The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 131

Samuel crossed his arms and took a step forward, locking eyes with Dylan. “Dylan, you make it sound like you’re so generous. Who knows what you’re really scheming?”

Dylan wasn’t about to back down. He raised his voice, “Scheming? What could I possibly be scheming? But you, Samuel—don’t think I don’t know you’ve always resented me.”

Samuel let out a dry laugh. “Resent you? Please. What reason would I have to resent you?”

Dylan arched a brow. “All these years in business, you’ve never managed to beat me. You’ve always been second best.”

That stung. Samuel’s smile turned cold. “And you think I don’t know what dirty tricks you’ve pulled to get ahead? Don’t pretend your hands are clean.”

Dylan remained unfazed. “Business is war, Samuel. May the best man win. If the Thomsons can’t keep up, that’s hardly my fault.”

Samuel ground his teeth. “Don’t get cocky, Dylan. Just because I’ve lost before doesn’t mean I’ll keep losing. The tables could turn any day now; maybe Wye won’t be yours for much longer.”

Dylan smirked, dismissive. “I’ll be waiting.”

With that, he strode out of the office, leaving Samuel glaring after him. Samuel clenched his jaw, forced down his anger, and let out a cold, mirthless chuckle.

Dylan, mocking the Thomsons’ abilities? He had no idea what was coming for him.

Samuel’s thoughts turned to Noah, and a rare sense of pride welled up inside him. He quickly texted Noah: Your uncle knows everything now. Thank you, all of you, for standing up for me. I’m glad I’ve always looked out for you.

—

When school let out, Rebecca was already waiting at the gates of Wye Royal Sprouts Preschool, standing on tiptoe and scanning the crowd for her four little ones.

A moment later, the kids came bounding out, their faces bright with innocent joy, racing toward her and calling out at the top of their lungs.

“Mommy!”

The kids exchanged uneasy glances before Noah stepped up, his tone earnest. “Mommy, we just wanted to see Daddy. We’ve never met him before, and we wanted to know what he’s like.”

Rebecca blinked in surprise. “See Daddy?” They meant Dylan, didn’t they? So in their hearts, Dylan was already “Daddy.”

Ethan chimed in, “Yeah, Mommy… all the other kids at preschool have their dads pick them up or play with them. We want that too.”

Aiden hung his head, looking a little hurt. “Mommy, we just miss Daddy so much. That’s why we went to find him at work.”

Evan piped up in his sweet, childish voice, “Mommy, don’t be mad, okay? We won’t do it again.”

Rebecca listened, her heart aching. She drew a deep breath, doing her best to keep her voice steady. “Darlings, I’m not angry. I’m not upset with you at all. I just worry that if you go to the Austin Group like that, someone might try to hurt you.”

Noah looked at her with all the confidence in the world. “Don’t worry, Mommy. We’re big kids now. Nobody can bully us.”