Chapter 126

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Derek’s eyes widened in disbelief . “ I , I … ”
“ Who are you ? ” Before he could finish stammering , Aria’s blunt question left him speechless .
He pointed at himself in shock . “ You seriously don’t know who I am ? ”
Aria gave him a quick once – over . “ You look kinda familiar . ”
Without another word , she turned and started walking away . Derek instinctively followed , protesting , “ Hey , that’s just mean ! We’ve met once before , anyway ! ”
When Aria first returned to the Saxon family , Gloria had gone out of her way to introduce her two sons to her .
Aria replied indifferently , “ I don’t remember . ”
Derek kept pace with her , muttering , “ Come on , with a face like mine , how could you not remember ? I’m Derek , your cousin ! ”
Aria stopped in her tracks . “ So , what do you want ? ”
Finally remembering why he was there , Derek scratched his head awkwardly . “ Aria , you pissed my mom off so badly that she landed in the hospital ! What exactly happened between you two ?
“ My mom works late all the time , so her health isn’t great . She’s a bit like Grandpa , always acting old – fashioned , but she doesn’t mean any harm . Sure , she can be annoying , but can’t you just let it slide and not take it to heart ? ”
It was only their second meeting , but Derek was already talking to her like they’d been close for years , leaving Aria raising an eyebrow in disbelief . “ Are we that close ? ”
Well , it didn’t seem they were close . They barely exchanged a few words during their first meeting .
But Derek didn’t think it mattered . “ We’re family ! Even if we don’t see each other for decades , it’s not like that changes anything .”
He admitted he was a bit annoyed when he first arrived , but thinking it over , she couldn’t have known about his mom’s health issues .
And after watching her in action just now , he’d have to be crazy to even think about messing with her .
Aria said indifferently , “ Two years ago , I made a bottle of ginger essential oil for your grandfather . Today , your mom came to buy it from me . I refused . Then she asked for the recipe , so I priced it at 30 million dollars ! ”
“ That’s all it took to upset her ? ” Derek’s eyes widened in disbelief . “ What ? You only asked for 30 million dollars ? ”
Aria raised an eyebrow , her expression a mix of surprise and mild annoyance .
Derek had always been the type to do as he pleased , never caring much about rules or decorum . He spoke his mind freely , even if it meant offending
someone .
Among the younger generation , Joseph liked him the least .
Once , Derek asked his dad why Joseph disliked him .
His dad explained that when Derek was a kid visiting the Saxon family , Derek would often lecture about life principles . Der however , would cover his ears and chant , “ For God’s sake , Grandpa’s preaching again ! ”
Another time , when Joseph was wheelchair – bound due to a leg injury , while everyone else was concerned about his well – being , Derek had secretly taken the wheelchair out to play .
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After years of antics , just seeing Derek was enough to give Joseph a headache .
When Joseph announced his public statement , Derek was the first to object . Unfortunately , Gloria forbade him from going to the Saxon furniz
In Derek’s opinion , Joseph had been unreasonable first . Aria was right not to self her
ginger essential oil , but he asking price was la tos sa
“ My family’s loaded . You should’ve started at 300 million dollars ! My mom loves to haggle . She’d probably talk you down to 150 man ayat
Aria stared at him , speechless .
“ Hey , Aria , besides making ginger essential oil , do you make any other products ? I could help you sell your stuff to those big shot CEOs . Herý sent the profits seventy – thirty . You get seventy , and I take thirty . ”
Aria said nothing in response .
Derek kept rambling , “ Honestly , my mom’s just too sensitive . You only asked for 30 million , not 1.5 billion dollars . How’d that send her to the fatal
“ Anyway , she’s fine now , so let’s drop it . Let’s talk more about making money together . ”
‘ Ugh , he never stops talking . ‘ Aria spun around and walked off without a second glance .
Derek instinctively followed her . “ Hey , wait for me ! ”
Thud ! He smacked right into the glass door .
Ouch , that hurt !
He clutched his nose , saw blood on his hand , and yelled , “ Aria ! I’m bleeding ! ”
Aria glanced back briefly , then kept walking like nothing had happened .
MAR