CHAPTER 15: CHAPTER 15: THE CHILD IS HALF YOU

"Baby, Mommy is going out. Can you cheer for Mommy?"

Pop was tying a little bib while Aunt Mary fed her. Hearing Anna Thornton tease her, she immediately raised her chubby little hand and clapped twice to cheer Mommy on.

"Do you think Mommy’s dress is pretty today?"

"Pretty!" The little one praised in a sweet, childlike voice.

"Then give Mommy a kiss?"

"Mua!"

Now, rumors about Anna Thornton being an unmarried mother were everywhere. Her signing with a management company was at a standstill after being rejected by Dynasty Entertainment. Mary couldn’t understand how she could remain so calm.

"Anna, shouldn’t we..."

Mary had just started to speak when Anna Thornton interrupted: "I’m going out for some personal business today. Please help me look after Pop for now. We’ll talk work later."

"Later? Is there anything more important than work right now? Be honest, did you lie to me, claiming President Sterling of the Sterling Group is your backer to get me to arrange a press conference?"

"I’ve already inquired; President Sterling is with actress Marilyn Ford, and besides that, there have never been any rumors about him. As for you, if you were willing to be kept, you would’ve made a mark abroad long ago, not now."

After Mary’s analysis, Anna Thornton neither confirmed nor denied it.

She simply smiled at her with an unreadable expression, continued her grooming, sprayed perfume, and nonchalantly left.

With an artist like this under her wing, Mary was constantly on edge half of the time, and on the verge of being infuriated the other half.

After Anna Thornton left, Mary fed Pop a spoonful of egg custard, attempting to glean any information from the little one.

"Pop, do you know what your mommy is doing today?"

The little one, with her mouth full and cheeks puffed with egg custard, couldn’t speak, but her little head nodded vigorously.

"Then can you tell Aunt Mary who mommy is going to meet?"

Children eat slowly, and Pop couldn’t swallow the food, but pointed to the television behind Mary.

Mary turned to see "Peppa Pig" playing on the TV, sighed silently.

The big one keeps secrets, and the small one is just a toddler, what could they possibly know?

...

After Anna Thornton went downstairs and checked the time, it was exactly one o’clock in the afternoon. Her meeting with Marilyn Ford was scheduled for two o’clock.

Leaving an hour in advance should have been sufficient, but Anna hadn’t anticipated how difficult it would be to hail a cab in Aethelgard at this time.

For a whole half hour, no taxi showed up, and she was about to call Mary for help to find a driver.

Just then, a luxury sports car suddenly stopped in front of her.

The car’s back door swung open, and a man with a strong arm pulled her in.

After getting in the car, she wasn’t surprised to see Conrad Sterling sitting there, serious and aloof.

"President Sterling, are you moonlighting as a rideshare driver? But if this is how you invite women, it’s no wonder Miss Ford hasn’t agreed to be with you yet," Anna Thornton taunted.

Ethan was driving in the front, and hearing this, he couldn’t help but glance at the rearview mirror.

It was his first time seeing a woman dare speak to President Sterling like this, and the first time seeing a woman other than Marilyn Ford sitting next to him.

Conrad Sterling ignored Anna Thornton, merely instructing the driver: "Ethan, find a quiet place to stop."

"Yes, President Sterling."

Ethan found a nearby parking lot and then got out of the car on his own accord.

Once only the two of them were left in the car, Conrad Sterling finally spoke: "You’re meeting with Marilyn today?"

"How do you even know that? Do you have a bug on me?" Anna Thornton joked, "Miss Ford and I are just meeting for a coffee privately, why are you so nervous?"

"Don’t talk nonsense!" Conrad Sterling warned directly.

Anna Thornton spoke straightforwardly with Conrad Sterling; though not very familiar, they had ’intimately’ known each other four years ago.

She knew this man was nothing but a hypocritical scoundrel, and Conrad Sterling knew that she had returned to appear frequently in front of him and Marilyn with an agenda.

"What do you mean by talking nonsense? Telling her about the time we were involved, and I had a child with you, do those count? But it was all four years ago. If Miss Ford truly loves you, she shouldn’t mind these things... Ow!"

Before Anna Thornton could finish, Conrad Sterling grabbed her wrist so tightly that she cried out in pain.

"Anna Thornton, don’t test my patience when I’m willing to speak to you nicely!"

This is him speaking nicely?

Would he not completely dismantle her bones if he truly lost his temper?

"Such a bad temper, lucky our Pop didn’t inherit that from you."

"Anna! Th!ornton!"

"The child is half yours, can’t I even mention it?"

"..."

Bringing up the child immediately silenced Conrad Sterling.

Even the force in his hand subconsciously softened.