novelxo Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Newman scowled, clearly annoyed. Why the heck did that silly girl into his mind again?
He didn’t give a rat’s behind about that silly girl’s heel wound, so he had no clue what the actual shape of the injury was
Athena suddenly stopped in her tracks, turned around, and asked Newman, “Did you score the planet warship?
Newman thought, “The heck is that?”
Athena jogged his memory. “Remember? This morning at ten, the Stardale City Lego flagship store dropped 100 sets of those planet warships.”
Newman glanced at his watch. After all the drama this morning, driving to the city center now, he’d definitely miss the Lego drop.
“What if I didn’t get it
it?”
Athena warned him, “My kid will throw a fit and roll around on the floor, bawling his eyes out.”
Newman’s features were sharp and cold, his expression oozing disdain.
snag that planet
But Athena knew all too well that even though the in–store drop time had passed, Newman had the means to snag th warship set anyway.
She dished out another task, “Don’t forget, by six PM, snag me a box of cupcakes.”
Barefoot on the concrete, Athena walked toward the villa, her face pale, her hand that had smacked Anna still tingling.
Newman watched Athena’s slender figure stagger away.
Rumor had it, this woman was Stardale City’s most esteemed princess, a wild mustang no one could tame. Remembering how Athena threw down earlier.
“A dark undercurrent swirled in Newman’s eyes. He whipped out his phone and called Lego’s regional distributor in Arcadia to have
the limited–edition set delivered.
Athena had a party to attend in the afternoon – Belinda’s grand 70th birthday bash.
Newman, her dedicated chauffeur, waited in the car outside Sunrise Building.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a dazzling glint. Newman cocked his head and peered out the window
Athena emerged from the revolving doors of Sunrise Building, her golden gown trailing behind her.
A beauty like a flower above the clouds.
The clingy gold sequin dress hugged her svelte figure, with a strapless design revealing snowy shoulders and slender arms free of any excess. The thin fabric clung to her, outlining a waist you could almost encircle with your hands.
Her hips swayed gently, sending ripples through the air and into the depths of your soul.
Athena got in the car and spotted the plastic bag with the shop’s name on the seat. She gasped in delight, “Cupcakes!”
That joint was tough to buy from you’d be queuing for hours.
She tore open the bag like there was no tomorrow, whipped out the cutlery, and went to town on those cupcakes.
After biting into one, it was so hot she didn’t know whether to spit it out or swallow, so she just sat there puffing on it, her red lips parted.
Newman watched her from the rearview mirror. Athena, with her immaculate makeup and freshly styled hair, her silky hair cascading down her shoulders, savored the cupcake. Her cheeks puffed slightly as she blew on them.
“How’s your son?” Newman’s voice was chilly, devoid of any warmth. Athena choked!
She shot him a wary look, her eyes instantly sharp, “What’s it to you?”
“My kid’s asking after yours.” Newman replied, his tone indifferent.
Before heading out. Payne hemmed and hawed, eventually mustering up the courage to have Newman check if Kevin caught a cold after falling into the water. Payne couldn’t afford to catch a chill himself, and he’d been worried about Kevin ever since he saw him plunge into the icy pool.
Athena sipped the cream from the cupcake, “My kid’s fine. I pulled him out of daycare for a sick day, and he was hiding under the
covers, snickering away.”
Then Athena couldn’t help but probe further, “What preschool are you planning for your kid?”
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Chapter 21
If Newman’s kid was going to be in Stardale City for four months and ended up at the same preschool as Kevin, Newman’s chances of running into Kevin would shoot right up.
“Preschool?” Newman’s expression was unreadable, “My son has a private tutor.”
–
Athena munched on her cupcake silently, like a little chipmunk. No surprise there the Bradshaws of Everglade City, too posh for even the top preschools.
“Keeping your kid cooped up in a villa all day, not getting out to socialize, that’s not great for his development, you know.”
She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. That kid was Newman and Yolanda’s, so what was
Athena’s face paled as she polished off the last one.
6 X 5 < F 8
it to her?
The black Cayenne pulled up at the hotel hosting the birthday party. After rinsing her mouth, Athena popped a rose–flavored candy in.
“In Stardale City, people knowing what you look like must be a rare breed, huh?”
Out of the blue, she dropped this line. Newman’s voice was cool, “Other than you and Simon, hardly anyone in Stardale City knows my face.”
He kept a low profile in Everglade City, barely showing up at social events except for necessary meetings. Even there, few knew what Newman looked like.
Athena suggested, “Why don’t you roll in as my bodyguard, then?”
Five years ago, Athena and the Bishop family’s eldest son were almost at the altar. Her disappearance put everything on ice.
By the time she returned with a kid in tow, the Bishop family felt humiliated and cut ties with the Dempseys.
Belinda had spewed venom at her, and through the local media, insinuated that Athena had been tarnished by vagrants.
. She had a kid and no one knew who the daddy was. Even the Dempseys wouldn’t dare to poke their noses into that mess.
Whoever the father was, he was definitely not someone she’d bring home to meet her parents.
Overnight, Athena became the laughingstock of Stardale City, and the whole Dempsey family couldn’t hold their heads up amidst the jeering.
Those nasty comments faded over time, though. Plus, with Athena now running the show in the Dempsey family, the folks in Stardale City actually started tipping their hats to her.
But for sure, the Dempseys let the Bishops down. Even if they managed to hush up the gossip, they never gave Belinda any grief. Every year when Belinda’s birthday rolled around, the Dempseys were off the guest list.
But this year, out of the blue, Belinda sent an invite to Athena alone.
Based on Belinda’s temper, inviting just one Dempsey Athena – to her birthday bash, seemed a bit fishy.
Even though Athena’s the one calling the shots for the Dempseys now, if Belinda was going to invite someone from their family, it should’ve been Simon, who’s chummier with her.
Athena was not sure how handy Newman was in a tight spot, but if Belinda tried to start something at the party, she would shove Newman in the path of the storm to buy herself some time to make a getaway.
“Newman, turn your head around.”
He did as she said, and Athena pulled out her sunglasses from her bag and perched them on his nose.
Those fancy shades on Newman’s face just made him look more aloof and unapproachable than ever.
Athena couldn’t help but snort when she saw Newman’s icy standoffish mug.
*Sunglasses on, love gone? Just stick with me like that to the party. Newman, Oh, and you gotta do something about your hair – make you look more like a bodyguard, you know?”
In the car, they had all the tools they needed. Athena dabbed some hair gel onto her hands, leaned forward slightly, resting against the back of the driver’s seat
Through the sunglasses, Newman could only see her breasts rushing towards him.”
Chapter 22