Chapter 36: Making Decisions About L
A stared at him unhappily.
"If you don''t want me to go out, then stop me! You make all the rules, don''t you? It''s up to you whether I
can leave or not!"
"Good," said Brian coldly.
"You understand what your situation is."
He was sure that A and Toby''s meeting at the school this afternoon had been the first time.
After today, Toby probably wouldn''t be so tant anymore, even if he wanted to see her again.
Meanwhile, Toby went to see Molly.
She met him at the door of the vi.
"You''re back! Where have you been? I called thepany and they said that you left work early today."
"I just had something to deal with," he replied evasively.
"Why? Is anything wrong?"
Molly did not want to mention Toby and A''s rtionship.
She preferred to pretend as though nothing had ever happened between them.
"No, I just missed you," she said brightly.
"I thought you might being home early when I heard you left the office."
She slid her arm around his waist and led him to the living room.
They sat down together on the sofa.
Hayden was also in the living room.
He put down the newspaper he was reading and looked at the two of them.
"Molly, don''t nag Toby.You know how busy he is with work.He''s already canceled so many social
engagements recently."
"Dad, don''t call me a nag," Molly pouted.
She added, "You know I don''t mind him working.I just want him home instead of socializing outside
after work!"
After all, Molly was not blind, nor was she stupid.
How could she fail to notice that most of Toby''s so-called social engagements required him to go out
with other businessmen to flirt with women in bars and pay women in brothels? She did not like it at all.
Toby belonged to her.
If any other woman dared to touch him, Molly vowed she would make that woman pay for her mistake.
Hayden sighed.
"Toby has no choice, Molly.It''s inevitable.If he refuses to participate, it will have a negative impact on
his career."
Turning to look at Toby, he said, "By the way, I know you''re in charge of most of thepany''s affairs
now, and I don''t want to interfere.But don''t you think we''ve made too many concessions to Mr.rk,
just to get him to cooperate with us?"
Toby wasn''t surprised to hear the question.
He had allowed thepany''s annual revenue to decrease for A''s sake.
Hayden was still the leader of thepany, and when it came to business matters, he would prioritize
his own interests ahead of any other concerns.
"Hyde Group in general is not easy to deal with, and Mr.rk in particr is known to be difficult," Toby
replied.
"We must pay a steep price if we want this project, but if we do well, we stand to reap great benefits
from this deal."
Although Toby spoke calmly, he was not as confident as he seemed.
But he needed to find an excuse that Hayden would ept.
He was willing to make such a decision for L.
He was worried that Brian would bully her again because of their meeting earlier this afternoon.
He decided he needed to find time to talk to Brian.
"I understand.Very well, I will leave it up to you," Hayden answered.
He hoped Toby was handling things well.
He''d once been seriously ill before, and since then, he hadn''t been able to go to thepany as much
as he wanted to.
He only went when there was an urgent meeting, or some matter that required his personal attention.
"Dad, you just need to trust Toby.You and Mom should just focus on preparing for our wedding," chided
Molly.
She and Toby had decided to get married before the new year, and she was sure that grand
preparations were ongoing for the event.
The wedding of the only daughter of the Smith family would need to be a magnificent affair.
"We are already preparing," Hayden said, smiling.
"I suppose we will have to watch our only daughter leave our family..."
Molly immediately put aforting hand on her father''s knee.
"You''ve always wanted me to be happy, and now I am! I''ve grown up.I have someone I love.Our
marriage will be a sess, just like yours.Anyway, we will still live here after we get married, so I''m
definitely still part of this family."
Only after they got married could Molly rest assured that Toby belonged to her.
Since she was a child, her parents had doted on her and given her everything she wanted.She didn''t
like the feeling of losing anything.
Miley joined them in the living room.
"Dear, take a look at some of these brochures for dressmakers and studios, for your wedding dress
and photo shoots.You should take your pre-wedding photos as soon as possible," she said.
"Thanks, Mom!" said Molly brightly.
"Toby, let''s go up to my room and look at these materials privately, all right?"
She took Toby''s hand, and the two of them went upstairs.
When Miley was alone with Hayden in the living room, she turned to him and said pensively, "Honey,
don''t you worry that Molly seems to be a little too attached to Toby?"
She appreciated the work her prospective son inw did for thepany, but as a mother, she couldn''t
help but notice that it was Molly who clung to him; Toby himself was more lukewarm towards her
daughter.
Hayden, however, dismissed her concerns.
"There''s nothing to worry about," he said reassuringly, returning to his newspaper.
"As long as Molly is happy, everything will be fine."
Over the next few days, A worried that Brian would curtail her freedom, but he didn''t set any
additional limitations on her movements.
She was still able to go to school.She arrived on time every day, and stayed as long as possible without
rousing Brian''s suspicions, for she was eager to spend as much time as possible away from the vi.
One evening, Maria walked into A''s bedroom and saw her poring over arge stack of books on her
desk.
"Mrs.rk, I just wanted to inform you that Mr.rk won''t being home today," she said.
"Would you like to have dinner now?"
"Sure, I''ll be right down,"
A replied absently, still focused on her books.
She had already missed a lot of courses, and the date for examinations was approaching fast.
She was determined to pass, or else all her efforts over the past several months would be in vain.
While A was busy studying, Brian was in the entertainment club, seated in the private upstairs room
of the establishment.
Jaime sat across him.
He asked, "Mr.rk, do you really think you''re going to see her here?"
"Well, hasn''t shee yet?"
Brian asked, looking downstairs through the French window.
"She wille.She oftenes recently," Jaime replied.
That bit of information frightened Jaime, who couldn''t believe that Arlene the same girl who had been
dancing in the club and hooking up with different men every night was the real beloved daughter of the
Woodsen family.
A, as it turned out, was only a substitute.
She had been adopted long ago by yton''s wife.
Unfortunately, the wife had passed away soon after the adoption was finalized, but before her death
she made yton promise to keep the child.
A had been raised as a second daughter of the Woodsen family.
Brian had suspected for a while now that the woman in his vi was not Arlene.
By all ounts, Arlene was a wanton and experienced woman who loved partying and knew how to
please men.
A, on the other hand, clearly had no idea how to make men happy.
He''d learned that A was a substitute as soon as he started investigating, but it took him a little longer
to discover where to find the real Arlene.Now that he knew the truth, of course he wanted to meet the
real daughter of the Woodsen family.
"Mr.rk, once you confirm the truth about Arlene, will you let A leave?" Jaime asked.
He thought that if A was just an innocent substitute, then she should not be punished for what her
family had done.
"Do you think I should let her go?" Brian said, raising his eyebrows.
But it actually didn''t matter to him what Jaime thought.
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He had already decided to keep A.
She was so stubborn that he wanted to show her she couldn''t escape him.
"Mr.rk, she is only a substitute...Or have you developed an interest in her?" Jaime asked.
To himself he thought, ''’If that woman is not Arlene, shouldn''t he just let her go? Unless he has feelings
for her!''’
Brian scowled, then forced his face to return to its usual cold and indifferent expression.
"No," he snapped.
"But if she wants to pretend to be the real daughter of the Woodsen family, then she can keep being
Miss Woodsen forever."
Jaime''s brows furrowed with confusion, but before he could respond, there was a knock on the door.
Brian said, "Come in."
"Mr.rk, Miss Lene hase," said the manager of the club in a deferential tone.
"Jaime, go to her and convince her toe up here," Brian ordered.
He put down his ss and went to stand in front of the French window, gesturing for the manager to
point out Arlene in the crowd.
He looked down at the enchanting woman in the beautiful red dress.
Jaime watched him, feeling more confused than ever.
Was Brian interested in Arlene, after all? In fact, if they had seen the real Arlene who would be
Brian''s bride back then, all of them would have disagreed to the marriage.
Jaime went down and spoke to Arlene, and she quickly agreed toe with him to the private room
upstairs.
"Who wants to see me?" she asked, smiling coquettishly.
"But you should know, I don''t meet anyone casually."
She looked sideways at the gentleman beside her.
His expensive, tailored suit had convinced her it might be worth her time to see what he wanted.
"You''ll understand as soon as you see him," Jaime answered.
He hid his frown, thinking, ''’She''s just after money.Who does she think she is? She''s greedy and self-
centered"