Letting a person live lucidly in pain for the rest of their life was the biggest punishment.Rowan wiped his hand with a smirk. He took one last look at William and left quietly.…The early morning sun spilled through the memorial hall’s traditional window and shone on the portraits of the Hamerton ancestors.Many servants were crowding the door as they looked inside in worry. With the dull thud and an abrupt fall of a figure, they gasped and rushed in.“Mr. Matthew fainted! Mr. Matthew fainted!”“Go get Mr. Clark!Clark came over with some other men to take care of the incident and relayed it to Liam with a solemn face.Matthew had stayed on his knees in the memorial hall for one whole day without food or water and finally succumbed in the morning.Liam’s brows were furrowed as he tapped his dragon-headed cane on the floor, a cold gleam flashing across his eyes.After some time, he got up and strode briskly to Matthew’s place.Matthew was having chicken soup when he heard
Liam paused and looked at Matthew coldly.“Why? Do you think I’ll watch Yale drag the whole Hamertons down and do nothing?”Matthew was baffled.“Compared to stealing, justice over family is far nobler!”With that, Liam shook Matthew off and left. Before Matthew could react, his mind blanked as he watched his father leave quickly.…After a plunge in temperature, Centrolis got to welcome a rare, nice winter day.The mist cleared, and the sky recovered its blue. An unanticipated light drizzle of snow covered the city in a dust of beautiful silver. The air smelled fresh and crisp.Cordelia swept the snow in the yard and made cute snowmen from it.When she was done, Zephyr hugged her from the back and wrapped her icy, red hands in his to warm them up.“What do you think? Pretty, aren’t they?” Cordelia was triumphant.“Of course.” Zephyr smiled gently.It felt great now. The storm was over, the sky was azure blue, the winter sun was warm, and he and Cordelia were making snowm
“Mm.” Cordelia nodded. “I heard it from mom. Think there are a lot of people invited.”“Yeah, other than everyone in the family, there are also those who are closer to us from the three major families. Fredric and Seth will be attending too. They’re both very important guests.”Zephyr lowered his head to rub their noses together. “Of course, the main purpose of this dinner is to celebrate Mr. and Mrs. Irwin!”…Hamerton Manor was merrily filled with guests come weekend.Liam was a traditionalist, but he had hosted a sophisticated event this time, an exception, to cater to the younger generation.Fredric was a huge contributor to the matter and was the Hamertons’ VIP. In addition to being a famous lawyer in Centrolis and an eligible bachelor, he became the center of attention.Zephyr’s female cousins, who made a long trip here, surrounded Fredric, so the latter did not even have the chance to take a bite.Seth kept Zennie company, but the little princess wore a constant pout. Th
Zephyr had already scolded Rowan over a thousand times in his mind. Despite what was brewing in him, he dared not express his rage verbally and could only ask Cordelia softly, “Really?”Cordelia nodded. “My mom’s lived in Southeast Aciatic all her life. There’s no fault in it that she wants to return to her hometown and settle there, right?”“Well… yes.” Zephyr could only go along with what she said.“Southeast Aciatic’s traditional and reserved. Carter and I are both Irwins, so we have to reunite and restore our identities, right?”Zephyr licked his lips and continued to nod. “Mm… that’s true.”Cordelia could not help giggling and patted his suit. “So, I’ll go back with my parents. You be good here—”“What!?”Before she finished, Zephyr’s raised voice interrupted her.Cordelia looked innocent. “You don’t want to let me leave?”“Of course!”“Then… come along with me?”Zephyr froze and met Cordelia’s playful eyes.She said with a chuckle, “Darling, didn’t you say that it’s y
Hamerton men were great—except that they caved as soon as it was their wife.It was said that the Hamerton ancestors were high-ranking generals, noblemen, and scholars who were ruthless and iron-willed outside, but they were at their wives’ beck and call once they got home, indulging the women to no end.Nicholas had once said that paranoia was passed down in the Hamertons. Actually, it was loving their wives that was etched in their genes.Cordelia said softly, “Darling, see? Mom agrees too!”Zephyr raised a brow. “Mom agrees but grandpa? Grandpa—”“Zephyr.” Liam’s expression was relatively solemn as he walked over from the crowd.Cordelia was a little embarrassed as she tugged Zephyr’s sleeve and shook her head at him. Her intention was to joke with him, but she would be shooting herself in the foot if she upset the old man.“Grandpa, don’t misunderstand!” Cordelia smiled. “I’m just mentioning this in passing to Zephyr…”“How could something so big be mentioned in passing!?”
Rowan had long heard the jolly chatter here and was coming over with Xyla hand in hand.Liam immediately recovered to his serious front to flash a smile and exchange polite pleasantries. Both of them then took wine glasses from the waiter and emptied them.After the drink, Liam asked, “When are you planning to go back to Southeast Aciatic, Mr. Irwin?”“The joint hospital project has only made 1/3 of its progress. I’ll only go back after the hospital’s built!”“Oh…” Liam calculated the time. “I’ll have Zephyr prepare in advance then! He’ll be giving you problems when he’s in Southeast Aciatic in the future!”“What?” Rowan paused. “Who said he’s coming too?”Liam widened his eyes in confusion.Cordelia went between them with a smile. “Grandpa, I was just joking with Zephyr, saying that I’m going back to Southeast Aciatic!”“Yeah!” Xyla said with a smile, “Cordelia’s your granddaughter-in-law. Of course, she’ll be staying in Centrolis with you!”“But Zephyr says he’s marrying him
Yale was instantly irritated upon hearing Michelle’s name. The woman was nothing but trouble!“Mr. Yale.” The servant waited for his response nervously. “Ms. Carmichael, should I—”Before the sentence was completed, Michelle barged in.Matthew was shocked. He knew that his son was a playboy and usually hooked up with celebrities and models. There was a Yelena earlier, his plaything he kept by his side, but he did not expect his son to be such a womanizer!Matthew was furious. “Yale Hamerton! You— All you do is playing with these sl*ts!”Yale rolled his eyes and waved a hand for his butler to send Matthew out.Matthew walked off scolding, “I’m your father, and I can’t even nag you? Go on then, have fun! You’re going to kill yourself like this one day! Useless brat…”Yale was fuming inside and grabbed a cup from the table to throw it at the wall.The shard flew to Michelle’s face, and she fumbled back with a scream, looking at him with her hands covering her face in horror.Afte
The more Michelle thought about it, the more indignant she was. However, there was nothing she could do. Bawling was the only way for her to vent right now.Yale was irritated and was going to ask his men to get Michelle out when his phone buzzed. He received a photo of a man’s blurry side profile.Yale could recognize at a glance that it was Marcus!He then received a text.[Marcus is in Centrolis.]A vicious glint flashed in Yale’s eyes.It made sense. William was doomed, so Marcus could no longer stay in Jangasas. He had to find ways to survive.Centrolis was his best choice since Yale was there.Yale smirked and looked thoughtful as he kept his eyes on his phone. His plan of swapping the real heir with the impersonator did not get to be executed previously, and now that Marcus was here again, the heavens were giving him another chance!He must not miss this again. He had to use this perfect timing to eliminate Zephyr and make Marcus his pawn.As for Michelle, she was a nu