Tedmond’s lips pressed into a thin line. He knew the Griffins were plotting against him, but he hadn’t expected it to be something like this. Max smirked, the expression on his face clearly saying it was all part of their plan.Silence hung in the air before the room erupted into murmurs.Liam and the others were stunned by the sudden turn of events, rushing towards Tedmond. But one glance from him stopped them in their tracks. Tedmond didn’t want them dragged into his mess.“How could he steal a diamond necklace and switch it with a fake?”“I thought he was from a respectable family, especially since Mrs. Karishin recognized him.”“Turns out he’s just a con artist who took advantage of Kyle and swiped the necklace.”“Did he think no one would notice?”“How did he even manage to steal it? If he walked right past us, what else might he have taken?”The guests stared at Tedmond with contempt.“I didn’t do it.” Tedmond’s calm voice sliced through the murmurs. “I have no reason to steal m
Tedmond turned his head to look at Max and Maxine. Both of them glared at him with pure resentment.Walking over to Mrs. Karishin, Tedmond brushed past his half-siblings. They both stared at him like they wouldn’t hesitate to cut his throat if given the chance.“What are you talking about?” Tedmond asked. “I bought this necklace last night for Mrs. Karishin’s birthday.”Truthfully, he had asked Thomas to prepare the gift since he had no idea what a woman would like. Thomas had chosen it to suit the taste of the Karishin family.Maxine raised her hand, pointing an accusing finger at him. “You! How dare you do that to Grandmother?! She treated you better than anyone else in the house, and you dared steal from her!”“You ungrateful brat!” Max yelled, the memory of how he had been treated the day before flashing through his mind. “How dare you?! Now that you’ve stolen her necklace, she’ll hate you for good.”Tedmond raised his brows. “But I don’t have a grandmother.”Everyone at the party
The emerald dangled from Vivian’s neck, sparkling in the light. The necklace caught everyone’s attention, including Tedmond's. He had thought Max lied about their grandmother having the necklace, but she indeed wore the same one.“What’s wrong, grandson?” Vivian asked. “Are you mad at me for not being there for you when Max and Maxine treated you wrongly? Don’t worry, I will take care of them. Just give your grandmother a hug.”Tedmond tried to keep a straight face. He didn’t want to speak to her. Although she was acting all kind toward him now, it was only in the present. In the past, she had resented him for being an illegitimate child, often telling him to his face that she didn’t consider him her grandson and only acknowledged Max.She had starved him since he was a baby, waiting for him to die, but Maxine's nanny had been kind enough to feed him. As long as he could remember, if his grandmother was home, he wouldn’t have anything to eat or drink unless he stole from the kitchen
Max flinched as all eyes turned to him, sweat forming on his face. "I didn’t steal the necklace," he insisted. "Someone must have tried to frame me."Tedmond’s lips curled. When he brushed past Max to get to Mrs. Karishin, he slipped the necklace into Max’s pocket. Since Max wasn’t paying attention, he didn’t notice when Tedmond planted it there.Tedmond already knew Max had placed the necklace on him and that he had returned it to the person who had originally stolen it."How dare you try to frame Tedmond after stealing from us?!" Kyle yelled. "Not only did you threaten me, but you also stole from me."Mrs. Karishin sighed, rubbing her forehead as the diamond necklace was presented to her. "This is the real one.""Oh my God, I can't believe Max stole from the Karishins.""Is that why he said the Griffins were above the Karishins? Was it because they were getting a contract with Xinca?""He tried to shift the attention onto Tedmond so that no one would think to search him.""Thanks to
Melody’s lips broke into a smile. “I said I was going to marry you,” she confirmed. “You don’t recognize me or try to please me when we meet. That’s perfect!”Tedmond arched his eyebrows at Kyle.“How can you marry him?” Kyle asked. “You’re six years older than him!”Melody glanced at her brother, a blank look on her face. “Does that matter? He looks pretty mature to me.”Kyle’s eyes bulged. “You always said you liked mature men! Tedmond is younger than you!”Sighing, she glanced at Tedmond. “He’s more mature than the older men I’ve met. I have to marry him now before he finds a girlfriend.”Tedmond watched the siblings argue. They weren’t even asking for his opinion, as was typical of Kyle.“What did you just say?” Mrs. Karishin asked, appearing next to them.“Did Mel say she’s getting married?” a male voice shouted, arriving at the same time as Mrs. Karishin. “Who’s the man she wants to marry?”Tedmond’s eyes darted to the man who had just arrived. He looked like he was in his late
The party ended shortly after Tedmond left. It was no longer a birthday party but an event where the Griffin family was exposed, and a famous actress proposed to a man.News of everything spread quickly, but the story of Melody proposing to Tedmond dominated the internet, web searches, social media, and even the news. A video was uploaded as proof. The worst part was that they didn’t blur his face, and an article was written, informing men about the type of man Melody was interested in.In the living room of the Griffin mansion, Max, Maxine, Lisa, and Evelyn watched the news and saw the report about Melody and Tedmond.Max gritted his teeth. “How could Melody propose to Tedmond? I became friends with Kyle just to meet his sister, and now this happened before I even got the chance.”
If Melody had gone along with his plan, it would have been easy, but he brushed the thought aside. Melody was a public figure; he couldn’t tarnish her image.He began writing in his notepad again. He was targeting the company, Max, and Lisa first. Since their marriage wasn’t genuine, he could make them regret it. First, he had to make them cheat on each other. If they weren’t terrible people, they wouldn’t fall for it.Now that he had used Melody for a while, he could find another person to manipulate both Max and Lisa.A light tug on his pants snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced down to see Bianca peering up at him.“I called that bald man,” she revealed.“Junior Torrus?&rdqu
“Woah!” Lisa exclaimed, eyeing the expensive restaurant Tedmond had brought her to. “I’ve never been to a place this luxurious before.”Tedmond raised an eyebrow. “I thought so too.”He led her to a table, and they both sat down. Lisa still wore the contact lenses, pretending to be Cora, but Tedmond had other plans.“Waiter,” she called softly, waving the waiter over before turning her gaze back to Tedmond. “Since you’ve been here before, why don’t you order for me?”Tedmond nodded. “Sure, I’ll do that.”A smile appeared on Lisa’s face. She expected him to order expensive food and didn’t want to do it herself, hoping no