Brandon leaned back in his chair as he looked at her. “I came to take you out for lunch, but then I found you threatening to throw half your employees out of the building. I thought I should help you calm down before you gave everyone a reason to resign.”Victoria rolled her eyes at him. “I wasn't threatening to throw anyone out. I was asking them to do their jobs properly.”“Of course. And I'm sure everyone in your company understands the difference.”“Brandon, do you want me to thank you again for fixing the problem, or would you prefer that I throw you out of my office instead?”He laughed at her threat. “Neither. I'd prefer lunch, preferably somewhere I can eat without being threatened every five minutes.”Victoria picked up her handbag and stood. “Fine, let's go. But if you tease me again, I'll make sure you regret it.”Brandon grinned as he rose from his chair. “Fine… Fine, I forgot it already, and I'll not tease you anymore.” Victoria stared at him, trying to determine whether

“Do you know who might be your real parents?” George asked, keeping his attention on Brandon.Brandon took a moment to consider the question before answering. “Honestly, I don't know. Not once have I ever wondered who my biological parents might be. Lily and Samuel were the only parents I ever knew, and I grew up believing they were my real parents. I never imagined they would hide something this important from me, no matter what their reasons might have been.”George leaned forward slightly. “What about their relatives? At least friends? Did they have anyone close to them who might know something about your birth? I mean you must've met someone after their death, right?” “My parents didn't have any relatives or close friends,” Brandon explained calmly. “Both of them were introverted and preferred keeping to themselves. They rarely invited anyone home, and I don't remember them visiting friends either. As far as I know, they were both orphans, so I never knew of any relatives on eith

“Lyra, darling, please open the door. You haven't eaten anything for four days, and I'm getting worried about you,” Emma Bennett pleaded, standing outside her daughter's bedroom.There was no response from inside the room.Emma glanced at her husband, Eliot, who had been standing beside her for the past several minutes. They had tried talking to Lyra, bringing her favourite food, and even threatening to call her doctor, but she refused to cooperate. She had locked herself in her room and barely spoken to either of them.“Lyra, at least have something to eat. You don't have to come downstairs if you don't want to, but please don't punish yourself like this,” Emma continued, knocking gently on the door.“I told you I'm not hungry!” Lyra shouted from inside. “Please leave me alone.”Emma closed her eyes briefly before turning to her husband. She had never seen their daughter behave like this, not even during the worst periods of her marriage to Brandon.Eliot sighed and gestured for his

“Mom, I honestly feel bad whenever I come here for lunch. You spend so much time cooking all these dishes whenever I visit, and I'm worried that I'm making you work too hard. I'm perfectly fine with something simple, so you don't have to prepare so much just for me,” Brandon remarked, looking at the food spread across the table.It had become a habit for the Ashford family to invite Brandon over for lunch or dinner at least once or twice a week. Whenever he considered declining an invitation, he worried about hurting their feelings and ended up visiting them anyway. At first, he had accepted their invitations out of politeness, but over time, it had become more than that. They genuinely treated him like a member of their family, showing him an affection he had come to appreciate.Laura glared at her daughter, who continued eating as though nothing had happened, before smiling at Brandon and settling into her chair.“Brandon, you spend the entire week working and then cook for yourself

“Brandon, I wanted to ask you something about George's visit to Victoria's office the other day,” David brought up as he reached for his glass of water. “Did he say anything unpleasant to you, or was there a problem between you two? I hope he didn't make you uncomfortable.”Brandon, who was sitting between Laura and David at the dining table, turned toward him with a relaxed smile. “Nothing like that, Dad. He came to meet me, and we had a normal conversation. There's nothing to worry about.”David studied Brandon for a moment, making sure he was telling the truth and that his conversation with George hadn't bothered him. “Are you sure? I know George and Victoria haven't exactly been on good terms lately, and I didn't want him bringing their personal issues into your life.”“I'm sure, Dad. We talked about a few things, but nothing happened that you need to worry about.”David accepted his answer and moved on to another topic, but Brandon's thoughts briefly returned to his conversation