"She is not my cousin," Zia growled in a low voice. She didn't like to be associated with that snake woman. She really didn't like it. "I have already said several times that she is not a daughter of the Tatum family. She is just an adopted child raised by Hailee's parents."
It was true that Zia's words sounded harsh, but everyone who knew Aileen would not mind when one described Aileen that way.
"Yes, you did," Aidan said. "She called me a few days ago," he finally told her. Maybe by letting Zia know what Aileen wanted from him, could get a chance for him to be distracted by Zia.
"What?!" Zia half screamed when he said that. "What does she want from you?"
Aidan then began to tell how Aileen started blackmailing him to buy shares in the company from the Tatum family. Making herself have majority shares in the family company.
And sure enough like what Aidan had expected, Zia's annoyance at him evaporated and now she looked ready to kill Aileen based on the facial expressions she showed through the entire story Aidan told her.
Maybe, Aidan's way was too manipulative and he himself didn't feel right to justify himself like this, but after all, he didn't want to see Zia getting annoyed at him.
And this was the only way Aidan could divert Zia's negative emotions from him.
==============
This was the day Margaretha Lamos would hold her fashion show, which meant it was also the day that Aileen and Theodore's wedding countdown would drop to two weeks from now.
The party was neither celebrated with great fanfare nor on a large scale for various reasons of security and privacy. Because, they didn't want to show Aileen to their business colleagues and let them count the months to the birth of the Gevano family's first baby.
If that happened, then they would know that there was something wrong with the month count until the birth of their first grandchild.
And other reasons were also because; having Aileen as Theodore's companion would be a shame.
But, that was a discussion for another session, because right now Hailee was frowning because Ramon couldn't come with her to the fashion show that the Diva was going to hold.
"Why do you suddenly have to go?" This was the same question, which Hailee had been asking him for the past two hours, even though Ramon had answered dozens of times as well, but still his wife was asking the same thing. "I don't want you to leave."
And Ramon answered her again with the exact same answer for the umpteenth time. "A factory was burned down last night and there was something important I had to see for myself, so sorry that I couldn't accompany you today."
Ramon was extraordinarily patient with Hailee and since this had happened so many times, therefore, he was no longer surprised how he had apologized to this spoiled woman over and over.
The apologies that have escaped his lips today for Hailee were even more so than the apologies he had made in the past six months.
What an extraordinary achievement that Hailee didn't realize at all.
But, somehow Ramon's heart always softened whenever he had to face Hailee's demands and her sometimes absurd attitude.
It sucked, but it's a fun thing to deal with, amidst his regular schedule and his life that tend to be devoid of any elements of surprise were it not for Hailee.
"Lexus will accompany you all day." Ramon then leaned over to kiss the top of Hailee's head and her still curled, pouted lips.
"I don't want to go with Lexus." Hailee didn't want to attend a party that Giana and Aileen would go to without Ramon. She felt uncomfortable because it was the first time for her to attend such an event. "I want to go with you," she said sullenly.
Well, the real reason Hailee wanted Ramon to accompany her was because she wanted to show off the affection between the two of them to the two women, but since Ramon couldn't make it, of course Hailee's plans couldn't be carried out.
Therefore, she was in a bad mood right now.
Her ideas to make Giana annoyed at her even more, couldn't be carried out… ugh! Yet just imagining how that woman would glare at her made Hailee happy.
Too bad her brilliant plan couldn't took form...
On the other hand, Ramon looked at Hailee with an expressionless face. There was a desire to cancel this trip and fulfill what Hailee wanted like what he almost always did. It's just that the side of him that could still think logically insisted that he couldn't always follow Hailee's wishes.
He had spoiled her too much.
"Lexus will go with you in my place. He attends fashion shows like this more often than I do. He will know what he has to do." Ramon was still trying to persuade Hailee.
"But, I don't want to go with him." Because Hailee couldn't possibly be intimate with Lexus. But, of course she wouldn't tell Ramon the real reason.
"Why don't you want to go with me? I am hurt." Suddenly, the voice of Lexus echoed in their bedroom and this made Hailee and Ramon turn their heads toward the sound, frowning.
"I didn't hear you knocking on the door," Ramon said coldly to his brother and made Lexus smile shyly at him.
"I heard my name when I opened the door, so I immediately went inside," he replied with an awkward smile. He was used to enter Ramon's room casually, back then when Hailee had not yet occupied this room. Maybe this was what it meant by old habits, die hard.
"I don't want to go with him," Hailee repeated her sentence again, pointing at Lexus.
Meanwhile, the one being accused folded his arms defensively while also scowling. "Hey, for an event like this, I can assure you that I am a lot more fun to be with than my boring brother. Ramon just doesn't know how to have fun. You will die from boredom if you go with him. I can guarantee you for this."
==============
Theodore couldn't believe that he would be with Aileen even at this point, and if he finally accepted this woman back in his life and let things go their way regarding their marriage.
A few days ago Theodore learned an extraordinary fact about Aileen's identity.
The fact that Aileen was George's biological child from his extramarital affair with a woman left Theodore quite stunned how life was so unpredictable.
Aileen was a Tatum and no one knew this except Theodore, and of course George himself.
Not to mention the story that, cleverly and creatively, Aileen told, which made her look like someone with such a heavy burden in life and deserving of pity.
Aileen also said that she was involved in prostitution rings and other questionable and illegal activities because of George's coercion, which, most of what Aileen said was true.
However, of course she would not be Aileen if she could not manipulate the story she was telling and put herself in an advantageous and sympathetic position beforeTheodore. Because in the end, this man still had the same feelings, namely; a sense of wanting to protect, which made him feel better.
Theodore had really not learned from his previous mistakes and still trusted Aileen on these kinds of things.
He truly was the epitome of a man whose ego wanted to be acknowledged and Aileen was too smart to pass up the opportunity to take advantage of this particular weakness that stemmed from Theodore's arrogance.
Therefore, here was the heir of the Gevano family now, accompanying Aileen to a fashion show that he was not at all interested in.
"Theo, I am glad that you are no longer ignoring me," Aileen said in an affectionate manner while clinging to her future husband, when they were in the car that would take them to the fashion show. "I promise I will say whatever you want to know and will not keep anything a secret from you anymore," she promised.
Although, Theodore's attitude was not completely the same as before, but at least this was a step forward for Aileen to be able to regain his trust and also find people who could support her in the Gevano family.
"Yes," Theodore answered with a faint smile, a smile that did not reach his eyes.
After the incident that night, when he confronted Aileen about her involvement with an illegal organization, Theodore asked his people to further investigate what Aileen said, especially the fact that he was George's biological daughter.
And what made Theodore believe was; the fact that what Aileen said was true. She is indeed George's biological child.
This was evident from the results of DNA tests that Theodore secretly carried out, as well as other facts that mentioned George's involvement in the illegal organization, which strengthened Aileen's statement that she was forced by George to become involved.
"Thank you," Aileen said as she glanced gratefully at Theodore and kissed the man on the cheek.
There was silence after that until Theodore made a statement, "I will be taking part in the routine check- up later."
What Theodore meant was the routine check- ups that Aileen had to do for their baby before their wedding ceremony.
"Of course, I will be happy if you want to accompany me later," Aileen looked happy when she heard Theodore's statement. It seemed this man was starting to care about his flesh and blood, even though this was just a big lie that was made up by Aileen. It seemed that this pregnancy strategy was not entirely a wrong move.
"Hm," Theodore muttered. "But, I want you to be examined at a different hospital."
Theodore's last sentence made the smile on Aileen's face instantly froze, it's just that it happened for a split second, before Aileen smoothly looked normal, even her tone sounded undisturbed.
"Why should it be in a different hospital?" She asked calmly. "Didn't we choose the hospital because this secret could be kept from the public?"
"Yes, but the hospital is a recommendation from George," Theodore answered Aileen in a relaxed tone. His eyes were looking outward at the building they were going to go to where the Diva's fashion show would take place.
"But, what if when we move to a different hospital and this news leaks out to the media?" Aileen asked, trying to give Theodore another look. "Your mother will hate me even more for this issue."
Theodore then turned his head and looked at Aileen seriously. "You don't need to worry, I already took care of everything."
Oh, shit!
Theodore had searched another hospital for Aileen's checkup this time!
"She is not my cousin," Zia growled in a low voice. She didn't like to be associated with that snake woman. She really didn't like it. "I have already said several times that she is not a daughter of the Tatum family. She is just an adopted child raised by Hailee's parents."
It was true that Zia's words sounded harsh, but everyone who knew Aileen would not mind when one described Aileen that way.
"Yes, you did," Aidan said. "She called me a few days ago," he finally told her. Maybe by letting Zia know what Aileen wanted from him, could get a chance for him to be distracted by Zia.
"What?!" Zia half screamed when he said that. "What does she want from you?"
Aidan then began to tell how Aileen started blackmailing him to buy shares in the company from the Tatum family. Making herself have majority shares in the family company.
And sure enough like what Aidan had expected, Zia's annoyance at him evaporated and now she looked ready to kill Aileen based on the facial expressions she showed through the entire story Aidan told her.
Maybe, Aidan's way was too manipulative and he himself didn't feel right to justify himself like this, but after all, he didn't want to see Zia getting annoyed at him.
And this was the only way Aidan could divert Zia's negative emotions from him.
==============
This was the day Margaretha Lamos would hold her fashion show, which meant it was also the day that Aileen and Theodore's wedding countdown would drop to two weeks from now.
The party was neither celebrated with great fanfare nor on a large scale for various reasons of security and privacy. Because, they didn't want to show Aileen to their business colleagues and let them count the months to the birth of the Gevano family's first baby.
If that happened, then they would know that there was something wrong with the month count until the birth of their first grandchild.
And other reasons were also because; having Aileen as Theodore's companion would be a shame.
But, that was a discussion for another session, because right now Hailee was frowning because Ramon couldn't come with her to the fashion show that the Diva was going to hold.
"Why do you suddenly have to go?" This was the same question, which Hailee had been asking him for the past two hours, even though Ramon had answered dozens of times as well, but still his wife was asking the same thing. "I don't want you to leave."
And Ramon answered her again with the exact same answer for the umpteenth time. "A factory was burned down last night and there was something important I had to see for myself, so sorry that I couldn't accompany you today."
Ramon was extraordinarily patient with Hailee and since this had happened so many times, therefore, he was no longer surprised how he had apologized to this spoiled woman over and over.
The apologies that have escaped his lips today for Hailee were even more so than the apologies he had made in the past six months.
What an extraordinary achievement that Hailee didn't realize at all.
But, somehow Ramon's heart always softened whenever he had to face Hailee's demands and her sometimes absurd attitude.
It sucked, but it's a fun thing to deal with, amidst his regular schedule and his life that tend to be devoid of any elements of surprise were it not for Hailee.
"Lexus will accompany you all day." Ramon then leaned over to kiss the top of Hailee's head and her still curled, pouted lips.
"I don't want to go with Lexus." Hailee didn't want to attend a party that Giana and Aileen would go to without Ramon. She felt uncomfortable because it was the first time for her to attend such an event. "I want to go with you," she said sullenly.
Well, the real reason Hailee wanted Ramon to accompany her was because she wanted to show off the affection between the two of them to the two women, but since Ramon couldn't make it, of course Hailee's plans couldn't be carried out.
Therefore, she was in a bad mood right now.
Her ideas to make Giana annoyed at her even more, couldn't be carried out… ugh! Yet just imagining how that woman would glare at her made Hailee happy.
Too bad her brilliant plan couldn't took form...
On the other hand, Ramon looked at Hailee with an expressionless face. There was a desire to cancel this trip and fulfill what Hailee wanted like what he almost always did. It's just that the side of him that could still think logically insisted that he couldn't always follow Hailee's wishes.
He had spoiled her too much.
"Lexus will go with you in my place. He attends fashion shows like this more often than I do. He will know what he has to do." Ramon was still trying to persuade Hailee.
"But, I don't want to go with him." Because Hailee couldn't possibly be intimate with Lexus. But, of course she wouldn't tell Ramon the real reason.
"Why don't you want to go with me? I am hurt." Suddenly, the voice of Lexus echoed in their bedroom and this made Hailee and Ramon turn their heads toward the sound, frowning.
"I didn't hear you knocking on the door," Ramon said coldly to his brother and made Lexus smile shyly at him.
"I heard my name when I opened the door, so I immediately went inside," he replied with an awkward smile. He was used to enter Ramon's room casually, back then when Hailee had not yet occupied this room. Maybe this was what it meant by old habits, die hard.
"I don't want to go with him," Hailee repeated her sentence again, pointing at Lexus.
Meanwhile, the one being accused folded his arms defensively while also scowling. "Hey, for an event like this, I can assure you that I am a lot more fun to be with than my boring brother. Ramon just doesn't know how to have fun. You will die from boredom if you go with him. I can guarantee you for this."
==============
Theodore couldn't believe that he would be with Aileen even at this point, and if he finally accepted this woman back in his life and let things go their way regarding their marriage.
A few days ago Theodore learned an extraordinary fact about Aileen's identity.
The fact that Aileen was George's biological child from his extramarital affair with a woman left Theodore quite stunned how life was so unpredictable.
Aileen was a Tatum and no one knew this except Theodore, and of course George himself.
Not to mention the story that, cleverly and creatively, Aileen told, which made her look like someone with such a heavy burden in life and deserving of pity.
Aileen also said that she was involved in prostitution rings and other questionable and illegal activities because of George's coercion, which, most of what Aileen said was true.
However, of course she would not be Aileen if she could not manipulate the story she was telling and put herself in an advantageous and sympathetic position beforeTheodore. Because in the end, this man still had the same feelings, namely; a sense of wanting to protect, which made him feel better.
Theodore had really not learned from his previous mistakes and still trusted Aileen on these kinds of things.
He truly was the epitome of a man whose ego wanted to be acknowledged and Aileen was too smart to pass up the opportunity to take advantage of this particular weakness that stemmed from Theodore's arrogance.
Therefore, here was the heir of the Gevano family now, accompanying Aileen to a fashion show that he was not at all interested in.
"Theo, I am glad that you are no longer ignoring me," Aileen said in an affectionate manner while clinging to her future husband, when they were in the car that would take them to the fashion show. "I promise I will say whatever you want to know and will not keep anything a secret from you anymore," she promised.
Although, Theodore's attitude was not completely the same as before, but at least this was a step forward for Aileen to be able to regain his trust and also find people who could support her in the Gevano family.
"Yes," Theodore answered with a faint smile, a smile that did not reach his eyes.
After the incident that night, when he confronted Aileen about her involvement with an illegal organization, Theodore asked his people to further investigate what Aileen said, especially the fact that he was George's biological daughter.
And what made Theodore believe was; the fact that what Aileen said was true. She is indeed George's biological child.
This was evident from the results of DNA tests that Theodore secretly carried out, as well as other facts that mentioned George's involvement in the illegal organization, which strengthened Aileen's statement that she was forced by George to become involved.
"Thank you," Aileen said as she glanced gratefully at Theodore and kissed the man on the cheek.
There was silence after that until Theodore made a statement, "I will be taking part in the routine check- up later."
What Theodore meant was the routine check- ups that Aileen had to do for their baby before their wedding ceremony.
"Of course, I will be happy if you want to accompany me later," Aileen looked happy when she heard Theodore's statement. It seemed this man was starting to care about his flesh and blood, even though this was just a big lie that was made up by Aileen. It seemed that this pregnancy strategy was not entirely a wrong move.
"Hm," Theodore muttered. "But, I want you to be examined at a different hospital."
Theodore's last sentence made the smile on Aileen's face instantly froze, it's just that it happened for a split second, before Aileen smoothly looked normal, even her tone sounded undisturbed.
"Why should it be in a different hospital?" She asked calmly. "Didn't we choose the hospital because this secret could be kept from the public?"
"Yes, but the hospital is a recommendation from George," Theodore answered Aileen in a relaxed tone. His eyes were looking outward at the building they were going to go to where the Diva's fashion show would take place.
"But, what if when we move to a different hospital and this news leaks out to the media?" Aileen asked, trying to give Theodore another look. "Your mother will hate me even more for this issue."
Theodore then turned his head and looked at Aileen seriously. "You don't need to worry, I already took care of everything."
Oh, shit!
Theodore had searched another hospital for Aileen's checkup this time!
