Chapter 1574 - 1556: Negotiating with Marcus Quinn

After Chester Walker left, life returned to normal. Marcus Quinn worked from early morning until late at night every day.

Because Marcus never brought up marriage, Tara Chase considered their living together as a pre-marriage cohabitation to get to know each other. They skipped the dating phase, yet their cohabitation life was smoother than that of most couples.

Without the filter of romantic love, and since Tara already knew Marcus was an honest and steady man who did physical work, she had the right mindset. After living together for almost half a month, aside from not having much communication, there were hardly any other conflicts.

Marcus was essentially endlessly tolerant of Tara. Tara felt that even her father had never been so accommodating, and life was pleasingly sweet, especially since Marcus cooked different dishes for her every day.

During the day, Tara stayed at home and took up painting again to support the family, but this time she was more dedicated and not in a hurry. She painted whenever she felt inspired. In her free time, she checked her bank balance and deposited all her loose cash. Seeing their assets grow daily gave her hope for each day.

Tara pondered that in another two months, when they had saved enough money, they could start considering buying a house. The problem was where to buy, and whether to buy for living or investment. She needed to discuss this with Marcus.

Soon it was Saturday, and Tara had arranged to give little Candy Leighton a piano lesson. For a 7-year-old, piano lessons mostly involved cultivating interest, so Tara’s lessons included introducing Candy to sheet music and teaching her simple melodies, hand by hand.

During the lesson, the Leightons’ maid did nothing but sit and watch as Tara taught Candy. Candy was a spoiled little girl who could spend half an hour eating snacks, another half-hour drinking juice, and the remaining half-hour throwing small tantrums within the two-hour piano lesson. The actual learning time was limited.

Tara found teaching a bit tiring, being both a teacher and a babysitter. Fortunately, the Leighton family paid generously, with a daily salary of 1,600 yuan, paid immediately after the lesson, which made Tara quite happy.

After receiving her salary and about to head home, Tara saw Julian Leighton, whom she had met once, return.

Little Candy Leighton immediately cheered and ran to him, saying, "Daddy, did you bring me a gift?"

Tara saw him dragging a suitcase, travel-worn, having hurried back from a business trip. She stood to the side and watched as the servants approached to assist him.

The young master of the Leighton family opened the suitcase to get a gift for his daughter, then called out to Tara, smiling, "Teacher Chase, this is a gift I specially brought for you. Thank you for taking care of Candy."

Tara thought to say that his daughter was indeed difficult to handle, but upon seeing that Julian had brought her a handbag, she could tell from the bag alone how expensive it was. She had owned a similar one before, costing several tens of thousands. For Mr. Leighton to give such an expensive bag to a relatively unfamiliar tutor seemed inappropriate, even for Tara, who grew up in a privileged environment.

"I can’t receive this gift without merit; the bag is too valuable. Mr. Leighton should give it to Mrs. Leighton or a friend instead," Tara smiled slightly, pointing out the bag’s price.

Julian hadn’t expected her to refuse so outright and suddenly found it a bit tricky. If she wasn’t swayed by wealth, then pursuing her would be difficult.

"Then please take some local specialties back with you." Julian proceeded to pack some pastries and food brought back from France.

Tara had to accept them reluctantly and then left the Leighton residence.

Outside the community, she saw Marcus standing under the tree shade waiting for her. The man was tall, with a straight posture, the perfect clothes model, wearing clothes Tara had bought him. Standing steadily by the side, he attracted the attention of many girls.

Tara didn’t expect him to actually come to pick her up and hurriedly trotted over, her eyes curving into a smile, "Marcus, don’t you have work?"

"I rest on Saturday afternoons." Marcus gave himself a break, planning to specifically take Saturday and Sunday afternoons off to escort Tara and wait for her after work.

Marcus took the gift bag from her hand. Seeing it was food, he softly asked, "Given by the Leightons?"

Tara nodded, smiling, "I couldn’t refuse, so I accepted. These sweets aren’t particularly expensive. I’ll teach Candy an extra half hour tomorrow."

Marcus nodded, noticing her blue cotton dress. Her smile was radiant as she looked at him. His heart stirred as he clasped her soft little hand with his big palm, his lips curling into a low whisper, "Is it tiring to teach children?"

Tara was suddenly caught by his hold. Walking hand in hand, her heart rate quickened, her voice softening, "Compared to you, it’s not tiring at all."

"I’m a man, so it’s nothing for me." Marcus looked at her slender frame, his voice deep and thickening, "I used to work in the fields with my grandfather from a young age. I’m used to it. This kind of labor is nothing."

Marcus wasn’t lying. He did work with his grandfather in the fields as a child. His grandfather never pampered him. Later, upon joining the Military District, the muscle he developed came from the training back then. This kind of labor really wasn’t burdensome.

Sometimes, making a living with physical strength is easier than using one’s brain.

Tara responded softly, sneaking her small hand to tightly wrap around Marcus’s large hand, feeling the thick calluses on his palm, thinking they were quite interesting.

Watching her enjoy playing around, Marcus took a deep breath, deciding to wait a while longer. Although he could immediately go and get a marriage certificate with Tara, currently he had nothing. He wanted to give the young girl more time to think things through, and give himself time to let Tara gradually get used to him.

Marriage, to him, was a lifelong commitment, not to be taken lightly.

July was over quickly, and Tara used her earnings as a piano tutor to buy Marcus a phone for easier contact. Ever since Marcus sought Chester for Tara’s documents, he didn’t plan to keep hiding his identity. Using the name and identity given by his grandfather, he lived a normal life, going to work from Monday to Friday as usual, taking afternoons off on weekends to accompany Tara to her piano tutoring job.

Over time, the community security guards all knew that the pretty piano teacher had a considerate boyfriend who waited outside every weekend afternoon, tall and mighty but lacking wealth, even without a car as a mode of transport.

Young master Julian Leighton naturally knew of Marcus’s existence, even deliberately getting off work earlier to observe. Seeing Marcus standing under the tree, he appeared to be a rough man. Tara Chase was such a beautiful girl; he didn’t see how this man matched her at all.

Thus, young master Leighton felt stirred inside once more. Over the past month, he openly and secretly pursued Tara Chase, but the young girl was quite stubborn, entirely uninterested in material wealth.

Julian planned deviously to negotiate with Marcus.