Chapter 13

Cordelia failed to react in time.

Carter was overjoyed on the other end of the line and said that not only could they afford to pay the medical bills now, but the Jenners had upgraded their mother’s hospital ward to a VIP ward with a professional caretaker and the latest imported medication too.

“Sis, your dad’s actually still pretty nice to mom,” Carter said with a naïve smile. “Alright, I’ll stop here. I need to go to my revision session!

“Oh yeah, don’t forget about my reference book money. I’m the only one in class who hasn’t paid yet!”

“Okay…” Cordelia murmured, not understanding the whole situation even when Carter ended the call.

Had Yelena finally grown a conscience? Did William still hold on to his feelings for her mother?

Recalling the Jenners’ attitude toward her when she had gone back to visit, she’d had no hope for the $40,000 wedding gift. It was unexpected that…

Cordelia dashed back to the bedroom and carefully put the bangle back in its box. It was lucky that she had not sold it!

With a smile, she ran her dainty fingers over the gold jewelry in the box and talked to herself. “I’ll take good care of you in the future. I won’t sell any of you, not ever!”

Marcus was looking inside from the door, drinking in the girl’s adorableness. He smiled and felt a gush of warmth spill over his heart. He then looked down at his phone.

Josiah’s text contained a single word—[Done].

[Not bad. Reward you soon.]

Marcus had always been stingy with words and only replied when he was in a good mood. This was the first time Josiah received a wordy reply from him.

…

On the weekend, Cordelia cleaned up at home while Marcus practiced with the punching bag at the front of the house.

As Cordelia listened to the rhythmic punches, she chortled. Although she did not get why the man was close to obsessed with this violent activity and insisted on training every day, she had never stopped him. Instead, she supported it. Punching sandbags at home was better than fighting outside.

Cordelia was about to go into the kitchen to cook after cleaning up when her phone rang. Yelena’s shrill, enraged voice exploded the moment she answered.

“Cordelia, you’re amazing, aren’t you?! Hooking up with Mr. Bayer… The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree—or the old wh*re!”

“What kind of nonsense are you spewing this early in the morning?!”

Cordelia chalked being scolded for no reason at all to running into a rabid dog. She was about to hang up when she heard Yelena scowl. “If the Bayers hadn’t intervened, how could dad possibly have lost that plot of land? Do you know what Mr. Bayer told dad? He said that he wondered how dad’s going to scrimp on the business partner when he was so stingy with his daughter’s wedding gift!

“So we lost that piece of land! Gone!

“Do you know how much effort dad put into this project? Its estimated value was $150,000,000! Months of effort gone just like this! You sl*t! It’s all your fault!”

“What…” Cordelia was confused.

What Bayer and what land?

“Have you lost your mind? You went to the hospital and gave the diamond necklace to my brother, and you’re denying it now and even making up some Mr. Bayer? I don’t even know this person!”

“Stop pretending! You wh*re! You act like you’re so pure and pitiful, but you’re a sl*t who seduces men! You must’ve slept with countless men in secret, haven’t you? Marcus is so lucky he married a cheap wh*re like you!”

“You!” Cordelia shook from fury and flushed red. She had a soft temperament, but that did not mean she was cowardly. She had taken so much of Yelena’s provocations and insults that she went from taking it in silence to being forced to fight back.

This time, however, she didn't even know where to start. Yelena was simply not making sense!

As she felt helpless, her phone was pulled out of her grip from the back. Surprised, Cordelia turned back to see Marcus’ glowering face.

He said into the phone in a deep tone, “I don’t care who you are. Show some respect when you speak to my wife!

“If I hear filth like what you said just now again, you might want to think about the consequences you can bear!”

The savageness in his tone was well-expressed through each word he said. Just listening to him was enough to send shudders down one’s spine.

The line went quiet all of a sudden. Yelena had been probably scared into muting herself.

Marcus hung up and gave Cordelia’s phone back to her before he went back outside to punch the punching bag with a straight face.

It took Cordelia a moment, but she was moved. No one had protected her like that before—Marcus was the first.

…

Marcus took off his boxing gloves and tossed them aside after punching the bag a few times at the front of the house, breathing harshly with a scowl.

A while later, Josiah received a text from him. [What did you tell William Jenner?]

Josiah thought over his words as he replied with caution, [I did what you said, Z. You said to pressure him, right?]

As soon as the reply was sent, Marcus called him with a voice cold as ice.

“I asked you to pressure him. Did I ask you to talk about the wedding gift too? Hmm?”

“Z, but…”

He wanted to vent on his wife’s behalf. What was Josiah supposed to say if he did not mention the wedding gift?

“Josiah Bayer!” Marcus ground the words through his teeth. “It’s nice having a brain, but yours still isn’t f*cking fully developed!”

The man hung up after saying that, leaving a confused Josiah alone. Lucky for him, he had Fredric Constable, who had also just come from Centrolis, with him.

As his childhood friend, Fredric guffawed after listening to Josiah recount the scenario.

“Z’s right about you. You don’t have a fully developed brain!”

Josiah waved a fist at him.

“Think about it. You pressured William Jenner with the wedding gift and snatched the land from him. Makes it obvious that you’re taking Cordelia Jenner’s side, no? What happens now? Even the Jenner heiress thinks that you have something going on with Cordelia. And you think Z’d be happy to hear that?”