“Shut the hell up, you cheater,” Finn snapped. “Not only did you cheat on Lisa with your baby mama, but you also cheated on your test. I guess cheating runs in your blood.”Tedmond grinned. “So, it was Lisa who put you up to this, and that's the excuse she gave you? How interesting. If you were as smart as you think you are, you'd know that if I were a cheater, it would mean I cheated on my baby mama, making Lisa the mistress.”Finn scowled. “There’s no way Lisa would ever be a mistress to someone as worthless as you. You broke her heart and pretended to love her. She did the right thing leaving you for someone better.”Leaning closer, Tedmond whispered into Finn’s ear, “She didn’t completely leave me. She chose my brother, who only married her to spite me. In three to six months, she’ll receive divorce papers, and Max will marry someone else. It’ll be a repeat of my situation.”“What are you talking about?” Finn demanded.“Mark my words,” Tedmond replied calmly. “Max will divorce Lis
“I apologize for accusing Tedmond of cheating when he didn’t. I overheard the teacher telling Finn Barker that Tedmond had gotten a perfect score, and I got jealous. I thought he must have cheated and intended to prove it to others, but I was wrong—he never cheated; he studied and worked hard for that score.I hope Tedmond can forgive me for the trouble I caused him, and I hope you all stop seeing him in a bad light. It was all my fault. I have received my punishment and have been suspended for a few months. I will think about my actions before returning to school. Thank you for reading, and I am sorry.”Just as he thought, the fake witness said nothing about Lisa and Finn being part of the plan. He had taken all the blame on himself.Tedmond was about to move to the comment section when someone's hand wrapped around his shoulder.“Why are you still looking sour when everything has been cleared up?” Kyle questioned. “The people talking bad about you have stopped, and now you’re being
Looking at the doll, was a large teddy bear with the word 'Love' written in the center of its chest. The teddy bear had sparkles in its ears and looked incredibly girly.“Of course, I can get it,” Tedmond replied, his eyes scanning the stall to see several parents competing for the same teddy bear. “But we could easily buy another one instead of competing for this one,” he added, not wanting to join the battle for a teddy bear.Bianca’s bright eyes fell, and her shoulders slumped. “But I want it.”“We can order it online. I can take a picture of it.”Pouting, she stomped her foot on the ground. “I want to see you shoot the arrow and win,” she insisted.Eyes widening, Tedmond cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing. “Alright, I’ll get you the teddy bear.”As he pulled her along to pay, her lips curled into a smile.“$5,” Tedmond said, placing it on the stall table. “I’ll play the game now.”At the same time, a man with a much bigger hand slammed his money on the stall table. “$5,” he s
The stall owner's eyes widened at the accusation, and he tried to defend himself. “I did nothing to the bow,” he denied.Tedmond showed the bow to the stall owner. “You made the strings so loose that others couldn’t shoot many targets. Do you do that all the time?”Tedmond’s words caught the attention of the other people who had been watching him shoot. They all glared at the stall owner.“So, that’s why we couldn’t hit the target,” one muttered.“He messed with the bows.”“He never intended to give out the teddy bear in the first place.”“Are you sure you’re telling the truth?” a bald man asked. “He messed with the bow?”The bald man was impressed with Tedmond’s archery skills. The way Tedmond held the bow was just like a professional, and the man wondered how Tedmond had acquired such skills and from whom he had learned.“Why would I lie about something like that?” Tedmond asked the bald man.Seeing the serious look on Tedmond’s face, the bald man turned to the stall owner, his gaze
A frown crossed Tedmond’s face when he saw the two women sitting in front of him. They each had forced smiles on their faces as they stared at him.“Hello, brother!” Maxine said, batting her eyelashes. “I didn’t get to see her eyes earlier. She does look like you with those sparkling eyes.”Bianca raised her head to look at Tedmond, and seeing the frown on his face, she knew they were people he wasn’t comfortable with.The woman next to Maxine was Evelyn, and her fake smile looked more like a grimace with the way one side of her face twitched and knotted.“She looks more like that maid,” Evelyn claimed. “The maid who seduced my husband!”“Right, isn’t it?” Maxine said with a little smile on her face.Their voices were loud enough to catch the attention of a few diners. First, they made it seem like they were family, and then they hinted that he was an illegitimate child.“I was pissed when Tedmond took after his maid mother instead of my husband,” Evelyn said, acting pitiful. “I thoug
Seeing that he didn’t want to talk about it, they went along with the flow.“Like we said earlier, we’ve been invited to participate in a tournament. It’s all thanks to the people who live-streamed the game and even made edits of it,” Liam began. “We have to practice and participate to reclaim our name.”“Reclaim your name?” Tedmond asked, a bit confused.“Yes, you heard that right. We stopped playing because we lost one of our members to another team. He was our centre. And since we had no substitute, there was no one to replace him.”“No one wanted to join either,” Noah added. “They all wanted to join a team with a high success rate, even if it meant being a substitute.”“I guess we might even compete against that traitor later on if he makes it onto the court,” Oliver said. “Why do I feel like injuring him? That jerk left our team during our last tournament and joined the opposing team, getting us disqualified.”“I’ll always have a grudge against him,” James agreed.Tedmond underst
"I heard Tedmond cheated in the last game you played," the coach began. "He never learned to play or practice but kept up. Don’t you find it ridiculous that he was able to fool you and try to get into my training?"Kyle’s brows furrowed. "What do you mean?" He turned to Max. "What did you tell him?"Max shrugged. "I just told him the truth—that Tedmond is a beginner and had never held a ball in his life until the game with you.""Don’t you think you're going too far?" Noah demanded. "What do you want from him? Why can’t you leave him alone? You’ve been on his tail all this time like a pretty little fan. Are you idolizing him?"A smug smile crossed Max’s face. "Am I not right? Tedmond cheated in the game, and you all supported him because you wanted to save your team’s reputation. Don’t think I don’t know about your team almost hitting rock bottom before you found someone to cover for your lost player—Tedmond.""What the heck are you talking about?" Liam asked. "Senior, you sound dumb,
“What are you talking about?”“Are you seriously leaving?”“If you leave, what are we going to do?”“How can you leave this team and join the Bubbles?” a red-haired guy exclaimed. “Our team is well-known, and they’re barely holding on. If it wasn’t for the game with us, they wouldn’t have been noticed.”Kyle stared at the red-haired guy. “Being famous doesn’t guarantee skill. If our team was that good, why did they win?”The red-haired guy flinched and thought for a moment. “I think you have a point.”The coach was still stunned. “Tell me you’re joking.”“I’m not,” Kyle replied. “I’ve already made up my mind.”“Are you crazy?!” A loud, deafening voice rang out, and they all turned to see who it was. Oliver’s glare had intensified. “You’re the star of your team, and now you want to leave! What will happen to them if you go?”“There are plenty of substitutes,” Kyle said. “They don’t need me that much since they are great themselves.”Looking at Kyle, what Oliver saw was the spitting ima
Three hundred million? Joe wasn’t even surprised. He just recalled the words Tedmond had told him earlier.“They might ask for a billion or five hundred million or three hundred million dollars,” Tedmond had said. “Whatever it is, make sure to give it to them and get them to sign the documents.”‘Here I thought he might be exaggerating; he was right,’ Joe thought, his gaze focused on Evelyn. ‘She just mentioned one of the prices Tedmond warned about, but it seems her family doesn’t approve of this.’Harold and Maxine glanced at Evelyn, their shocked expressions quickly turning into anger.Joe grinned from ear to ear. ‘Boss was wrong, though. He said they would only aim for large amounts and support the person asking for it. But here they are, mad at her for mentioning such a sum.’“What are you doing?!” Harold demanded, confused and pissed. “Didn’t we agree that we were going to take a loan of a billion?!”Joe froze, his body stiffening. He had to blink several times to come back to h
At the mention of Tedmond, Evelyn and Harold glanced at the spot she was pointing to, but they couldn’t see anyone in sight.“No one is there,” Evelyn replied, returning to Maxine. “You must have seen someone else. Tedmond isn’t the kind of person who would be here.”Harold nodded in agreement. “There’s no way they’d let him in anyway,” he said, rolling his eyes. “That useless son of mine isn’t great anytime soon.”Ki overheard their conversation and realized they knew the new boss. He also heard Harold call Tedmond a useless son.Someone doesn’t know their son’s real behavior, Ki thought. How is someone who bought a company like this regarded as useless?Instead of commenting, Ki repeated his usual greetings. “Hello and welcome to Loanbull. How can I help you today?” he asked, a fake professional smile appearing on his face.Their gazes returned to him. Smiling back politely, they nodded before Harold spoke.“We’d like to meet the person in charge,” Harold said. “What we came for is
“What do you mean?!” Max yelled, pulling himself away from his father, but it didn’t work. His arm didn’t seem to hurt as his father gripped it. His mind was still stuck on the words Tedmond had said.‘This can’t be happening!’ Max thought, trying to convince himself. ‘They can’t possibly pick money over me.’However, when he glanced at his parents, they glared at him, expecting him to apologize to Tedmond.“You shouldn’t force him to apologize,” Tedmond told them, making their eyes light up momentarily. But his next words caught them off guard. “I should leave since he doesn’t want me here.”At that, Harold and Evelyn grew paranoid. They couldn’t let him leave without first calling his baby mama and asking her to invest in the company.“Don’t leave yet! We’ll make him apologize!” Evelyn yelled.In a matter of seconds, Max was shoved to his knees before he could react. His eyes widened in shock, and he couldn’t speak, even though he tried.“Apologize to him!” Evelyn yelled the pity sh
Tedmond made his way downstairs, heading to the one place he knew Max would be. He could tell that if Max met the others there, they would side with him since Tedmond wasn’t in sight.As he approached the kitchen, he heard voices. It was his stepmother and ex-father, speaking so quietly that he couldn’t make out their words.“I can’t believe I have to cook for that brat!” Evelyn cursed loudly, making the maid at the end of the kitchen flinch and frown as she hurriedly cut the fish. “He’s the son of you and that useless maid, and now I have to be a maid to him!”Harold glanced at her, concern etched on his face. “You should be more worried about that,” he said, taking the knife from her and helping cut the fish. “It’s good his mother isn’t around. It’ll be easier to control him once we get custody of his daughter.”Evelyn frowned at his words. “How are we supposed to get custody? Tedmond’s never brought her home before. That means he doesn’t have custody either—it must be with his baby
When Max got upstairs, Tedmond was nowhere to be seen. He searched the guest room, but Tedmond wasn’t there. He decided to check all the other rooms, yet Tedmond was still missing.The last place he hadn’t checked was his own room—and Lisa’s. Turning around, he headed toward the room, his heart pounding against his chest. As he approached the door, he paused. The room was silent, which made him hesitate.‘If Tedmond isn’t in the other rooms, could he be with Lisa?’ he wondered, before reaching for the door. He must not be over her yet.Oddly, the thought of Tedmond being with Lisa made him smile. If that were the case, it would make getting the necklace from him much easier.Opening the door softly, Max peeked inside, only to see Lisa standing there, staring directly at him.“What are you doing?” she asked, her brows arching in confusion.Max straightened up and pushed the door open fully. Without a word, he brushed past her and began searching the room. He checked everywhere—even the
Hearing his father’s words, Tedmond's smile dissipated, but then the grin returned to his face. “What did you say?”Guessing their father’s intentions, the others joined in. Harold had just gotten an idea: if he could convince Tedmond to make his baby mama invest in their struggling company for a fake project, they could get the hundred million back.“There’s a project going on, and we need investors to fund it,” Max added, his face serious. “It’s a big project, and the investment required will be substantial.”“That’s right. Your baby mama will be part of the family too. It would be great for her to help us,” Maxine continued.Evelyn even went as far as holding Tedmond’s hand—something she had only done when she was about to hit him as a child.“You’ll have the right to return to the family as long as you agree to help us with the investment,” Evelyn muttered. “You’re my son, after all, and it makes me sad that you were kicked out.”Tedmond was taken aback. He had guessed they might
The question was one that Duncan had been waiting for. He had thought about what to do and had come across an idea that might help him. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he knew he had to try.“I would like you to give us the background research documents you have about us,” Duncan said.Silence ensued between them. Tedmond’s gaze fixed on Duncan, who met his eyes without blinking. They stared at each other for a long time. Tedmond hadn’t expected Duncan to ask for background research about his own company.“Why would you need that?” Tedmond questioned. “Do you think it will help clear your name?”Duncan didn’t elaborate. “I’m not going to mention your name or the name of the company when I release the file. I just want to release the details of my company so people can see and judge for themselves.”“Who would release it?” Tedmond pressed, his curiosity rising. “If you release it yourself, it will look fake, like you did it intentionally to clear your name.”“I would have one of t
“Can I get her name?” Harold questioned. “She is the same age as my granddaughter; they could be friends.”Hearing that, Tedmond frowned. The two girls were the same person, and he was trying to get them to be friends with each other. That was the worst thing he had heard all day.“Don’t cross the boundaries, Mr. Griffin,” Tedmond replied, peering at Harold. “Why are you here?”Harold wasn’t shocked by Tedmond’s words—he had been expecting it. After all, he hadn’t paid the compensation or regained trust between them, but that didn’t bother him much. GNN was in crisis, and Griffin’s Cooperation would be the one to be picked no matter what.“I’m here to pay the compensation fee and apologize again for my family’s behavior,” Harold answered.“I thought I told Ms. Fincall to give you the account number to which the money should be transferred. Did you lose it?”Harold flinched. Was it that obvious he had thrown the account number away to have an excuse to meet the president in person?“I
Thomas nodded. “Right!”Seeing that they would be busy, Bianca sighed. “Could you send me to Persis’ place?” she asked.“Okay,” Tedmond agreed.*****“Have you found a lead yet?” Duncan asked his secretary.The secretary shook his head. “Not yet. Were you able to contact Xinca too?”Duncan shook his head. “I sent a staff member to meet with them, but he hasn’t arrived yet. If he had met with them, he would have contacted me.”The secretary sighed. “What are we going to do now that the source of the rumor hasn’t been found?”“We’ll just have to make sure to convince Xinca that it was all a rumor, and at the same time, find the source. All that matters first is Xinca, and then we’ll have to settle the rumors.”“Do you think it was made up by someone? We didn’t offend anyone, did we?”Duncan shook his head, placing his hand on the table. “We didn’t. GNN never offends anyone.”“Then who would spread such nasty rumors about us?”Duncan thought about it, and then it hit him. His eyes widene