Female Novel
Chapter 380
Thomas found himself in a dilemma. Establishing a family is no easy task! Leaving aside the fact that Idon’t have that much energy, my circumstances don’t allow for it either. I’m an orphan without parentsor siblings; the only family I have is my godsister, Chloe. Well, there is also that eccentric old man whoraised me. But I’ve returned to Irieson for such a long time and have asked my buddies Sean andWilliam to look for his whereabouts, and yet no trace of him could be found at all, as if he had vanishedinto thin air. “Quincy, I’ll be honest with you. I don’t want to establish a family, nor do I want to be tieddown. That being said, I have to fulfill the one-year agreement with the Flynns. Can you give me sometime to think it through? I’ll let you know tomorrow.”
“Alright, Thomas. Just remember that we’re friends. Whatever choice you make, you can tell mewhatever you need.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up the phone, Thomas started practicing again. Although there were still no signs of abreakthrough, he believed in the power of perseverance. As long as I work hard and diligently enough,the day will come when I’ll make a breakthrough.
The next morning, he dropped off Olivia at Keyshire Property and returned to the Northpine Villa alone.He needed to think carefully about whether to establish the Clifford Family or not. After pondering for along time, however, he still couldn’t make up his mind. He took out the jade angel pendant that Zacharyhad left him back then. “Zach, what do you think I should do? I must take revenge on the Flynns andthe Wilkersons.”
Zachary’s kind and sincere expression appeared before his eyes. “Thomas, you should establish yourown family, of course!”
Thomas wasn’t surprised by the sight of this. He smiled and lit a cigarette, asking, “Tell me yourreasons.”
Zachary said, “You don’t have the energy to take care of your family, but you can let Chloe do it. Shedoesn’t have much to do at home, does she? This is a good opportunity to train her, and besides, therecent events have proven that it’s indeed difficult to stand alone against those families. It’s time toestablish your own forces, and you have the ability to do so.”
Listening to his words, Thomas finally saw the light. He replied with a nod, “You’re right. I’ll go talk toChloe about this.”
“Alright! Time for me to go, then. Take care of yourself,” said Zachary before his apparitiondisappeared.
Thomas left the villa and drove to his rented house. Zachary’s words just now enlightened him. Hispurpose in establishing a family wasn’t to fight against other forces, but to ensure that even after hisdeath, he could still protect those he cared about—Chloe and Olivia, for instance. After all, I have onlyten years left to live. I can protect them while I’m alive, but what about ten years later? What if I’mdead? Who is going to protect them then? Who is going to stand up for them if they get bullied? Yes,the Mortons, the Peralta Family, Quincy, and the others are my friends, and they all can take care ofChloe for me. But they’re not my own family, so they can never provide the same sense of security as afamily of my own could.
“You’re here, Thomas? Haha! W-What’s going on with your hair?” Chloe was startled to see Thomas’white hair.
It took Thomas a while to explain and reassure her before she was relieved. He shared his thoughtswith her, but of course, he kept the one-year agreement with the Flynns and his impending death in tenyears a secret. He was afraid that she might get frightened if he told her about it.
Still, Chloe was taken aback. She was just a girl from an ordinary family, and the concept of a ‘family’was extremely alien to her. Such titles seem to only belong to ancient times, don’t they?
Thomas seemed to see through her mind. He explained, “Chloe, don’t be surprised about this. Even inIrieson, there are many such families. It’s just that they normally don’t draw a lot of attention.”novelbin
Chloe nodded, reluctantly agreeing to it. Needless to say, she would unconditionally support the man’sdecision.
Thomas continued, “Chloe, once the Clifford Family is established, there’ll be lots of things to take careof. I don’t have that much time to handle those things, so I can only entrust them to you. I’m sorry toburden you.” He looked at Chloe apologetically. I need to make use of this one year to improve mystrength. After all, the Flynns, the Wilkersons, and Crimson Moon will seek revenge against me. Onlyby strengthening myself could I better protect those around me.
Chloe waved her hand and replied with a smile, “Thomas, I’m always twiddling my thumbs all day athome with nothing much to do, anyway. Now that there’s such an opportunity to help you, I’m happy tooblige, of course. It’s just that I’ve never been involved in things like this, so I wonder if I’m capableenough of this. By the way, I’ll go to your two buddies to learn from them about how to manage afamily. Just focus on what you’re doing.”
Thomas nodded heavily. He had made up his mind; either he would stand alone, or he would establishan incredibly powerful family—a family that would continue to protect Chloe and Olivia after his death!“I gotta go,” he said, bidding farewell to Chloe before getting up to leave. Time to return to KeyshireProperty. I wonder how Olivia is handling things. Did the business cards I gave her come in handy?
Chloe watched him leave, feeling a sudden twinge in her heart at the sight of his white hair. “Just whaton earth is going on with him? Could he have tired himself out? No, this is bad. I have to work hard andshare some of his burdens. I mustn’t keep him so tired anymore!”
On his way back to Keyshire Property, Thomas called Quincy to inform him of his decision to establishthe Clifford Family.
He returned to the office. Before he could even sit down, his phone started ringing incessantly withphone calls from John, Samuel, Sean, William, Raymond, Rochka, and Emily, all of whomcongratulated him while promising to offer their assistance whenever needed.
Thomas’ heart warmed. He never thought he would make so many real friends within just severalmonths of returning to the city. Even if he passed away ten years later, he could say with a smile in thenetherworld, ‘I, Thomas Clifford, have not regretted my time on earth.’ Those who had called him wereall bigwigs from powerful backgrounds. The Clifford Family isn’t even yet formally established, yet italready has so many allies. If others were to learn about this, they’d surely be burning with jealousy.
Meanwhile, at Peralta Residence, Samuel asked his grandson, William, “Will, Thomas is going toestablish the Clifford Family. What do you think we should give him as a congratulatory present?”
William pondered for a moment before suggesting, “What about giving him an estate? Since it’s afamily, it’d need a proper headquarters.”