The Next MorningTedmond leaned back against the kitchen counter, gulping water from a bottle, sweat dripping from his head to the floor. He wore a white shirt, drenched in sweat to the point of transparency, revealing his rock-hard abs. He had just finished his morning exercise, and it was almost time for school.Bianca peeked at him from behind the counter, tilting her head to the side. “You still haven’t told me what you and the guards were grinning at yesterday.”Tedmond glanced her way, his brows furrowing. He had stayed in the gym in the mansion for a long time to avoid Bianca, and now here she was, asking the question he had managed to avoid answering the previous night.“It isn’t something that you should concern yourself with,” he replied, filling the bottle with more water and walking away.She followed him to the stairs. “Tell me.”Thomas grabbed her just as she was about to take the first step and lifted her in his arms. “It’s time to head to Kindergarten,” he informed her
The punch hit Lisa hard, snapping her face to the side and breaking her nose. Although the blow only impacted her face, not her whole body, Lisa decided to seize the moment since Tedmond was watching.She threw herself backward across the floor as if the punch had sent her flying. Lifting her head to look at Tedmond, she wore an innocent expression.“Tedmond, help me. She broke my nose,” Lisa complained, placing her hand on her nose and wiping off the blood.Taken aback, Tedmond glanced at her. All he could see was her shamelessness. Earlier, he had walked into the classroom, checking his phone for a message from Persis. He thought she was busy, but it turned out she was too busy fighting Lisa to call him.He sighed, trying to appear unfazed, but a sly smile crossed his face. For some reason, he felt satisfied seeing Lisa on the floor after taking a punch from Persis.He turned his gaze to Persis, and the smile faded. On closer inspection, he noticed how red her right cheek was—indica
Class was dismissed, and Tedmond rose from his seat, stretching his joints. The almost cracking sound of his stretching filled the air. The rest of the students began to leave the classroom, and Tedmond did the same.It had been a week since the incident between Persis and Lisa. So far, he hadn't heard from Lisa or seen her. She must have backed away a bit because he had ignored her, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t scheming something.He walked out of the class as his phone buzzed. Digging his hand into his pocket, he pulled it out and glanced at it. The message was from both Kyle and Persis.He hadn’t seen Kyle in a week, so he opened Kyle’s message first.“We’re all waiting for you,” it read. “We need to head to basketball training. Kanis is waiting. It’s been a week without practice, dude.”He sighed. It had indeed been a week without practice, though the week had passed so smoothly it felt unnatural.Texting Kyle back, he wrote, “Yeah, sure. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”As he
Kyle shrugged. “What’s the big deal about this?” A sly smile appeared on his face. “I was just saying hi to you.”“Is that how you say 'hi'?” Oliver asked, a look of disdain on his face. He still hadn't gotten used to the fact that they were friends with Kyle.“It doesn’t matter,” Kyle replied, a grin spreading on his face as he leaned closer to Tedmond to whisper in his ear. “I guess she is indeed your baby mama, seeing that you aren’t injured. Persiea must have scolded you, though.”Tedmond shook his head. “No. She’s just the aunt of my child,” he whispered back. “Since she’s still young, I usually use her sister’s name.”Kyle’s eyes widened. “You mean Persis?!” he yelled, loud enough for the others to hear.Hearing his yell, the rest of them stared at both of them with curious looks as they tried to figure out what Tedmond and Kyle were talking about.“I’m sorry,” Kyle mumbled, lowering his voice. “I guess they don’t know you have a child with a member of the Damon family. We’ll ta
Dressed in a hoodie, facemask, and sunglasses to conceal his face, the driver looked suspiciously like he was trying not to be recognized. For a moment, Tedmond thought the mysterious, fully covered person might have kidnapped him.Taking a closer look, Tedmond’s brows furrowed as he seemed to recognize the figure. “Kanis?” he asked. “Why are you dressed like that?!”Kanis glanced back at him. “I don’t want to be recognized,” he replied. “You’re lucky your identity is well hidden, or you’d be drawing too much attention.”“Perhaps you’re right,” Tedmond replied.They walked toward a supercar store a few minutes later to get the car they wanted. Three hefty guards stood outside the store, wearing hard, unwelcoming expressions.As Tedmond and Kanis approached, the guards gave them a once-over. They examined Tedmond’s appearance and then shifted their gaze to Kanis.Seeing Kanis’s appearance, the guards frowned. This company sold supercars, not rundown second-hand vehicles. They were sur
Everyone turned to Tedmond at the same time, eyes wide in shock. The guards looked as if they had just been dunked into a bucket of ice, standing frozen in place.Kanis's lips curled into a grin. He had been wondering why Tedmond tolerated all those insults without a word, but now he couldn’t wait to see Tedmond talk back.The saleswoman stood there, stunned. “Did you just speak to me?”Tedmond replied, “I can see this is hard for you to process, but I’m here to buy a car, not to film some prank video.”Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. “Dressed like that? How dare you!” she spat. “You’re just a broke nobody trying to act cool, pretending you can afford an expensive car!”“That’s right! How dare you talk to her like that?”"Have you no shame? You should have the money before coming here!""Did you think we'd believe your lies? You son of a bitch."“Even if you worked your whole life, you wouldn’t be able to buy a car here,” she added, sneering. “Try a secondhand dealer or a repa
Looking around, Kanis reached for his face mask but paused halfway. Kiera was still in front of them, leading them to where they would find the car.A few staff members walked past, flashing Tedmond and Kanis a smile.“Hello.”“Welcome to Lilies Automobile.”“We are glad to have you here.”One even went as far as to ask, “Would you like a cup of tea?”Tedmond and Kanis did their best to respond to everyone’s greeting but shook their heads in polite refusal to the woman who had offered them tea. She nodded and left.“It’s her job to serve tea to our customers,” Kiera informed them. “I hope you’re comfortable.”“We are,” Tedmond replied.The Jadii staff were not as friendly as those he met at Lilies. Although he hadn’t met all the staff at Jadii, the hostile treatment from one employee and the guards gave him an impression of the company culture.Kanis reached for his hoodie, pulled it off, then removed his face mask, shaking his head to set his hair without touching it. He threw the ho
Looking around, Kanis reached for his face mask but paused halfway. Kiera was still in front of them, leading them to where they would find the car.A few staff members walked past, flashing Tedmond and Kanis a smile.“Hello.”“Welcome to Lilies Automobile.”“We are glad to have you here.”One even went as far as to ask, “Would you like a cup of tea?”Tedmond and Kanis did their best to respond to everyone’s greeting but shook their heads in polite refusal to the woman who had offered them tea. She nodded and left.“It’s her job to serve tea to our customers,” Kiera informed them. “I hope you’re comfortable.”“We are,” Tedmond replied.The Jadii staff were not as friendly as those he met at Lilies. Although he hadn’t met all the staff at Jadii, the hostile treatment from one employee and the guards gave him an impression of the company culture.Kanis reached for his hoodie, pulled it off, then removed his face mask, shaking his head to set his hair without touching it. He threw the ho