Filed to story: Unmasking the Billionaire: Don’t Mess with the Ex (Victoria & Carter) Book PDF Free
The teacher showed Jenarth to an empty seat and reminded the class, “Remember, Jenarth is allergic to eggs, so please be careful during snack time.”
Even though he was a bit younger than most,
Jenarth was outgoing and friendly. He quickly became the center of attention.
When class ended, a group of kids gathered around him. But Jenarth’s eyes were fixed on the girl with the buns – still hovering near Robert. He politely turned down the others and walked straight over.
“Robert, can you help me with this math problem?” She slid her notebook toward him.
Robert glanced at the page, but before he could speak, a voice cut through.
“Robert!”
He ignored it. “The answer’s eight,” he told the girl.
“Robert… you still won’t talk to me?” Jenarth stood directly in front of him, his expression serious. “I know you’re upset that Daddy Carter brought me here. But he was just trying to help me and my mom. Robert, I – “
“Shut up,” Robert snapped, shooting him a sharp look.
Jenarth froze, his face blank.
“Grown-ups are talking. Kids shouldn’t interrupt, got it?” Robert turned back to the girl and patiently walked her through the problem. “Start with this part… then check here… See? That’s how you get the answer.”
She listened carefully, then nodded. “Okay, I think I understand now. Thanks, Robert!”
“Mm-hmm.” Only then did Robert turn to Jenarth, who hadn’t moved.
“Cut the act, Jenarth. Your little games don’t work on me,” Robert said quietly as he stood up.
Jenarth didn’t react. But as Robert walked past, he quickly reached out and grabbed his hand.
“I’m sorry, Robert. I mean it. I made you angry. I know you hate me because your dad pays more attention to me now. If it helps, go ahead – hit me! I’ll do anything you want, whatever makes you happy.”
“Get away from me.” Robert jerked his hand back from Jenarth’s touch, staring at his own wrist as if it were dirty.
“Robert, I’m really sorry!”
Robert didn’t answer. He just turned and walked off, acting like Jenarth wasn’t even there.
Jenarth stood still, head down, looking hurt. A few classmates noticed and came over to check on him.
“Jenarth, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, it’s nothing.”
But his voice sounded shaky, and one of them spotted a thin red mark on his arm.
“Jenarth, your arm is scratched! Do you want me to tell the teacher?”
“It’s okay. I just scratched it by accident.” Jenarth quickly changed the subject. “Hey, do you guys like presents? I brought something for everybody!”
He unzipped his backpack and took out some small gifts – sparkly hair clips and limited-edition game cards.
“Wow, Jenarth, you’re the best!”
Soon, a group of kids had gathered around him.
“Everyone can pick one!” Jenarth said with a bright smile. “My mom said these are for making new friends. I just hope you like them and want to be my friend.”
Just then, the girl with the bun hairstyle walked past.
“Amy,” Jenarth called out, holding up a butterfly hair clip. “Do you like this one?”
She glanced at it and shook her head. “No thanks. That’s for little kids.”
Jenarth didn’t know what to say.
Amy Johnson hugged her notebook and went over to the corner where Robert was sitting by himself. She started talking to him about a problem from her book.
Jenarth watched them, and his face grew still.
Not long after, the teacher called out, “Snack time, everyone!”
All the kids hurried toward the snack area.
Jenarth saw Robert get up and quickly went to sit next to him.
“Robert… can I sit here?” he asked softly.
Robert didn’t look at him. He didn’t say a word.
When snack time was over, the children had 15 minutes to play. Robert picked up a book and went back to his corner. A little later, Amy came and sat with him again.
Jenarth kept watching. His eyes moved around the playground, then he walked slowly toward the area where the drinking cups were kept.
*****
Victoria pulled into Cosmos Group’s exclusive parking space. As she walked toward the entrance, she met Diana, who looked excited and immediately showed Victoria her newest design drawings.
“Victoria, what do you think of this design?”
“The layout is good. Maybe make the lines a little cleaner in some places.” Victoria meant it – Diana was a great intern assistant. She learned fast and came up with ideas quickly. Just one glance at Victoria’s design draft, and she was already building on it.
“I’m going to keep working hard and learn from you, Victoria. One day, I really want to meet my idol.” Diana clenched her hands, full of determination. “My idol is Mirabelle – the legend in design.”
Mirabelle!
Victoria stopped on the stairs and turned to Diana, who was still pumping herself up. She lifted an eyebrow.
“Mirabelle is your idol?”
Diana nodded, her face full of excitement. “Yes, Victoria! Mirabelle is a total legend in the design world! The whole ‘True Love’ collection from ‘BESTWISH’ was created by Mirabelle alone. When it came out, it went viral all over the world. People even waited in line overnight just to buy Mirabelle’s work.”
“Oh,” Victoria said.
“Victoria, Mirabelle only released that one collection and then disappeared. It’s been more than six years now. Maybe you didn’t know, but a lot of new designers like me joined this field because of Mirabelle.” Diana’s eyes were shining.
“Mirabelle is my inspiration. I hope she comes back someday, and I want to become good enough to meet her.”
“It sounds like Mirabelle clearly made quite an impression. All these years later, people still talk about her,” Victoria said quietly.
“Victoria, Mirabelle is really famous in design circles. She’s like a symbol. There’s even a fan forum with millions of members! So many designers see Mirabelle’s work as the highest standard.”
“Really? I’ll have to look that up sometime.” Victoria honestly hadn’t known any of that.
Just as she was about to go inside, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen – it was Robert’s teacher.
