CHAPTER 8: CHAPTER 8: YOUR DAD IS A BIG PIG TROTTER

After Anna Thornton finished speaking, she didn’t give Marilyn Ford much chance to ask questions, just like Cinderella who came to the party in a pumpkin carriage, she turned around and left in a hurry before the clock struck twelve.

Marilyn Ford watched Anna Thornton’s back, slightly dazed for a moment, when Conrad Sterling already appeared in front of her.

"What did she say to you?" the man asked.

"Nothing... She said she’s planning to return to develop her career, and there are many places she’ll need my advice and learning in the future."

"Is that all?"

"What else do you think she could tell me?" Marilyn Ford countered.

However, at this moment someone else came over with a glass of wine to discuss business with Conrad Sterling, interrupting their conversation.

...

Anna Thornton, on her way home, received a text message from Mary saying she had coaxed Pop to sleep, and that she had to head out to deal with some work.

But when Anna Thornton returned, she saw the little one squatting in front of the television watching cartoons.

It goes without saying, she could guess that Pop pretended to sleep to fool Aunt Mary and then climbed out of her little bed to secretly turn on the TV.

The little one had just turned three, but the series of TV-watching obstacles set by Mary could no longer hinder her.

This cleverness, who knows who she takes after.

Anna Thornton entered the door and changed her shoes, intentionally putting on a stern face: "Pop, what did mommy tell you? Little kids shouldn’t watch too many cartoons, you should go to bed early so you can grow tall."

Little Pop saw her unhappy face, turned off the TV by herself, ran barefoot towards her, hugged Anna Thornton’s leg, and acted cute to seek forgiveness: "Mommy... sleep..."

"Are you saying you were waiting for me to come back and sleep together?"

"Mm!"

Seeing the little one nod, at that moment Anna Thornton felt both warm and a bit heartbroken.

For three years, Anna Thornton ran from one filming crew to another, for a livelihood, to have the capability to return openly today, and only she knew what she went through in between.

And wasn’t it the same for Pop? The crucial times from ages one to three, the mother couldn’t always take care of her.

But fortunately, Pop was understanding and never cried and fussed for no reason, and every night she would only sleep after her mother came home.

Such a small child, Anna Thornton really felt she owed her a lot.

"Pop, are you scared being by yourself when mommy doesn’t come home?"

Anna Thornton squatted down, holding her daughter on her lap: "Do you remember what mommy promised you before coming back? Mommy said this time back, it’s to find your dad for you."

At the mention of the word ’dad’, little Pop’s big eyes instantly lit up.

"Mommy has already met him, he’s living much better than us! Once dad takes us back, Pop will be a little princess loved by both dad and mom."

Hearing mommy say that, Pop rubbed her fair, tender little hands, her face full of anticipation.

The role of ’dad’, Pop first learned about from the cartoon "Peppa Pig".

She was also curious why even a little piggy had a dad, but she didn’t?

So when Anna Thornton said before returning home that they’d find dad, Pop had already been very expectant.

She held tightly onto mommy’s arm, blinking her big eyes: "Look..."

"Oh, you want to see a picture of dad, right? We should be able to find him online."

Anna Thornton tried searching for Conrad Sterling’s name, and every photo that surfaced was handsome.

"He doesn’t have any ugly pictures?"

"A domineering CEO who’s not in the entertainment circle, does he also hire million-dollar retouchers?"

Anna Thornton, unconvinced, flipped through dozens of photos, but could only blame Conrad Sterling for being flawless at every angle, making it impossible for her to diminish his image in her daughter’s mind.

"Forget it!" Unable to find a single photo she was satisfied with, Anna Thornton simply gave up and pulled up a picture of a pig head to show Pop.

"Peppa’s dad?" Little Pop scratched her head in confusion.

"Mm, more or less, this is Peppa Pig, your dad is a big pig’s foot." Anna Thornton said.

Pop: "..."

On the other side—

The grand feast at Starlight Hotel finally ended, and after getting into the car, Marilyn Ford leaned back slightly to relax her back, which had been tense all night.

When it comes to socializing, women always exert more effort than men and she simply couldn’t match Conrad Sterling’s stamina.

The one driving her was Conrad Sterling’s assistant, as for the man himself, it seemed there was work at his company he needed to arrange urgently.

Conrad Sterling is always like this, to him, career always comes first no matter what, and Marilyn Ford had become used to it.

"Miss Ford, President Sterling said wearing high heels all night must be uncomfortable for you, he instructed me to make sure to take you for a foot massage first, then send you home."

"But it’s so late, the shops must be closed."

"The foot massage place you frequent will from now on be open 24 hours just for you, President Sterling has already arranged it."

Hearing this, Marilyn Ford smiled with satisfaction and happiness.

It doesn’t matter if career comes first, as long as there’s no one else before her, that’s enough.

Suddenly, Marilyn Ford remembered she had forgotten something.

Anna Thornton had slipped a note into her hand before leaving and said some inexplicable things.

She wasn’t sure what that woman was playing at back then, so she just casually put the note into her bag, and now she couldn’t find it.

The assistant noticed through the rearview mirror that Marilyn Ford dumped out all her cosmetics from the bag and asked, "Miss Ford, what’s the matter?"

"Ethan, I’ve lost something, could you please turn at the next corner and head back to the hotel?"

"If we go back now, most likely they’ve already cleaned up. How about this, Miss Ford, I’ll call the hotel manager, you describe what exactly was lost, and let them find it and send it to you."

Marilyn Ford: "... Then forget it, it’s not something important."