Secret Scion

Asher and Noelle were sitting face-to-face in a high-class open-air restaurant. Noelle was

wearing a striped blouse with a slightly low cut, making her long, slender neck look incredibly seductive. A hint of her voluptuous cleavage could be seen. She looked fashionable, mature, and charming at the same time.

The bright starry sky hung above their heads. Noelle's beautiful face was illuminated by the lights from above, thus highlighting the slight smile that painted her lips.

In the afternoon, Asher had taken her to a few scenic spots that were famous for their scenery. Even though those locations were very pretty, Noelle was more engrossed in spending time with the one she was with. Ever since she realized that she was in love with Asher, she felt that as long as she got to be with him, she would still be happy no matter where they were.

However, the thought of returning to Rollinsford tomorrow made her feel a pang of disappointment. Noelle put down the cutlery in her hands and stared at Asher, who was in the midst of eating his steak. "I'll be heading back tomorrow. When I'm not here, you have to think about me three times per day."

Noelle sounded very demanding at that time. Asher was taken aback by her request, but he quickly nodded without any hesitation. "I'll think about you every second and minute it takes." Even though his response was not realistic at all, Noelle could not help but smile happily. The light dimples on her cheeks made her look cuter. "My company is gearing up to develop in the Capital City. I hope that in the near future, I'll be able to establish a branch of the Steward Corporation here. When that time comes, I'll stalk you every day to prevent other women from seducing you."

Asher could not help the bitter smile that took over his expression. Noelle made it sound like he had multiple women encircling him every day.

"If the Steward Corporation wishes to develop even more, the Capital City is a definite choice, that's for sure. Then again, the stage may be bigger here, but at the same time, competition is a lot fiercer here as well. It won't be easy to build a firm foundation here."

"If I don't give it a try, how would you know that I can't do it?"

Asher spaced out for a few seconds after hearing Noelle's answer. After that, he smiled and nodded. "I almost forgot that you're the business prodigy that has been acknowledged by Rollinsford. Then, allow me to congratulate you in advance, Ms. Steward." As he spoke, he lifted his glass of red wine.

Noelle could only roll her eyes playfully in Asher's direction.

At that moment, the latter's phone started ringing. He pulled it out, only to see that Mikaela was the caller. Upon picking up her call, he asked straight away, "What's wrong?"

"Asher, I've stayed here for a long time, but why haven't the Schmidts taken action yet? Could it be that you've already reached some sort of agreement with them behind my back? Am I just a sacrificial pawn for you?"

Mikaela's question was blunt and direct.

Speaking of which, Asher was also bummed out by the Schmidts' sudden passive stance. That day, when Rose came to look for him, he had made it clear to her that Mikaela must live in the Schmidt residence as Garrett's fiancée. Why did the Schmidts choose to not do anything instead?

"Since we're in a partnership, I hope that you can place your utmost faith in me. If you can't do that, then our partnership will end right here, right now," Asher replied with a deadpan.

"I really want to trust you, but didn't you tell me that the Schmidts will contact you on their own since they're unable to track me down? How would I know what you guys talked about in your meeting? Asher, I've told you since day one that you have to get me into the Schmidt residence as soon as possible."

"I know. Bye." Without waiting for Mikaela's response, Asher hung up on her decisively.

"What's the matter?" Having noticed Asher's dark expression, Noelle could not help but inquire. Asher thought for a moment before saying, "That was Mikaela. She's pregnant." "With Garrett's baby?"

Asher nodded.

Noelle frowned immediately. As a woman, she sympathized with Mikaela's situation. After all, the latter was not even twenty years old when this happened. She was still a teenager at the end of the day.

Asher placed his elbows on the dining table while rubbing his brows with his thumbs. A long while later, he said, "Let me place a call."

He strode to the smoking area that was located some distance away. Then, he sat down on a chair that was woven with vines and lit a cigarette before taking a few deep drags from it. In the end, he dialed Rose's phone number.

On the other hand, Mikaela threw her phone angrily onto her bed. Now that things had gotten to this point, she could not afford to turn back. All she could do was to latch onto Asher's leg and hope that he could get revenge for her sake.

However, the Schmidts had yet to take any action, which worried her greatly. Could it be that Asher was toying with her as well?

Ding dong! Ding dong!

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Mikaela was surprised to hear it ringing. She asked in great alarm, "Who's there?" While she spoke, she pulled out a blade that she had prepared beforehand.

"It's me, Radley."

"Radley?" Mikaela did not expect that Radley would visit her. A long time ago, she had intended to contact him, but she was unable to do so. After stowing the blade away, she went to open the door. As expected, Radley was standing at the doorway in the corridor.

"Radley, how did you find out where I am?" Mikaela gazed out at the corridor subconsciously. Radley said reassuringly, "Don't worry. I'm all by myself." At the same time, he walked into the

room.

Mikaela locked the door properly behind her before taking a seat from across Radley. The latter glanced at her before saying, "I stalked Asher and found out that you're staying in this hotel. I wanted to visit you a few days ago, but something unexpected came up, so that plan was postponed. Micky, how's your stay here? I heard that Asher took you to the Schmidt residence some time ago. Do the Schmidts know that you're pregnant with Garrett's child?" "The Schmidts are extremely powerful here. So what if they know about it?" Mikaela replied lightly.

A complicated expression appeared on Radley's face. He paused for a moment before asking, "So, is that why you hope that Asher can help you out on this matter? Micky, your interactions with Asher are very limited. Do you know what kind of person he is? What if he treats you as a sacrificial pawn just to fulfill his plot of vengeance against the Schmidts?"

"Then, tell me! Other than asking Asher for help, what else can I do?" Mikaela sounded furious when she talked about that particular matter. "You were the one who stopped me from getting an abortion back then! You told me you'd help me out, but guess what happened in the end? After I arrived at the Capital City, I couldn't even get in touch with you! Is this how you help people in exacting revenge, Radley?"

A frown was visible on Radley's face. "Micky, I'm also in a pretty tight spot here. Asher framed me to the point where I can't return home ever again. I'm reduced to nothing but a wretched mutt in front of him. I want to help you very badly, but I can't do anything at all. Whatever, let's not talk about my problems. We'll focus on your situation first. I think you shouldn't trust Asher anymore. The reason why he decided to help you in the first place was because he wanted to use you against the Schmidts. However, once he has achieved that goal, he'll toss you to the street immediately. By then, you'll be left with nothing. Micky, I'm your older brother; I won't harm you."

Radley's words hit Mikaela right in her sore spot.

She hesitated for a long while before finally dropping the bomb. "Then what do you think I should do?"

"Instead of entrusting your fate into the hands of others, why don't you gain control over it for once in your life? You can't have blind faith in Asher for getting things done in your stead. Micky, if you trust me, you'll let me negotiate with the Schmidts on your behalf. Tell me your conditions, and I'll do my best to help you achieve an agreement with the Schmidts. Me becoming your representative is better than Asher, who's the outsider. What do you think?" Radley suggested. Mikaela looked at Radley, unsure if she should accept his suggestion. Ever since they were children, both of them shared a tight-knit relationship among their siblings. Hence, she had an unwavering trust in Radley from the bottom of her heart.

As for Asher, she thought of him as a cunning and manipulative person. She did not trust him as much as she claimed.

After thinking for a very long time, Mikaela decided to let Radley try negotiating with the Schmidts on her behalf. She said, "I want to live in the Schmidt residence."

On the other hand, after Rose hung up on Asher, she took a look at the time. It happened to be

ten o'clock at night, which meant that it was not Xavier's bedtime yet. Hence, she went to visit him in his room.

"Grandpa, Asher just called me. He said that the Schmidts have to give him a proper response about the whole Mikaela affair in three days."

When Rose arrived at Xavier's bedroom, the latter was about to head to bed. Upon hearing Rose's words, his expression darkened immediately. With a jacket draped on his figure, he started pacing up and down in his room. A moment later, he finally said with an angry huff, "There's no way our noble family will allow that lowly commoner to live with us! Tell Asher he can keep on dreaming!"

Rose frowned slightly and retorted, "He has a leverage over Garrett right now. What if he decides to expose everything to the public? This matter would fester and become more complicated for us to handle if that were the case."

"Well, we can't allow Asher to lead us by the neck now, can we?" Xavier's expression was stormy. He never would have expected that there would come a day when a useless rich kid like Asher was able to suppress the Schmidt family.

After walking two laps around his room, Xavier sat down and wanted to drink from his teacup. The moment he opened the lid to the cup, he discovered that it was empty. Disappointed, he slammed the cup back onto the table. Rose wanted to pour him a fresh cup of tea, but Xavier just waved her away. "It's fine. I don't want tea anymore. Rose, from the way you see it, how should we proceed with this matter?"

"Grandpa, what I say next might infuriate you, but hear me out. Over the past two years, you've devoted so much of your effort, time, and energy into Garrett with the intention of polishing and cultivating him in preparation for the position as the patriarch of the family. Undoubtedly, everyone knows about that. That's why I think we should appease Asher for now. Asher's personality is... Hmm, how should I put it? Once he gets very aggressive and irrational, nothing can deter him from his course of action. If the relationship between our family and him worsens even more, he might as well hand over the footage to the police right away. It'll be detrimental to Garrett once that happens," Rose spoke her mind.

Xavier did not wish to submit to Asher at all, but he had no choice but to compromise as the odds were not in his favor. Besides, what Rose said made sense; Garrett was the only male Schmidt that had proven himself to be capable. If something were to happen to him, the Schmidts' status would definitely be affected in a negative way.

"Rose, I didn't expect that you'd care about Garrett this much. I know there's this saying called 'Male: Sebastian, Female: Rose, and of course, there's the fact that you're the rising star among the younger generation of Alexandrius that has been acknowledged by all. However, I chose to not pass down the legacy to you. Do you hate me?"