“What is this?” Vanessa Ty asked as soon as Stephen rolled down the window of his new BMW G70.
Stephen couldn’t help but stare at his fiance when he saw her walk out in one of Ms. Carmen’s gowns.
She looked beautiful in the light pink gown that hugged her figure. He also couldn’t wait to peel it off of her when they got home.
“It’s on loan from my employer.” Stephen said as he got out and opened the door for Vanessa. “It’s for attending events.”
The car was not on loan.
Eldrich Cho had purchased the car in Stephen’s name and even had it modified to have the hig
“Mr. Hao, it’s been a while.” Stephen greeted as he and Edward Hao walked away from the Ling family home.“Stop pretending Stephen, no one can hear us.” Robert Ke said with a laugh as he joined the two men.Stephen smiled and looked around. He noticed bodyguards of the Ke and Hao family keeping people away as they moved further into the garden away from the public’s eyes.“It’s been too long.” Edward Hao said as he hugged his friend. “We knew you weren’t dead, you couldn’t be, you just couldn’t.”“Is it safe to speak here?” Stephen asked.They were still on
Vanessa ran away as soon as she saw Stephen with Amalia.“Stop her.” Stephen ordered Robert and Edward. At that moment he sounded like Stephen Cho, heir to the Cho enterprises and not Stephen Sy, abandoned son.Edward was quick to tell his bodyguards to get Vanessa before she could make it back to the Ling mansion and make a scene.“Amalia, yes I’m alive, but right now I need you to trust me.” Stephen said as he glanced at Robert who stood guard, making sure no one wandered too closely.“How?” Amalia asked, her eyes pleading for an explanation.“I’ll tell you everything, b
When Vanessa opened her eyes the first thing she saw was Stephen.At first she smiled and looked at him lovingly, Stephen had hoped that she had forgotten about the previous night, but he was wrong.Her expression quickly went dark as soon as she remembered him with that woman, Amalia Cho. Then she recalled how she was chased, gagged, and later knocked out by those bodyguards from the Hao and Ke families.“You bastard.” Vanessa spat as she sat up and slapped Stephen on the face.Stephen was not at all surprised by her reaction, it was within his expectations.Vanessa on the other hand was shocked when Stephen didn’t get mad. He simply sat there and accepted the slap she had just dealt.“You’re crazy.” She hissed as she glared at him.“No, I deserved that.” Stephen said with a sigh as he looked at her apologetically.“What?” Vanessa asked as he looked at him in shock. “Are you admitting that you cheated on me?” “No, no, I’ve never cheated on you.” Stephen said, shaking his head. “But
“Vanessa?” Alona asked as she opened the door. “Alona, I’m so sorry, but I need a place to stay.” Vanessa said as she held back the tears that were fighting to fall. The entire ride she was cold and stiff. Unfeeling and unwilling to let Stephen’s driver see her breaking down. When she got to her cousin’s door, however, it was a different story. “Sure, I’m sorry it’s a bit of a mess. My boyfriend is here.” Alona said as she blushed and let her cousin in. True enough there were clothes all over the place, tell tale signs of a heated night. “I’m sorry to bother you.” Vanessa said as Alona swept through the room, collecting their clothing. “It’s fine. Give me a moment and let me warn Wi- my boyfriend.” Alona was quite hesitant to let people know who her boyfriend was. Most members of the Ty family complained about it, but Vanessa didn’t care. As long as the man loved her cousin and treated Alona right, it didn’t matter who he was. “Thank you.” Vanessa mumbled as she sat down
When Alona and William both noticed Vanessa’s shock they both believed it was due to the fact that he was the son of the Chairman of Cho Industries, a business titan in his own right.William of course knew that Vanessa’s fiance was his nephew. He calmly assumed that Stephen had not told Vanessa who he was since she wouldn’t believe him anyway.“I know it’s a lot to take in, but I do love him and he loves me.” Alona was practically pleading for Vanessa’s approval.Vanessa shook her head, realizing how the situation looked to her cousin.“I’m sorry, I should be more enthusiastic about your relationship.” Vanessa said as she smiled at her cousin and at William Cho. “I’m really happy for you, Alona. I’m just going through a lot right now. So how did you two meet?” Vanessa had heard rumors that the second son of Eldrich Cho had divorced his first wife when she couldn’t give him a son and was now dating a younger woman.She never expected her cousin to be that younger woman. “Well, I was
Stephen sat in his office when one of the bodyguards his grandfather had assigned to him knocked at the door.“What is it?” Stephen called out.“Sir, young masters Hao and Ke are here to speak with you.” The man said, to which Stephen waved to let them in. He had been hard at work since Vanessa left, he knew that if he had let his mind wander for even a moment he would chase after her.Chasing after her would probably be the worst decision for him right now.“Seriously?!” Robert Ke shouted as soon as he and Edward Hao entered Stephen’s office. “It’s a fucking Saturday night and you’re working? And where is Vanessa? Shouldn’t you be formally introducing her to us by now?”Stephen chuckled and shook his head as he placed his laptop away.“Unlike the two of you, I actually have a job.” Stephen grinned as he greeted them.“And your fiance?” Edward asked, admitting that he too was curious as to why Stephen was alone in the large house.“She left.” Stephen didn’t want to elaborate, making
“Stephen, why did you have to do that?” Amalia grumbled as she placed a cold patch on the black eye that was starting to form on Robert Ke’s face. “I’m your brother, he’s not supposed to touch you.” Stephen said as he glared at his friend.“Seriously, Stephen, this shit now?!” Amalia asked, angry at her older brother. “You were dead for six fucking years! Robert and Edward were there for me, Robert and I fell in love. It has nothing to do with touching or whatever shit you have up your head!” “She isn’t a vulnerable little girl, Stephen.” Edward told his friend. “Plus, aren’t you a little bit more liberal than our families? Touching, seriously?”Stephen sighed and shook his head as he walked up and poured himself a glass of whiskey.“Fine, I might have overreacted a little bit.” Stephen admitted as he walked up to Robert and checked his friend’s bruise. “A little bit?! A little bit?! This thing is going to leave a mark Stephen, I have two interviews and a press conference tomorrow.
“Who did Robert Ke get into a fight with?” The reporter said as Vanessa got ready for work. “Today Mr. Ke attended a ribbon cutting event for the newest bar under the Starry Entertainment banner sporting a pretty bad black eye.” “I wonder who that Ke kid got into a fight with this time.” William Cho said as Alona adjusted his tie.Just like Vanessa he had to leave for work. He had offered to take her to the office, but Vanessa refused. She didn’t want to cause a scandal, he was going to be her uncle-in-law in a few months too. “I’m sure it’s a bar fight.” Alona commented as she tool a look at William, making sure that he looked acceptable. “That boy always goes off the handle whenever my late nephew is mentioned.” William Cho shook his head as he kissed Alona on the lips and bid goodbye to the cousins.“I should get going too.” Vanessa said as she checked herself one last time in the mirror.“Vanessa, could I have just five minutes?” Alona asked in a shy voice.Vanessa raised an ey
“The Lu family is working with the underworld?” Hans asked as he glanced at his cousin in disbelief. Over the years the Underworld was one part of Marina City that both families had failed to control. If the Lu family managed to pull into their fold the leaders of the Underworld and Stephen was not the head of the Essen Mafia, they would have easily crushed the Cho family.“They don’t, sir. At least not yet.” John clarified as he spoke to the cousins over the phone.“What do you mean?” Hans asked.“No one person can rule over the underworld of Marina City, let alone this country.” John told Hans. “The city and this country is too diverse for any one person to take control. There is also the matter of people like the Lu and Cho families that make taking control even more difficult.”“Isn’t the Essen Mafia powerful enough to get them to follow?” Hans asked as he looked at his cousin.“Not as just the Essen Mafia.” Stephen said with a smile on his lips. “Huh?” Hans was now even more
When Stephen declared the changes when it came to who would inherit the Cho family fortune in the future, Ina was no longer able to keep the reporters in line.Stephen decided to end the press conference there and move on.He, Vanessa, and Hans all left the stage and returned to Stephen’s office at the top floor. They were greeted by Paolo’s laughter as they entered the room, he was playing with Amalia and Robert. “Shouldn’t you be putting out the fire I just started downstairs?” Stephen asked as he gave Robert an amused look.His friend was never big on children.As a matter of fact, Robert was probably the one that was most against having children in their friend group. So it was quite the surprise for Stephen to see Robert happily playing with a child.“They don’t need me to put out that fire.” Robert chuckled as his phone began to ring next to him.“Shi-” Robert began to curse.“Language!” Both Hans and Stephen shouted, making Robert jump in surprise. “You two are going to scar
Paolo Cho was a handsome child, it was something that the reporters couldn’t deny. He had received amazing genes from the Fredrikson, Ong, and Cho families, making him probably one of the best looking children around.But when Paolo Cho smiled he won the hearts of everyone in the crowd, even those that wanted to speak badly of the Cho and Fredrikson families.They might have been bribed by the Ong families and their allies, but there was no denying that Pablo Cho was happy.Pablo waved at the crowd and smiled. He then hugged his father as he shied away from the crowd again.People couldn’t blame the little boy, he had lived his entire life in hiding and now, all of a sudden he was in front of hundreds of people. Every single one of the reporters wanted to snap a photo of him or his father. It was obvious that Paolo was already getting uncomfortable with the situation.“I’ll bring him in.” Amalia volunteered as she took Paolo from Hans, allowing him to stand straight and glare at the
Tell me in the comments guys, which you would prefer Daily Chapters or Minimum 7 Chapters Once a Week? Tell me what you think in the comments or send me a dm! I would very much appreciate if you would tell me what you would prefer. As a reader I honestly prefer the second one hehe. I know many of you were shocked by the mass update last night but just think of that as me trying to make it up to all of you on the missed out chapters thoughout the month. Also, don't forget to follow me on my socials for updates.
“Ah, I see you’ve noticed it.” Stephen said as he saw the confused expression on some of the reporters' faces.Not everyone had seen a DNA test in the past. Normally when businessmen and actors were trying to prove they were not the father of a child, the match would be much lower compared to what was flashed on the screen.“Allow me to explain for those who are seeing a DNA test for the first time.” Stephen said with a smile. “The report you are seeing behind me says that I am somehow related to Gabrielle Ong’s child. Now for those that are familiar with the genealogy of the Ong and Cho families, we are not in any way related.”The members of the media nodded as they slowly absorbed the information that Stpehen was telling them.Most were genuinely surprised at how kind Stephen sounded and at how willing he was to explain the situation to them.Normally, leaders in the same position as Stephen had little to no patience to explain trivial thing such as these, but Stephen took his tim
The parking lot of Philip Tower was filled with people chatting among themselves.It was no mystery what the Cho family was about to announce, they all knew that the biggest issue of that time was if Stephen Cho did or didn’t have an illegitimate child.Many people claimed that it was just a ploy of the Ong family to get their members out of jail.Others said that there was truth to it, especially since Gabrielle Ong was Stephen’s ex girlfriend.No matter what rumor people believed they all still wanted to be there. They all wanted to hear the truth and they all wanted to report it first. Inside the lobby of Philip Tower, Stephen looked out at the crowd that had formed.He had never expected that these many people would be interested in their personal lives. He thought that mostly gossip columnists would appear, but it seemed that every kind of reporter stood in their office’s parking lot.“You can’t seriously be surprised.” Hans said as he stood next to his cousin.“I just didn’t th
“We need to make a press release, the media will not leave us alone if we don’t.” Amalia told her brother as they sat around the meeting table in his office.Among those Stephen had invited were people he believed were crucial when it came to the matter of Paolo Cho’s identity.“Have you gotten the Ong family under control?” Stephen asked as he looked to his cousin.He knew that only a few days had passed and that Hans had his hands full watching over Paolo, but they needed to make sure that the Ong family wouldn’t cause them problems.“Almost, there are still some who are trying to question my ability.” Hans said with a malicious grin. “My people are making sure they understand who I am today.”Stephen nodded, impressed by Hans’ efficiency with dealing with the matter of the Ong family.“So we can schedule a press release today, the news agencies will publish it tomorrow and everything will be settled.” Amalia said as she thought of the timeline in her head.“No, we won’t just releas
Miguel and Manuel might come from a weaker family than the Cho’s but they had begun as Stephen’s friends, so Stephen decided to accompany Miguel to the airport the next day.He had offered for Miguel to use his private jet and the younger Villanueva brother happily accepted the offer.Stephen and Manuel stood on the tarmac with Miguel as they said their final goodbyes.“I’m guessing I won’t see you for a while, boss.” Miguel teased him.Technically now it was true that Stephen was their boss. With the trade to protect their family name, they were more like his henchmen doing his bidding rather than his partners through a treaty.“Most likely.” Stephen said with a nod.His wife was pregnant and he had no intentions of leaving her alone for too long. “I just wanted to say, thank you.” Miguel told Stephen. “You helped us back then and you helped us again now. Jacob would have ruined our family if news got out about his cases.”Stephen nodded, then he realized something, he forgot to as
Stephen had been exhausted by the night before.Paolo had woken up in the middle of the night and cried out for both Hans and Stephen. Stephen had been sleeping with the little boy at the time, but he refused to calm down unless his Daddy Hans was there.It seemed Paolo had settled on what to call them.Hans was Daddy, and Stephen was Papa. In the same way, he called Vanessa his Mama. When Stephen had asked a maid to call for Hans, his cousin seemed like he was about to burst into tears because his son had called for him.“Boss?” Andrew called, waving his hand in front of Stephen. “Sorry, Paolo had a hard time sleeping after yesterday’s incident. What were you saying Andrew?”Stephen asked as he tried to focus on the discussion at hand.“The bidding for the latest piece of land that that government has put up for sale starts in a week. The procurement director wanted to ask if you wished to purchase it.” Andrew informed Stpehen as he handed him the details of the piece of property.