Chapter 9
Knowing the strained history between thedies, Francis red at Naomi and lectured her. “Anastasia
and her son just arrived, so there is no need for you to be so sarcastic. Get along well with her, would
you?!” “Who is the kid, Mom?” Erica showed up on the stairs and became curious when she saw her
father with a child in his arms. “Watch your mouth! This is your nephew whom your sister gave birth to
when she was living abroad,” Naomi answered unhappily. Erica’s eyes were instantly left wide open.
“What?!” She then walked down the stairs and closer to Anastasia. “Why didn’t you let us know about
your child? What’s wrong? He can’t be seen?” “How could you say something like that, Erica? Jared is
part of our family now, so I want you to take back your words.” Francis unhappily red at thedy.
Naomi noticed her husband’s reaction and immediately harbored a greater grudge toward Anastasia,
finding it hard to believe that his attitude toward Erica changed so much just because of Jared. “D-Dad,
I’m just showing my… concern for her!” Erica bitterly stood up for herself. “Come here. I’ll take you to
the garden for a walk.” Francis wanted to bond with Jared. As soon as Francis left with Jared, Erica
approached Anastasia with a cial smile. “You had an affair with some married man and gave birth to
that illegitimate child, didn’t you?!” While Anastasia’s eyes were filled with hatred, she could never
forget what Erica and Hayley did to her back then. For that, she told herself that she would never
forgive both of them because of what they did to her. “My business is none of yours,” Anastasia coldly
replied. For some reason, Erica started to think that Anastasia had be prettier as thetter gave
off a more dominating aura now,pared to who she was five years ago. In that instant, she began to
feel even more jealous of Anastasia’s beauty. She thought there would be no one else in her way after
the former left the Tillman Family, only to be surprised by her fair skin, curvy figure, and calm demeanor
when they met again. Man, she doesn’t even look like she’s given birth before. “Anastasia, I don’t know
what you’re up toing back here, but I warn you—forget about whatever silly idea you have in your
mind. This family has nothing to do with you at all.” Naomi threatened her. Anastasia cially chuckled
and asked, “Why not? When my father first built hispany, my grandparents invested in it too, but
you both had the cheek to take everything without doing anything.” “You…” “Know your ce,
Anastasia. I drove you away from the Tillman Family five years ago, and I can always do the same
thing again.” Erica tried to intimidate Anastasia. “My father is the only person I ever came back to thisContent from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.
family for, which has nothing to do with you both at all. Furthermore, my dad can do whatever he wants
with his inheritance, which is, again, none of your concern.” Anastasia refuted Erica and Naomi,
ridiculing both of them. “Speaking of that, don’t you ever think that you’re going to get a bigger share of
the inheritance with your son.” Naomi gritted her teeth. “My father is still alive and has a long way to go
in his life, but you both won’t stop talking about his inheritance. Do you want him gone so badly? If
that’s the case, I’m going to make sure he lives a long life so that you both can forget about inheriting
his fortune.” Anastasia gave a cold reply, knowing that Erica and Naomi only loved her father’s money
instead of the man himself. “You…” Naomi was rendered speechless but immediately talked back to
save herself from the embarrassment. “He is my husband, so of course I want him to live long.” Erica
quickly defended her mother. “What’re you talking about, Anastasia?! My mom loves my father.”
Nheless, Anastasia reached for her phone and sat on the couch, refusing to entertain the mother
and daughter. Soon, the maid proceeded to serve the dishes while Francis told her to prepare two
more dishes that were not spicy for his grandson. Seeing that, Naomi and Erica were steaming
because they could tell from Francis’ eyes that Anastasia was beginning to regain his favor with her
son. “What’s your upation, Anastasia?” Francis asked curiously during the meal. “I studied jewelry
design when I was living abroad, and I’m now a designer at Bourgeois.” “Not bad. Bourgeois is quite a
big name.” Francisplimented Anastasia. “I’m looking for a job too, Dad! I’m currently interviewing
as an auto salon model.” Erica desperately introduced her job to her father. “What kind of job is that?
You’d better quit before you embarrass me.” Francis shot a gaze at Erica, giving her a stern gaze.
“Hubby, Erica is just having fun while exploring the opportunities around her. I’m sure she’lle to
yourpany in the future.” Naomi immediately stood up for her daughter. “Hmph! What can she do in
mypany? A receptionist?” Francis grunted coldly. On the other hand, Erica harbored a strong
grudge toward Anastasia, ming her for indirectly exposing her shorings. “Grandpa, my mom is
an impressive designer. She even took part in the International Jewelry Design Competition,” Jared
happily said. The child’s words put a smile on Francis’ face. “Really? That’s awesome! Jared, I’m going
to get you a presentter in the afternoon, so just tell me what you want. Alright?” “Sure, thank you,
Grandpa!” The little boy politely expressed his gratitude. While Anastasia was d that her father was
so fond of Jared despite her surprise, Naomi and Erica were growing more and more annoyed with the
child’s presence, deeming him a scheming little boy they should be wary about, in spite of his young
age. After dinner, Francis took them to the nearest shopping mall, where he bought his grandson some
expensive presents, including robot toys and Lego. Although they cost thousands, he didn’t hesitate to
pay for them at all. “That’s enough, Dad. Don’t spoil him.” Anastasia quickly tried to stop her father.
“Alright. Alright, that’s all for today. I’ll buy him something else again in a few more days.” Francis still
felt an urge to show his good faith. “It’s okay, Grandpa. I don’t need any more toys because I already
have plenty of them.” The child gave a mature reply, which grew on Francis more as thetter caressed
the child’s head. When they were done with their shopping, Francis gave his daughter and grandson a
ride back to their apartment. The moment he saw the building, he began to think that it was time for him
to make it up to Anastasia since hispany had made him quite a fortune over the past few years.
After seeing her father off, Anastasia wrapped her arms around Jared. “Jared, your grandfather seems
to like you a lot.” “I like him too.” Jared happily said while pouting at the same time. “Mommy, can you
tell me where Daddy is?” Anastasia paused in the face of the inevitable question that she knew Jared
would ask. She then gazed at him in a serious manner and said, “I don’t know where he is, Jared. In
fact, we may never see him again, but anyway, I promise I’ll be by your side. I love you, Darling!” Jared
nodded and held his Lego up in the air. “Alright then, I’m going to y now!” “Go ahead!” Anastasia
nodded, watching her son unwrapping his new toys while losing herself in her thoughts. Deep down,
she knew it wasn’t hard to find her son’s father at all because she was sure that Erica and Hayley had
the answer to that. After all, she believed that they tricked her into sleeping with a gigolo, but because
of that, she vowed never to let her son know about his father’s embarrassing profession. It’s alright. I
love Jared, and that’s enough for both of us. Now that my dad likes him too, I suppose there is nothing
else that can make my life even happier than how things are at this point.