Chapter 32
Mia brushed the messy hair out of her face and asked, “Mom, you don’t even recognize me?”
Π
Miranda’s eyes lit up, excitement clear on her face. But when Mia stepped forward, Miranda instinctively took a step back. “Gosh, what on earth happened to you? Go take a shower and change your clothes.”
Mia was so tired and weak that she could barely stand. She reached out, expecting her mom to help her. But when she looked up, all she saw in Miranda’s eyes was plain, unhidden disgust.
Mia let out a chuckle. “Right. I look like a street beggar. I should take a shower properly.”
Miranda didn’t catch the edge in Mia’s tone, just stepped aside to let her pass.
Standing in the shower with her sore feet, Mia felt hot water pouring over her head, and every cut stung like fire. But her mind was clear, replaying over and over Richard dodging her like she was contagious, and Miranda’s look of disgust.
She sneered inwardly, ‘What a mother I have.
After the shower, Miranda finally came with a first–aid kit, tending to the cuts on Mia’s feet and asking what had happened these past
wo days.
Mia told her the story but with some extra stuff. “I saw Katherine and Richard getting along just fine. They even hugged before he left.”
It was made up, but by dumb luck, she’d guessed the truth.
Miranda froze upon hearing that. “No way. I’ve been brainwashing Kate since she was little. She should hate Richard to the guts.”
Mia’s eyes flickered. “Who knows… Maybe being pregnant turned her motherly and soft.”
Mia casually answered, never taking her eyes off Miranda, watching every flicker of her expression.
“And… about the perfume thing… Did they…” Miranda stammered.
She thought to herself, ‘Mia got locked up out of nowhere, so something must’ve gone down. I heard Katherine even rushed to the hospital that day. They must’ve found out what Mia did.’
But still, Miranda clung to that little possibility, thinking they didn’t find out anything.
Mia suddenly smiled, “Mom, what do you want me to say?”
“Of course they found out.” Mia’s smile was just a little too snaky.
Miranda chalked it up to Mia being mentally and physically wrecked at Riverbend Manor,
“Not only that,” Mia continued, “Richard knows that too. He loves his daughter more than anything. What do you think he’s gonna do to us?”
Mia stepped closer with each word, like she was hooking into Miranda’s conscience. “Mom, guess Richard is gonna ask for a divorce soon. We’ll be thrown out of the house with nothing. What are we gonna do?”
She sounded panicked, but her smile didn’t match.
By now, Miranda was rattled. She’d already suspected this much. Her mind was a mess, but she still managed to keep her voice calm. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a way.”
She bit down hard, thinking, ‘If it comes to it, I’ll just pull the same trick again–slip something into Richard’s drink. He’s got such a strong moral code. No way he’d kick me out right after sleeping with me‘
Mia knew exactly what was running through her mom’s head.
She thought, ‘You’ve been a bookworm your whole life, lucked your way into Lawson Corporation, and even your flirting with Richard was pathetic.
“The smartest thing you ever did was latch onto Katherine right after her mother died, taking over that role in her heart.
“But Richard wouldn’t even drive me home. You think he’s gonna just walk back in and let you trap him? Wake up.
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Chapter 32
Anyway, Mia wasn’t counting on her useless mother for anything. What she wanted, she’d take herself straight out of Katherine’s hands.
The next day, Katherine went to the office with Derrick.
Their lunch was still delivered by Maeve, and her treatment hadn’t dropped an inch just because the location changed.
The top floor only had two offices–Derrick’s and the one for his team of assistants. Outside, a wide hallway had been turned into a little lounge with a coffee machine and all the basics.
Katherine would wander out when she was bored, sometimes playing puzzle games or doing jigsaws, and the time passed pretty fast.
But it felt weird to her. She’d been out there for so long and hadn’t run into a single person. She thought, ‘Do Derrick’s assistants just sit in one place all day like him? Don’t they ever stretch their legs?‘
She didn’t get it, but she didn’t ask either. If no one came to chat with her, she just entertained herself.
Then the elevator dinged, and Maeve stepped out.
“Mrs.
“Mrs. Graham, lunch time,” Maeve said.
Katherine quickly put down what she was holding and replied, “I just can’t wait.”
They chatted as they walked toward the office.
Inside the assistants’s office, everyone breathed a sigh of relief seeing Katherine leave through the blinds.
One sighed, “Finally. Let’s have lunch before we starve.“_____
“Man, ever since she showed up, Boss has banned us from walking around. I’m going stir–crazy,” someone replied.
Someone else chimed in, “Tell me about it. Thank goodness there’s a restroom inside, or we’d really be screwed.”
They all complained about how ruthless
couldn’t even step out the door.
In their boss was. Usually, he sent them running all over the place for errands. But now, they
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“Lunch time, Derrick.” Katherine sat down by the coffee table, opening all the insulated containers.
The smell hit instantly, making her swallow hard. Meal times were hands down the highlight of her day.
Maeve didn’t hang around. After delivering the food, she left, and Derrick would bring the empty containers home later.
Katherine finished eating early, leaving the mess for Derrick to clean up. Once she was out of the way, his eating speed shot up.
Leaning back in Derrick’s big leather chair, Katherine let out a happy sigh. “No wonder you don’t wanna get up from here. It’s really comfy.”
Derrick didn’t bother correcting her. It wasn’t comfort keeping him in the chair, but it was the mountain of work. If he didn’t finish early, he couldn’t be with Katherine all the time.
He’d heard the last months of pregnancy were the hardest, and he kept reminding himself to be ready for anything. He was determined to take care of her and their baby.
Katherine picked up a file and mimicked Derrick’s usual pose. “Hmm. This proposal’s not bad. Keep working on it.”
Then she burst into laughter. “Gosh, I’m silly. Wait, this girl looks kinda familiar.”
She’d only glanced at the photo, but something about the girl’s face rang a bell
The file was a proposal about Riverbend Group’s push into the entertainment sector. One plan focused on promoting girls to join a hot new idol group and boosting the company’s fame step by step.
The other plan was to buy out a well–known media company and take all its artists in one go. It could gain instant fame, but it cost much
inore.
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Katherine just felt curious about a familiar face, but the more she read, the more hooked she got. She figured reading business files was way more interesting than the mindless romance novels she sometimes read.
“Interested, huh?” Derrick’s voice came from behind her. He’d already packed up the lunch containers, smelling faintly of flowers.
Eyes still on the file, Katherine nodded. “Which one would you go for?”
It was basically the difference between building from scratch and inheriting an empire.
Starting from scratch meant freedom. They could do whatever they wanted. Buying a company meant skipping the hard parts, but they’d be stuck with old systems and risk ticking off long–time employees.
Actually, Derrick had no plans to get into showbiz. Sure, the money came fast, but the industry was a mess. Plus, he had no energy for it. He was focusing on taking care of Katherine until she gave birth to their baby.
Still, when she asked, he just pointed to the “start from scratch” plan.
That plan said to build their own company and make their own stars. The time cost was huge, and success was a gamble. For a big group, it was basically playing house, and it was totally unnecessary.
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