Adriaan knew what she was thinking and what the current situation was. In fact, this was what he had connived with. After all, as a well-known media outlet, People was different from tabloids in reporting gossip and gossip. If the negative news involved had a major impact on celebrities, they would notify the other party a few days in advance so that they could be prepared to deal with it. This was the case when Us Weekly reported on Lily's matter last time.
Therefore, Adriaan had already known the content before the report came out. As the chairman of the board of directors of AC Media, he naturally received different treatment from ordinary celebrities. However, he didn't care. He just hinted that it was best to keep the scope of things that involved him to a minimum. Thus, there was the current report in People and the current situation.
Therefore, it wasn't wrong to say that he had connived with it. The reason for this was because Adriaan had his own considerations.
"Don't worry, Jessie. Although I didn't respond, I've been watching," he said to Jessica with a smile. "You can press the stop button at any time."
After a pause, he continued to speak with a reassuring smile on his face. "I know what you're thinking, Jessie. Don't worry. After two or three years, when Mary can run around, you can take her to see your parents. Seeing such a lovely granddaughter, no matter how unhappy Mr. Alba is, it's not good for him to speak ill of her. It's not … Sigh!"
As he spoke, Mary, who was in his arms, began to be mischievous again. She opened her mouth and bit his face. Adriaan could completely feel the little fellow's teeth moving up and down, as if she really wanted to bite off a piece.
"Don't just stand there, help me." Adriaan couldn't push his daughter hard, so he could only call out to Jessica, who was next to him.
Jessica was stunned for a few seconds, then she burst into laughter. After hearing Adriaan ask for her help, not only did she stand there in confusion, but she also clapped her hands. "Well done, Mary."
That overjoyed look made her look quite sweet. In essence, Jessica was still a playful young lady.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Adriaan felt that after Mary got her mother's encouragement … she bit him even harder. Just as he was about to persuade Jessica to help, the doorbell suddenly rang. The young unmarried mother took the opportunity to sneak out with the excuse of opening the door. Adriaan couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Alright, little guy, you should have bitten enough." Finally freed from his daughter's mouth, Adriaan pinched her cheeks as he walked out. "Are you a puppy? You weren't born in the year of the dog. "
Mary stuck out her tongue and giggled. She had no idea what her father was saying. Then, she heard Jessica's exclamation from the door, followed by a man's voice, "Surprise!"
Adriaan raised his eyebrows and strode over with his daughter in his arms. Then, he saw a young man who was 18 or 19 years old hugging Jessica passionately, and Jessica looked at Adriaan in panic. Before Adriaan could react, the young man noticed Jessica's abnormality and looked over.
He was stunned at first, not quite understanding why there was a man holding a child here. However, after he recognized who the man was and thought of the entertainment headlines of the past few days, his eyes widened. Although it was a little unbelievable, he did grasp the truth of the matter in an instant. Perhaps every younger brother who had a harmonious family would be able to see through their elder sister's life. That's right, the young man who barged in with the "surprise" was Jessica's younger brother, Joshua Alba.
"Jessie … Jessie … Sister … You …" Joshua looked at Adrian, then at his sister. He stuttered for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence.
He had finally found out from someone else that his sister had rented an apartment here. Coupled with the fact that Jessica had an unusually happy expression when she came home, he concluded that his sister already had a boyfriend. After recovering from the shock, Joshua sneaked over to "expose" his sister, but he didn't expect to see such a scene.
"W-what's wrong, Joshua? Do you have … anything?" Jessica struggled to smile, but Adriaan's words dashed her hopes. "Look who's here, Mary. That's Mommy's younger brother."
Mary looked at Joshua curiously. After a while, she suddenly waved her arms happily and said, "Mommy's younger brother, Mommy's younger brother."
"Look, Joshua, Mary really likes you," Adriaan said, adding insult to injury.
"Sis … Sis, this is … this is all …" Joshua raised a trembling finger at Adriaan and Mary, but he still couldn't finish his sentence.
"I … I can explain, Joshua …" Jessica sighed helplessly. She turned around and glared at Adriaan. "I'll explain to you in a quiet room."
Since she said that, Adriaan naturally left with his daughter. It only took ten minutes for Jessica to explain everything. The whole process wasn't complicated. She met Adriaan and was attracted to him. Then, they had sex, and she accidentally got shot. Under Adriaan's promise, she gave birth to the child.
Of course, in Joshua's ears, it was nothing less than a thunderclap.
"No wonder you didn't come home for a period of time … Mommy was quite unhappy about it …" Joshua said in a daze.
"I'm sorry, Joshua." Jessica shrugged helplessly. "You know how Daddy would react if he knew about this. I don't dare … and I can't …"
"So you're living with Adriaan?" Joshua's face darkened. He gritted his teeth in disbelief. His sister was only twenty years old! She was only twenty years old, but she had a two-year-old child. This was …
"Don't you know that he's a playboy? Most of the rumors about him are true, and he has another child. Haven't you seen the entertainment news recently?" Joshua said anxiously.
"I know, Joshua. I know all of this." Jessica calmed down. "I know more than you. His women and his child."
"Then you …" Joshua gestured with his hands, not knowing how to face his sister.
"I …" Jessica pursed her lips. "I think it's good this way. Eide treats me very well. He's never made me angry. Even when he's not by my side, he'll coax me on the phone. He even tried his best to arrange suitable roles for me. I feel very safe being by his side, and … I'll never let Mary leave my side."
"He threatened you?" Joshua only heard the last part of the sentence.
"Joshua!" Jessica called out angrily, but her heart trembled slightly. When she went to seek help for her pregnancy, Adriaan left a deep impression on her, especially those three conditions. She couldn't resist them at all. This was probably one of the reasons why she stayed by his side obediently.
Of course, Jessica knew this. Although she wasn't very smart, she could still see it clearly after the Penelope incident. Adriaan used Penelope as a warning, and it played a big role. However, this also had something to do with his attitude towards women. Just as Jessica said, although she would be jealous, uneasy, and dissatisfied because of all kinds of things he did, she had never been very angry. These negative emotions didn't last for long, so she gradually began to get used to everything and got used to not being calculative about certain things.
"This is my choice, Joshua." Jessica finally said, "I have the right to choose my life. I hope you won't tell Mom and Dad about this for the time being, okay?"
Joshua opened his mouth, probably wanting to ask her when she would tell her parents, but in the end, he didn't ask. He just sighed and said, "I want to talk to Adriaan, alone."
Naturally, Adriaan didn't mind this request. Even if Joshua didn't do this, he would have taken the initiative to ask.
"Have a taste, I made it." Adriaan placed a cup of coffee in front of Joshua. "I like to do some housework in private. It feels good, especially when someone is by my side."
Joshua picked up the cup and put it down. He looked at him and asked impolitely, "Don't you think this is bad, Adriaan?"
It had to be said that young people were impulsive. If it were someone else, even if they were unhappy, they wouldn't question Adriaan like this.
Of course, Adriaan wouldn't care about this. He just smiled and said, "What do you mean?"
"Do I still need to say?" Joshua spread his hands. "You're a playboy, Adriaan. You've had affairs with so many women, and now you've even hooked up with my sister …"
"Hooking up isn't a good word, Joshua. Jessie and I were consensual back then." Adriaan cut him off directly.
Joshua coughed, swallowed his saliva, and continued, "Alright, even if it's just a one-night stand, it's fine. But you got her pregnant, and she gave birth …"
"If she didn't give birth, did she have to have an abortion?" Adriaan interrupted him again.
Joshua glared at him. After a long while, he sighed and said in a much softer tone, "Why did you do that, Adriaan? I've always admired you before this, but … why do you have to be so obsessed with Jessie? Can you make my sister happy? "
"Happiness is a feeling, a very personal feeling. When a person thinks they're very happy now, they might not be happy in the eyes of others at all." Adriaan smiled gently. "You're not your sister, Joshua. You can't be sure if she's happy or not. Of course, I don't know either, so I can only do my best to observe and give her everything she wants. "
As he said that, he sat up straight and looked at Joshua without blinking. "I know what you want to say, Joshua. But as a man, especially a man with power, it's innate to pursue beautiful women. Didn't you have fun with those two girls in Wendell's bar?"
The young man suddenly blushed. That time in the bar, he chatted happily with the two girls, and then they left together to have a threesome. That was one of the few ridiculous things he did. But … how did he know? At this time, after being interrupted twice, Joshua, who had already vented a lot of the anger he had accumulated, suddenly realized that the man in front of him was not an ordinary person. Speaking of which, the fact that he was able to get a few good roles in popular TV dramas was not unrelated to this man.
"But … but …" Joshua's confidence began to falter.
"I'm indeed a playboy, and I've never denied that. But at the same time, I'm not a person who likes to run away from problems. As long as it's my responsibility, I will bear it, such as Mary." Adriaan said in a calm and sincere tone. "There's no doubt that she's my child, and she's also my treasure. I won't let her get hurt. I want her to grow up healthy and happy."
As he said that, he adjusted his sitting posture. The way he leaned forward slightly made him look more credible. "You should have seen the entertainment news recently, right, Joshua? I can make it clear to you here that Lily is my child, which is why I haven't reacted to it. I can't deny that I'm my child, but if I admit it, what will happen to Mary in the future? What about Jessie? "
After all, Joshua was still a young boy. Although he was very sensitive to what was going on, it was only because he was concerned about his sister. Now, he was only questioning Adriaan angrily, and he didn't have the ability to think logically. Soon, he was left speechless by Adriaan's words.
"You should know about Jessie's attitude. I can't say that I care about her all the time, but I'll try my best to make her happy, protect her from harm, and help her build a career. If one day she gets tired of this kind of life, such as hating me, she can tell me and leave. I won't stop her, "Adriaan said.
Of course, he directly ignored the fact that he went back on his words because of Natalie, and he didn't mention a word about Mary's future. It was impossible for Joshua to think of these things. In addition, he was suppressed by Adriaan. In the end, he could only hang his head in dejection and accept it for the time being.
This incident was temporarily resolved. However, although Joshua promised not to tell his parents about it, and he would hide it for Jessica when necessary, it was hard to say whether he would be able to keep it a secret at other times. After all, he didn't know Adriaan as well as some people. In the cast of "The Matrix," Deva and Juliet had called Adriaan "Dad" countless times in public, and Sophie and Monica "Mom" countless times. However, not a single piece of news had been leaked to the public, because the people they worked with were all veterans.
It was just that this was one of Adriaan's plans. Joshua's arrival was indeed an accident, but he had been thinking about how to better control the current storm and make it move according to his plan. Joshua's appearance was just a coincidence, and he could make use of it.
From the day Lily was exposed, Adriaan knew that some things would happen sooner or later. After all, this was an era of entertainment, and entertainment reporters had an unusual obsession with digging up the privacy of celebrities. If Adriaan was only behind the scenes, no one would risk going against him. However, the problem was that he still had one foot in front of the stage. The halo of the miracle director was shining brightly, and he had to abide by the rules of the game.
However, with his status and power, he could use the rules to his advantage. This time, however, he was in a dilemma.
If he admitted that Lily was his daughter, what about Deva, Juliet, Mary, and Eleanor? One had to know that American society as a whole tended to be conservative. Although there weren't many true Puritans nowadays, that kind of attitude was still strongly advocated by the mainstream society. Many rich people had their own illegitimate children, such as Schwarzenegger, who was about to become the governor of California, and his illegitimate child was already a few years old. However, having an illegitimate child was one thing, and being exposed was another. After all, Adriaan couldn't control all the media. His uncle didn't lecture him on this issue. If it weren't for the fact that Lily, Deva, and Juliet were really likable, his uncle's attitude would definitely be harsher than it was now.
However, he had to admit it. Adriaan had promised Kate that he wouldn't deny his children. Although he was a b * stard and a playboy, he would never run away from his responsibilities and promises. The words he said to Joshua were not just empty words. Besides, he had more than one child. If he disappointed Kate, wouldn't he also disappoint Monica and the others? Moreover, as his women won the Best Actress Award one by one, they would get pregnant one by one. If they wanted children, Adriaan would never reject them. There was no guarantee that the media wouldn't notice something fishy. What about when that happened?
After thinking about it for a long time, Adriaan finally came up with a solution. He would turn this matter into an open secret. Simply put, everyone knew that Lily and the subsequent children were his, but no one would openly mention it. Therefore, he allowed People to report it, and even pushed it from the back. Then, he would carefully guide the public's opinion, neither admitting nor denying it. When the time was right, he would kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, and then get someone to spread his thoughts in private.
Originally, he was still considering this candidate, but since Joshua came knocking on his door, he decided to let him take on this role. After all, Jessica's matter would be exposed for another two or three years.
Of course, the most important part of the whole plan was the cooperation of other media groups. As mentioned before, Adriaan couldn't control all the media. However, the most troublesome point was actually the simplest. Because doing so was tantamount to giving others a handle over his head. No one disliked this, including Lei Shidong. This was equivalent to having the capital to bargain with AC Media or Adriaan, which would make them feel a lot more at ease.
For Adriaan, this didn't matter at all. Doing this seemed to be passive, but in fact, it didn't matter much. Even if they threw out this handle due to certain circumstances and made a big deal out of it, it would only damage his personal reputation. At worst, he could resign from the board of directors. Everyone knew that Claude was nominally the vice-chairman of the board of directors, but most of the time, he was half a chairman. Even if Adriaan resigned, it wouldn't affect the group too much. Moreover, Adriaan always held more than 30% of AC Media's shares. Whoever used this trick to deal with Adriaan would face a crazy counterattack from AC Media.
It wasn't a big deal to make a small sacrifice for his own woman. Besides, this could also show his attitude to other media groups: Look, I have no intention of being your enemy.
However, this approach was based on the foundation of strength. In vulgar terms, it was like putting your balls in someone else's hand and putting a gun on your opponent's head. Without this gun, you would be looking for death.
In short, everything went according to plan. Although there were accidents, such as the current media situation being a little overboard, and Joshua breaking into his sister's house to see Mary, it didn't cause any impact. It was just that Adriaan never expected Lily to be so … domineering!
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