2024-09-10 08:23:08The 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 planning to take the bus? That’s not happening. You’re coming to the garage with me today to pick a car.”
Tedmond didn’t want to waste time since he was already running late. “I’ll let the driver take me,” he said.
He knew that if he didn’t say that, Thomas wouldn’t let him leave. He gave Bianca a final smile and walked out of the mansion to where the driver was waiting. Minutes later, he exited the car several steps away from school.
He didn’t want anyone he knew to see him arriving in a luxury vehicle. As he walked towards the school gate, a car brushed past him, nearly hitting him if he hadn’t ducked out of the way.
“Get out of the way, loser!” a young man yelled, sticking his head out of the window and giving Tedmond the middle finger. “Bastard thinks he can waltz into school like nothing happened.”
Tedmond’s frown deepened as he recognized Kyle, a friend of his half-brother. His elder brother, half-sister, and his ex-girlfriend were all students at the school and were in their sophomore year, four years ahead of him.
As he walked down the hallway to his first class, other students avoided him and whispered as he passed by.
“Didn’t his girlfriend dump him to marry his brother, the cooler kid?”
“I heard they’re not even real brothers; he was just the son of their maid who they took in.”
“He wasn’t even invited to the wedding and was sent away while it took place.”
“Every poor man doesn’t deserve love.”
Ignoring the snide remarks from the girls who glared at him, Tedmond entered the classroom and made his way to his usual empty seat. He pulled out his notebook from his bag and settled in.
Before he could get comfortable, he was approached by three male students.
“You’re here,” one of them said.
“What do you want, Kyle?” Tedmond asked, not even looking up. “I thought you should be in class.”
Tedmond was a freshman, having graduated high school at eighteen and managed to start college a year later.
“How dare you talk to me like that?” Kyle demanded, his brows furrowing. “I heard what happened yesterday. How dare you act cocky after being kicked out of the Griffin family?”
Tedmond remained silent.
“Where did you sleep last night?” Kyle pressed. “I would have guessed at Lisa’s house, but she dumped you to marry your brother. You never knew she was cheating on you, using your little money for gifts for your brother! How pathetic have you been?”
“So it’s true,” one student murmured. “He was driven out of the house.”
“He’s daring to offend Kyle, the heir of a second-generation fortune. This could get us all in trouble if the class gets targeted.”
“Lisa really dodged a bullet; good for her for picking someone better.”
The murmurs filled the room, and Kyle grinned widely at Tedmond, who remained quiet. He knew Tedmond couldn’t look him in the eye or respond.
“Is that all you have to say?” Tedmond asked, finally meeting Kyle’s gaze. “How old are you, thirteen?”
Kyle’s face flushed with rage. “Are you mocking me?!”
“I only asked a question,” Tedmond replied calmly. “You talk like you’re thirteen.”
If the comment hadn’t come from Tedmond, it would have been a joke or a sharp comeback. Kyle’s face reddened further, his anger palpable.
“You dare speak to Kyle like that?” one of his friends demanded.
“When did a trash like you grow wings to look us in the eye?” another snarled.
Tedmond’s lips curled into a grin. “The professor will be here soon, and I don’t have time to argue with you. You can say whatever you want; it doesn’t matter to me.”
“You!” Kyle yelled, his fist clenching. He aimed a punch at Tedmond but stopped when the voice of the lecturer interrupted.
“What’s going on here?” Miss Scarlett, the lecturer, demanded. “Kyle? What are you doing in my class?”
Miss Scarlett was known for her strict demeanor, and no one dared act out of line in her class.
Kyle withdrew his hand. “We were about to leave,” he told Scarlett. “Just give me a moment.”
Irritated and fuming, Kyle glared at Tedmond. Unable to handle Tedmond in the classroom, he decided to challenge him another way.
“Tedmond’s been causing trouble,” Kyle announced. “Since he spoke to me like that, I’m challenging him to a basketball game!”
At the mention of the basketball game, the students flinched. Kyle was renowned as the best basketball player in the school, having led his team to numerous victories.
“You know the rules of my duel challenge,” Kyle added. “The loser becomes a slave to the winner.”
Fear gripped the class.
“I’ll be kind,” Kyle said with a sneer. “The people who team up with Tedmond won’t be punished, but he’ll be the slave of my entire team. Do you agree to play, Tedmond?”
Kyle grinned, expecting Tedmond to back down. Everyone else did too.
“I’ll play,” Tedmond said firmly.
“I knew you wouldn’t agree to—what?!” Kyle bellowed, stunned by Tedmond’s response.
“I’ll play,” Tedmond confirmed.
Hearing this, the class erupted in protests, angry at Tedmond for putting them in such a position. He ignored their cries.
“I don’t intend to pick my team from this class,” Tedmond announced, his eyes flashing. “I can’t wait to have five slaves.”
Kyle’s face turned red with anger. “You dare be so confident? You’ll regret this.” He glanced at his friends and gestured for them to leave. “Lunchtime, 2 PM. Meet us at the court.”
With that, Kyle stormed out of the class, leaving Scarlett to glare at Tedmond before starting the lesson. He had dared miss several of her classes, she was going to deal with that later.
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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
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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
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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
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“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
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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
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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
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Arriving at the office, Tedmond placed Bianca on the couch next to him and handed her the tablet so she could use it while he worked.Sitting in the chair made specifically for him in his new office, he glanced at the piles of paper laid out before him. Lora stood in front of the desk, showing no sign of wanting to sit down."Have you reported everything that needs to be reported?" he asked.She nodded. "Yes."Tedmond glanced at the piles of documents again. "The company was functioning quite well with you all in charge. Just keep running it as you are now," he said. "I don’t think anything needs to be changed.""Alright, sir," she replied. "There is a meeting happening today about the Griffins. Should I acknowledge them and work with them?"A frown returned to Tedmond’s face. Since he'd lived with them, he knew nothing about the Griffin company. "What is the company all about?""They produce music for games and animations. You could say it's a voice production company. They also prov
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Seated in his office, Tedmond crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. The seat had been adjusted, making it look puffy and soft. His gaze was fixed on the tablet, but he wasn’t reading from it.He couldn’t help but wonder what expressions the Griffins must have had when they received Lora's call.They would do everything in their power to gain further recognition from him, but he had no intention of revealing his identity just yet. He pondered whether he could play with them a little, like chess pieces.Considering all the terrible things they had done to him and his mother, it was only fair that he did as he pleased with them.Just then, Lora walked into the office. “Sir, I called them as you asked, and I’ve also gotten the mask and a voice changer.”Tedmond raised his head from the tablet to look at her. “A voice changer? Is that really necessary?”“I thought you didn’t want them to recognize your face, and you might also want to disguise your voice,” she replied.Thinking ab
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“Where the hell is Max?” Harold demanded, stomping his feet on the ground.He and Maxine had just returned home and heard about what had happened. He had expected Max to come up with a solution, but to his disappointment, Max was nowhere to be found. No one had any idea where he had gone.Seeing her husband so angry, Evelyn reached out to grab Harold’s arm, trying to calm him down. “Max must have gone to find a solution to our problems. He mentioned he had something on his mind and a plan.”Harold turned to look at his wife. “Are you sure he has a plan? He left with only 59 minutes to go.”Maxine glanced at her wristwatch and shook her head. “There are only 20 minutes left now. Max isn’t answering his phone, and he isn’t coming back. We can’t wait for him, or our reputation will be ruined for nothing. We have to do what they’re asking us to.”Harold glanced at Maxine, pressing his lips together as he tried to think of something. If only Maxine had been able to charm the president, he
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Max stared into space as soon as the call ended. He couldn’t understand what Duncan’s second brother was saying. What shocked him even more was the revelation that Duncan had another brother besides Bryan.“Did he just ask us to post an apology and retract everything we said about Duncan?” Evelyn questioned, her eyes wide with disbelief.“That’s right,” Max confirmed. “He said he’d release the evidence Bryan collected if we didn’t.”Gritting her teeth, Evelyn frowned so deeply that her face seemed to harden. She hated that all their plans had been ruined, and now they were at the mercy of Duncan and his brothers.On the other hand, Max paced back and forth, biting his thumb as he tried to think of a solution. Minutes passed, and a deep frown appeared on his face. No ideas came to him—nothing that could salvage their situation.“It seems like we have no choice but to do as they say,” he muttered.“Did you come up with something?” Evelyn asked, her tone laced with desperation.Max shook
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"Her best friend!" the blonde guy screamed at the top of his lungs. "We've known each other since childhood, and she's been like this for as long as I can remember!"The blonde guy grinned from ear to ear, his excitement clear. "I never thought Persis would ever get engaged. And to the son of Washington? That's surprising."A frown crossed Tedmond’s face at the man’s loud voice.“He’s one of my assistants,” Persis said, ignoring the blonde guy and addressing Tedmond. “More like an important aide.”“Okay,” Tedmond replied.Since the blonde guy was a friend of Persis, Tedmond didn’t feel the need to worry, though he was still curious about the man’s role.At that moment, Lora stepped into the office. Tedmond looked up as she approached and handed him a tablet.“There’s news about GNN,” Lora announced. “Duncan has been arrested.”Tedmond froze, his gaze falling to the tablet. The screen displayed a headline about Duncan’s arrest.“The Griffins are moving fast, aren’t they?” Tedmond mumbl
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He had wanted to find other evidence apart from what Mr. Washington had given him. There was no way he could rely on him forever. He still had to do his own work.The assistant nodded and handed Duncan a file. “The tech team tracked the source of the rumors to an anonymous online account. But it wasn’t completely anonymous—there were traces leading back to the Griffin family.”Duncan clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. “I knew it. Just like Mr. Washington said. Those Griffins can’t leave well enough alone.”At that moment, his elder brother, Bryan, walked into the office. Dressed in a tailored suit and radiating authority, Bryan studied Duncan with a raised brow.“You look like you’ve been through a war,” Bryan said, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. “Is running GNN really that stressful? I thought you’d enjoy having the power.”Bryan wore a wide grin. The company had initially been his, but he had handed it over to Duncan. It was supposed to be an entertainment company, but Dunc
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Maxine's eyes widened in shock when she saw who it was. Persis strolled into the office majestically, her hair flowing behind her as she walked. She looked like a model who had just stepped off a magazine cover.Her light brown eyes shimmered, making her appear even more radiant.‘An angel?’ Maxine thought, taken aback by the beauty standing before her.Harold, on the other hand, had his jaw dropped. ‘As long as she is here, there’s no way he’ll look at Maxine, he thought. If she’s his fiancée, then we’re done for.’“You must be the one spreading nasty rumors about my fiancé,” Persis said, walking toward Tedmond and standing beside his seat. “You wanted to offer me an apology? Let me hear it.”Maxine snapped out of her trance and peered at Persis again. This time, all her confidence drained. With Persis, who was more beautiful than her, present, Maxine couldn’t rely on her looks as a source of confidence anymore.“I’m sorry for spreading such rumors about your fiancé,” Maxine said, he
CHAPTER 142
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CHAPTER 141
As soon as Isabella and Lora were out of sight, Tedmond turned his gaze to Persis. She was pouting, her expression accusatory as she stared at him.“What?” Tedmond asked, confused by her reaction.“What do you mean, what?” she snapped. “My fiancé was holding another woman by the waist, and you expect me to stay quiet about it?”Tedmond raised his brows. “We’re technically fake, though,” he countered without thinking.The words hit her hard, and she glared at him. She knew their engagement wasn’t real, but he didn’t have to rub it in her face. Her glare intensified.“It isn’t technically fake. It’s temporary. Since we’re having an engagement party, it can’t be called fake,” she retorted firmly.He studied her face, trying to read her expression, but all he could see was the deep frown etched on her features. He didn’t understand why she seemed so invested in their act. It felt as though she wanted the engagement to be real—after all, she’d been the one to propose to him first.“Fine. L
CHAPTER 140
A loud thud resonated in the hallway, startling Persis and Lora. They both snapped their heads toward the source of the noise, and Persis' eyes widened in shock. Standing in the hallway were Tedmond and Isabella.Tedmond was holding Isabella by the waist from behind, stopping her from falling, while a tablet lay on the floor—the apparent source of the noise. Their position was awkward for everyone present.Ten minutes prior:“You’re all stitched up,” Tedmond said, peering at the woman sitting in the chair in the infirmary.The nurse, still in the room, had just finished tending to Isabella’s injury. She wore a curious expression, wondering why the president himself had brought Isabella to the infirmary.“I heard he has a lover. I don’t think Isabella is the one,” the nurse thought.“Thanks for bringing me here, Mr. Washington,” Isabella muttered. “I thought I might bleed for a long time before getting here.”“It was nothing,” Tedmond replied.After she had fallen, he had gone back to
