After Bella finished eating the chocolate, she mischievously placed the remaining half of the chocolate bar into Steven’s suit pocket, giving his chest a playful pat.
“Hm.
You’re pretty fit.
”
Steven’s heart skipped a beat.
His cheeks flushed with warmth, and his throat felt dry, her teasing catching him off guard.
Steven was four years older than Bella, and back then, his father had been the head of KS Group’s legal department.
He was well-respected by Wyatt, which often led Steven to visit Yara Park during his teenage years.
He vividly recalled the first time he met Bella in the back garden of Yara Park.
From afar, he saw a beautiful little girl in a costume, prancing around with grace.
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating, but when the girl “flew” toward him, his heart stopped.
She was dressed in a pure white angel costume, and she looked almost otherworldly.
“Hey, do you have any candy?” Bella asked, hopping off her skateboard, grabbing hold of it in one smooth motion.
“Huh?”
Steven panicked, mentally cursing himself for having impure thoughts about such a young girl.
But Bella was stunning.
She resembled a goddess, and anyone who looked at her would have been captivated.
“Never mind…”
Bella sighed in disappointment, preparing to leave.
But Steven quickly grabbed her arm.
Her arm was so thin that his fingers easily circled it.
“Wait.
”
Steven bit his lip, pulling a piece of chocolate from his pocket and offering it to her.
“Is this okay?”
“Yes! Thank you so much!”
Bella beamed, taking the chocolate, unwrapping it, and biting into it.
Her eyes lit up in sheer joy.
From that day forward, whenever Steven visited Yara Park, he always brought chocolates or candies with him, like a walking snack cart.
He maintained this habit until today.
Whenever Bella craved something sweet, she would seek him out.
Meanwhile, the press conference was heating up.
Zeke was visibly agitated, his anger boiling over.
He stared at the reporter and snapped, “I will say it again for the last time—there are no quality issues with Gold Corporation’s products! I swear on my life!”
A reporter, however, was undeterred and pressed, “If there’s no quality issue, then why did KS Group hotels nationwide cancel all their orders with your company overnight? Mr.
Gold, you owe the public a reasonable explanation.
”
The comments on the live broadcast were quickly flooding in.
[He swears on his life, huh? Maybe that means he’s telling the truth.
]
[Maybe his life isn’t worth much anyway.
]
[Regardless, I’m returning those products! Just look at his arrogant face! The PR team needs to find a better spokesperson.
]
Zeke’s expression darkened as he snarled, “You want an explanation? Fine, I’ll give you one!”
His voice suddenly became sinister.
“I’ve reflected on this incident, and it’s clear that it’s due to negligence in my management.
After all, there are hundreds of Alia Furniture stores nationwide, and I can’t check them all.
Some employees acted out of selfish desires and harmed the company’s interests.
I’ve dealt with the people responsible and punished them severely.
But, as they say, it takes two to tango.
If someone from KS Group hadn’t bribed my staff, would this have happened? Now KS Group wants to pin all the blame on my company.
Isn’t that a bit much?”
Everyone was taken aback.
“Zeke can lie so smoothly! How dare he blame KS Group like this? How shameless!”
Ian stared at Zeke’s arrogant face, a sinking feeling of sympathy for the Thompson family growing within him.