“Nothing.” Stephen told the young man as he helped Vanessa stand back up.
“You called me a bastard!” The man said as he grabbed Stephen by the collar, much to his annoyance. “Do you have any idea who I am?”
Stephen unintentionally laughed and shook his head as he pushed the man’s hand away. An action that earned him gasps from the crowd.
“I actually have no idea who you are.” Stephen admitted.
He wasn’t lying,
This man may be his half brother, but they had never met. Stephen had seen him multiple times, photos of Liam were sent to him back when he was young master Cho so that he would know his half brother, but they weren’t acquainted.
Liam Ye looked somewhat like Stephen, they had the same black hair and face shape, but that was all.
They carried themselves differently.
Stephen recalled how he was when he was younger, like the man before him he was confident but not cocky. He knew who he could offend and what was in his power to do.
He knew that every action he made in public would reflect on his family, this bastard brother of his had no idea what he was doing.
As if on cue, Vanessa’s uncle stepped out of the room and was shocked to see Stephen fighting with the young master from the Cho family.
“Young master Liam Ye, please forgive him, he is a poor fellow that has no idea about those who are truly influential.” Vanessa’s uncle said as he bowed to Liam Ye, forcing Stephen to do the same.
To his shock, Stephen did not submit as he had.
Stephen stood tall and laughed as he heard Liam’s name.
“Ye? So you aren’t the young master of the Cho family. I guess that title remains with the legitimate son that died a few years back.” Stephen pointed out making Liam Ye visibly get angrier.
“That’s not true!” One of his companions said as he quickly jumped in to defend Liam Ye.
“Really? If I know those stuck up old families, and I do like to think that I know them quite well, they would never give their family name to an outsider and they would not so easily hand out their fortune.” Stephen declared, catching everyone off guard.
Those that were with Liam Ye knew that what Stephen was saying was true.
The old man, Stephen’s grandfather, Eldrich Cho, never recognized Liam. As a matter of fact he took it a step further when he forbade his own son from giving Liam and his mother the honor of carrying the Cho name.
“Shut up!” Liam Ye shouted as he threw a punch at Stephen, which he easily dodged.
“Really, that’s it?” Stephen asked.
For some reason he was very eager to anger his half brother. He wanted to see what Liam Ye could do and how easily offended this man was.
“Hold him down!” Liam Ye ordered.
His friends quickly moved to grab Stephen, they were already holding him down when a familiar voice spoke from behind Stephen.
“You, bastard, what are you doing here?” It was Stephen’s old friend, Robert Ke that had suddenly shown up.
Stephen quickly kept his face hidden, worried that Robert would see him and reveal his identity. No one aside from his Uncle William knew he survived his father’s beating.
“Don’t you dare call me a bastard!” Liam Ye shouted angrily at Robert as he glared at the older man.
“You really think you can order me around, bastard?” Robert asked with a cold laugh, one that was enough to send a chill up everyone else’s spine.
It took Stephen all his self control not to laugh at what Robert had said. Did Liam Ye really think he could go against the heir to the Ke Family? They were practically kings!
Liam hesitated as he glanced between Robert and Stephen.
Eventually he decided that it wasn’t worth getting into trouble.
“Drop him, let’s go, this place is too tacky anyway.” Liam Ye said as he waved for his friends to drop Stephen.
At his command, his friends suddenly let go of Stephen, making him fall on the ground. Luckily, Stephen was quick to act and managed to catch himself.
“Right, too tacky, I know for a fact that you begged Uncle Vincent to get you a table since they refused to serve you here.” Robert chuckled as Liam and his friends walked away, pretending not to hear what Robert had said.
The owner of the restaurant was a good friend of Stephen’s sister, Amalia. As a result he made it incredibly difficult for Liam Ye to be allowed into the restaurant.
“Are you alright?” Robert asked as he watched Stephen get up.
Stephen kept his head down, hoping that Robert would not catch a glimpse of his face.
“Yeah, thank you. We have to go.” Stephen said as he pulled Vanessa and quickly left the restaurant, leaving a confused Robert suspicious of his actions.
Vanessa’s uncle was quick to take advantage of the situation as he bowed and began to apologize to Robert Ke.
“Young master Ke, I’m sorry about my niece’s fiance, he isn’t from a proper family. He doesn't have any manners and-” He was suddenly cut off when Robert Ke raised his hand, stopping him from speaking.
“No harm done.” Robert Ke said as he walked off, followed by his assistant.
He continued to follow Stephen and Vanessa with his eyes as he felt that Stephen was familiar. He hadn’t seen his face, but the voice was so familiar that he couldn’t help but wonder who the person he had just helped was.
When his car arrived he got in followed by his assistant.
“That man.” Robert said as he looked out the window.
“Liam Ye?” His assistant asked. “Or the man that was trying to curry favor?”
“Neither of them, the one I helped. The one I didn’t get to even see his face, I want you to look into him.” Robert Ke ordered.
His assistant couldn’t help but wonder what his boss wanted with that one, he seemed insignificant. It was as if he simply was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but it wasn’t his job to ask, it was his job to do as he was asked.
“Yes sir.” The assistant said as he quickly sent several messages to their people. He knew that soon he would have the answers his boss needed.
“We were lucky that man helped us.” Vanessa told Stephen as they boarded the bus that would take them to his home. “I’m sorry I failed to impress your family today.” Stephen told her as he gestured for her to take a seat first. Luckily they were commuting at an off time and there weren’t that many people on the bus. “Really Stephen, do you still think I want you to impress my family?” Vanessa said as she leaned against his shoulder. “I don’t care if they like you or not. I love you and I will marry you. They cannot stop that.” Stephen nodded as he let her rest. The bus ride was quite short as they arrived at their community not long after having boarded the bus. As they walked to Stephen’s home, he noticed an odd car following them. It didn’t take much for him to realize that the car was actually quite familiar to him. As they stood by the door of the house, Stephen groaned and shook his head. “What’s wrong?” Vanessa asked, worried that her fiance was actually in pain. “I fo
William Cho dropped Nicholas off near the grocery where he had told Vanessa he was going. His uncle promised to contact him as soon as there was any development, for now he simply wanted Stephen to sit still and wait. Stephen knew that his uncle was still hoping to have a son of his own, otherwise he would have had Stephen reveal himself to the world. William Cho had given up the idea of having a child by his first wife, so a few years after Stephen’s presumed death he divorced her. There was no shortage of women willing to offer themselves to the second son of the Cho family, but what William needed was a woman from a respectable enough family. He didn’t need one from a powerful family, those would only complicate the marriage. The latest rumor was that William was dating a woman young enough to be his daughter. Something that appalled most of their social circle. There had been no proof since no photos were ever taken, nor did any woman come forward to claim that she was dati
Carlo Tan was shocked with what Stephen had told him. It wasn’t what he had expected at all. “When I said goodbye to Robert and Edward that day, I didn’t think that I wouldn’t see them again.” Stephen sighed as he looked out the window and recalled that night. “I was furious at my father because of the announcement. I couldn’t believe that he had made the announcement so publicly with my mother in attendance.” “The young master was inconsolable after we heard about what had happened, he refused to believe the news.” Carlo Tan informed Stephen. Stephen nodded, he recalled how he stormed out of the venue and drove like a mad man. How his uncle had asked the driver to take him home, he was lucky he realized that he was too mad and walked out of the car. So many details of what had happened that day had been ignored by Stephen at that time. He was blinded by rage, all he wanted to do was to get away from his father, to move on from that announcement and to prove to his grandfather tha
When Vanessa and Stephen returned to the city a few weeks prior, both of them had already sent out his application to various companies. “Are you sure you don’t want to work for your family’s company?” Stephen asked as they drove towards the city. “Nope.” Vanessa confidently answered as she fixed her make up. “I want to make a name for myself, carve my own path.” “Your grandfather won’t be happy.” Stephen frowned as he thought of how much Vanessa’s grandfather loved her. He longed to have a family that would have cared about him that much. “My grandfather will be happy as long as I am.” Vanessa confidently answered Stephen. She had, in fact, spoken to her grandfather already and broken the news to him. The old man had been sad, but he allowed Vanessa to work elsewhere, adding that maybe her experience working for others could be applied to their family company in the future. “You know, grandpa likes you.” Vanessa told Stephen as she glanced at her fiance. “As a matter of fact
“I never believed that you were dead.” Eldrich Cho was already in his seventies, but he continued to have a strong and powerful aura around him. Over the years Stephen had seen him in the news, he may no longer be involved in the management of the business, but he could still influence it greatly. “How come, grandfather?” Stephen asked as he felt his and his grandfather’s auras battling it out in the small space. “Because you aren’t some weak kid that could be killed by a car accident.” Eldrich Cho chuckled. “Plus your uncle has been acting oddly ever since your father announced that you had died in a car accident.” Stephen nodded as he took in everything Eldrich Cho had to say. “Uncle William saved me.” Stephen kept his head down as he tried to seem like he owed William Cho his loyalty. “You can’t fool me boy.” Eldrich Cho suddenly said. “Don’t pretend you are his pawn, I can see right through you.” Stephen grinned at his grandfather and shook his head. “Young Master.” Mr. K
When the bodyguard brought back Stephen’s car, Mr. Kai suddenly appeared and handed Stephen an envelope.“What’s this?” Stephen asked as he opened it. He was shocked to find that inside was his grandfather’s last will and testament.“It’s an official copy. His lawyers authenticated it.” Mr. Kai said. “Also inside is the bank card, Master Cho said you are to use this to build the persona required for the role.”“Alright.” Stephen said with a nod.Mr. Kai produced another set of documents and handed Stephen a pen.“After you sign this you will be Stephen Cho again.” Mr. Kai informed Stephen.Stephen took a deep breath as he reviewed the documents. Long ago there was a time when he wanted to simply forget who Stephen Cho was and move on with his life. But, when he saw Liam Ye today there was a burning desire in him to reclaim who he was.He signed the documents and handed it to Mr. Kai, who made sure everything was in order. “One more thing, sir.” Mr. Kai said before Stephen could lea
“This is crazy!” Vanessa exclaimed as a waiter entered, bringing their food to them. While the waiter was there, Vanessa and Stephen were both quiet, not wanting to speak about Stephen’s new job. When the waiter finally left, Stephen began to explain things. “I met with Master Cho, he’s an old family friend, someone from my past.” Stephen scrambled to find an acceptable explanation. “Master Cho?” Vanessa asked, wide eyed with shock. “Why would Master Cho want to see his company destroyed? Stephen, are you sick or something?” Stephen sighed and shook his head. “Master Cho would rather see his company crumble rather than to hand it to one of his sons.” Stephen told Vanessa. “He wanted to pass it to his grandson, but the guy died.” “And what? He wants you to act like the dead guy?!” Vanessa was practically shouting at this point. “This is crazy Stephen!” “Vanessa calm down, I’m not going to act as anyone I’m not.” Stephen tried to calm her. “Then what?” Vanessa asked. Stephen
Stephen and Vanessa experienced an odd week of peace between the time Stephen talked to her about joining Cho industries. Within that week his clothes arrived and they settled on keeping his current eye color which was black. Stephen worried that anything brighter would attract unwanted attention. Eventually his first day in the office rolled by as he drove Vanessa and himself to work. “Are you nervous?” Vanessa asked while they were stuck in horrible traffic. “A little bit, but I’ll just treat it like normal work.” Stephen gave her a smile as he struggled to hide his anxiety for the day ahead. “You don’t have to lie to me, you know.” Vanessa frowned as the light turned green and Stephen continued to drive them to work. “Fine.” He grumbled as he noticed they were nearing their destination. “I am nervous, but I’ll get over it by the time I get there.” “You can do it.” Vanessa reached out and held Stephen’s hand. He continued to drive in silence, getting strength from Vanessa’s p