“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
In another part of the city, Stephen sat behind his desk, working on the multiple plans and options his team had started work on.As promised, Catherine Ying’s team had sent over the necessary information and everyone was buried in work. Stephen did his best to focus, but with everything going on with his personal life, it was quite difficult. “Mr. Sy.” Michael Ho said as he knocked on Stephen’s office door.“Yes Michael? How can I help you?” Stephen asked as he looked away from his laptop. “Mr. Ong asked me to call you to his office, he said he has another project for our team.” Michael Ho said with a frown, he knew that he didn’t have any good news for Stephen.“He already knows we’re working on this big project.” Stephen grumbled as he got up and closed his laptop. “I wonder what he will give us this time. Let’s go.”“Sir, he said he wants to speak to you alone.” Michael told Stephen as he frowned.“Very well.” Stephen frowned as he left and headed off to Mr. Ong’s office.When