Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Madam,” Miss Apple, another teacher, helplessly tried to reassure Margaret, “please calm down. The man who came to pick the kids up today really was their father -1 heard them call him that myself. Besides, that man is so powerful that he could easily shut this school down if he wanted, so we really had no choice…”
“Who cares how powerful he was?! How can you just hand the kids over to him? What kind of school is this, anyway? Is it a child trafficking kindergarten? I’m going to report it to the police and have them drag you all to jail!” Margaret had no idea what to do, so she could only demand that Miss Apple return the kids to her.
“Margaret!” Flossie crossed the street and hurried over to Margaret to comfort her. “Please, calm down.”
“You’re finally here, Miss Flossie! Here they are! These are the people who handed the kids over to a kidnapper! Hurry up and tell them to return the kids, Miss Flossie! If we wait any longer I’m afraid the kids will be in danger… M
“I know what to do, so leave it to me, okay? I’ll deal with this.”
Flossie persuaded Margaret to let go of Miss Apple’s arm, then bowed deeply at the teacher and said in an apologetic tone, “I’m so sorry, Miss Apple. Margaret here is the one who raised the twins ever since they were born, so it’s natural that she panicked when she found out that someone else had taken them away. Please forgive us if she said anything offensive to you. I hope you won’t take it to heart.”
Miss Apple smiled hesitantly and explained, “Don’t worry about it, Miss Ellsworth. We know that any parent would panic when their kids are missing. It’s perfectly understandable. Still, we must assure you that we didn’t just hand the kids over to a random person. We only let the kids leave with the man because they both called him Daddy. We really believe that the man can’t possibly be a criminal.”
Flossie politely asked the teacher, “Could you tell me what the man looked like, Miss Apple?”
Miss Apple looked somewhat conflicted. Her eyes darted around before she cryptically answered, “Please don’t worry, Miss Ellsworth. The twins are definitely fine, and I’m sure they’ll be home in no time. As for the person who took them away… Please forgive me, but I really can’t tell you anything about him.”
Hearing this, Flossie dug her nails into her palms and forced herself to remain calm as she said with a sneer, “This man really is powerful, isn’t he? He’s so powerful that he can easily kidnap other people’s kids in public, and even their own mother doesn’t have the right to know about it.”
“He is indeed very powerful. In fact, only a handful of people in the whole of Beach City would dare to go up against him, so…” Miss Apple paused for a few seconds, then told Flossie in a lowered voice, “The twins both called him Daddy without hesitation and were very friendly with him, and the man himself… is connected to the Guajardo family.”
“Connected to the Guajardo family, huh?” Flossie frowned slightly as she thought about the hints Miss Apple just gave her. Then, the realization hit her.
A powerful man in Beach City whom the kids called Daddy and was connected to the Guajardo family… Who else could it be other than Halston Guajardo?!
No wonder he had been acting so strangely in the men’s restroom today! All those bizarre things he said, not to mention how he accused her of hiding something important from him… Could it mean that he had long discovered the existence of the twins?!
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense that he would find out, because when she thought that Halston was dead, she completely gave up on hiding the twins’ existence from the public eye.
Besides, Adie had trespassed into his territory and caused a ruckus there, so that must have attracted his attention. It wouldn’t have taken much investigating before it became plainly clear to him that Adie was his son. In fact, it was likely that he had even secretly met Adie a few times before. Could it be that the potential match that Adie kept saying he would introduce to her, whom he called the “Famous Chef of Beach City” was actually Halston?
With these thoughts in mind, Flossie started to feel uneasy.
“Miss Apple,” she said, “thank you very much. I think I know who I should go to now. I’m sorry for the trouble my twins caused today; I’ll definitely bring them back here as usual tomorrow.”
After speaking, there was a murderous glint in Flossie’s eyes as she waded through the crowd and left.
“Miss Flossie!” Margaret cried out as she followed Flossie, confusion written all over her face. “Have you figured out who took Adie and Abby? I didn’t even get any clues from her just now! What should we do now? The twins aren’t even five years old yet… What would we do if something happened to them?”
“Don’t worry, Margaret. The kids are fine. I’ll go get them now.” Flossie then sent Margaret home and sped straight towards Guajardo Residence.
It was a cheerful and lively day at the Guajardo Residence, since it was the day that Halston had “returned from the dead”. Additionally, he’d also managed to capture all the bad seeds in their corporation and had eliminated them in one smooth move. Truly, it was a victorious day for the Guajardo family, and was worthy of great celebration.
Old Timothy Guajardo, Alexander Guajardo, Francine Milford, Halston Guajardo and other important members of the Guajardo family were all gathered there at the Guajardo Residence, enjoying a grand family banquet. Everyone at the table was merrily raising their glasses and enjoying their food when a servant came forward nervously. She seemed to have something to say but was hesitant to say it.
“Stop standing there and stuttering!” Francine barked impatiently. “If you have something to say, spit it out!”
The servant looked out of the dining hall and stammered, “Umm, Madam… There’s a… guest here. Should I stop her from coming in, or should I-” “Why so heartless, miss?”
Despite the servant’s efforts to stop her, Flossie strode in boldly and said sarcastically, “I was once a part of the Guajardo family. I treated Grandpa Guajardo like my own grandfather, so there’s no need to stop me from visiting him, right?”
Meanwhile, Timothy, who was sitting at the head of the table, was scowling fiercely at Halston. He was just about to teach him a lesson after learning about the rumours about Halston, Flossie and Jovan.
However, his eyes sparkled when he heard Flossie’s voice, and he turned to her with a wide smile. ‘ Flossie, my wonderful granddaughter-in-law, I was just about to teach Halston a lesson. I’m delighted you’re here! Come, child, sit by me.”
He motioned to the unoccupied seat next to him and urged her to have a seat. Meanwhile, Halston sat on the opposite side, his expression frigid.
The servant added a new set of tableware to the table. Flossie was unable to say no to the old man, and was forced to sit at the table with the Guajardos.
The jovial atmosphere immediately dimmed.
The others hadn’t said anything since they feared offending Timothy or Halston, so they just lowered their heads quietly and ate.
Francine, on the other hand, was as fearless and courageous as a lion. She had been looking forward to Flossie’s homecoming, and now that Flossie was here, she was overjoyed. She began piling food on Flossie’s plate happily.
“My good daughter-in-law, you finally thought it through and came back to us. See, I told you that Halston was alive. His acting skills were so good that he had both of us fooled! I beat him up earlier, but if you’re unhappy with him, feel free to beat him up too.”
Hearing this, Timothy said, “Francine, this is the first time you’ve said something good after being in the Guajardo family for so many years. You should beat your son and husband if they’ve done something wrong! Flossie, you have my complete support if you’d like to beat Halston up.”
When the rest heard what the most powerful man in the Guajardo family said, they quickly agreed with him. “Yes, he should be beaten up. Even if he has problems, he should not have made his wife worry!”
“Ahem!” Flossie had never expected things to turn out this way, and she coughed awkwardly. Prior to this, no one in the Guajardo family cared about her, and nobody ever backed her up or let her speak. However, though she had been divorced from Halston for several years, she was finally being treated well by the Guajardo family.
Francine nudged Halston and urged, “Why are you still sitting here? Can’t you see that your wife is coughing? Get water for her. You’re a grown man, but you don’t have common sense. No wonder you’ve been single for so many years!” She purposely emphasised the fact that Halston had been single for years, glancing at Flossie pointedly as she did so.
Timothy added, ‘That’s right. Flossie finally comes back but you have no sense at all. However, when she leaves, you become more gentlemanly.’
The other members of the Guajardo family agreed with Timothy. “Yes. A man should be more gentlemanly if he wants to win a girl over! Halston, you should change your attitude.”
Halston’s expression was frosty, and he smacked his spoon against the table, growling, ‘That’s enough. What are you all attempting to accomplish? And what brings you here?”
His gaze was hard as he questioned Flossie, and he stared at her like she was his mortal enemy.
Seeing this, Flossie pounded her fist on the table and snarled, “What’s the point in pretending? You know exactly why I’m here!’
Halston gingerly wiped his lips with a handkerchief, then turned to Flossie with a smirk. “Truth be told, I really don’t know why you’re here. Might it be because you still love me and want to rekindle our relationship?’
“Excellent, excellent!” Francine clapped her hands gleefully. “Flossie, if you wanted to rekindle your relationship with Halston, you should have just said so! There’s no need to beat around the bush, and you don’t need Halston’s opinion about it – he’s a moron who doesn’t know anything. I can help you both make it happen. We’ll arrange for a larger and better wedding too.”
Timothy nodded his head approvingly. “I’m glad you’re finally considering it. You should’ve reconnected with Halston sooner. This is something that the whole Guajardo family agrees on!’
“No way! That’s not it!” Flossie’s cheeks reddened and she started to panic.” I’m not here to reconcile with him. In fact, I’m going to become a nun and live alone for the rest of my life. I’m never going to get back together with him!’
The atmosphere turned uncomfortable.
Halston’s smirk instantly faded, and his gaze was cold as he remained silent.
“If you’re not here to get back with Halston, why are you here?” Timothy inquired, looking perplexed.
“I….” She bit her lower lip, unable to explain why. She wasn’t sure whether the Guajardos knew her about her children, and telling them about it would just cause problems.
“It’s a personal matter between Halston and I, so I can’t talk about it here,” Flossie said awkwardly, then turned to Halston. “Mr. Guajardo, please spare me a few minutes of your time so I may speak with you.”
“Since you’re not here to get back with me, I believe it’s best that we keep our distance. I don’t want anybody talking about this,” Halston replied coldly.
Francine smacked the back of his head fiercely and scolded him, “Why are you pretending? You’ve been missing her for years, so much so that you can’t sleep at night. The maids believed our home was haunted because your sobs were so loud at night. Stop being foolish and go speak to her since she’s come all the way to see you!”
Halston’s face fell and he answered icily, “No such thing happened.”
“I heard it as well. I have proof!” Timothy nodded his head enthusiastically and even summoned the maids. “Ask Andrea and Lisa if you don’t trust me – they heard it too.”
“There’s no need for that!” Halston’s attractive face darkened, and he stood up abruptly. He turned to Flossie and said through gritted teeth, “Study room on the second floor. Make it quick.”
Flossie instantly rose, followed the man, and entered the study room.