
The corners of Theodore's lips curled upward. He put his phone away and swaggered out. At the door, he turned around and saw that Evelyn was still standing motionless. At once, his eyes dimmed. "To pay back money or visit grandpa?"
"I have to apply for a leave first." Evelyn looked disconcerted.
"That's simple." Theodore signaled for her to catch up. He then dialed Eric's number and said, "I'm bringing little Evade back to visit grandpa." He hung up right after.
Along the corridor, some colleagues took a double take. Evelyn was embarrassed. She blushed and scolded in a low register, "How can you say that?"
"Am I not telling the truth?" Theodore replied with feigned surprise.
Evelyn was pissed off by the craftiness in his eyes, but there was no reason for her to react. All she could do was to walk away unhappily.
"My car is here."
"Please keep your voice down. I'm not deaf." Annoyed, Evelyn retraced her steps and got into the car.
"Why the long face? It's not as if I forced you to pay the debt." Theodore smiled as he leaned over.
Speaking of the "debt", Evelyn diverted her gaze and took out her phone. She placed a few taps on the screen then turned her head and asked, "Does visiting grandpa equal to debt repayment?"
Theodore gave her a disdainful glance. "You expect a hundred thousand bucks in appearance fee with that flat chest and non-existent bottom of yours?"
"Must you be so vulgar?" Evelyn was ruffled.
"I'm just crude, not vulgar," Theodore leaned forward and said in an ambiguous voice. "You should give it a try."
"Poo! Shameless." Evelyn resisted him like treating the enemy. Suddenly, yesterday's coquettish female voice came to mind and she spat, "Go try it on your woman."
"Isn't my woman right here?"
Evelyn did not want to go through this conversation, so she said with a stern face, "Tell me, how do you plan to settle this hundred thousand in cash?"
"How much do you think you are worth?" Theodore raised his eyebrows.
"Fifty thousand per time?" Evelyn asked cautiously with a twitch of her mouth.
"Five thousand."
Five thousand? Doesn't that mean she would have to go twenty times?
"Ten thousand?" she tried to bargain.
"Four thousand."
"No..." Theodore raised three fingers and Evelyn felt instant regret. She quickly backtracked. "Four thousand then. So it would take twenty-five times to make a hundred thousand."
"Deal."
"Can I have that in writing?" She couldn't afford to lose advantage anymore.
"Didn't you have our conversation recorded?"
His sight fell onto her phone. Evelyn hurriedly placed it back into her pocket and laughed awkwardly.
"Don't call him grandpa when you see him," Theodore turned solemn and admonished with a serious face.
"What should I call him then?"
"Daddy."
"Daddy?!"
"Little Missy is my aunt's nickname."
"Oh, getting into the character. I understand." Evelyn signaled 'OK'. She then purposely asked, "Won't you have to call me aunt then?"
Does that mean she has to address him as 'Theo'?
Theodore's face was expressionless when he glanced at her. He chose to ignore the question.
Evelyn—who failed to get a reaction out of him—felt bored. She pouted and spoke after a moment of thought, "Just in case your grandpa's loses his mind again and he treats me badly from mistaking me for some 'loose woman', not only do you have to ascertain my safety, but it is also an automatic deduction from my obligation!"
"Sure."
Evelyn was finally at ease. She began to pray that grandpa would drive her away as soon as she stepped into the house.
The car arrived at the Kingsley residence not long after. Theodore left the car and she quickly followed suit. Just as she walked through the door, she saw that the house was in a mess. "Someone broke into your house!" she shouted in surprise.
Theodore didn't reply. Instead, he dragged her up the stairs.
"Hey!"
"Something's not right. If someone broke into the house, why are there broken porcelain pieces on the floor? Could it be..." Evelyn thought.
"Grandpa smashed these. Remember what I said?"
"Yes," Evelyn answered with a backwards glance.
"Are those porcelain pieces from an antique vase? How much money did they lose? Oh no, grandpa won't smash something at me, would he? " Evelyn thought.
She was shocked. Just as she was about to speak, a whimper escaped the master bedroom. She looked in and saw Ethan sitting on the bed. He was weeping like a child with a doll in his arms.
"This was aunt's favorite doll. You should go in."
"Oh." Evelyn moved two steps forward. However, she couldn't help but look back. "By the way, where did your aunt go?"
"She's dead."
"Huh?"
He wanted her to play a dead person?
She was speechless. Yet, she had no choice but to force herself in. She walked to Ethan's side and called weakly, "Daddy."
"Little Missy?" Ethan was so surprised he immediately put the doll down and stood up. "Little Missy, you're back?"
"Yeah, I'm back," she replied vaguely.
"It's good that you're back; you're back..." Ethan leaned forward to hug her, tears streaming down his face.
Evelyn's greatest fear was to see someone cry. Her heart grew uneasy and she couldn't hold back her own tears as she comforted him. "Stop crying, am I not here?"
"Don't cry, Little Missy." Ethan wiped her tears lovingly. "Daddy swear to never scold you again. You can do whatever you please, okay?"
Watching his fatherly love overflow, Evelyn nodded tearfully as she sobbed.
"Let daddy take a good look at you."
Evelyn immediately put a big smile on her face.
Ethan looked at her for a few seconds and suddenly pushed her away. "You are not Little Missy!"
Evelyn was taken aback.
Did he figure it out?
"You are the woman Theodore brought back yesterday." Ethan's eyes were shining like a torch.
Oh Gosh!
Evelyn prepared to flee.
"Name a price. Leave Theodore."
"Huh?"
"Five million?" Ethan asked as he walked toward the desk.
Evelyn was startled.
Did grandpa's mental state return to normal?
Ethan took her silence to be an agreement. He passed her a check and said, "Leave him."
Evelyn could not believe it. She took the check and counted the zeros on it.
Exactly five million!
On the check was Ethan's strong and powerful signature. Seeing that he looked calm and was speaking clearly, she knew that he was currently in a clear state of mind. She felt contradicted—could she accept this money that had just fallen from the sky?
"Take it." Ethan forcefully squeezed the check into her hands.
She could use the money from the check to pay Theodore. That way, not only would her debts be paid off, she would also be respecting the old man's wishes. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone? These thoughts helped Evelyn accept the check with a peace of mind.
Ethan was pleased. He sincerely advised her in a grave tone, "Little girl, Theodore is a playboy. You won't be able to play his game. It's better for you to just leave."
"Is he that kind of man? I will ignore him from now on," Evelyn feigned surprise and promised earnestly.
After that, she quickly trotted out of the bedroom and down the stairs, only to learn from a maid that Theodore had left. Fearing that grandpa would change his mind, she rushed out of the house and went to a park on the outskirts of the neighborhood. Panting loudly, she whipped out the check to take a look at it as she snorted, "Old fox, you won't be able to blackmail me once the debt is repaid."
Suddenly, someone snatched the check from her hands. Shocked, she screamed instinctively, "Robbery!"


