Mr. Q placed his hands together and replied, "If Ace Moran really were to fight you for custody, what do you think your biggest disadvantage would be?"
"I don’t think I have any disadvantages." Joanna seed cocky, replying coldly. "I raised both of them, that’s a big enough advantage. He has nothing against ."
"If it was soone else, they might not be able to win against you, but this man is Ace Moran – he has Moran Group behind his back. As long as they wish it, both the court and the public would surely favor them without questions. If you don’t have a perfect plan to counter his attacks, you might just lose horribly."
Joanna clenched her fists, looking slightly depressed. "What would be a perfect plan, then?"
"Back to my previous question. If Ace Moran were to fight for custody, I think your biggest disadvantage would be the environnt you could provide for the children, not your financial status or education level..."
Joanna shook her head, visibly confused. "I don’t get it."
"Children need to be raised in a healthy environnt. Imagine this – if they followed Ace Moran, they would have a father, grandparents, and a large extended family to provide them with love and care... You, however, are all alone, you’re all that’s left of the Pierce family. An incomplete family would negatively affect a child’s upbringing. If you don’t co up with a solution, you will beco the losing party when you two go to court." Mr. Q analyzed the situation thoroughly.
Although it was harsh, it was the truth.
Joanna’s determined gaze slowly beca gloomier, but she continued putting up a tough act. "So what? The children are close to , they wouldn’t want to leave ! Besides, I have the best lawyers on my side, so I’m not afraid of facing him in court."
"You’re so naive..." Mr. Q chuckled. "You should know that children below eight years of age have no say in choosing a parent to follow. As for your lawyers... you need to know that there will be better talents out there, so you can’t say for sure yours are the best. I’m very sure that Ace Moran has the power and wealth to find people like that."
Joanna was feeling enraged at this point, and shot the man a fierce glare. "What are you trying to say? You keep talking about how great our enemy is, and undermining our team! Do you want that jerk to take the kids away?"
"Nope!" Mr. Q shook his head, completely serious. "I don’t want that to happen, which is why I’m forming this plan with you. We can’t allow Ace Moran even a single chance to win."
"So? Have you thought of any solutions?"
"Of course!" The man finally started expressing his actual thoughts. "Let’s get legally married, and give the children a complete family. Abby and Adie are fond of too. We’re capable enough to provide them a good environnt and proper education too. With that, Ace Moran would have close to no chance of winning custody."
"Stop ssing around!" Joanna’s face turned red and she felt awkward. "It’s ridiculous enough that we have to put up an act in front of the kids every single day! Now you even want us to ’try out’ getting legally married! This is insanity... I can’t accept this!"
"I’m just throwing out suggestions. It’s fine if you can’t accept it, but well... I just hope you don’t co to regret this decision when you’re in court with Ace Moran." Mr. Q leaned against the couch casually, staring at the ceiling with a slight smirk.
"Oh and... just one more thing. If Ace Moran were to marry another woman, he’ll undoubtedly have a 100% chance of winning."
That night, Joanna tossed and turned the whole night, unable to fall asleep at all. Mr. Q’s words might have been upsetting, but he was rely being realistic.
Everything was still fine with Ace not knowing about the two children’s existence. However, if he ever found out, they would certainly have to cross paths in court.
Although she had three trump cards within Moran Group Law Firm, she had no idea if Ace could find a better lawyer to take his case. She really didn’t have full confidence that she could win this...
Monts later, Joanna realized the only solution really was to give the children a father so that they could be a complete family. She thought, ’Do I really have to try it out with Mr. Q and get married to him?’
The next day, Joanna decided to return the Rainbow Glaze to Ace after giving it so thought.
Mr. Q had described the item as so kind of fantasy tool that had healing abilities, and she found it bizarre. However, now that she knew about it, she couldn’t bring herself to feign ignorance. She would never forgive herself if Ace’s condition worsened without this relic.
Joanna checked her watch and noticed it was ten in the morning, which was during work hours, so Ace was probably busy in Moran Group at the ti. She still had no idea how to face the man after his confession, so she wanted to visit the Moran manor during these hours to avoid him.
Timothy was watering his plants at that mont. He soon noticed the maid bringing Joanna over to him, which brought a bright smile to his face. "My child, you’ve co to see ! You’re just in ti – my tomatoes are ready for harvest."
After the old man retired, he took a liking to botany, as he felt extrely accomplished during the harvest season. He lovingly placed all the juicy, red cherry tomatoes into a basket; the shape and color of his crops showed that his efforts clearly did not go to waste.
Joanna didn’t shy away either. She took a cherry tomato from the basket and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm! It tastes great! Tons better than the ones in the supermarket!"
"Of course! This is all organic, without any pesticides too. Grandpa planted these all on his own, you know? It’s delicious and nutritious at the sa ti!" Timothy wiped the sweat off of his forehead, beaming proudly.
Joanna then rembered that her twins loved eating cherry tomatoes as well, and asked sweetly, "Grandpa, can I take so ho?"
"Be my guest, take however many you want. I planted these crops for you youngsters after all."
The two then continued to make idle chit-chat until Joanna awkwardly brought up the main reason she was here. "Grandpa, I’m actually here today because I need a small favor from you."
"You don’t have to be so modest with . Co on, just tell what you need."
"I didn’t know how important the Rainbow Glaze was to Ace. I can’t accept it, even if he is willing to give it to . That’s why... I hope you can return this to him for ," Joanna explained as she handed the artifact to the old man.
"Haha!" Timothy shook his head and chuckled softly. "Looks like you’ve caught wind of my poor grandson’s condition. Yes, he does have a hidden ailnt, and he needs this relic to heal him from ti to ti. But... the fact that he was willing to give you sothing this important shows that he thinks you’re the true ’cure’ to his illness. It’s quite reasonable that he would let you take care of it."
"Ah..." Joanna was stunned, not knowing how to refute his statent.
"It’s alright, I won’t put you in a difficult position. You two seed to be fated to et, but not to last... It’s perfectly justified that you wish to return this to him..." Timothy sighed and looked towards Ace’s bedroom. "You can just place this in his room. I’m sure he’ll understand once he sees it after coming back from work."
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