Chapter 183
“Sure! I’ll go and pick you up tomorrow at school.” Elliot was more than willing to take care of him, of course.
Thereafter, Jared asked curiously, “Mr. Presgrave, will there be many men at the banquet? I’m worried that Grandpa may introduce other men to Mommy. I hope that you can be there at the banquet so that Grandpa can meet you too.”
Elliot narrowed his eyes. Could it be that Francis is going to find a partner for the woman at the banquet tomorrow? In that case, how can I miss that? At that instant, he thought of another suitable candidate who could take care of the kid.
“Jared, if I’m going to attend your Grandpa’s banquet tomorrow night, is it okay if I get Nigel to take care of you? But can we keep this a secret for now?” Elliot didn’t want his plan to be ruined, so he couldn’t afford to let Anastasia and Nigel know about this.
“Okay, sure!” It was obvious that the boy had now become Elliot’s ‘partner in crime!
Little did the pitiful Nigel know that he would soon become the babysitter who helped his cousin to pursue Anastasia.
Anastasia served two plates of dumplings at the table before she returned to the kitchen to make two more plates. Meanwhile, Elliot and Jared, who were sitting at the table, started dipping the dumplings into the premade sauce and eating them.
Anastasia cooked all the dumplings that she had bought that day, and the portion happened to be just sufficient for the three of them. After the meal, Elliot took Jared downstairs to take a stroll, while Anastasia cleaned the house. After she was done with the chores, she sat on the couch and fell into a daze. Why do I feel as though we are a family of three?
She suddenly recalled that Elliot had slept with Hayley before this, and Anastasia felt an indescribable feeling welling up inside her.
She recalled how Hayley had described their night together when Hayley was hugging Elliot at the garden of the Presgrave Residence. She had talked about how wild Elliot had been above her. It was apparent that it had been an incredibly passionate night that had become one that was unforgettable to Hayley.
Anastasia shut her eyes abruptly, attempting to shrug off the thoughts that appeared in her head. It reminded her of the night five years ago that she had spent with a male escort that she had known nothing about. She did not know his name nor his
face, although she had been completely conscious when everything had happened that night.
She had felt that the male escort had a large and burly build, with strength so strong that she could hardly resist. He had lost his reasoning at that time, and he resembled a beast that had no sense of humanity at all.
Whenever she remembered that night, Anastasia could feel her body tremble all over, and this incident caused her to bear a heartfelt disgust toward the carnal desire between a man and a woman. She refused to get married, not only because of the mental repulsion she felt toward such matters, but also because the incident had traumatized her physically.
When Anastasia was engrossed in her painful memories, the sudden sound of the door being unlocked snapped her back to her senses. She inhaled a deep breath.
“You guys are back?” Anastasia smiled at Jared, who was running into the house. When she saw her son’s adorable and beautiful face, she could feel her earlier agony diminish.
“Mommy, this is for you!” The boy came back carrying Anastasia’s favorite beverage.
“You guys went out and bought something?” she asked with a smile.
“I was thirsty, so Mr. Presgrave bought me a drink. I remembered that you like this, so I bought you a bottle.”
At that, Anastasia looked up at the tall man and thanked him. “Thank you.”
“Mommy, I feel so hot! I want to take a shower.”
“Okay, I’ll help you to take a shower. Go and find yourself a set of pajamas.” She looked at her son and he returned to his room.
Just then, Anastasia looked at Elliot and said, “President Presgrave, it’s getting late. You should leave.”
The man’s gaze landed on her face, his eyes beguiling as he murmured, “I want to stay for a little longer.”
“Do not think that you can take advantage of me. It won’t happen again,” she calmly announced: I won’t fall for his tricks again.
Elliot himself was aware that he couldn’t possibly be so lucky to manage to lay his
hands on her every time. However, at the thought that he would be able to see her the next day, he curled up the corner of his lips. “See you tomorrow at the office, then.”
With that, he pushed the door open and left the house.
In the end, Anastasia exhaled in relief and quickly entered the room to help her son to shower.
The next morning, the Department of Design had an early-morning meeting.
As Anastasia walked into the meeting room groggily, she abruptly saw a charming and noble figure sitting in the seat next to hers, and the usually noisy atmosphere in the office suddenly became particularly serious.
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