Joanna burst into tears of fear after being shouted at.Or, one should say that she was crying from anxiety. On one hand, Patrick was her father, and on the other, Adrian wanted to protect her.She was at a loss for what to do.Joanna said to Patrick with tearful eyes, “I’m begging you, Father. Please treat me like a human being. Mother has already passed away and my situation is already pitiful enough. Just go home and live your life with your new wife in peace. Why do you insist on me going with you?”Patrick had already made the announcement and set a marriage date for Joanna. He was here to take her home so she could get married. He would be humiliated if his daughter refused to return with him.Joanna’s tears did not affect Patrick. In his opinion, he was saving his daughter, albeit he had his ulterior motive.“I will say this one last time. Come to me now or I’ll show you how your boyfriend will be beaten up until all his limbs are broken,” Patrick said through his clenched
Samantha noticed that Joanna looked like she had been crying as soon as she walked through the door.Even though Joanna had already cleaned up on the way home, Samantha still noticed it.She hastily said, “What’s going on with Jojo, Adrian? Did you bully her? Why did she cry?”Adrian shrugged.Joanna replied, “It’s nothing. I’m fine, Sam.”Adrian explained, “Her father came to see her and tried to make her go home to get married.”Samantha was astonished by the story and immediately started seething in anger. ‘Why are marriage alliances still being practiced in this day and age?’“That’s ridiculous!”Samantha ranted, “Is there something wrong with that man’s head or something? He got rid of his wife and put his daughter in a bad situation, yet he’s still proud of himself. A deadbeat like him doesn’t deserve to be rich!”Adrian was frustrated by Joanna’s encounter, but the only thing he could do now was to ensure that Joanna would not be taken away by them. However, Patrick did
Everyone was enlightened by Rue’s remark.Samantha chuckled and looked at Adrian with narrowed eyes.Adrian hastily shook his head. “No, that is not happening. If Jojo were to assume the identity of the legate’s wife, more people will come to kill her in the future. I can’t just stay by her side and guard her for the rest of my life, right?”There were countless people in the outlands watching Adrian closely. Thus, he had no plans to reveal Samantha’s identity. If her identity was exposed to the world, assassins would come non-stop and that would be troublesome.What if he was caught off guard and someone succeeded? It would haunt him for the rest of his life.Joanna asked Samantha, “He’s right, Sam. It’s clear that this is not feasible. Is there any other way?”Samantha said, “I’m not asking you to announce it publicly but to figure out a way to convince the DuPont family that Jojo is the legate’s wife.”“What if the DuPont family were to publicly announce that their daughter i
Patrick had traveled all night from Swallowston to Northrive but had yet to calm down.He stormed into the living room in a rage.“You’re home, Father.” Jimmy hastily walked over to welcome his father’s arrival.Jimmy’s mother, Rosie, quickly came out of the room too.Rosie Wade was forty years old this year and was ten years younger than Patrick. She had become his mistress when she was eighteen and became pregnant with Jimmy. She only married Patrick legally after Joanna’s mother passed away.Rosie said, “How’s everything, Pat? Did you manage to bring Joanna home?”“Hmph!” Patrick slammed the table loudly and grunted.“Jim, get your father a drink. Quickly now!” Rosie hastily said to Jimmy.Jimmy hurriedly got a glass of whisky. “Have a drink, Father!”Patrick threw his head back and downed the glass. He then angrily said, “Let’s not talk about it anymore. Joanna is dating someone in Swallowston, and that man is wildly conceited. He showed me no respect and hugged Joanna rig
Thanks to Patrick’s compliments, Jimmy once again felt that he was growing more and more capable.Soon, Jimmy left the DuPont residence, while Patrick quickly prepared to head over to Swallowston once more to bring Joanna home.***As Jimmy stepped out, he made some calls to gather his friends in Northrive before driving over to the Drake residence.The Drake family was one of the ten most powerful families in Northrive. In fact, they were one of the strongest. A single command from them was all it took to wipe out the entire family of anyone who got on their bad side. After all, some of their own people held high-ranking positions within Internal Affairs.Consequently, to establish a good relationship with them, Patrick suggested that Joanna be wed to Grisha, the eldest son of the Drake family.However, Grisha had a mental disability since birth and was rather well-known as an eight-year-old boy living in an adult’s body. On top of that, Grisha’s legs were weak and he needed the
“She’s supposed to become a member of our family! How dare she fool around with other men!”“Has your sister slept with another man, Jim?”The Drakes were hellbent on wedding Grisha to someone who was perfectly clean. Plus, there was no telling who Joanna might end up in bed with after she married into their family. After all, there were a bunch of men within the Drakes who were waiting to have fun with her on Grisha’s behalf.Jimmy tried to calm everyone down by waving his hands in a downward motion. “Calm down, everyone. I came here because I’d like Moses to take a trip down to Swallowston with me. My father has asked for Joanna’s boyfriend to be turned into a cripple and for her to be dragged back here.”“Nonsense!” Moses yelled, “I won’t be satisfied with just crippling him. I want him killed!“All right, I’ll go with you. I want to see for myself if your sister has been in bed with someone else. I won’t forgive her if she has slept with another man!”“I’m coming too.” Abigai
After a moment, the two finally returned to their senses, with Jimmy turning toward Joanna.With a cold voice, he said, “Joanna, as a woman—a woman of the DuPont family no less—have you no shame? I want you to come back to Northrive with me this instant!”Jimmy used to be Patrick’s illegitimate son but was recently legitimized. On the contrary, Joanna was the one who turned into the illegitimate daughter after her mother died, which explained why Jimmy was able to talk to her in such a manner.Joanna thought his words laughable when she heard them, and Samantha thought it was hilarious.But at that moment, Moses said, “You’re supposed to be my brother’s wife, Joanna. Your marriage date has already been set so you must return to Northrive with me today. As for the guy next to you, well… He’s a dead man!”‘Thank goodness Father isn’t here,’ Joanna thought.She might have stopped Adrian if Patrick were there instead of Jimmy. However, since it was Jimmy, someone completely unrelated
Adrian casually chucked Moses’ body aside followed by the sound of a loud “thud.”“Aah!”The men Moses brought scattered like a flock of headless chickens after Moses was killed. None of them were brave enough to remain there for another second longer.Abigail was screaming in fear. Meanwhile, Jimmy had taken flight, not daring to stay and face Adrian.“Wait for me, Jim!” Abigail screamed.Jimmy fled at the speed of lightning and got into his car without so much as a backward glance.Moses never expected he would end up dead on this trip to Swallowston, nor had Jimmy expected to come across someone like Adrian in his lifetime.After Jimmy and the rest ran off with their tails between their legs, despite how arrogant they seemed a moment ago, Adrian gave Daniel a call to clean up the mess.After that, he brought Samantha to the hospital for her check-up as if nothing had happened.***In the meantime, Jimmy and Abigail fled all the way to Swallowston’s outskirts.As they both