Torn Between Love and Hate

Chapter 172

Chapter 172 Escaping Death

Joseph’s heart gradually calmed down.

He had already made up his mind; this was the only way.

The idea of wanting Deborah to make a choice between him and Alyssa is the most misguided one.

The only thing he needed to do was to understand Alyssa and make her accept him.

That child is smart and sensible.

She won’t be swayed by sweet talk, and she’s not that easy to appease. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

She doesn’t like Joseph, simply because she’s worried that he won’t treat Deborah well.

Joseph looked at Morton in the front seat, “Go and find out more about Alyssa’s current preferences

and her experiences over the past three years.”

Morton nodded, “All right. But Mr. Black, Alyssa now has the support of the Moxley family. The Moxley

family is quite. powerful, and I’m afraid they won’t let outsiders easily find out about the child’s

situation.”

Joseph began flipping through the documents at hand. “Do your best to investigate what you can, and

do it discreetly. Now, let’s head to Jingron’s headquarters.”

Deborah wants to spend some time alone with Alyssa, so it would be best not to disturb them too often

in the next few

days.

To avoid making things worse, like what happened last night, he didn’t want Alyssa to form any

prejudices against

him.

The car came to a stop outside Jingron’s headquarters.

Joseph got out of the car, entered the company building, and went up to the top floor CEO’s office.

One by one, executives entered the room to report on their recent work and brought documents for him

to sign.

Joseph is in a bad mood today, showing impatience several times.

The executive noticed that his mood was off, which made him a bit nervous, the work report, he

accidentally

made a small mistake.

Upon realizing the mistake, she immediately corrected herself, only to meet Joseph’s cold gaze.

The executive looked uneasy for a moment and said, “Mr. Black, I’m truly sorry, but may I present my

report again?”

Joseph closed the file in his hand and, with a serious expression, tossed it onto his office desk.

“No need to say more.”

No sooner had his words tallen, than the phone on the office desk rang.

A text message came in, and Joseph reached out to grab his phone, unlocking the screen.

Deborah sent a message: [Are you going to the company or heading home?]

Joseph’s face brightened, and he immediately replied to the message: [I’ll be at the company soon,

over at Jingron’s headquarters. How are you and Alyssa getting along? Are you familiar with the area?

If not, I can ask Evelyn to join you guys, she knows Oceanview City inside out. How about having lunch

together at that place we went to last time? What do you

think?]

After editing a long text, it was time to send it over.

After giving it some thought, he deleted a few words, leaving only one sentence: [I’m already at the

company for a while. I

Over there, the response was sent. It wrote: [Hmmm, you’re busy.]

Joseph immediately wanted to type: [Not busy, very free.]

After holding back for a while, I could only reply with a simple word. It wrote: [Okay.1

After waiting for a while, there was no response from the other side.

Only then did he put his phone aside.

Joseph felt reassured, as he was well aware of Deborah’s temperament.

Such a simple text message signifies that she won’t really ignore him in the future.

She just needs time to slowly consider and accept certain things.

Upon glancing up, Joseph saw that both Morton and Ray, who were right in front of him, were staring at

him with surprised expressions.

He immediately became serious and handed the document back to Ray, “There’s no need to report

again. The details. are clearly written in the document. I’ve read it thoroughly. You may leave now.”

Ray took the document as if he had just received a royal pardon, feeling an inexplicable sense of

escaping death.

He nodded repeatedly, “All right, all right.”

After Ray left, Joseph kindly looked at Morton and said, “Bring me anything else that needs to be

signed or dealt

with.”

Morton quickly realized that the message he had just received must have been from Deborah.

The oppressive atmosphere in the CEO’s office has finally dissipated.

Morton brought over the documents, but Joseph asked him to leave so he could handle it himself.

Joseph’s expression remained indifferent, showing no significant change.

But Morton could tell that his mood had improved more than just a little.

After sending the message, Deborah put her phone back into her clothes pocket.

The weather is lovely today, with the sun shining brightly.

She accompanied Alyssa to an outdoor art exhibition, where several paintings were created by Ann.

Ann is Deborah’s teacher and also a renowned fashion design master both domestically and

internationally.

In addition to that, she also has a hobby, which is painting.

Her achievements in the painting industry, though not as significant as those in fashion design, have

also gained her

some fame.

The organizer came over enthusiastically and greeted Deborah.

“Ms Shepherd, over there is the rest area. There are drinks and snacks, as well as a children’s play

area. If you and your daughter get tired from looking around, you can go there to take a break.”

Deborah smiled and said, “All right, thank you.”

The organizer handed her another invitation. “By the way, we have also prepared a charity auction for

tonight, which

will be held at the hotel next door.

The artworks you see here will mostly be part of an auction, and we look forward to your attendance.”

Deborah asked, “Will Master Ann’s paintings sell?”

The organizer said with a smile, “Not all of the paintings exhibited by Master Ann will be auctioned.

However, two of them will be participating.”

He spoke and pointed out two of the paintings to Deborah. Both of them were landscape paintings.

Deborah pointed to another one, “Won’t this be auctioned?”

In that painting, there was a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, Iving amidst the ruins left behind by an

earthquake.

The chaos and noise following the earthquake stood in stark contrast to the peaceful slumber of the

oblivious infant,

unaware of its surroundings.

It was so realistic, as if everything had come to life from the painting.

The organizer apologized, “I’m sorry, Ms. Shepherd, but this piece is not on the auction list. After the

exhibition is

over, it will be returned to Master Ann.”

Deborah looked away and said, “It’s fine, no problem.”

After receiving the invitation to the auction, the organizer left.

Deborah looked at the painting again, unable to take her eyes off it for a long time.

Ann is an extremely low-key person who enjoys peace and quiet. She has always been elusive, like a

dragon that shows.

its head but not its tail.

During this period, she went abroad for a vacation, not caring about her matters in the country at all.

Even Deborah didn’t know where she had gone.

Alyssa, who was standing nearby, noticed Deborah staring at the painting and lost in thought. She

reached out and gently rugged on her mother’s sleeve, asking, “Mommy, do you really like Grandma

Ann’s paintings?”

Deborah was taken aback, lowering her gaze to look at her, “Grandma Ann?”

It seemed as if Alyssa knew this person.

Alyssa replied, “Grandma Ann is Adrian’s aunt. Adrian’s mother is Ava Moxley, who is Grandma Ann’s

older sister.”

Deborah looked shocked, “Really? That happened?”

She has been learning from Ann for so many years, and her own daughter has been raised by Ann’s

biological sister for the past three years?

Alyssa nodded, “That’s right. Grandma Ann is a really nice person, but she doesn’t come back often.

Maybe in a while, you can come with me to Moxley Manor, Mommy, and we might be able to see her.”

Deborah was still too astonished to snap out of it when Alyssa’s phone rang.

Although Alyssa is still young, as a child star, she already has her own talent agency.

So, having a cell phone makes communication more convenient.

Of course, it was only outside of school where she could keep her phone with her.

Alyssa answered the video call, and Adrian’s angry face immediately appeared on the screen.

Adrian is on the set of a historical film, wearing a cream white robe, with his fake long hair tied up,

looking like at noble young son of a rich family with an air of gentle kind and good temperament.

The noble young son from a rich family with a gentle kind and good temperament roared, “You little

ungrateful one! Now that you have your mother Deborah, do you not want your Adrian anymore?”

Before Alyssa could answer, he continued angrily, “I don’t care! In three days, it’s Christmas. You bring

Deborah along to Moxley Manor for Christmas dinner. I need to have a good talk with Deborah. After

all, I can’t let my three years of raising her go to waste!”

The camera lens shifted, focusing on Deborah.

“Adrian, are you sure you want to talk to my mom with that attitude?”

Adrian’s face stiffened, not expecting Deborah to suddenly appear.

He casually spoke with Alyssa, but he wasn’t really that impolite.

Adrian immediately put on a serious face. “Ms. Shepherd, what I mean is, I would like to invite you and

Alyssa to join us for dinner at Moxley Manor. I hope you can grace us with your presence and not find it

beneath you.”

Alyssa snorted and said, “The food is fine. But I heard that Rebecca is dating my dad, isn’t she?

When it’s time to eat at Moxley Manor, my dad won’t be coming, right? My mom doesn’t like seeing

him.”