?Chapter 246:


    Jacob feared Phoebe might slip away, the thin strap of her slip dress. With a sharp pull, the strap snapped, and her dress slid down. Beneath the dress, she was naked, and feeling the cool air, she instinctively crossed her arms, only for Jacob to firmly grab her wrists.


    He looked at her, his eyes dark, pulling her into his intense stare. Phoebe’s cheeks turned deep red, her arms trying to shield herself, which only seemed to irritate Jacob further. He licked his dry lips, putting his fingers in her hair, aggressively expressing his pent-up desire.


    Despite Phoebe’s resistance, Jacob’s determination meant she couldn’t escape. Eventually, she stopped resisting and resigned herself to the inevitable. Jacob might look scruffy, but once his shirt was removed, his chest revealed a surprising robustness. When he was serious, his typically unruly demeanor transformed, capturing Phoebe’s attention.


    The entryway, the sofa, the carpet in the upstairs bedroom, the bathroom—there wasn’t a single ce in the house that Jacob hadn’t imed with Phoebe. Their experience this time was far more harmonious than the previous one where Jacob had felt coerced. There was a real sense of physical connection between them.


    Two hourster, Jacob carried Phoebe from the bathroom back to the bed, draping a thin nket over them both. Holding Phoebe’s waist tightly, he finally grasped the true meaning of Eileen’s message. He turned the sleepy Phoebe toward him, shook her shoulders, and woke her up.


    “Phoebe, I’m going back to Onnd tomorrow to break off my engagement with Megan, and then—will you be with me?” he said.


    Phoebe was too tired to even open her eyes, her body sore. She responded with a hint of irritation, “You came here in the middle of the night just to tell me this? Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”


    Jacob paused, suddenly recalling something. “I actually came to tell you that Eileen and Bryan had a fight. Do you want toe back to Onnd with me to see what happened?” Phoebe was taken aback for a moment, suddenly snapping her eyes fully open. “That’s ridiculous. There’s no way Eileen and Bryan would fight. Eileen is level-headed, and Bryan holds her dear. How could they possibly have a conflict?”


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    “It’s true. If you don’t believe me, check with Eileen yourself!” Jacob said confidently.


    This im snapped Phoebe to attention. She took out her phone. Even though it was past midnight, driven by urgency, she sent a message to Eileen regardless of the hour. Eileen’s call went unanswered, and Bryan didn’t reply to her message, either.


    Eileen tried to eat, but she found her cooking nearly inedible. Throwing away the food, she cleaned the chaotic kitchen. Returning upstairs with her phone, she showered and went to bed as if everything were normal, but restlessness consumed her; she couldn’t find sleep.


    Eventually, she gave in to the urge and scrolled through her phone. There, she saw a photo Z had posted an hour ago. In the photo, Bryan was slumped in his chair, visibly exhausted, with a meal in view.


    Was this why he hadn’t returned her calls or messages? Had he been having dinner with Z? Eileen could handle his anger and had the patience to exin things to him calmly. However, she could not stand his way of dealing with the situation. Complex emotions surged within her, leaving her restless.


    With the next day’s work on her mind, she reluctantly set her phone aside and tried to force herself to sleep. The night stretched on, and Eileen tossed and turned in her bed. Suddenly, the sound of a notification cut through the silence, and she sat upright, grabbing her phone from under the pillow. Seeing the message was from Phoebe, her feeling of emptiness returned.


    “Eileen, did you have a fight with Bryan?”


    The direct question made Eileen pause. A fight? Not exactly. Bryan hadn’t even given her the opportunity to argue with him. But what else could urately describe their current situation? After pondering for a while, Eileen settled on a fitting description: “We had a minor disagreement.”


    Immediately after sending the text, Phoebe’s video call came through, and Eileen answered it. Both had their bedsidemps on, the soft light just enough to see each other’s expressions. Eileen quickly noticed the fresh, noticeable hickeys on Phoebe’s neck, though she chose not toment.


    “What sort of disagreement has you up alone sote?” Phoebe immediately realized Bryan wasn’t with Eileen as soon as the video call connected. Jacob, equally intrigued, leaned in but remained out of frame, listening as Eileen exined.


    The issue wasplicated, but Eileen summarized it into a few clear sentences. “Bryan’s grandmother has been pushing for me to get pregnant, and I’ve brought it up twice in front of Bryan, but he’s firm on not having kids now. Just a few days ago, his grandmother came to the apartment and tampered with the condoms here. This morning, Bryan discovered it and thought I was responsible.”


    “Well…” Phoebe’s face showed a mix of emotions. “I see why Bryan is taking this so seriously. The Dawson family has a rule that once there’s an heir, that person can inherit the Dawson family’s shares. Currently, the Dawson shares are under Brandon’s control. By family tradition, Bryan is next in line, and having an heir would mean the shares would naturally be passed to him.”


    Phoebe was aware of this because she had identally heard the Warren family talking about it. The Warren family had been nning to marry Vivian into the Dawson family and had conducted a thorough investigation of the Dawson family to pave the way for their daughter.


    Eileen now understood why Ste was so adamant about letting her get pregnant. “A man like Bryan wouldn’t knowingly put you or a child at risk. It’s unfortunate that this all stems from a misunderstanding,” Phoebe said. “You should clear things up with him. If he remains obstinate, juste back to Wist Land. You don’t have to indulge his overbearing behavior!”


    Jacob saw Phoebe give him a nudge and whispered, “Aren’t you supposed to be going back to Onnd with me? Why are you telling Eileen toe to Wist Land?”


    “Who said going with you? We’ll talk about it after you’ve called off your engagement!” Phoebe retorted, clearly annoyed. The two began to argue, leaving Eileen no opportunity to speak, so she ended the call.


    A child might resolve Bryan’s issues, but Bryan’s resolute stance was his way of protecting Eileen and any future child. Eileen felt bad; maybe Bryan was just being overly cautious. After a while, she took a deep breath and resolved to seek out Bryan the next day to discuss the matter thoroughly.


    Still restless, she eventually resorted to taking a sleeping pill and drifted off. The next morning, it took two rms to wake Eileen up. She hurried through her morning routine and then asked Milford to join her for breakfast in Bailee’s ce.


    “What’s wrong?” Milford looked at her with concern. “You look exhausted. Did you sleep wellst night?”


    Eileen touched her face, wondering if it was really that noticeable. She frowned slightly and replied, “Maybe I’m just adjusting to being back in Onnd. It’s nothing; I’ll be fine in a few days. Make sure you read the study materials for your first year of high school before school starts.”


    “Got it,” Milford replied. After a pause, he asked, “Can I not stay on campus when school starts?”


    As Eileen opened the door, she answered, “If you don’t stay on campus, onlye home to sleep at night. I’m busy with work and want to have much time to spend with you. It’s up to you, as long as you’re okay with that.”


    Milford’s face lit up. “Then I’ll stay at home!”


    With Milford making his decision clear, Eileen offered no objections. Bailee’s leg injury had made it difficult for her to cook, and the breakfast Eileen had prepared wasn’t very appealing.


    “Bailee, you better get better soon. If Ms. Curtis keeps cooking, I might lose ten pounds!”


    “Don’t worry; make us a big dinner tonight,” Bailee responded, believing that her injury was not a big deal.


    Eileen shot Milford a pointed look and told Bailee, “I’m heading to the educational institution soon. Let me know if there’s anything important to deal with, and I’ll handle it.”


    Bailee nodded, and they quickly finished their breakfast. Then, they discussed various work matters. As September approached, the streets grew busier, filled with students of all grades enjoying theirst days of freedom before school resumed.


    As Eileen drove to the educational institution, her thoughts were a whirlpool with Bryan frequently emerging. Upon reaching the educational institution, she dealt with the most urgent tasks. With a break in her schedule, she decided to ask Bryan to have lunch together.


    Given that Bryan hadn’t responded to her calls the previous day, Eileen opted to call Raymond instead.


    “Ms. Curtis, if you’re looking to have lunch with Mr. Dawson, why not reach out to him directly? Why call me?” Raymond was not aware of the conflict between Bryan and Eileen.


    Eileen paused before responding, “Could you please ry my words to him? I’ll await your response.”


    “There’s no need to wait. Mr. Dawson is free at noon,” Raymond replied. There was only an unimportant lunch meeting—it could easily be rescheduled.


    “You’d better ask him about it first,” Eileen said.


    Raymond agreed, then ended the call and entered Bryan’s office. Bryan was on a call with Benita, discussing a project. Noticing Raymond, Bryan gestured for him to remain silent.


    “Mr. Dawson, sign this contract we discussed in person. I stand by my word, and if you think I will change my mind, then continue stalling,” Benita was quite direct.


    Though not highly regarded among women, Benita was known to honor hermitments. The contract had been pending for over a week, and Denzel had been too embarrassed to seek Bryan’s intervention after multiple rejections.


    Previously, Bryan had been unaware of the situation. But knowing Benita’s firm stance, he couldn’t let Denzel linger in this dilemma. Not paying attention to what Benita added, Bryan ended the call with a grave expression and turned to Raymond. “What’s the matter?” he asked.


    “You had a luncheon scheduled at noon. Should I cancel it for you? Ms. Curtis was hoping to meet you for lunch,” Raymond replied.


    Before Raymond could finish, Bryan nodded and instructed, “Cancel it. Book another restaurant and have Denzel bring the contract to me. I need to finalize it with Benita by noon.”


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