not answer the question directly.
Darius didn’t want to continue the conversation, “I’m leaving Sheares in a few hours by train. I’ll be on a trip for a few months, working as a teacher. So if you and Mary get married, just give me a call. If it’s Sandra, then forget it.”
“I promised Mary that I would help her re-investigate the truth about her father’s car accident fifteen years ago,” Max said in his calm and low voice as Darius was about to leave.
Darius turned back, looking at Max with confusion, “Wasn’t her father’s car crash a traffic accident? Is there anything else to look into?”
Max chuckled. His eyes were cold. “Maybe not. Throughout all these years, Paul has never given up on the investigation. He heard from someone some time ago that her father’s death was not simply a car crash – but that you guys killed him.”
“Nonsense.” Darius’ expression suddenly darkened.
His stony face was filled with seriousness. “I am good friends with Mr. and Mrs. Hanks. How could I possibly kill them?”
Before this, Max had never discussed this issue with Darius. Nor had he ever asked if his parents really had anything to do with the death of Mary’s parents. It was because he didn’t even think it was possible. But given Paul’s behavior, and Mary’s attitude, Max decided to find out the truth about what had happened back then.
“Paul has currently concluded that his parents and Mr. and Mrs. Hanks’ had all been taken by you. In order to prevent Mary from having any misunderstanding, I decided to investiagate the truth.”
Darius said indifferently, “Go ahead. You may look into it if you wish to.” He paused and then asked, “Does Marcus know that Mary is still alive?”
Max said, “I haven’t told him yet. I am not sure if he knows about it.”
“Don’t tell him yet until you’ve made your decision. Max, think it through. No matter how much your mother likes Sandra or how much Marcus likes Mary, you should not be influenced by any of this. To make Mary happy and to keep Jason healthy are the most important for now.”
——
At noon, before the end of the work.
Priscilla, who had gone to accompany Rebecca, hurried back to the office building.
Meanwhile, Mary received a message from Rebecca, “Mary, thank you. You are the only one who can manage my dear Paul. I always tend to argue with him before we can start a conversation. Can you tell me what you did to make him listen that well?”
Behind her desk, Mary held her hand up against her forehead. Rebecca’s words hinted at something that made her wonder if she was overthinking things. Furthermore, her words were not exactly pleasant.
Pursing her lips, she edited her message and replied, “He is my brother, I am free to be harsh with him. You are pregnant with a baby. You need to keep yourself in a good mood. Don’t bother with his stupidity. Men are mostly as*holes.”
“I showed Paul the message you sent, and he didn’t dare to complain even a little. Mary, you’ve been back for a few days, right? Has Max had the chance to meet Jason? It is hard for Jason to go through life without a father by his side. You should get back together with him sooner or later.”
There were two knocks on the door before it was opened.
Priscilla came in, “Mary, Garcia’s article is ready. Also, I just got a call from them that Sandra has agreed to do an interview with us, under the condition that the content of the interview has to be decided by her.”
Mary exited the chat with Rebecca.
She asked Priscilla, “Has Sandra decided on the content of the interview?”
“Not only that, she even asked you to interview her personally. Mary, perhaps we shouldn’t continue with the ad. How could Sandra have the cheek to ask you to interview her?”
Mary smiled lightly. Compared to Priscilla’s overt anger, her face was as calm as a still sea, completely void of ripples and waves.
All of her emotions had been suppressed within the deepest levels of her heart. She took the outline of the interview that Priscilla had printed out and browsed through the content line by line. The further she read, the more her lips curved mockingly.
Sandra really did not miss any chance to brag about her romantic love story with Max. The outline of the interview went like this,
Question 1: When was the first night between you and Mr. Gaston?
Question 2: When did you and Mr. Gaston fall in love with each other?
Question 3: What is your favorite gift from Mr. Gaston?
Question 4: What is the one thing you would like to do for Mr. Gaston?
Question 5: What is…
“Mary?” Priscilla asked uneasily.
Mary raised her eyes, gave her a faint smile, and said lightly, “Tell them it’s fine with me as long as the Gastons are willing to provide the venue.”
Not only did Sandra demand that the interview be conducted exactly as she requested, she also specified the location, all at her disposal.
The Gastons’ residence? The smile on her lips deepened, and her eyes were filled with a trace of scorn.
Perfect. She had no problems with the location.
She had felt before that Sofia’s fondness for Sandra was beyond the pale.
Five years ago, it was finally confirmed from Sandra’s mouth. And now, Sandra wanted to be interviewed at the Gastons’ place. Of course she would gladly accept the demands.
Priscilla asked uneasily, “Mary, don’t you want to think twice about it? Those two women are definitely up to no good.”
Mary reassured her, “There’s nothing to worry about. If it’s at the Gastons’ house, the most they’ll do is show off how much Sandra and Max love each other..”