Inside the car, only Declan Pierce remained. He tapped the play button on the voice message and held it to his ear.
The soft, laughing voice was like the tiny paws of a newborn kitten, scratching over the softest part of his heart, rekindling something long extinguished and allowing it to regenerate.
Declan Pierce knocked on the car window, signaling Janne Hayes to get in.
Janne Hayes glanced back uncertainly.
"President Pierce, do you have something to be happy about?"
The corner of his mouth was curved up, harder to suppress than an AK.
Declan Pierce raised an eyebrow grandly, "None of your business."
Even this sentence, he said with a smile.
Even more bizarre, he noticed that President Pierce’s ears seemed to be turning red.
At that moment, Declan Pierce received a call from Zion Monroe.
"Brother Pierce, come out and have some fun."
Zion Monroe was just trying his luck; after all, Brother Pierce usually ignored him eight times out of ten.
But tonight, Declan Pierce was in a great mood.
Zion Monroe was taken aback, feeling delighted and favored, "The Dissonance, second floor. Bro, I’ll send you the location."
Tanya Sinclair was busy all day, sitting in the warm, comfortable car, drowsy.
A clap of thunder woke her.
Outside, the rain was pouring down, and the night was oppressively dark.
A WeChat message popped up.
She instinctively glanced at it, her gaze turning cold.
The message was from Vincent Hawthorne.
Vincent Hawthorne: [Rhys Lucas and the others are all here, it’s been a while, come and join us.]
He seemed to have gotten used to it, thinking that by beckoning her with a finger, she would obediently run over like a dog.
Tanya Sinclair watched coldly as the "typing" indicator appeared above.
A few seconds later, Vincent Hawthorne sent a third message.
[The rain is heavy, do you need me to arrange a car to pick you up?]
Tanya Sinclair couldn’t help but sneer.
So, he knew it was raining, and also knew she didn’t have a car, huh.
Nowadays, Vincent Hawthorne’s cheap verbal concern was just sugar-coated crap to her, only making her sick!
Those who genuinely cared for and loved her wouldn’t ask unnecessary questions knowing she was in need. Instead, they would take direct action to help her out of her predicament.
The difference between true sincerity and false pretense was too obvious.
Expressionless, Tanya Sinclair typed a line.
[No thanks, I’m a bit tired, heading straight home. Have fun.]
After sending it, she put her phone on silent and tossed it into her bag, out of sight, out of mind.
The car took her all the way to the villa door. This rain came quickly but ended neatly too. By the time Tanya Sinclair got out of the car, only a light drizzle remained.
"Thank you." Tanya Sinclair thanked the driver, turned to leave, but the driver followed her out.
"Ms. Sinclair!" The driver handed her the car keys.
Tanya Sinclair was a bit confused.
The driver politely explained, "This car is now yours."
Noticing Tanya Sinclair’s intent to refuse, he quickly added, "I’m just following the boss’s orders; if you refuse, I can’t take the car away."
With the conversation at this point, Tanya Sinclair had no choice but to accept it.
"Alright, then I’ll accept it."
She indeed needed a car now, and there was no need to be polite with Daisy Bell anymore.
Of course, she couldn’t shamelessly accept the car for free; once her project was complete, she’d repay Daisy Bell at market price.
Tanya Sinclair didn’t know much about cars.
Apart from those luxury brands that everyone knew of, she didn’t recognize any others.
For instance, at this moment, she glanced at the car key in her hand, the logo had two wings, but instead of a ’B’ in the middle, there was a string of English letters.
It was an imported car, probably not cheap.
Tanya Sinclair estimated it must cost at least four or five hundred thousand.
That price she could accept and should be able to pay Daisy Bell back within a few months.
Tanya Sinclair returned home, but upon entering, only saw Aunt Tawny.
"Madam, why have you returned?" Aunt Tawny looked surprised to see Tanya Sinclair walk through the door. "Sir called and said you wouldn’t be home for dinner tonight. The young master and little miss also came back to change clothes and were taken by the driver. They said they’re going to some party tonight!"
At that moment, the phone in the living room rang, and Aunt Tawny went to answer it.
"Mr. Hawthorne." It was Vincent Hawthorne calling. He said something unknown to Aunt Tawny who then looked towards Tanya with confusion. "Madam is here, she just got home. I’ll give her the phone."
She really didn’t want to take the call, but since Aunt Tawny was sent by Mrs. Hawthorne, she was essentially Mrs. Hawthorne’s eyes.
Mrs. Hawthorne was most concerned about the discord between Tanya and Vincent’s marriage. Before Tanya could finalize her divorce preparations, she didn’t want Mrs. Hawthorne to worry too much.
Tanya reluctantly took the phone handed to her by Aunt Tawny.
There was some noise on Vincent’s end; he moved to another place, and it became much quieter.
Tanya could hear the sound of him lighting a cigarette with a lighter.
"Still upset about what happened today?" Vincent’s tone was helpless as he explained softly, "My personal phone was charging, and somehow it was on silent mode, so I missed your call."
It wasn’t often that he lowered his pride to explain things to her.
He was genuinely trying to make her happy.
"I’m not angry. Are Caden and Joy with you?"
Tanya’s tone was still bland.
To Vincent, it was obvious that she was still sulking. A hint of irritation flashed across his deep brows, and he tried to be patient, "Tanya..."
"Daddy!" Joy came running through the door.
Vincent immediately stubbed out his cigarette and waved away the lingering smoke in the air.
"What is it, darling?"
Joy’s small face looked troubled, "I just drank some juice, and it spilled on me. My dress is all wet. My shoes also seem wet; it feels like I stepped in a puddle on the way out."
Tanya on the other end heard everything clearly, and her brows furrowed tightly.
Joy had been ill before, not fully recovered from a cold, and given her weak constitution, dampness from feet could chill her body, leading to another cold.
Vincent said, "Just sit tight, darling. I’ll have someone get you new shoes, socks, and clothes."
"No need to buy them." Tanya was already hurrying upstairs to Joy’s room, "I’ll bring her clothes and shoes."
It seemed, with their daughter’s involvement, she had given enough of a step down.
Vincent quirked his lips slightly, "Alright, be safe on the road. I’ve prepared a surprise for you tonight."
Tanya had long since given up expecting any surprise from him.
She ended the call, busy finding clothes for Joy and took a thin coat for Caden from his wardrobe.
Downstairs, she made some anti-cold tea for the two kids, adding two spoonfuls of honey to balance the bitterness, and packed it in thermos cups before leaving with her bags.
On the other side, Joy hadn’t realized Vincent was talking to Tanya on the phone. She cheerfully leaned over, full of anticipation.
"Daddy, were you talking to Mom Cindy? What surprise did you prepare for her?"
Vincent found this a bit perplexing and countered, "Why would I prepare a surprise for Mom Cindy?"
Joy blinked her grape-like eyes, "Uncle Lucas said he was celebrating with Mom Cindy tonight for winning first prize in the International Designers Contest!"
"..." Vincent frowned slightly.
Indeed, he had forgotten about this matter.
Cindy Lynn had competed in the designers’ contest, reaching the finals, which happened over a month ago.
He glanced at his calendar—it was indeed the day results were announced.
Why did everything converge on the same day?
"Daddy, what’s this?" Joy pulled a beautiful velvet gift box out of Vincent’s suit pocket.
She opened it to find a diamond bracelet, the same style as Aunt Yvonne’s!
Joy covered her mouth, her eyes full of excitement and delight.
"Wow, it’s so beautiful! Is this the surprise for Mom Cindy?"
It was actually a gift he specifically bought for Tanya.
Since her recent awakening, she’d been acting strangely, clearly due to insecurity and fear of losing him.
He intended to gift it to cheer Tanya up. One reason was that Tanya could really help him with his work; another, over the years, Tanya had been well-behaved and considerate, dedicating almost everything for him.
As long as she continues, he’s willing to let her sit in the position of Mrs. Hawthorne forever.
Vincent knew that Tanya always wanted to integrate into his social circle, which is why he’s insisted she come tonight.
Killing two birds with one stone.
However, he hadn’t expected...
"Daddy, Daddy, is this for Mom Cindy?" Joy enthusiastically badgered him.
Vincent didn’t answer, simply patted her head.
He looked at the diamond bracelet in front of him, his eyes dimming with thought. After a moment’s consideration, Vincent made a call to Jonah Rivers.
"Special Assistant Rivers, I need you to go buy something for me now and bring it to The Dissonance..."