Tedmond stared at the guard who had just commanded him to leave. The guard glared at him, brow raised in contempt, eyes watching him like he was a pest.“Arrgh,” Tedmond grunted. “I can’t believe I’m being called a beggar by guards like you…”“The hell?” a guard yelled. “Who do you think you are?! Do you think walking in here and talking big will help you? My month's salary could buy you.”“Hurry up and leave.”“If you don’t leave in a minute, we’ll throw you out.”Not wanting to waste any more time on them, Tedmond's face turned serious. He still had classes to attend and didn’t want to miss any since he needed the attendance for his grade. But he could tell he might not make it to his last class.“Get out of the way,” he said. “I’m here to meet Persis. I don’t think that’s so hard to understand since I’m from the Washington family.”The guards' eyes widened in surprise, and soon, they burst out laughing. Their laughter echoed, gripping their bellies as they doubled over.Tedmond’s b
Persis’s brows furrowed in confusion as she and Tedmond stared at each other. His jaw dropped; he hadn’t expected to see her there. The person who had stood up for him in class was a Damon.That was the last thing he expected. Was she also keeping her identity a secret? From how she behaved in class, he never would have guessed she was a Damon.He wondered if she knew he was and had stood up for him because of that. He shook his head—that couldn’t be the case. He hadn’t even known she was a Damon, even though he’d reviewed her sister’s files.He peered at her, and seeing the same surprise on her face made him feel a bit relieved. She had no idea he was part of the Washington family either.“What are you doing here?” Persis asked, confusion laced in her voice. “And did you just say you’re a Washington?”Tedmond nodded. “That’s right. I’m the new head of the Washington family, and I’ve come to see you after making a deal with your sister.”Hearing her sister mention it, Persis flinched.
“Where am I?” he questioned as his eyes opened.He was lying on his back in bed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. The ceiling was blurry as he stared at it, and he couldn’t see the background either.“What happened?” he asked, forcing himself to sit up.His vision cleared, and he found two women sitting next to him. His eyes widened in surprise, and it suddenly hit him where he was. He was in a room, and the people sitting next to him were the Damon sisters.What’s going on? he thought. Did I fall asleep?“You’re awake,” Perseia said, staring at him with a blank look on her face. “It’s been an hour. I really thought we killed a Washington.”Tedmond stared at her, then shifted his gaze to Persis. She looked away, pouting, with no hint of apology in her eyes.Putting his hand on his chin, Tedmond tried to remember what had happened before he fainted. He knew he didn’t just fall asleep. Within a minute, the memory flooded his mind, and his eyes widened.“You hit me! Didn’t you?!” Tedmond y
Tedmond was shocked to hear her ask that. After a few seconds of silence, he leaned back against the seat and sighed.“What the hell are you talking about, Persis?” he questioned. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.”Persis frowned at him. “I’m serious. I’ll only help you if you agree to get engaged to me.”Their eyes met as soon as the words left her lips, and he slowly rose to his feet. “I guess I don’t need your help anymore,” he said.Persis’s eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean?”“I said I don’t need your help anymore. Engagement is a huge deal, and I’m not interested in putting myself into an engagement of convenience.”Her brows rose. “Are you saying that you can’t get engaged to me?”He nodded. “That’s right. I can’t get engaged to you.”A frown crossed her face, and she ran a hand through her hair, frustration building. Had she been too direct, asking for an engagement out of the blue like that?At this rate, he would figure out her feelings, and she might
Tedmond raised his brows, freezing in shock. “What?!” he bellowed.He had just turned down her offer of engagement, and now she was bringing up marriage?Didn’t she realize he wasn’t interested? He looked her up and down, taking her in.Persis wasn’t unattractive; she had long, wavy black hair, light brown eyes, and pouty lips that matched her pointed nose and face. He’d be lying if he said she wasn’t appealing, but he had no interest.“I asked you to marry me,” she replied. “Get married to me, and I’ll pretend to be the baby mama of your cousin. If an engagement is too much for you, marriage wouldn’t be so bad, right?”Tedmond peered at her, confusion clouding his features. What was going on with her? He wondered if she’d even heard what he’d said earlier.“What are you talking about?” Tedmond asked. “I turned down your offer for engagement, and now you’re asking for marriage? How am I supposed to explain this to you when you don’t seem to understand anything I’m saying?”Persis shoo
"Please, give us a punishment!" one of the guards yelled. "If you don’t punish us now, we’ll be severely punished by the young miss."Tedmond, not understanding what they were talking about, looked away and walked off without a word. But the guards hurried after him, abandoning their posts.“We apologize for insulting you the other day, sir. We had no idea you were the son of the Washington family.”“At first, I thought you were a thief, but I realize now I was wrong. I swear this won’t happen again. Can you forgive me for speaking to you like that?”“As long as you punish us, we’ll do anything you ask. Just don’t let the young miss handle it herself.”“If she fires us, we won’t be able to find jobs with any other family. No one would want the ‘human trash’ of the Damon family.”“Please help us!”Tedmond increased his pace, their voices buzzing around him like bees. No matter how fast he walked, they stayed close, their faces full of fear as they tried to catch his eye.“I promise you
Tedmond nodded. “I’ll be there in seconds.”“Alright,” Neil replied, leaving as casually as he’d entered.Turning his attention back to Thomas, Tedmond gave him a look that suggested he wanted to hear more.“Since Neil asked to meet you first, we’ll continue discussing later. You go on ahead,” Thomas said.“Okay,” Tedmond replied.As Tedmond headed to meet Neil, Thomas noticed a band-aid on his head. His brows furrowed in concern, and he hurried after Tedmond.“Did you get into a fight?” Thomas asked.Turning, Tedmond ran a hand through his hair, finding the band-aid. A frown crossed his face—he must have gotten it when Persis smacked him in the head.“I fell. It’s nothing,” Tedmond answered, hurrying away before Thomas could ask more questions.Thomas watched him go and, as soon as Tedmond was out of sight, pulled out his phone. Once the call connected, he spoke. “Investigate what happened to the young master today and report to me.”“Yes, sir.”***“What did you want to talk about?”
Neil hesitated, but he changed his mind when Tedmond glared at him. “I told him that I don’t mess with someone ugly.”Tedmond’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Ugly? Am I ugly?”Neil shook his head rapidly and wanted to make sure Tedmond didn’t misunderstand. “I didn’t mean what I said. I was just making an excuse not to bully you and flatter him simultaneously. I then told him he was the most handsome person I had met and that he shouldn’t ruin his handsome face dealing with a loser like you.”Neil peered at Tedmond, expecting a reaction and a sneering smile of satisfaction crossed Tedmond’s face. The smile was so wide it almost looked evil.“That’s nice!” Tedmond announced. “I think Max has already let his guard down. All you have to do is keep talking to him and show that you’re wealthier than the Griffin family.”Neil nodded in agreement. “Alright. To be honest, Max didn’t stop there. He said he knew I was lying because he thought you were more handsome than he was since you took a