Candace was so happy. She ran toward him and held onto his leg. She wished her Dad could sit down and eat with them.
Linford picked the girl up as if she weighed nothing, “It’s okay, baby. I’m taking you somewhere else.”
Candace was so confused. She couldn’t realize what was happening, but Linford had already brought her out of the door.
“Hey! What the heck is this, Linford?” Cristelle was so pissed off that she shot up from her chair and followed them.
Linford didn’t stop, walking down the hall, “Keep chatting with your ‘friend.’ Grandpa wants to see Candace. I’m taking her there.”
Candace heard that she was gonna be taken to Franco’s. She suddenly started to wriggle, stretching her arms toward Cristelle. She didn’t want to go to the dance class.
Linford added, “We’re only gonna be there having tea with Pop and Mr. Weston. We don’t have any classes today. Mr. Weston said he hadn’t seen you for days. He missed you as well.”
Candace stayed still, frowning. She was still battling herself. Should she stay with her Mom today or go to Pop’s?
Cristelle went speechless. She didn’t want to make things too awkward in a circumstance like this. She could only give up, “Candace, just go with Dad. Mommy will be there to pick you up later.”
Candace thought for a while and nodded. She wished her Mom could come to pick her up as soon as possible.
****
In the car, Alfred asked confusingly, “Mr. Bradley, why can’t you tell Cristelle directly about Jasper’s true face?”
He faked being stung by that jellyfish. He even faked that studio. If Cristelle got to know all of the truth, she would definitely stay away from him. Linford held his daughter in his arms with a cold smile on his lips, “She will only remember after getting a taste of the consequence generated from her own fault.”
****
When Cristelle went back to the room again, Jasper stood up from his chair hesitantly, “Cristelle… Is Mr. Bradley mad? He didn’t say anything mean to you, did he?”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just ignore him. We can use the time to discuss our studio,” Cristelle calmed herself down and found a random topic.
This result made Jasper smile. Seeing them slowly falling out with each other suited his attention just fine.
“I’ve brought the contract, Cristelle. We can talk over the meal.”
Cristelle nodded and sat down. The discussion lasted until 3 pm. Cristelle noticed the time was getting late, so she stood up from her chair, “Let’s call it a day. I’ll hand in my resignation soon. I guess our offices would be done by then. I can just go to the studio directly.”
Jasper was thrilled, “I’ll give you a ride.”
Jasper’s car pulled over before Cristelle’s apartment.
“I have to go. You drive safely,” Cristelle didn’t show any sign of inviting him up.
Jasper looked up and stared at her window for a short second, “Of course. See you soon.”
Cristelle got out of the car and walked into the elevator, sending Candace a voice message, “Candace, honey, Mommy’s home. When will you come back? Mommy brought your favorite desserts today. Come back soon.”
She pulled out the keys and opened the door, only to see Candace playing puzzles with Linford. Candace was so immersed in the game that she didn’t even bother to look up.
Linford, however, suddenly looked in Cristelle’s direction when he heard the door click.
Cristelle looked away instantly.
“Sweetheart, do you want to have some desserts?”
Candace shook her head slowly.
Cristelle sighed and put the desserts she had brought back into the fridge. She returned to her study room and wrote a resignation letter, sending it to Fritzi. She felt tired after doing that. She tried to shut her eyes for a bit, but her head was buzzing with all sorts of thoughts.
She flipped open her laptop and started to watch random videos on YouTube.
When she was laughing at a prank video, the door of her room was suddenly pushed open. She turned to look and saw Linford Bradley.
She was wearing a white shirt and a suit skirt today. The skirt made her ass look full and tempting. And she happened to lose two buttons on her shirt when she came back. Her cleavage was faintly visible because of that. Linford’s eyes happened to fall on her chest.
Cristelle cursed under her breath and sat up calmly as if nothing had just happened, “Can’t you knock?”
Linford was about to sit down, but his eyes dropped as he saw the hostility in the woman’s eyes, “Are you sure you wanna work with that man?”
“I’m positive.”
Cristelle had been hesitant. She knew Jasper had an intention of working with her. She didn’t want to get too close to him. But if she wanted to start her own business, she didn’t have a better option.
Linford was too unpredictable. He would take away everything he gave her once he was not amused.
“That man is untrustworthy. But if you insist, I guess I can do nothing.”
With that, Linford just turned around and walked away.
Cristelle sat on the bed. She felt complicated.
She knew that was Linford’s compromise, but she just couldn’t help feeling scared.
Her head was a mess.
****
Darwin was pretty pissed off after knowing the newest information about Cristelle.
“She did what? She quit the job and started her own studio with another man. Can’t she just stay silently away from Linford? Why did she have to make everyone in this city know about it? Is she determined to ruin the reputation of our family?” Darwin threw a glass on the ground.
Tanya tried to calm him down, “Honey, don’t be mad. Linford didn’t even get mad. Why are you so pissed off after all? Besides, she’s not legally married into our family. Being this mad will make people have the wrong idea, thinking she was also a Bradley.”
Darwin instantly paused for a while, “That actually makes sense. As long as she hasn’t married Linford yet, she can do whatever she wants. If she wants to make a fool of herself, just do it. It’s none of our business anyway.”
“That’s right,” Tanya smiled. She wished Cristelle could make bigger trouble and get herself destroyed in the end. So Candace and Cody would be hers.