Connor was visibly stunned by Sonny’s words. “What did you just say?”
E55 vouchers
Sonny turned to face Connor, speaking slowly and clearly. “I said I don’t want Mom toe back.”
The smile faded from Connor’s lips, and his face turned somber.
Connor asked, “Why?”
“Because I think Mom is really happy right now,” Sonny replied.
Connor hadn’t expected that answer. He tensed up a little, caught off guard.
He froze for a moment and then listened as Sonny went on to exin.
“Mom once told me that not every apology deserves forgiveness,” Sonny said, pausing to think. “Looking back, we really were awful to her. We hurt Mom, even sided with Tessa to hurt her. And yet, Mom’s the one who’s always been our closest, our real family.”
“And I realized, if I were Mom, and the ones I loved most hurt me like that, I wouldn’t want to forgive them either,” Sonny added.
Sonny’s voice was innocent and earnest, but every wordnded like a punch right in Connor’s heart.
This was the truth Connor had never wanted to face or even think about since he’de back.
Back then, he’d messed up plenty just for Tessa.
His marriage to Xylia had always been about Tessa.
He’d had Xylia thrown in jail, let her suffer crippling injuries, and refused to let her get medical help–all for
Tessa.
He’d let Sonny ignore his real mom and doted on him, just because Sonny liked Tessa.
That kind of favoritism shattered Xylia, left her broken and hopeless. Even now, she refuses to forgive them.
“Dad, I’ve seen Mom with Uncle Aaron. She’s really happy. I haven’t seen her smile like that in ages,” Sonny said, sounding thoughtful. “So I think we shouldn’t bother her anymore.”
Sonny looked like he’d finally let it go, his face rxed and calm.
But Connor wasn’t happy at all.
“Two days at the Garcia Vi and you’re already sticking up for Joshua?” Connor shot back, his voice sharp.
When Connor’s face turned cold like that, it was honestly kind of scary.
Sonny didn’t dare say anything more.
65 vouchers
The room grew quiet. Atst, Connor spoke, his voice cool. “Stop worrying about all that. Right now, all you should care about is your studies–so you’ll be ready to take over the family someday.”
With that<b>, </b>Connor walked out of the room.
Sonny pursed his lips, feeling a little disgruntled.
He had spoken nothing but the truth.
But he was just a kid; there was nothing he could do to change how the grown–ups thought.
With a sigh, he sat back down at his desk, staring nkly at the family photo.
Outside the vi, Connor’s face was dark as a storm cloud.
‘Joshua, what a piece of work, Connor thought, his jaw clenched.
‘He didn’t just lure Xylia over–now he’s got my kid hooked too, Connor thought, bitter.
‘At this rate, is Sonny going to move in with Xylia and the Garcias, drop the Ford name and all?‘ Connor seethed, rage bubbling up inside him.
He got angrier the more he dwelled on it, and finally just shot off a message to Holt on his phone.
[I know what to do about that thing you told me.]
He was dead set on finding out if Xylia would still have the guts to stay with Joshua once he turned into public enemy number one.
Holt got the message and shot a look at Richard.
“Boss, we’re good,” Holt said.
Richard’s lips curled into a sly grin, like he’d seen thising from a mile away.
The next day, Joshua got a message from David.
“Joshua, Connor’s putting the word out–he’s telling everyone in the business that if you work with Garcia Group, you’re cklisted from Ford Group.”
Joshua couldn’t help but smile.
‘About time,‘ he thought to himself.
He shot a message off to his dad.
“Richard’s about to make his move. Brace yourself.”
Aaron replied with a simple “Got it,” and went quiet.
Joshua walked over to Xylia, who was stillzily burrowed under the covers, and leaned close to whisper in her <fn90d0> Readplete version only at fι?dnοvel</fn90d0>
9:10 Wed<b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>1 </b>
<i>77 </i>
155 Vouctiors
ear, “I’m heading to work. Things might get hectic for a while, so if you need anything, just give me a call.”
Xylia heard him through a sleepy haze, barely registering his words and just mumbling back without much thought.
Joshua could tell she hadn’t really listened.
Grinning, he reached out to ruffle her hair, and then, unable to help himself, dipped down and kissed her at the corner of her lips before heading out the door.
Xylia didn’t wake up until ten in the morning.
As soon as she came to, she shot up in bed, almost like she’d just had a nightmare.
But once reality set in, she flopped right back down, embracing her inner cker.
‘Wow, only a few days off work and I’m already sleeping in like a bum?‘ Xylia grumbled <i>to </i>herself.
It was awesome, but she couldn’t shake off this weird sense of unease.
She hopped out of bed, freshened up, and headed straight for her home office, logging in to get down to work.
Josie practically buzzed with excitement as she told Xylia, “The studio’s blowing uptely–we’ve made twice as much this month as we didst month!”
Xylia couldn’t hide her grin. She messaged Josie, suggesting they give out bonuses to everyone next month.
Josie was all for it.
After talking shop for a bit, they shifted the conversation to next month’spetition.
“I’ve already sketched out the first draft,” Xylia said. “But honestly, I’m still not satisfied–so it’s just been sitting there. I’ll try to tweak it and get it perfect soon.”
Josie nodded. “Hey, I know inspiration isn’t unlimited. But this contest is a big deal for our studio, so give it everything you’ve got and make sure yound us a win!”
“Deal!”
Powered up by Josie’s pep talk, Xylia went to the window and looked over the early draft she thought she’d already settled on.
She kept staring at it for ages, but she just couldn’t bring herself to put pen to paper.
It wasn’t right. Something still feltpletely off.
Getting annoyed, she raked her fingers through her hair–no spark of inspiration wasing to her.
She got up, gathered her sketchpad and pencils, and headed downstairs.
9:10 Wed, Oct 1
12 56 vouchers
The gardener had just finished watering the garden; when Xylia came into the greenhouse with her sketching gear, he was about to head out,
“Ms. Sadler, do you want to pick some flowers?” the gardener asked,
Xylia shook her head quickly. “Nope, not picking anything. Just here to unwind for a bit. You go thing
do your
“All done here. I’ll leave you to it,” the gardener replied with a friendly smile.
With that, the gardener left the greenhouse with a smile.
Before she left, she said, “Looks like you and Mrs. Garcia both have a thing for flowers.
Xylia wasn’t exactly passionate about flowers, but you can’t deny the appeal of beautiful things–they have a way of winning you over.
She settled into the lounge chair by the greenhouse, setting her sketchpad up in front of her.
Instead of working on her design, she grabbed her pencil and started sketching the flowers around her.
The greenhouse was peaceful, and every so often you could hear water flowing through the pipes–more soothing than annoying. That gentle background noise helped Xylia chill out and let her earlier restlessness fade away.
After a good while,
her hand was getting sore, but she’d finally finished sketching a corner of the greenhouse.
It was so vivid, it looked almost alive.
Xylia gave her sore hand a shake, and fresh inspiration suddenly flooded her mind.
She grabbed her design sketch in a hurry and started sketching ideas all over it.
With each tweak, the grin on her face just kept getting bigger.
Once Xylia finished up, she snapped a pic of her revamped draft and sent it straight to Josie.
Josie called back almost instantly.
“Xylia, this is so good! The way you worked in those natural elements totally nails thepetition theme. I really think we can go with this <i>one</i>,” Josie said, her voice bubbling with excitement.
Xylia couldn’t help but feel proud of her new draft too.
“Alright, I’ll touch it up and send it in right away,” Xylia said, her spirits lifted.
“Go for it! I swear, I can totally see our studio’s future shining now!” Josie cheered.
Xyliaughed, “Honestly? I think I can <b>see </b>it too–our future looks pretty bright.”