Chapter 131 In The Shadows
Since early morning, Henry had been blowing up Wendy’s phone with messages. All of them were about whether he could drop by to wish Mandy a happy new year, and conveniently, see Wendy too. His tone had a tinge of grievance, like he was trying to tattle.
Henry wrote, “I was already at your doorstep, and I didn’t even get to see you. Is Mr. Goodman upset or something? From now on, do I have to go through him just to see you?”
That passive–aggressive guilt–tripping… Wendy would have to be a fool not to hear it.
Wendy replied, “There’ve been people at home lately, including my mom… maybe another time. I’m heading out of town for work on the fourth, won’t be back until the tenth. Let’s talk after I’m back.”
Henry wrote, “Working on Christmas too? That’s so lonely. Let me come with you.”
Wendy said, “Work’s not really something you should get involved in. And besides, how about you sort things out with Franklin first?”
If he was going to use Franklin to put pressure on her, then she’d let him suffer for it.
Henry replied, “Wendy, let me explain. Franklin genuinely had a scheduling conflict, but I’ll sort it out right away. It won’t affect your plans, I promise.”
That was where Wendy stopped replying.
So when it suits him, he has time. When it doesn’t, suddenly my work gets tossed aside? Who does he think he is?
To be honest, Henry’s game just wasn’t up to par. Maybe it was because he’d been kept out of the Harrison family’s core affairs for years; he had become disconnected from the business world.
With that kind of lack of awareness, she couldn’t imagine what future the Harrison family could possibly have in his hands.
She still believed Mario was the better bet. Typhoon Corp only ran so smoothly under Caesar because of Mario.
Peter Parker. She’d actually heard the name long ago, back when Caesar hadn’t yet reclaimed control of the Meyer family. During that early power struggle, she already knew who Peter Parker was, even though at the time, he was just a low–level department manager in Meyer Group.
Mario was clearly Bruno’s son; their tactics were nearly identical.
That evening, they met up with Mario for dinner.
“Finally got out,” Caesar said with a sigh of relief as he and Mario arrived at the restaurant.
Home had been unbearable. As Caesar’s partner, Mario naturally spent Christmas with him–but the way the Meyer family treated them was something else. The ridicule, the sarcasm… Nothing was off limits.
Some even tried to sound supportive, saying things like, “You can be together, sure, just keep it discreet. No need to bring him into the company, and definitely don’t go parading him around.”
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Chapter 131 In The Shadows
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then, and Bruno genuinely wanted to marry Mario’s mom and make it official. But the Harrison family wouldn’t allow it. To protect her, Bruno had no choice but to keep her hidden. And now they wanted Caesar to do the same with Mario.
“My mother already spent her life living in the shadows just to give birth to me. Since I’m alive, then for the rest of my life, I will live in the open. I will be seen. I will be acknowledged,” Mario said.
At the Watering Hole, Wendy and Ash double–checked the menu before sending it off to the kitchen.
Chase said to Mario, “They’re just trying to provoke you. Don’t let it get to you.”
Mario gave a wry smile and shook his head. “I’m not mad. They don’t know who I really am. If they knew I was the illegitimate son the Harrison family’s been searching for all these years, they’d probably tie me up and personally deliver me to the Harrison mansion.”
Not that they had the power to do that anymore.
Caesar said, “I’m planning to get married to Mario abroad next year. Let’s see what they say then.”
Stuff like that was totally normal overseas. Both of them had studied abroad, so of course they were open to it.
“Caesar, you have to understand, the Meyer family rejecting Mario has nothing to do with who he is. It’s all about you,” Wendy said.
Caesar nodded. “Exactly why I want Mario to be seen, to be treated with dignity. Speaking of which, how’s the Harrison side of things?”
“Henry showed up at my place on Christmas, said he wanted to wish my mom a happy new year. Chase stopped him at the door. He was still whining about it to me last night,” Wendy said.
Chase glanced at her. She added, “Go look up the chat logs. He messaged me, asking if you were mad at him.”
Mario shook his head helplessly. “The Harrison family’s done for if they leave it to someone like him. From what I’ve heard, my father was never like this.”
“I still think Henry’s adopted,” Wendy said.
The whole table burst into laughter.
Sammy came in with Zynn, followed lastly by Waylon and Lemon.
The look on their faces said it all; they were probably exhausted from dealing with their families all day. One could already see it back when they met up with Lemon.
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