I’ve always known that Mr. Shane loves Madam. I know his love for her runs bone-deep. Even so, I never would have predicted this; I underestimated the extent of his love…
He’s so in love with her that he would relinquish Thompson Group to her son… To someone who’s not his biological child. This is…
Silas cast a gentle gaze at Connor and Shane, taking in how similar they looked. He couldn’t help but mentally sigh at the two’s twisted fate.
If only Connor were Mr. Shane’s son…
“Alright, let’s head back.” Shane carried Connor over to Natalie.
Natalie’s lips twitched, wanting to say something but decided against it. Instead, she simply responded with a simple nod.
The woman stayed silent during the drive home. Her head bowed as she was deep in thought about what Shane had mentioned at the office earlier.
True enough, his words had utterly taken her by surprise.
Never in a million years would she have expected Shane to name Connor as Thompson Group’s successor. Not only that, but she hadn’t told Shane that the two kids were his biological children; yet, he still gave the position to Connor, a boy with whom he presumed shared no relations.
To top that off, she could tell that he was dead serious.
How could he put so much trust in me and my kids? Isn’t he worried that we’ll change the ownership of Thompson Group in the future? That we’ll remove him from the company and keep it all to ourselves?
Shane side-eyed Natalie while driving. His low voice chuckled as if he had seen right through her mind. Then, he soothed, “Don’t overthink things. Connor’s still a young boy.”
Frustration erupted from Natalie. She raised her gaze onto him and retorted, “That was extremely rash of you!”
“I disagree. Connor is a brilliant boy who’s more than capable of inheriting the Thompson Group. He’s even got the potential to take the company a step further, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t name him my heir.” Although Shane was more focused on driving, his statement was full of sincerity.
Natalie massaged the space between her brows, anxiety brewing at the back of her mind. “Yes, but aren’t you concerned that…”
“Will you?” Shane had predicted her doubts and interrupted her with a bold question of his own.
Natalie’s lips parted before they morphed into a smile. She answered truthfully, “Of course not. That’s not who I am. Neither is Connor because I will raise him to be a just and honorable man. I won’t allow him to become a scheming, backstabbing person.”
“Exactly.” Shane rested his case. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw the two children asleep in each other’s embrace.
His gaze softened at this serene sight.
Seeing their pink lips pout ever-so-slightly, Natalie couldn’t help but flash a gentle smile as well. Since the atmosphere around them lightened, she brought up a more cheerful topic. “Your birthday’s coming soon. We’ve already prepared your gift.”
“Is that so? I look forward to receiving it then,” Shane teased before withdrawing his gaze and focusing on the road ahead.
To this, Natalie stretched her arms while affirming, “You won’t be disappointed.”
It was almost seven o’clock when Shane pulled up in front of the villa.
Once he parked the car, Natalie woke the children. Then, all four of them held hands as they walked into the villa.
As they stepped foot in the living room, a figure emerged before Shane—it was a swollen-eyed Jacqueline who looked like she had been crying. She mewled, “Shane…”
Immediately, Shane’s face scrunched into a frown. He quickly asked in concern, “What’s wrong?”
Jacqueline sniffled, then shot a timid look at Natalie. She was obviously hinting that the latter was part of the reason why she cried.
Natalie rolled her eyes at the woman’s dramatic antics.
Jacqueline is probably making a fuss about what happened earlier this afternoon.
Tsk. It must have been so hard on her, huh? Kudos to her, though, for bawling from this afternoon until now. All so she can complain to Shane.
“Shane, it seems like Ms. Graham has something important to tell you. I’ll take the kids upstairs then.”
With that, Natalie strode away with Connor and Sharon.
Shane watched them ascend the stairs. Once the three made it upstairs, his gaze returned onto Jacqueline. He demanded, “Go on. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Well, it’s not entirely Ms. Smith’s fault. Maybe it’s mine. Shane, tell me what you think.” Jacqueline twiddled her fingers. Then, she put on an innocent act of biting her lip. “Mrs. Thompson came by this afternoon. She wanted Ms. Smith to put in a good word for Sean so that you’ll let him off. Ms. Smith said no, but I…”
Shane narrowed his eyes. “What did you do?”
“I agreed on behalf of Ms. Smith. Because of that, Ms. Smith and Mrs. Wilson were being so mean to me…” Natalie lowered her head and broke into tears again. She resumed through jagged breaths, “I just wanted to help Ms. Smith, but she…”
Jacqueline trailed off mid-sentence, wanting Shane to figure out the rest on his own.
