Mid-morning, at the Cho-Vanderburg household

Cynthia: Terr? Are you still angry with me?
(He obviously is because of the red glow around him).
Terence: It’s bold of you to ask that, Cyn. Not only did you put my reputation in doubt, now the Claremont’s know you’re a thief. It will take a lot of money to convince Morgan to shut up, let alone how much it cost me to have your police record wiped clean.
Cynthia: I’m really sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Maybe it’s the lack of practice, that’s why I need to get out of the house more.

Terence: You’re free to leave the house whenever and wherever you want, but as for your “job”, it’s over.
Cynthia: What?
Terence: It’s only fair that you want to work and earn your own money, but you will do it with me, at the casino.
Cynthia: But I don’t want to work in the casino, especially not near that hag Riley Woods.
Terence: Well, it’s that or nothing.

Terence: As for the new baby, I understand that you still don’t feel ready, so I’ll give you a year to think about it. That’s the most I can offer, take it or leave it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.

That was it, Terence left the house slamming the door, much less of the explosion Cynthia expected this conversation to be. As for the outcome, working at the Casino is definitely out of the question, she’d rather stay locked up at home than work beside Riley. Now, the baby deal -What exactly did Terry mean by “take it or leave it? Did he mean if she doesn’t agree to try for another baby within a year, he’ll kick her out and ask for a divorce? Terry wouldn’t do such thing, would he?

She’ll definitely have to find more suitable ways to convince him to forget about having more children, and to let her continue with her career as a thief, which doesn’t seem impossible seeing the mild response he had to what happened last night. Not the reaction one would expect from Terry the Terrible. Cynthia knows it could have been a thousand times worse. It’s obvious that he loves her madly; and she loves him. She doesn’t want to make him even more upset, so…

For now, she will lay low, she’ll abide by his will -except the part about working at the Casino, of course-. She will devote herself only to her mommy and social duties for a while, then she will go back to her profession. She doesn’t want to lose Terry and even less Davy, she’s usually not this stubborn, but she’s determined to get at least one promotion in her career. It’s her right!

The next morning, Terence stops by the casino to see how things are going there. The new mixologist is doing well, but Terry still longs to see his brother Dale behind that bar. If only he could make him forget about stupid Bridgeport and agree to come work with him. But that’s a lost battle, thanks to Kelly.

Terry doesn’t plan to give up, though.
Terence: Well, I have no doubt Dale will succeed in Bridgeport, he’s the smartest of the bunch. Maybe when he becomes a successful, millionaire businessman he’ll want to partner with me, then we’ll be unstoppable!
(Yeah, you’d have to ask Kelly what she thinks about that). 🤔

Anyway, after finishing his routine check-up at the casino, Terry calls Brandon to let him know he’s on his way home. He wants to make sure Brandon and his family are all settled in. He also wants to know the details of what happened at the police station the other night.

Along the way he keeps thinking about the possible consequences of that arrest. What was Cynthia thinking of really? How could she have been so careless?

What’s on her mind besides her motherhood issues and her eagerness to advance her career? It’s a fact there’s something she’s not telling him and he’s sure to find out sooner or later.

Arriving at Brandon’s home. It’s a nice house, much nicer than the one Jaycen got for Riley. Terence chose it himself, thinking of Brandon’s family. Family has always been important to Terry. Besides, he has taken a certain regard for Brandon, not only because he is Cynthia’s half-brother and his right-hand man, but because of his mother, Becky, the only one of the Vanderburgs Terence gets along well with.

Terence: Hey Brandon, how was your day?
Brandon: All in order, boss.
Terence: Come on, you don’t have to call me boss all the time, that’s only at the casino, you know, for appearances sake; but otherwise, I’m just Terry, your brother-in-law.
Brandon: Thank you, boss, I mean, Terry.

Terence: Now, please tell me everything that happened at the police station last night. Did you make sure that Cynthia’s offense was not registered?
Brandon: I made sure of it, don’t worry.
Terence: Good. What about Mr. Claremont, did you offer him what I told you to drop the charges?

Brandon: Yes, he dropped them all as soon as he saw the amount on the paycheck.
Terence: Ah, I knew that weasel would do anything for money.
Brandon: Yep, everyone at Lucky Palms knows how greedy and self-serving he is.
Terence: Well, I’m glad he got it right the easy way. Should he come back for more, we’ll have to make him understand the hard way, if you know what I mean.
Brandon: Understood and noted, boss… sorry, Terry.

Brandon: Um… Sorry for the question, but – is Cynthia okay?
I sensed she was a little nervous last night.
Terence: She’s fine, safe and sound at home, and in Davy’s care, as she should be. Now, can I take a look at your house? I want to make sure you’re all settled in.
Brandon: Oh, of course. Please come in.

As Terry starts walking towards the entrance, Brandon keeps thinking about Cynthia. Is she really going to be all right? Terry is pretty rough, heavy-handed and he was very angry that night. Not to distrust him, but he’ll have to check on Cynthia later.

Meanwhile, Terence makes a quick inspection of his brother-in-law’s house to make sure everything is up and running.

Terence: Yeah, everything looks in order here. It does look like a real home. Brandon and Sandra are a good match, and Sandra takes very good care of her children. Cynthia could benefit from spending time with her. I’ll have to invite the Langeraks over more often.

Anyway, Terry finished his morning rounds and is on his way home to eat lunch, spend time with Davy, and get some rest before heading back to the casino.

He can’t help but feel worried about Cynthia, his marriage, and the future of his bloodline if after a year she insists on having no more children. What is he going to do then? Will he have to leave her and marry someone else who does want a family, or just stick with Cynthia and have the children he wants outside the marriage?

Well, that might be fun, but totally unfair to the children born from those extra-marital relationships. No, he has to convince Cynthia that the best thing to do is to fix their problems, the sooner the better, and start expanding the family. Yep, that’s what he has to do, the other stuff would only generate unnecessary complications. Of course, if all else fails, he’ll have to revisit the idea.

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Credit where credit is due: Brandon’s new house is one of the GTA 5-Inspired Hillside Homes by Flora2 at MTS. Thank you very much to them! 🤗🩷