Getting out of the car, Tedmond frowned. Although he had told Thomas he was fine with his belongings, Thomas had intentionally tossed them into the trash for him to get new ones.
“I’ll be waiting here for you,” the driver said. “Take as much time as you need.”
Tedmond glanced back and nodded before walking into the store. He knew Thomas had sent him shopping to give him time to think and make up his mind.
He understood he had to accept his inheritance. After all, he had promised the Griffin family he would make them pay, and the only way to do that was by accepting his fortune. Why would he refuse something like this after all he had been through?
It wasn’t possible.
Scanning the store, he looked for the men’s section. As his eyes roamed the place, they landed on a rabbit doll with emerald eyes and a gem dangling from it.
‘Is that a diamond?’ he wondered.
The emerald reminded him of Bianca’s eyes, and he thought she might like it. He decided to get it for her. Just as he was about to open the display case to take it, a rude voice interrupted him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a woman snapped. “Do you really think you can steal that with all the surveillance footage around here?”
The sound of heels clicking made him spin around. In seconds, the woman shoved him away from the display and placed her hand on her waist, glaring at him.
“Trust me, there’s no way you’ll get away with stealing from this place,” she said. “You should leave.”
Her loud voice had drawn the attention of several people in the store, all frowning at Tedmond. Judging by his appearance, they assumed he couldn’t afford anything there.
“Is this how you treat your customers?” Tedmond asked.
“Customer, my foot! Are you trying to save face after I caught you trying to steal that rabbit doll?”
“I’m here to buy it,” Tedmond retorted, hating the fact that he was the center of attention. “How much does it cost? I’ll transfer the money right now.”
She raised an eyebrow, staring at him in disgust. “I gave you the chance to leave, and you’re wasting it. What makes you think you can afford it? You can’t even buy decent shoes, let alone this doll. And what would trash like you want with a doll anyway?”
Tedmond's brows knitted in anger. “How much is the doll? I want it.”
The woman chuckled and turned to the salesman nearby. “You handle this trash. He’s acting like he can afford anything in this store. Take care of him.”
She walked away, leaving the salesman to approach Tedmond awkwardly.
“Hello, sir,” the salesman said. “Can you really afford the doll? If you can’t, she’ll make sure I get fired,” he muttered, his voice low.
The people in the store began murmuring as they looked at Tedmond.
‘What’s he doing, lying like that?’ someone said.
‘Maybe he’s not a thief and just came here to window shop?’
‘I’m tired of trash pretending to be rich. Trash will always be trash.’
Tedmond frowned. They were looking down on him again, and it would affect the salesman who was just trying to help. “I want the doll,” Tedmond said, placing a hand on the salesman’s shoulder. “That’s not all I need, though. If you help me pick other things, you’ll be compensated.”
The man nodded, but the woman who had left burst into laughter. It was the same saleswoman.
“Are you kidding?!” she demanded. “If you can afford anything here, would you let me call the cops on you?”
Tedmond snapped his head toward her, his glare sharp. “And if I can afford it, what will you do?”
She snickered. “I’ll apologize…”
“That’s not enough,” he interrupted. “You’ll crawl around the store three times while apologizing.”
The woman flinched but quickly regained her composure. “What the–?”
“Also, you’ll apologize to this young man,” Tedmond added, gesturing to the salesman next to him. “Is that okay, or are you scared?”
“Why would I be scared? It’s not like you can afford it anyway,” she snarled. “I agree!”
“Good,” Tedmond said before turning to the salesman. “I’ll take that doll.”
The salesman nodded and retrieved the doll, handing it to Tedmond with a smile. Tedmond glanced at the doll, realizing it was the first time he was buying something for someone who hadn’t asked for it.
As he moved toward the clothing section, people in the store continued to murmur. Tedmond picked out as many clothes as he needed, along with shoes, a wristwatch, and other essentials, trying some on to see how they looked.
Despite the store’s luxury, he chose based on his taste, not the price.
“I’m done,” Tedmond announced, after selecting everything he wanted. The salesman helped him place the items on the counter.
The saleswoman and others in the store wore smug expressions, eager to see him get arrested.
“You’re done,” she muttered, sneering. “I’ll check the price of everything you bought.”
Smiling as if she had already won, she began calculating the total. The salesman beside Tedmond stiffened, fearing for his job.
“It’s a total of $500,000,” she said.
Tedmond furrowed his brows, and her smile widened.
“You can’t afford that, can you?” she said, chuckling. “Look at him! Just a poor brat bluffing.”
“I was just wondering why it’s so cheap,” Tedmond replied. He had deliberately bought a lot to ensure Thomas wouldn’t send him shopping again anytime soon.
“You hear that?” the woman scoffed, but then she stopped, realizing what he had said. “Did you just call this cheap? How lame!”
“I’ll transfer the money now. What’s the account number?” Tedmond asked.
She glared at him but handed him the account details. “Fine, this is the store’s account, managed by our finance team. I’ll call them right away to check if your imaginary money has arrived.”
Ignoring her, Tedmond transferred the exact amount to the account. He turned his phone around, showing her the exact amount he had transferred.
She was stunned at first but quickly waved it off. “That must be fake!” she claimed, turning to one of the saleswomen. “Call and confirm that the money has been received.”
Less than a minute later, the saleswoman ended the call, her eyes wide in shock. “He’s right! The money has been RECEIVED!”
Those words sent shockwaves through everyone who had heard them. They couldn’t believe it, but the person who was most in disbelief was the first saleswoman. She snatched the phone from her colleague and dialed the number.“Are you sure it was $500,000 received?” she yelled, her voice sharp with frustration.Her tone was so rude that the person on the other end snapped back. “Why are you asking me an obvious question?!” he demanded. “$500,000 has been received! Is there some hotshot there or something?”The saleswoman's words stuck in her throat as the confirmation hit her. The others who had belittled Tedmond earlier now remained silent, lips tightly sealed.“Did you do something?” the voice on the phone asked, but the saleswoman quickly hung up, lowering her head.She turned to Tedmond, bowing slightly. “I am extremely sorry for doubting you,” she stammered. “Can I get you a cup of tea as an apology while your things are packed?”Tedmond glared down at her in silence. As she raised
The next day, Tedmond got ready for school with a newfound confidence. For the first time, he felt a sense of self-assurance heading to university, knowing it was better than the oppressive environment of home.“When will you be back, brother?” Bianca asked, tugging at his trousers and clutching the rabbit doll he had bought for her.He glanced down at her. “I’ll be back before 7,” he replied, squatting to smooth her hair. “I can’t pick you up from kindergarten today.”She nodded slowly. “The nanny will pick me up,” she said.“Okay.”He stood up, grabbed his bag, and looked back at Thomas, who was watching him with concern. “Do you need a driver to take you?” Thomas asked. “You can choose any car from the garage if you’d like.”Tedmond considered it for a moment before shaking his head. “No need. I can get there on my own like I used to.”“By taking the bus?” Thomas asked, clearly worried.“Yes.”“No way!” Thomas exclaimed. “Not only did you take a taxi home yesterday, but now you’re
Before lunch, news of Tedmond accepting Kyle’s challenge had spread throughout the school. Everyone was talking about it, and it even reached the ears of his ex-girlfriend. She and his former siblings were eagerly anticipating the event.They were seated in the cafeteria since it was lunchtime but not yet 2 PM.“That bastard is going to show us how useless he is again,” Max sneered, gesturing with his hand and smirking. “He doesn’t even have great stamina, let alone the ability to win.”Maxine chuckled. “He’s always been stupid. I’ll make another video of his embarrassment for my vlog.”Lisa had the brightest smile on her face. “I’m so glad I chose you, Max,” she purred. “He was such a pain in the ass.”Just then, Tedmond walked past them, catching the attention of many, including Lisa. The moment she saw him, a disgusted look appeared on her face.‘Why is he so neatly dressed?’ she thought, scanning him from head to toe and noticing his new clothes and shoes. ‘Where did he get the mo
Kyle stood grinning on the court, his teammates gathered behind him. A crowd had gathered to watch the game, eager to see how it would play out. Kyle could hardly wait for the moment he would crush Tedmond.“Isn’t he coming?” Kyle asked impatiently. Tedmond was two minutes late. “Don’t tell me he backed out at the last minute. Maybe he couldn’t find a team.”His teammates snickered.“He must’ve run home,” one of them said, shaking his head. “Oh wait, he doesn’t even have a home to run to.”The others burst out laughing.“He better not have backed out,” Kyle stated. “We should find him.”Just as one of Kyle’s teammates offered to search for Tedmond, he appeared with his four friends. They were dressed in matching uniforms, their hair slicked back, looking like college heartbreakers. Tedmond wore an expressionless look as he stood a few feet away from Kyle.“Here I am,” Tedmond said. “What made you think I fled?”Kyle’s lips curled. “Eager to be a slave, aren’t you?”“Not really. I coul
The crowd went silent when they heard Tedmond’s words. Who would have thought the arrogant Kyle would lose to the so-called loser of college and have to become his slave?“We made a deal,” Tedmond muttered. “You can’t go back on it. From now on, you’ll listen to me and do whatever I want.”Kyle’s teeth gritted. He had never been this humiliated in his entire life.“Do it!” the crowd yelled."A deal’s a deal—it must be upheld!""Don’t back out now!"Kyle’s eyes darted to Max, who shook his head, before turning back to Tedmond.“Master,” Kyle said, forcing the words out in a barely audible whisper.“I can’t hear you,” Tedmond taunted.“Master!” Kyle yelled, his body trembling slightly as embarrassment overwhelmed him.Tedmond’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. “Now that you’ve called me master and have become my slave, go get me a milkshake,” he ordered.Kyle’s teammates looked on in surprise, but Kyle turned to one of them.“Go get the milkshake like he asked,” he ordered.The teamm
“How dare you talk about my mother like that?” Tedmond demanded, pinning Max against the table.No matter how much they had talked about him, he hadn’t retaliated, but today they had gone too far. No one could talk about his mother now. That might have been possible in the past, but not anymore.“What are you doing?” Maxine questioned. “How dare you hit your elder brother?”Glaring back at her, Tedmond snarled, “You think of him as my elder brother now, don’t you? Why didn’t you say something when I was being insulted?” He released Max and stepped closer to Maxine.Maxine trembled but stood her ground. ‘How can that bastard get so strong in just a day?’ she wondered. However, she quickly regained her composure.“Why are you doing this to him when he just asked if you could afford to eat at the restaurant?!” Maxine yelled, switching the topic as fast as she could to make herself look less bad. “We all know you’ve been kicked out of the family without a penny! How can you afford to eat
As soon as Tedmond finished counting, the others hadn't had time to react when the door of the restaurant swung open. A man in a tailored creamy suit hurried in, followed by three others, with sweat dripping down his forehead.Everyone’s gaze turned to the man who had just walked in, and the security guards froze in their tracks.“What is going on?” Max demanded, glaring at the manager. “Throw him out!”Blood drained from the manager’s face as he stared at the man. “He really came!” he yelled. “The owner of the restaurant is really here! How is that possible? I messed up!”Max and Maxine’s eyes widened in disbelief. Even when their father had tried to speak to the owner of the restaurant, he was told to book an appointment. Yet Tedmond had managed to call him with a single phone call.Lisa glanced at Tedmond and noticed the smile on his lips.“He really came?” murmurs began to spread.“The owner arrived in ten minutes, just like he said.”“Who the hell is that guy?”“How can he call t
Dinner ended faster than they had anticipated. Tedmond walked down the street with his four friends; they hadn’t asked him anything after his last statement.They quickly switched the discussion and spoke about school instead, avoiding anything related to him. Tedmond glanced at his wristwatch; it was almost 10:30 p.m., and he wasn't home yet.He wasn’t one to go home early since he would usually take on more jobs at night. A smile crossed his face; he was glad he wouldn’t have to do that kind of work anymore and would finally be able to sleep properly.Picking up his necklace, he glanced at it. If only his mother were there to see him find her family, it would have made up for the terrible things the Griffins had done to her.A frown crossed his face; he wasn't going to let go of the Griffins for what they had done to both his mother and himself. He needed to work on his revenge plan.“Are you alright?” Noah’s voice brought him back to reality. “You were zoning out on us.”Tedmond gl
“So lame! Why are you trying so hard to act brave?” Finn questioned, now taking the lead to send out the insults. “What can you do with that phone call of yours? You must be calling who now?”“Haha,” Carlos laughed. “I’m sure he doesn’t even have anyone to call and is only pretending.”“Let’s see what he can do. It must be great to watch his stupid escape plan fail,” Carles added.At that moment, Tedmond dialed Thomas’s number, and he picked up immediately.“Yes, young master?” Thomas said, his tone serious. “Do you need me to do anything?”“Yes. There’s something I would like you to do,” Tedmond began, his words drawing the attention of the triplets, who had gone silent to hear him talk to the person he claimed to be talking to. “I want you to contact Mr. Ginny and ask him to apologize on his son’s behalf for ruining my dinner with Bianca.”The triplets and everyone listening were stunned by his words.“He must be here before ten minutes are up, or he will regret being late,” Tedmond
Eyes twitching in anger, Tedmond couldn’t even be surprised by their behavior and the way they took Finn’s side. It was like they believed anything Finn said and would do anything to help him get what he wanted.“What did I do to you that made you want to throw me out for no reason?” Tedmond asked, trying to buy himself time.“What do you expect?” Carlos questioned. “You tried to harm Finn, and you have to be dealt with. The fact that Finn is trying to care for you is already annoying enough, and you dare to ignore his help. How dare you?!”The two of the triplets glared at Tedmond the same way, and he could tell that they had a good relationship with Finn, one that might appear to be toxic.“I said I didn’t need his fake help,” Tedmond began, not holding back. “Finn is only using you three to get what he wants.”The triplet went silent for a while before bursting into laughter.“You have to be smart to try to fool us,” Carlos told Tedmond. “You think telling us that will make us ditc
Carlos' voice was so loud that it caught the attention of nearby tables. The people seated there turned their heads, frowns forming on their faces.“They’re being too loud.”“I heard one of them couldn’t afford the things he was about to order.”“Why don’t they go to a cheaper restaurant?”“Was he trying to impress his friends, and now they’ve found out he’s been lying all along?”The other customers grew curious about the commotion, and Carlos grinned from ear to ear. He had drawn the attention he wanted. Now, it was time for him to show what he was capable of.“Excuse me,” the waiter said as politely as possible. “You weren’t the one who made the order. How can you be so sure the person who did can’t afford it? From what I saw at the counter, you all came separately and didn’t arrive at the same time.”Carlos was taken aback, his eyes widening in shock as he glanced at the waiter. “Did you just refuse to take the food back as I instructed you to?”The waiter nodded. “I apologize, bu
Tedmond glared at them, his eyes dark. He wanted to retaliate and yell at them for trying to control him, but he paused when Bianca tugged at his shirt, making him glance down at her.Tedmond had tried to leave to avoid bringing Bianca into a confrontation between him and Finn. She was still a kid, after all, and he didn’t want her to get used to such things.“Dad,” she said firmly, her voice clear, “we were here first.” She turned to face the group, her head held high. “This table belongs to us.”Peering at her, he sighed. She had a point, but it didn’t matter at the moment. Finn was here to cause trouble, and he didn’t want to engage.Finn raised an eyebrow, amused. “A kid is telling me what to do? Cute.”Bianca didn’t flinch. “Cute is what I call puppies. You’re not even close.”The triplets exchanged startled looks. One of them, Carlos, barked out a laugh. “Did this little brat just insult us?”“She’s not wrong,” Tedmond muttered under his breath, earning a wide grin from Bianca.
On getting to the restaurant, Tedmond walked to a seat and placed Bianca on the seat opposite him. It was a six-seater table, and since it was next to the window, he had chosen it to have enough space for themselves.The menu was right on the table, and they picked it up before going through it. Tedmond looked through the menu, his brows shooting up in confusion. The restaurant was different from the ones he had visited, and the items on the menu had unfamiliar names.“Would you like me to order for you?” Bianca questioned, peeking from the menu to look at him. “This is not the first time I am here, though.”It was as if she had figured out he was having trouble choosing. Tedmond looked at her before dropping the menu back on the table.“That’s fine,” Tedmond replied. “You can pick whatever for me. I don’t have any allergies.”“Alright,” Bianca responded, a smile forming on her face as her gaze returned to the menu.At that moment, four customers walked into the restaurant—three ident
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