Chapter 231 - Chance (2)

Minutes passed in silence and he tried not to disrupt her. This was a huge decision after all, and it would be best if she had enough time to think about it. But that didn't stop him from feeling anxious. He was literally at the edge of his seat as she sighed and looked like she was about to speak, only to close her mouth without saying a word. Just when he didn't think he could hold it anymore, she finally spoke.

"I'll have to think about it."

He nodded. "I understand. Take your time and you can tell me once you have considered it." He was somewhat relieved even though she had not said yes to his proposition. This meant she was not entirely against the idea and thought it might be worth a shot.

"Zeus and I are going to switch positions in a few weeks." She swiftly changed the topic back to work.

"That's a relief because I miss my feisty executive assistant." He grinned, before his face fell serious. He picked up a brown envelope. "Zaria, there are things you should know."

"Okay?" His tone rendered her nervous.

"Don't be nervous. It's not fatal." He attempted to ease her anxiety in vain. "Do you remember the Fort Resort project that was set to kick off in March?"

"The aquarium?" She asked and he confirmed by nodding, so she nodded too. "Yes. What about it?"

"An identical aquarium is being set up by the West Conglomerate." He dropped the bummer.

"You're kidding right?" She laughed. When he shook his head solemnly, she was puzzled. "How could that be? Even if they are going to set up an aquarium, how can it be identical to ours? We didn't reveal the plan publicly. Obviously, that would be insane…" She stopped speaking when she realized that he was staring at her as though waiting for her slow brain to realize what was happening.

"Wait. Was our plan stolen?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

She was enraged. "What are those private investigators doing? It's been so long and I don't see any sign of a mole being sniffed out. Instead, all I see is more secret information getting leaked. What the hell?"

His frustration mirrored hers. "It disappoints me too. Moreover, this time all the evidence points towards you."

She laughed it off as though it was a ridiculous joke. "Why would I be a suspect in the first place?"

Realizing that his words had almost made her misunderstand, he quickly clarified. "Not in my eyes. I would never suspect you of doing such a thing but technically, I'm supposed to think that way according to Nathaniel's plot. He specifically chose a plan that you were in charge of before leaving to your intern, and gave it to the West Conglomerate."

"So you are supposed to think that I'm getting back at you for having a child with Angela by selling off an important project?"

"Apparently." He confirmed her guess, making her laugh in disbelief. Nathaniel was quite the persistent one, wasn't he?

…

At the door.

The two had left the door semi-opened again, Lucy thought with an eye roll. They were lucky that this was the executive floor and unless the security was compromised, no one aside from the executive employees would go close enough to his office.

But she had overheard everything and her expression darkened. Nathaniel Su!

She glanced down at her files and decided to discuss the content with Desmond later. She had something more important to do.

"Mo… Ms Roatta, are you heading somewhere?" Zeus asked when he bumped into Lucy in the hallway, knowing that she had a meeting soon.

"To protect my daughter and grandchild." She threw him a vague answer and left, her chest heaving with rage. She had given Nathaniel too many chances but he had paid no heed to her warning. So, he shouldn't blame her for being ruthless.

_

That evening, Desmond intended to pick Rosaly up from school so he would tell her the truth. His investigation revealed that she went to Anoix Academy, which was somewhat a bummer. Whether or not he was her biological father, he couldn't pick her up if he was not in the child's school documents. Considering the fact that Angela had hidden her away for five years, it was not hard to guess the outcome if he were to show up at the school.

So, he had no choice but to give his ex-girlfriend a call. It was the most difficult call he had made in the last six years.

"Desmond, I can't believe you actually gave me a call." The woman on the other side sounded overjoyed and in disbelief. "You still have my cell phone number."

"Cut the crap." He bit out. He had retrieved her contact number through Skeleton, not that it mattered. "I am going to pick Rosaly up this afternoon. Give Anoix Academy a call and let them know."

The line went silent for a while before Angela started sobbing. "She is my life, Desmond. You can't take her away from me. Please."

"If you don't give Anoix Academy a call, I will show up in the administration office with the DNA test report and accuse you of forcefully keeping her away from me. At the very least, they will let Rosaly decide who she wants to go home with. Do you want to take a bet?"

"You heartless man!" She yelled and hung up, and he knew he had succeeded.

They both knew that Rosaly would choose to go back home with her mother. After all, they had been together for all these years and she loved her mother. However, it was uncertain what kind of emotional damage it would cause the little girl, knowing that she couldn't freely be with her father. Of course, if Angela didn't relent, he would have retreated. He couldn't bear to hurt Rosaly.

It was for the same reason that he couldn't fairly win if he fought for her custody. As long as Angela had been a good mother, the chances of him winning simply based on the fact that he had been deprived of the rights of a father were nearly negative.

"You are in deep thought." Zaria waved a hand in front of his face. She had only left for a while and came back to her boyfriend blanked out with his phone in hand.

"I'm going to pick Rosaly up from school this afternoon." He reported.

"That's thoughtful of you." She remarked.

He searched her expression for any sign of discomfort. When he didn't see any, he sighed in relief. "Do you want to come with me?"

"It's not a good idea. You should pick her up first and get to know her before you tell her about your girlfriend."

She was right so he didn't insist. Even so, he had to give her a reminder. "If you ever feel uncomfortable about anything—and I mean the slightest form of discomfort—you have to let me know, okay?"

She nodded, her mind finally letting reality sink in. She might be a stepmother soon. She suddenly didn't know how to react to the realization.

"I'll meet up with Natalie this evening. She has an idea on who the mole might be." She touched his shoulder as though asking for permission.

He pulled her to sit on his lap. "Don't work too hard, okay? I'll pick you up when you are done discussing."

Hence in the afternoon, he drove to Anoix Academy with all sorts of thoughts in his mind. He had never imagined himself picking up a child, his own child, from school. It felt surreal. In the sea of little girls and boys, he caught sight of Rosaly, dragging her schoolbag tiredly beside her friends as she searched around. Had she been told that he was picking her up?

He didn't need to ask. When the girl spotted him, she let go of her school bag and ran all the way to him, jumping into his arms as soon as he crouched to hug her.

"Daddy!"

"Hi there. Was school exciting?" He tousled her hair.

Her face scrunched up. "I'm so tired. I want to sleep."

"You can sleep once we get home." He instructed a bodyguard to get her school bag and turned to head back to the car.

"I can't sleep yet. I have to go to Ballet class."

She didn't sound happy about it.

He playfully pinched her cheeks. "If it will make you less tired tomorrow, you don't have to go to Ballet class today."

"Really?" She was pleasantly surprised.

"Really. Now let's go home and get you to sleep, okay? I'll call your instructor and let them know that you will not be going." He wondered why she had to go to a ballet class outside school. If his memory of Anoix Academy served him right, they had regular dance classes and ballet was among them, just not on a professional level.

He was yet to ask her this when Angela blocked their path.

"I don't know why you are here but I'll warn you once, Angela…"

"Des, please listen to me." She was on the verge of dropping to her knees. "I only showed up with Rosaly under someone's instructions."

"I know that." He deadpanned.

"I wouldn't have agreed if I knew this is how it would turn out." She sobbed. "They assured me that you would not want to be involved with her! Actually, I didn't want you to be in her life. I still don't want that. All I want is to be with my daughter."

She glanced at her daughter who was drifting to sleep on Desmond's shoulder then at the man who was looking at her spitefully.

"Can you not take her away from me? Please. You can assume she doesn't exist and this will be for the good of all of us. After all, you don't want to have a stiff relationship with your girlfriend for being a father either."

____

AN

What do you think of this deal?

A. Perfect! Take it quickly, Des.

B. Ridiculous!

1/5 or 10