Chapter 6

Apologize to Winona? Zora sneered and lifted her head to meet his gaze head-on. "Never." Jay clearly did not expect her to not only be an unreasonable bully but a stubborn mule as well. He clenched his jaw and muttered, "If you don't apologize to her, I will see to it personally that the name Zora disappears from the design world completely." He had not intended to threaten Zora at all, but he felt like he owed it to Winona. She was technically his saving grace after all; if it were not for her, he would have been tricked that fateful night six years ago. Although he did not love Winona at all, he still chose to be with her and fulfill her every whim and fancy, all in the name of repaying her for what she had done. Vienna Jewels was indeed on the verge of bankruptcy, which was why he had been willing to spend 140 million dollars to headhunt Zora to work for them. He knew full well that Winona was the one who had hit Zora first and that he should have forced Winona to apologize to her, but he could not tolerate the sight of anyone hitting his wife. He did not care how Zora and Winona settled this dispute in private, but he would not allow Zora to get away with hitting Winona right under his nose. Jay's grip was so tight that Zora's wrist felt as though it was going to pop right off. She felt tears well in her eyes, but her pride forced her to hold her head up high. No matter what happened, she would not shed a single tear in front of her enemy! "I didn't do anything wrong, so why should I apologize?" she said defiantly. Seeing that Zora was not willing to budge, Jay snickered and replied, "My name is Jay Sullivan. I'm capable of wiping your name off the face of Zoland and Scoythe with a flick of my finger. Are you sure you want to challenge me?" Jay Sullivan… Zora gritted her teeth. So he was a Sullivan. It was no wonder he had the audacity to threaten her like this! Zora was not particularly afraid of being an outcast. After all, it was not her first time, but she did not want her children to suffer the consequences of her actions. She still wanted her triplets to be able to go to school in Ethertown. She had another much bigger goal in mind—to get Vienna Jewels back. Patience was a virtue. She was here to play the long game, so she needed to sacrifice a pawn. "Let go of me." Jay released his grip and stared at her intently. "You'd better think long and hard about what you have to do." "All I need to do is apologize, right?" Zora raised her brows at him and strode out of the stairwell. She returned to the office and approached Winona. "I'm sorry," she muttered in a voice that was barely audible. Winona did not expect Zora to apologize to her all of a sudden, but now that she did, she knew immediately that it had been Jay's doing. As triumphant as she felt, she tried to feign modesty by saying, "It's okay, I forgive you. As for the contract…" Zora glanced at the man standing outside the door as she signed her name at the bottom of the page. Her lips were turned up in the smallest of smiles that no one seemed to notice. Although they had 'forced' her to work for Vienna Jewels, she would one day teach them a lesson. She would one day make them wish they had never challenged her. Zora signed her name and put the pen down. The next moment, she was already out the door. Jay strode over to the desk and glanced at the contract. Winona approached him and crooned, "Thank you, Jay." "Try to avoid spending time with her as much as possible," he reminded her, then put down the contract and left with his assistant. As soon as he disappeared, Winona picked up the contract with a triumphant leer. "You can never win against me, Zora." A Mercedes-Maybach was parked in front of the building. Jay's assistant, Roger Barnes, opened the door for Jay to get in, then followed suit. "Did you manage to find anything?" Roger nodded and handed Jay a tablet. "Everything I can find is in here, Mr. Sullivan." Jay tapped on the screen and skimmed over the document that Roger had pulled up. His gaze landed on the name, Zora Jacobs, and finally, her address. It was the address of the Jacobs household. Jay's gaze faltered at this. Meanwhile, at TG Group headquarters, Nina and Bobby gazed in awe at the entrance of this iconic building. There was no doubt about the architectural marvel of this place. It was known as the biggest company in Ethertown for a reason. The two children scuttled into the lobby, where men and women dressed in suits bustled about with their documents, some of them chattering in foreign languages with international clients. The sight of the two young children no doubt caused a stir. The receptionist could not help noticing the two little ones and approached them to ask in a soft tone, "Who are you here for, darlings?" Nina took out a copy of her resume from her yellow duckling backpack and replied, "We're here to interview for the position of the child models of Young Blood's new campaign." The receptionist almost passed out from the oozing adorableness of Nina's voice. "Are your parents here too?" "No. we can handle this on our own, so we didn't let Mommy come along," Bobby replied. "What smart children! Follow me, I'll bring you to the meeting room." "Thank you!" The two children grinned. The receptionist took their hands and led them to the studio where the photoshoot for the new campaign was going on. Young Blood was a luxury children's fashion wear brand that belonged to TG Group. They were launching a new campaign that required two child models who were not shy in front of the camera. The receptionist brought them to a studio that was bare except for a few clothes racks, cameras, and backdrops. There were a few other children already waiting. A well-dressed middle-aged woman was skimming over the photos, seemingly dissatisfied with how they turned out. "How am I supposed to air this campaign? None of the children are giving me what I want! I want the it factor, the it factor! Do you understand?" "Linda, these two children…" "Go away! Don't bother me with your nonse…" Linda was about to send them away when she caught sight of the two children. She froze momentarily as she gave the pair a once-over. Her jaw dropped. Why were these two such spitting images of Jay Sullivan?