Pampered Like A Princess

Nelissa blinked in confusion.

It seemed that they were not on good terms.

Mikaelson took his time finishing his cup of tea. Once done, he set it down and gave a few light taps.

Nelissa served him another cup swiftly.

After taking a sip from his fresh cup of tea, he finally said, "I like quiet girls."

Nelissa was surprised.

Norah shot her a glance and asked, "Who are you?"

Andrew dashed in front of Nelissa and answered, "She's the new secretary."

Whose secretary? Edward's?

Nelissa frowned. Edward must have told Andrew to say so!

"Edward changes secretaries so often in a year. It'll reflect badly on us if word gets out. People might start to think that you'd have to... look a certain way to get into the Hales Group." Norah looked at Andrew disdainfully.

"Is she even a university graduate? By right, she should have started off as an intern. How could she become a secretary straight away?"

Nelissa was baffled. All she did was come to brew a pot of tea, yet she somehow got dragged into a family fight.

"Madam, I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding. I'm already a mother of two; I just look young is all, much like yourself. You don't even look like you're a mother of a son as old as Master Hales," Nelissa said with a smile. Norah's face immediately stiffened, and Nelissa knew right then that she had gotten it right.

Norah must not be Edward's biological mother. They looked more like siblings than a mother-son duo.

Ignoring Andrew and Nelissa, Norah then took a seat and said to Mikaelson, "Dad, Donald would've come to visit you today too, but Edward pissed him off last night. It wasn't easy getting everyone together for a meal. We waited the entire night for him but he only showed up after eleven. We barely ate, and he excused himself to answer a call, then came back to tell us that he needed to leave. Edward was way out of line."

Nelissa lowered her head in guilt.

She was with Edward the night before...

Mikaelson asked, "Whose call was it? Was it an emergency?"

Norah muttered, "I think that he had gotten some news about Anna. He might have left to look into that."

Nelissa tried to calm herself down.

It turned out that Edward had not gone on a business trip. Instead, he had gone off in search of Anna!

Nelissa wondered if Anna would rat her out if Edward were to bring her back this time...

Norah continued complaining, "Dad, I know that Edward is great. Everyone in the family tried to get along with him, but his behavior lately has been too much to handle. Donald hopes that Edward would accord respect..." Mikaelson interjected solemnly, "Norah, I am not supposed to meddle in the father-and-son relationship. My days now are supposed to be peaceful and relaxing, so I don't want to hear about these things anymore!" Norah hummed in response, no longer angry.

Mikaelson had always been partial to Edward; even Donald, his own son, could not be compared to Edward.

As the director of the company, Edward needed to be decisive and firm. He knew when to bend the rules and when not to, which was what Mikaelson liked in a person.

He was pleased that this grandson of his, whom he had raised, was just as strong and prideful as he was in his younger days.

Nelissa was in a rush to leave as she had to meet a client in the afternoon. She kept hinting at Andrew subtly, but he didn't seem to notice her.

The soup on the table had long cooled and no longer looked appetizing. Mikaelson asked for it to be removed.

The servers looked at the bowl of soup hesitatingly. They weren't sure if tossing the soup away in front of Norah would be a good idea.

"Get rid of the soup," Mikaelson instructed Nelissa, who had been glancing at her watch.

Without a second to lose, Nelissa reached for the bowl and poured it away.

At this moment, the attending doctor came to check on Mikaelson. Everyone then left the ward.

As they waited for the elevator to arrive, Norah suddenly asked Nelissa, "What's your name?"

"It's Nelissa," she answered truthfully.

Norah said nothing and only smiled in reply. They both entered the elevator with Andrew and headed downstairs without saying another word to each other. Norah left in a luxury car after getting off the elevator.

Andrew finally said to Nelissa, "Miss Nelissa, I'll drive you back to the office."

Nelissa shook her head. "That's alright, just send me over to where I'm meeting my client. I've got some work to do."

Andrew nodded, started the car, and hurriedly drove them out.

During the car ride, Andrew began telling Nelissa about Edward's family affairs - which she assumed were under Edward's instructions.

Otherwise, Andrew would never dare share these with her without proper permission.

Edward's family affairs were much more complicated than she initially thought it was.

Apparently, Edward's father had two wives. Edward and his older brother, who was Penelope's father, were the sons of the first wife. Norah only joined the family after the first wife passed on.

Norah was very young, only four years Edward's senior. She had been pregnant with twin sons previously, who Donald cared a great deal about.

However, later on, Edward's older brother had somehow caused Norah to miscarry the twins.

Donald was so furious that he removed his eldest son from his presidential position, and had him dismissed at the shareholders' general meeting. He now only held a small portion of the family's shares and was basically powerless. After Edward's brother resigned, Edward picked up the mantle and helped clean up the mess that had befallen the company. Fortunately, he succeeded in stabilizing the situation shortly after.

However, Norah was great at swaying others. As a result, Edward's relationship with Donald deteriorated over the years.

Edward had always been Mikaelson's favorite, and everyone accommodated him because Mikaelson held the highest status in the family.

However, ever since Mikaelson was hospitalized, Edward would not disturb him unless absolutely necessary.

It could be said that Edward and his brother did not have the upper hand. If Norah were to bear a son again, this would pose a direct threat to Edward.

Perhaps all the fruits of the hard work put into managing the Hales Group would only be reaped and enjoyed by Norah and her son in the future.

In affluent family wars like this, who would emerge victorious?

Nelissa thought that perhaps this was the reason why Edward needed to marry Sophie.

The Hales and the Baileys were distinguished families with unparalleled reputation. Edward would only stand to gain through a marriage like this. Not only would he get what he needed, this would also be a win-win situation for both families. Norah should very well be afraid of Edward.

Nelissa was silent the entire way as she continued listening to Andrew talk about Edward's family.

She only muttered a 'thank you' to him as she got out of the car.

Wealthy people's problems should be solved by wealthy people. She was no longer part of this elite circle, and even when she was before, she felt nothing more than an outcast.

She thought that Edward was rather smart and strategic. As long as he tied the knot with Sophie, the entire Hales family would be his to order around.

Even so, perhaps he was more willing to marry Anna than he was Sophie.

Nelissa scanned the restaurant and found her client seated at the corner table.

Next to him was a familiar face - Yvonne Moore.

Nelissa raised her brows in surprise at the unexpected guest.

"Hi, Miss Nelissa," Yvonne rose and stretched her hand out to greet Nelissa with a smile. "Mr. Xander's an old client of my father's. He mentioned that he had an appointment with you today, so I tagged along. I hope that's okay?"

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"Of course." Nelissa reached across to reciprocate the handshake.

"Perfect. You guys go right ahead," Yvonne smiled.

She ordered a cup of coffee for herself and the lunch set for Nelissa, as if they were close friends.

Nelissa and Xander's discussion was a success, and the contract was signed - although this might have something to do with Yvonne's presence.

Nelissa couldn't be bothered by other people's opinions. Why would she go out of her way to make things harder for herself? She was just happy to have sealed the deal. Her goals were clear; to make more money to raise the kid and to save up for her mother's medical expenses.

Xander left shortly after the contract was signed.

A waiter came by with the coffee and meal that Yvonne had ordered.

"Miss Nelissa, let's talk about collaborating with each other," Yvonne sipped her coffee with a friendly smile plastered across her face.

"Is your father's company looking to collaborate with the Victory Group?" Nelissa asked as she took a bite at the sandwich.

"That's not it," Yvonne replied as she took out a check from her branded handbag.

She placed it on the table and pushed it across to Nelissa.

"It would be a personal collaboration between you and I."

Nelissa looked at the check curiously.

100, 000 dollars.

Nelissa laughed when she saw the figure on the check.

"I'm not sure I understand, Miss Moore. If you're asking me to double as a corporate spy, I don't think I have the expertise for that."

Yvonne shook her head and explained, "I just got back from the States, and I have yet to take over my father's company. Miss Nelissa, I hear that you and Master Hales are quite close. Would you happen to have his private cell number?" Nelissa's reply was short and instantaneous.

"No."

Yvonne then took the check and shoved it into Nelissa's hand.

"I hope you could do me this favor then. Please accept this money, and help me find out his cell number."

All Nelissa had to do to get 100, 000 dollars was just to reveal Edward's digits! Nelissa almost jumped to read out his cell number from her phone right there and then. However, fear halted her.

He had just told her to be good and to wait for his return, and here she was, ready to sell his phone number out without a second thought.

She was not going to court death!