“No candlelit dinner plans?” she teased.
He pulled her into his arms.
“No dinner,” he replied. “Just reimbursed her for three years of breakfasts.”
Cordelia’s jaw dropped.
“Reimbursed her for breakfast? You’re really…”
She bit back the rest.
In her view, he was just covering for the fact that he’d shared something sentimental with Belinda.
The excuse was lame.
A few seconds later, Belinda hurried out in tears.
Cordelia burst out laughing when she saw it.
Back at home, Declan handed her another dose of vitamins.
“Take these.
“Then let’s make a baby,” he said.
***
Cordelia stared at him.
She couldn’t believe he was still holding a grudge.
At least, the reunion wasn’t a total flop.
She’d managed to rattle the ones she hated.
If Belinda was miserable, Cordelia was satisfied.
That night, Cordelia happily joined the family for dinner.
She even had the chef prepare some of Darrell’s favorite dishes and sent them upstairs.
“This fish is really fresh. Make sure Darrell gets some,” she told a maid.
Declan looked surprised. He figured she’d forgotten all about their son after a long day.
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Chapter 19
A few minutes later, the maid came rushing downstairs.
“Mrs. Beasley.”
“What is it? He’s refusing to eat?” Cordelia asked.
The maid sighed. “No. Mr. Darrell asked to see you.”
Cordelia arched her brows.
“He wants to see me? Now that’s interesting.
“You all eat first. I’ll go up and see what trick this kid is trying to pull again.”
Hearing that, Declan rose and followed behind Cordelia.
At the sound of footsteps, Cordelia paused.
“Declan, there are a few things we need to set straight first.”
Declan stopped and looked at Cordelia, signaling for her to continue.
“Whatever happened in the past is all behind us now.
“But when it comes to how to raise the kids, we must stand united.
“Even if you feel sorry for him later, you must never let it show.”
Declan looked surprised, but in the end, he gave a slight nod. “I understand. Let’s go up.‘
As soon as they entered the room, Cordelia was choked by the reek of smoke filling the air, coughing hard.
“It’s only been a few days, and your room already looks like a bandit’s den.”
The ten bodyguards quickly brought over a chair for Cordelia, and she sat down naturally.
Declan stood behind her like a personal guard.
Darrell lay sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling blankly, lost in thought.
The once defiant boy now looked worn down, stripped of all arrogance.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to see me? Aren’t you going to say something?”
Only then did Darrell slowly sit up, his expression bleak. “I smoked all the cigarettes you gave me.”
Then, he pointed at the desk. “I broke the computer, and I smashed the phone too.”
Cordelia glanced at his “battle trophies” and clapped. “Not bad. My son is impressive.”
She knew Darrell’s words were a show of surrender.
But she also knew well how difficult it was to truly reform a delinquent teen.
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Chapter 19
There was no way she’d let Darrell out just because he said a few soft words.
So, she played dumb.
“Well…
“You all heard him. Go bring in cigarettes, a computer, and a new phone for Mr. Darrell right away.”
Darrell panicked at her words and hurried to explain.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Cordelia raised a hand to stop him. “Say no more. I understand.
“Anyway, just have fun here in this room. No need to go to school or worry about your future.
“As long as your dad’s around, you can just live off us and be happy for the rest of your life.”
Darrell stared at Cordelia in disbelief, then turned to look at Declan.
A few seconds later, he asked in a wounded voice, “Mom… do you want to ruin me?”
Cordelia neither confirmed nor denied.
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“Darrell, with the way you smoke, fight, and skip school every day, you’re already ruined. This is the best arrange- ment. At least it prevents you from making huge mistakes.
“We’re doing this for your own good.”
As she spoke, servants brought in new cigarettes, a computer, and a phone.
Cordelia put the phone in Darrell’s hand and lit a cigarette for him.
She even logged into a game for him.
“You’re suspended for three more days. In that time, you’ll play 20 rounds of games every day. If you win every sin- gle one, I’ll let you out.
“But if you lose even once, that’s one more day added.”
Cordelia smiled sweetly as she laid out the cold rules.
She knew no matter how much one was addicted to games, once it became a mission, they became torture.
If Darrell didn’t do well, he might grow sick of games.
But if by chance he discovered some hidden talent, maybe he could be a professional game player.
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