“Candace is little, and she has Pop to take care of her. I shouldn’t worry about her. Besides, she’s slowly growing up. I can’t always keep her under my wings,” Cristelle knew what she was doing, and she did everything for her babies.
Linford’s face turned gloomy, “Really? But why does it look like you care about that friend of yours more than you care about your own daughter?”
“Can you even be more childish, Linford Bradley?”
“I just want to remind you of our agreement. The babies can’t have a stepfather before they grow up. They didn’t get much fatherly love growing up. I don’t want them to get stuck in between!” Linford refused to give in.
He always used the babies as his excuse. He knew it was pretty cowardly for him to do so. But he didn’t dare to tell this woman that he loved her.
He knew she would probably be scared away if he confessed.
Linford Bradley used to give zero tolerance for people’s opinions. But after getting to know this woman, he suddenly became soft. He wanted to make her his completely.
But he didn’t know how to do it. Sometimes, he just acted like a madman, being unreasonable and jealous. Only heaven knew that he just didn’t want to scare her away.
He didn’t want to lose her or the babies anymore.
“I know what you’re trying to say, Bradley,” Cristelle narrowed her eyes, “You reminded me again and again because you don’t want me to do anything to bring shame to your family name. You actually want me to leave this city, so you can finally be relieved, don’t you? You’re just as selfish and fake as those people,” Cristelle clenched her teeth, “No matter how terrible you’re treating me, I will never leave my babies so you can take them for yourself!”
She wanted to whip around, but Linford dashed forward and grabbed her shoulders, “Are you even listening to what you’re saying, Cristelle?”
Cristelle stared back at him defiantly, “Why? Did I say anything wrong? I just happen to voice out what you’re thinking. You’re getting nervous now?”
“What I’m thinking?” Linford huffed, “Do you even know what I’m thinking?”
Cristelle looked away in disgust, “I don’t know. And to be honest, I’m not interested. I don’t want to be your puppet for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t want you to be my puppet, Cristelle. I want you to…” Something heavy grabbed Linford’s leg. He looked down and saw Candace’s tearful eyes.
Candace came out and saw her parents were fighting. She was so scared. Linford swallowed back what he was gonna say and picked the girl up. Candace buried her face in his neck, sniffing.
“She’s tired. I’m taking her to bed now,” Linford said coolly before walking away. Cristelle was left in the living room, feeling sad and lost.
She just wanted to be successful for her babies. Why was it so difficult?
When Cristelle took a shower and fell onto the bed, Candace had fallen asleep in Linford’s arms. Cristelle left a gentle kiss on her cheek before turning away.
She couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened years ago. Candace could talk back then. She would talk all the time before sleep until Cristelle finally decided to tell her a story.
But that night, when she left her workplace and went back home late, Candace suddenly had a fever. She had sent her to the hospital on time, but Candace had still lost the ability to talk.
Cristelle felt so guilty whenever she thought back about the past, her fingers digging into the pillow. She also wanted to have someone to rely on. But she also knew that the person who loved her the most had passed away. She couldn’t open herself up to anyone anymore. She suddenly missed her Mom.
She knew she only had herself to rely on.
Linford noticed the woman was literally curling up under the sheet. He reached out a hand, attempting to pull her in, but he still halted his hand. He didn’t want to scare her anymore.
Linford waited until he made sure Cristelle was asleep before pulling both the girl and the woman in his arms, leaving kisses on their hair.
Cristelle was probably a broken and lost soul, and so he was. He just wanted to have a happy family and showered his love on them.
****
When Cristelle woke up the next morning, Linford had left the bedroom. She rubbed her eyes and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the man and her baby.
After breakfast, they went separate ways as every morning they did.
Candace stayed at Franco’s house for classes. She held onto Franco’s hand and walked into the yard. Franco grabbed a pen and started to practice calligraphy with his great-granddaughter, waiting for Mr. Weston to arrive. Candace was a smart kid. She learned calligraphy so fast that Franco started to wonder if she was a genius.
But the girl seemed scared when it was time for dance class. She didn’t dare to smile or move around, praying the class would end soon.
****
“Linford? Yes, I’ve investigated the whole thing. That Cindy is pretty mean, and she tends to be rude sometimes. But apart from that, she’s just a normal girl,” Drew said on the other side of the line, “But if you’re still worried, you can just directly fire her. That woman is pretty strict, actually. I don’t want Candace to suffer.”
Linford hung up the phone and threw it away. He looked out of the window, and his mind was buzzing with all sorts of guesses.
****
On the weekend, Cristelle went to see her new business partner at the nearest golf course from their studio. Mr. Walker was a famous investor in the city. Cristelle somehow managed to get his investment. They thus decided to spend the weekend together.
Mr. Walker was in his 40s. He was even bigger than his bodyguards. The way he acted was pretty polite. However, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Cristelle’s body, which made Cristelle a bit uncomfortable.
“Miss Friesley, you’re pretty close to Mr. Bradley. Why did you decide to leave the company and start your own business?” Mr. Walker asked, greedy eyes lingering on Cristelle’s chest.