Her Precious Baby

Upon reaching home, Evander whipped out his phone and made a call.

Due to the distance, she could not hear what he was saying. The only thing she made out was him asking about

treatment for her injured hand.

Puckering her lips while seated on the sofa, Angeline complained softly to Floretta, who was busy playing with

blocks.

“Isn’t your daddy overreacting? All I did was pluck a flower of his. Is all this fuss really necessary?”

Floretta giggled and looked up at Angeline, her eyes gleaming brightly.

“That’s because the flower you plucked belongs to Mr. Roger. The entire garden is like a precious baby to him!”

Angeline’s eyes widened in shock. She couldn’t believe her ears.

“What? You’re saying that Roger planted everything there?”

“Yes. He comes every week to weed and even declared that I’ll inherit the garden once he’s old. But I have no

interest in doing his work for him!”

Angeline began to feel guilty upon learning the truth. If she had known that it was Roger’s private property, she

wouldn’t have plucked it, for doing so without permission was the equivalent of stealing.

No wonder Evander was so angry just now.

Lost in thought, she suddenly saw Evander end his call and come into the room with a piece of aloe vera.

Kneeling by her side, Evander lifted her injured finger with a frown and asked in concern, “Does it hurt? Do you feel

all right?”

“No, it doesn’t. I don’t feel anything in fact.”

His words only served to intensify Angeline’s guilt.

Clearing her throat, she explained, “I’m sorry. I just wanted to collect some spice. I didn’t expect it to belong to

Roger and to almost pluck a flower of his.”

Evander cut open the aloe vera with scissors before scooping out its white sap with a spoon. Then he applied it to

her wound with a cotton bud.

“Don’t go there next time. The plants in there aren’t yours to touch.”

His comment dampened the atmosphere in the room.

Thinking that he was criticizing her for behaving too liberally in the Golding residence, Angeline felt a little dejected.

“Okay. You can rest assured I won’t go anywhere I’m not supposed to.”

After applying the medication, Evander wrapped her finger with gauze. It wasn’t until they were done that both of

them came to the dining room for dinner.

As there was one spice missing, the pork stew tasted incomplete. Nonetheless, both father and daughter enjoyed it

greatly. It was clear that they couldn’t tell.

Relieved by their reaction, Angeline could finally have her dinner in peace.

After the meal, she prepared a cup of coffee and some fruits for Evander. When she brought them up to the study

and saw him reading on the couch, she took the liberty to enter, having assumed that he wasn’t busy.

She placed the fruits on the coffee table. “Stop reading all the time. Have some fruit while you rest your eyes.”

Evander put his book down on his lap and stabbed his fork at a piece of strawberry. The first bite he took was so

sour that he frowned in reflex.

He put down his fork and refrained from having another.

“Are you here to claim credit?”

The candidness of his words took Angeline by surprise. With a frantic wave of her hand, she said, “I’ve barely done

anything. What credit is there to claim? I just came here to thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I suggest that you focus your energy on your work so that I can get my cut as soon

as possible.”

Angeline forced an awkward smile as her perception of Evander was once again changed.

He truly is a ruthless businessman. One’s relationship with him doesn’t matter when it comes to doing a deal.

“Don’t worry. You’ll definitely not lose money on this. Anyway, it’s getting late. It’s time for me to go.”

With that, Angeline got to her feet and, with a swift twist of her heel, headed for the door.

Just before she closed it behind her, Evander’s voice suddenly rang out. “You have to be careful. The higher you

climb, the bigger the target you become.”

His words stopped Angeline in her tracks. With her expression freezing momentarily, she felt as if there was

something profound about Evander’s warning and that something must have triggered it.

The next afternoon, Nancy drove her to the movie launch of The Journey.

Two hours before the event, members of the press gradually arrived at the venue. On stage, there was a big screen

displaying the promotional poster of The Journey that looked exceptionally grand.

Angeline had arrived backstage and was doing her makeup. At the same time, Nancy had prepared a gown for her.

It had a long pink train that matched the tenderness of her face. Furthermore, her swan-like neck was accentuated

by the pearl necklace that was hung on her collarbone.

By the time her makeup was done, the press conference was about to begin. The moment Angeline emerged from

the changing room, Nancy exclaimed in awe.

“Angeline, with your charming face, it would be a shame for you not to be an actress. Why do you insist on running

some random company?”

Angeline couldn’t help but laugh. “Stop exaggerating. Besides, I didn’t quit acting. All I’m doing is keeping a low

profile for the time being. I’ll still make a comeback in the future.”

Her words elicited a sigh of relief from Nancy. Subsequently, both of them bantered as they walked out of the

dressing room.

No sooner had they arrived at the entrance than they ran into Jacob coming from the opposite direction. He was

wearing a torn pair of hip-hop-styled jeans and a matching black jacket, completed by a black bucket hat that

covered half his face.

“Angie!”

If he hadn’t called out to her, Angeline wouldn’t have recognized him.

“Jacob?”

Visibly shocked, Angeline scrutinized his outfit and inquired curiously, “The press conference is about to begin. Why

have you only just arrived?”

After taking off his hat to reveal his exquisite-looking face, he gave Angeline a look of delight and began

complaining, “Let’s not go there. I just rushed back from my concert overseas. The moment I got off the plane, I

was surrounded by fans, and they were such a pain.”

Angeline shook her head and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“You shouldn’t take your blessings for granted. You’re now the most popular young male artiste. I don’t mind you

giving me some of your fans if you think they’re too much.”

“Sure. Whatever floats your boat.”

At that moment, Jacob’s manager pestered him to get changed. He was forced to leave before he could say

anything further.

Watching as Jacob got busy, Angeline chuckled in resignation before commenting to Nancy, “He seems to be more

popular now than when he was just acting.”

Nancy rolled her eyes. “He naturally isn’t as detached from the world as you are. During your trip to Summerbank

where all of you filmed the reality show, he managed to create a public persona that takes good care of kids. His

popularity skyrocketed after that, in contrast to your nosediving fame.”

Sick of hearing Nancy nag, Angeline held the former’s arm and replied with a smile, “All right now, Ms. Yandell. I’ll

treat you to dinner once we’re done!”

“It has to be something expensive. Otherwise, I’m not accepting it!”