Chapter 407 Did Jerold get injured for nothing?
Leo frowned, "Is it really that bad?"
Jerold, standing next to Ayla, stepped forward and clung to Leo's leg, tears streaming down his face. "Daddy, it hurts so much."
Seeing Jerold's pained expression and tear-filled eyes, Leo felt his heart ache. He knelt down and gently patted Jerold's head. "Jerold, it won't hurt for long. Be brave, okay?"
Jerold sniffled, trying to hold back his tears. "I don't want to go to school anymore. I'm scared."
Jerold's trembling and terrified look made Leo feel even worse.
A flash of anger crossed Leo's eyes. He wasn't going to let whoever hurt Jerold get away with it.
Seeing Leo's angry expression, Ayla exaggerated what had happened at school.
Finally, she looked at Leo with dissatisfaction and said, "At Grandpa's birthday party, Sharon made me suffer so much. Now her son has beaten Jerold like this. I won't let this slide!"
Leo pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Thinking about Garry's birthday party, where Ayla had a servant push Sharon, almost disfiguring her, Leo's eyes turned icy cold, and his hand unconsciously tightened.
Seeing his silence, Ayla felt her anger flare up. "Leo, why didn't you speak? Are you still hung up on Sharon, so you're planning to let this go?"
"I'm telling you, if you don't handle this properly, I'll tell Grandpa about your past feelings for Sharon. Let's see if he'll take back the game company you have now!" Ayla added.
Ayla's expression was arrogant and threatening. If it weren't for her, Leo wouldn't be where he was today. She loved Leo but wouldn't allow him to be out of her control.
Leo looked up, his gaze sweeping over Ayla's cold face, and a smile tugged at his lips as he pulled her into his arms. "Honey, don't worry. To me, you and Jerold are the most important."
Ayla snorted and pushed him away, clearly not believing his words. "Then why were you silent just now?"
Leo wasn't angry at her aggressiveness and spoke gently, "I was just thinking, Sharon is with Seb now, and that child is Seb's son. If we anger Seb, it will definitely affect the cooperation between Silvercrest Group and the Bridges Group."
"So what? Should I let Jerold suffer for the sake of the company's business?" Ayla said in anger.
Leo sighed, "But what you did at Grandpa's birthday party has already displeased him. If we offend Seb again, Damon might cause more trouble."
Ayla bit her lip, knowing Leo was right, but she still felt that Leo was reluctant to make things difficult for Sharon because of Jerold.
"Leo, can you honestly say you have no ulterior motives?" Ayla asked.
Leo frowned, looking puzzled, "What ulterior motives could I have?"
"Have you forgotten that you used to like Sharon?" Ayla said.
"That was a long time ago, and I've already explained it to you." Leo retorted.
Ayla continued, "What do you mean by that impatient look and tone? Are you feeling guilty because I hit the mark?"
She stared at Leo, her eyes filled with suspicion and anger.
Leo's expression turned cold, "Ayla, I have nothing to feel guilty about. Everything I say and do is for your good. If you don't believe me, you can handle it your way, but you'll have to bear the consequences!"
"Do you think I won't dare?" Ayla's jealousy flared up, as she thought about Leo's past feelings for Sharon. It wrapped around her heart like a vine, tightening and making her feel suffocated.
"I didn't say you wouldn't dare. I just hope you consider the consequences. I have a meeting at the company. Since Jerold is okay, I'll head back now," Leo said.
Leo had just taken a few steps when he heard footsteps behind him. The next second, a pair of slender hands wrapped around his waist. "Leo, I'm sorry. I lost control of my emotions because Jerold was hurt."
Leo looked down at the hands around his waist, a flash of disgust in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he took Ayla's hand, turned around, and looked at her, speaking softly, "Ayla, I'm not angry."
"Really?" Ayla looked up at him, her eyes filled with guilt.
"Of course, I'm not angry. I wouldn't be angry with you. You're my wife and Jerold's mother. You're the most important person to me," Leo said.
Ayla's face showed a hint of shyness, and she lightly hit his chest. "You always know how to sweet-talk me."
Leo held her hand tightly, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "I only say these things to you."
His voice was low and gentle, making Ayla feel like she was walking on clouds, a bit dizzy.
"Didn't you say you have a meeting? Go ahead. I'll take care of Jerold," Ayla said.
Leo gently hugged her, "No rush. I'll take you and Jerold home first."
Ayla pushed him away, "No, you just got a foothold in the company. If you delay business for personal matters, Grandpa will be displeased. I'll handle things here. Go on."
Leo said, "Alright, then. What do you want for dinner? I'll cook for you."
Since Ayla and Leo got married, they had moved into a villa next to the Bridges Villa, making it convenient for discussions.
Leo didn't like having too many servants at home, so besides a housekeeper and a driver for Jerold, there were no other servants in the villa.
Leo usually ate at the Bridges Villa, but occasionally, he would cook for Ayla and Jerold.
Ayla felt sorry for Leo's hard work. Although she liked his cooking, she rarely asked him to cook. Leo, however, said it wasn't tiring and that taking care of Ayla and Jerold was his top priority.
At those times, Ayla felt she had made the right decision to marry him.
"Then I want steak and barbecue. For Jerold, just make grilled fish," Ayla said.
"Okay," Leo responded.
After Leo left, Ayla also took Jerold and left.
However, Ayla didn't take Jerold home but went directly to the Bridges Villa to find Garry.
When Garry saw Ayla, his face was still a bit displeased. After all, Ayla had almost ruined his birthday party and had made him give away two villas to resolve her foolishness.
His gaze shifted to Jerold, who had a bandage on his forehead, and Garry was stunned, then angrily said, "What happened to Jerold's head?"
Jerold was Garry's only great-grandson, and Garry usually doted on him. Seeing him hurt now, Garry couldn't sit still.
Jerold, being smart, knew Garry liked him. He let go of Ayla's hand and ran to Garry to complain. "Great-grandfather, a classmate pushed me on purpose, and my forehead hit the corner of a table. It hurt so much and bled a lot."
As Jerold spoke, tears welled up in his eyes, making him look pitiful, and Garry's face grew even darker.
"What are the kindergarten teachers doing? The Bridges Group invests so much money in the kindergarten every year, and they don't know how to do their jobs?" Garry said, his voice rising in anger.
Garry's gaze then fell on Ayla. "Has the student who pushed Jerold been expelled?"
Seeing Garry hit the key point, Ayla sighed, looking troubled, as if hesitating to tell Garry the truth.
"What exactly happened? Speak up!" Garry demanded.
Ayla looked at the servant nearby. "Take Jerold to play in the garden."
The servant nodded and led Jerold out of the living room.
Once it was just Ayla and Garry in the living room, she sat down opposite him.
"Grandpa, I'm afraid there's no way to deal with the student who pushed Jerold," Ayla said.
Garry's eyes widened. "No way to deal with it? No matter who it is, I won't let anyone who hurt Jerold get away with it!"
"The child who had a conflict with Jerold is Sharon's son, and also Seb's biological son," Ayla explained.
"What?" Garry looked shocked and incredulous. After all, the Bridges family had come to Metropolis after Sharon's accident and didn't know about Seb and Sharon's past.
Ayla had learned about Seb and Sharon's child through Grace.
Ayla nodded. "I'm telling the truth, and I've had it investigated and confirmed."
The living room fell silent. If that child was indeed Seb's, it would be tricky.
After all, they had just offended Seb over the party incident. If the Bridges family pursued this matter, it would definitely anger Seb further. But if they didn't seek justice, would Jerold's injury be in vain?
Garry's expression was grim.
Ayla felt the timing was right and said, "Grandpa, if we make a big deal out of Jerold's injury, offending Seb won't benefit the Bridges family at all. But if we let it go, it wouldn't be fair to Jerold, and I can't accept that."
"What do you plan to do?" Garry knew Ayla was always resourceful. If she came to him, she must have a plan.
"I want to use Jerold's injury to negotiate with Seb and gain some tangible benefits for the company," Ayla said.
"Have you thought about what to ask from Seb?" Garry asked.
Ayla nodded. "Yes, there's a municipal project up for bidding soon. If we compete, the Bridges Group probably won't stand a chance against Silvercrest Group."
Garry's eyes showed a hint of surprise, then he frowned. "Silvercrest Group has been preparing for that municipal project for over six months. Seb won't give it up easily."
Most importantly, securing that project would guarantee a minimum profit of 25%, so many companies in Metropolis were eager for it.
"I know Seb won't withdraw from the bidding. I plan to propose a collaboration with Silvercrest Group. The profit is secondary; the main goal is to get involved in the project and establish connections with government officials."
Once the Bridges Group had connections with government officials, future municipal projects would be up for grabs based on their abilities.
Garry's eyes flickered with approval. "Then I'll leave this matter to you."
Ayla's face lit up with joy. "I'll handle it well!"
"Alright, make sure to comfort Jerold and encourage him to get along with that child. The Bridges Group will need Seb's support in many areas in the future," Garry said.
Ayla lowered her eyes, a hint of unwillingness flashing in them. She would never remain under Sharon's shadow forever!
"Yes, Grandpa, I know what to do," Ayla said.
"I'm tired. Take Jerold to play for a while and stay for dinner tonight," Garry said.
After Garry left, Ayla got up and walked towards the garden.
In the garden, Jerold was ordering a servant to climb a tree to pick the highest orange. The servant struggled to climb up, but always fell just short of reaching the orange.
Jerold looked up impatiently, "You can't even pick an orange. I'll have Great-grandfather fire you later!"
Under his urging and threats, the servant gritted his teeth and climbed a bit higher, finally reaching the orange. However, just as he touched the orange, there was a sound of a branch breaking.
The servant fell to the ground, screaming in pain as his body hit the ground. "It hurts so much!"
The servant clutched his broken leg, his face twisted in pain, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
Jerold stood by without a trace of guilt, instead looking gleeful at the servant's misery, even clapping his hands.
"Useless! Serves you right! It's good you fell!" Jerold's small face was full of malice, and he looked at the servant like he was an ant, without a shred of sympathy.
Ayla walked up to Jerold, glanced at the injured servant, then coldly looked away and pulled Jerold away.
It wasn't until their figures disappeared around the corner that another servant came out to help the injured one.
Jerold, holding Ayla's hand, couldn't help but scratch his head when he saw she wasn't speaking. "Mom, why aren't you saying anything?"
Ayla looked down at Jerold, her gaze falling on the bandage on his forehead, a hint of heartache in her eyes. "I was just thinking, Jerold, does your forehead still hurt?"
Jerold wanted to say it hurt, but after a moment's thought, he shook his head. "It doesn't hurt anymore, Mom."
"That's good," Ayla said.
Seeing Ayla fall silent again, not mentioning how she planned to deal with Demetrius, Jerold grew anxious. "Mom, Demetrius pushed me and hurt me. He's a bad person. Can you get the principal to expel him? I don't want to see him again!"
Facing Jerold's expectant gaze, Ayla was silent for a few seconds before squatting down in front of him and gently asking, "Jerold, did Demetrius really push you?"
A hint of guilt flashed in Jerold's eyes. "Mom, why are you asking that? Do you think it was my fault?"
"No, Jerold, I'm just asking," Ayla said.
Hearing this, Jerold breathed a sigh of relief, deliberately raising his voice with a sob. "It was Demetrius who pushed me, Mom. You have to get the principal to expel him!"
Seeing him cry and fuss, Ayla felt a headache coming on. She couldn't deal with Demetrius, and in fact, Jerold would need to get along with him in the future. But with Jerold's personality, it would be hard to make him get along with Demetrius.
"Jerold, both you and Demetrius were at fault today. How about we have Demetrius apologize to you, and you two get along from now on, okay?" Ayla said.
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