Chapter 6 Making Things Difficult for Her

• The next day, the sun was shining, and it was a splendid sunny day. However, Thea kept feeling a bit restless as she took a taxi to the place according to the address given to her by the housekeeper.
• The large villa was located near an ecological park being developed in the south of the city. Not many properties were in the vicinity because of the policy factors that led to price restrictions, and developers were choosing to hold the properties.
• Before Thea, the villa covered an area of thousands of square feet. As for the greenery, it was extremely well done, and there was even a soccer field and an open-air pool.
• In fact, it was absolutely huge.
• Then, Thea checked it out with the housekeeper. Suddenly, the door on the second floor of the villa was pulled open, and a tall figure walked toward the balcony.
• At this moment, Ethan’s cold eyes were instantly attracted to Thea, who was standing by the pool downstairs, and his eyebrows tightened.
• "Why is she here?"
• Dylan followed his line of sight and explained, "This is Miss Thea Stratford, the designer the little prince chose to be mainly responsible for the interior design of the Birthday Villa.”
• Ethan rubbed his fingers, his handsome face going cold. "Bring her resume over."
• Fifteen minutes later, Thea received a notification from the maid that Mr. Jennings wanted to see her.
• Thea first froze and then reacted in time. This Mr. Jennings was Ethan Jennings, the father of the little prince of the Jennings Family, who was now the cream of the crop of the young generation of the Jennings Family.
• It was rumored that he was a decisive man who was brutal in the business world, and he used to perform so well that he had the highest single-day turnover in the Jennings Group. In fact, he was the one who was most likely to become the future successor of the Jennings Family.
• Therefore, even Sebastian had to address Ethan as ‘Uncle’.
• However, the main family and side branches of the Jennings Family were clearly distinguished. Sebastian’s family was only a side branch in the Jennings Family's vast genealogy, and it was not even considered important at all.
• Soon, Thea apprehensively followed the maid to the second floor.
• Pushing open the door, Thea slowly went in and saw the lone upright figure standing by the window with his back to her. He looked cold and full of oppression, and while she could not see his face, she could inexplicably feel this figure seem a bit familiar.
• "Thea Stratford. Female. Twenty-four years old. A valedictorian of Trentworth University's Department of Architecture who minored in jewelry design. You once won the first prize in the school's architectural design competition and had a full scholarship for two consecutive years. The professors touted you as one of the most promising female architects, but you suddenly dropped out of school in the second half of sophomore year for unknown reasons!”
• The man's cold magnetic voice echoed in the room, speaking of Thea's educational background.
• All of a sudden. Thea bit her lip tightly, the blood gradually fading from her face.
• She was actually able to finish her degree on a scholarship, but after she had the twins, all sorts of pressure caused her to drop out of school.
• But four years had passed since all this, yet this Mr. Jennings suddenly brought it up...
• "Mr. Jennings, may I ask what the problem is?" Thea asked respectfully, even though she already could guess in her heart.
• "Do you really think I would let a woman with no university degree design this place worth hundreds of millions?" The man still didn't turn around, but the oppressive pressure brought by his towering height exuded all around the room.
• Thea squeezed her hands before saying, "Education does not mean everything. I am confident that I have a wealth of practical experience. Besides, Borlee Group is backed by the Morris Family, of which there is no shortage of excellent designers. We pride ourselves on our excellent teamwork, so I believe we can present you with a satisfactory solution."
• "I believe in the Borlee Group, but..." The man's voice suddenly paused.
• Immediately after, Thea saw the man slowly turn around, revealing a handsome face that shocked her. He was clearly the man she had bumped into on the street yesterday. That man was actually Ethan Jennings, the father of the little prince of the Jennings Family!
• "I don't believe in you!" Ethan's thin lips slightly opened as he finished his words, his hawk-like black eyes fiercely seizing her.
• At this moment, he seemed to be able to smell the faint cape jasmine fragrance on her body in the air, and he had to admit that it was very attractive to him.
• His words made Thea clench her fingers together, her knuckles slightly white. "I understand. Please rest assured that I will take the initiative to withdraw from this project, Mr. Jennings."
• She reluctantly straightened her back, knowing that there was nothing more to be gained from further talks. However, Ethan did not expect her to be so quick in admitting defeat.
• "It is my son's decision to appoint you, but it is my decision to fire you. I’m sure you should know how to deal with this."
• Benedict already was quite estranged from him, and he did not want to argue over such trivial matters.
• Without avoiding his gaze, Thea replied, "I will tell Young Master Benedict that I am not feeling well and cannot take on the project."
• "You can go now."
• "Right." Thea did not hesitate to turn around and leave, but when she reached the door, she was still reluctant about dropping the project. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Mr. Jennings, isn't it too discriminatory of you to judge a person's talent by their education?"
• Behind her, Dylan felt cold sweat breaking on his forehead. Is Miss Thea accusing Young Master Ethan of educational discrimination? How dare she!
• "I'm not discriminating against anyone except for you.”
• As Ethan’s cold words came, Thea clenched her fists and felt anger surge in her. Is it because I told him that he looks like Sebastian yesterday? But that is clearly the truth. He’s the one who is so self-absorbed that he assumes that any and every girl would approach him deliberately!
• Rage filled Thea’s eyes until she figured out why she had felt that Rowan was so similar to Ethan. They were relatives, after all.
• After Thea left, Ethan's phone rang from a call from Gregory, the butler of Jennings Manor.
• In a respectful voice, Gregory said, “Young Master Ethan, Young Master Benedict has been rather upset since he was brought back.”
• He had been working for the Jennings for many years and had long since transcended his status as an ordinary servant. In fact, he had long since treated the young masters as his own family.
• "Don't mind him. He’s just a child." Ethan did not seem to care.
• Gregory paused and carefully added, "But just now, during dinner, the young master suddenly asked me about his mother again.”
• Ethan immediately became incensed when he heard the words. Even through the earpiece, Gregory could feel the intense fury from him.
• "Didn't I say that it is forbidden to mention that woman in the Jennings Manor?"
• "Yes, but Young Master Benedict is still young, so when he sees other children having their mothers with them, it is natural and reasonable for him to be curious."
• "If he asks again, tell him that his mother died in childbirth and there is no such woman in this world." Ethan impatiently tugged his tie and hung up the phone directly, which made Gregory a bit dumbfounded at the other end of the receiver.
• Inside Jennings Manor, Gregory sighed helplessly. He tucked the phone away discreetly, his mind extraordinarily complicated.
• Benedict was left at the entrance of the Jennings Manor as a baby; his origins were too mysterious, and his mother was untraceable.
• In the past few years, although Ethan gave the boy all the material things he could ever need, the child's mind was delicate and sensitive, and what he needed the most was the company and love of his parents. However, Ethan had always been unhappy about the fact that a scandal had broken out about him having an illegitimate child after he failed to find out who had set him up. Moreover, he did not have much patience with children, so his relationship with his son had never been great.
• Bang!
• In the large children's room, Benedict had his small head pressed against the door behind the wall trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. When he accidentally bumped his forehead, it hurt so much his brows furrowed.
• As the old phone used by Gregory had a serious sound leak, Benedict deliberately did not lock the door of the children's room and heard the entire conversation between Gregory and Ethan.
• Sure enough, just as he had guessed, his father was not going to tell him his mother's identity and was trying to deceive him that she was dead... But why did they want to hide that from him?
• When Gregory heard the movement in the children's room, he was so afraid that he hurriedly turned around and walked away.