Chapter 9

John was absolutely frustrated with all the things he wanted to say but could not with Dean and Wendy around.

It was not a matter of pride either, but concern that he had exposed Ted's true identity against his will.

And yet, he had to speak up because Ted was set on revenge.

The dilemma could turn John's hair white, but that was when Wendy asked, "Who are you? You dress rich and drive a nice car… What, did you upset him or something?"

Hearing that, John quickly said, "I had a favor to ask of you, Mr. York, but my foolish son ended up insulting you, so I've brought him here to apologize."

Turning, he shouted at the car, "Get over here already, you wretch!"

Lucas had certainly never been this humiliated, being tied up so tightly and having to walk as the public watched, his face swollen after his father beat him repeatedly.

He could hide in a hole right then, but he did not dare to disobey his father.

Still, he was laughing as soon as he got out of the car—he thought he was unlucky, but as it turned out, there were others who ended up worse than he did!

Forget Wendy's face having a palm print on it—Dean's hand was broken, and his face was covered with boils from being scalded and was absolutely pathetic.

However, when Lucas accidentally let out a laugh, John turned white in rage.

He rushed up and stepped Lucas across the face, bellowing, "You wretch! You're still laughing?! I'll kill you when we get home!"

Then, turning back to Ted, he bowed his head in apology. "Please don't take offense, Mr. York—you can punish this wretch as you see fit, as long as you forgive our family. He deserves to die after insulting you…"

While Lucas was an absolutely spoiled brat, John was utterly earnest.

Still, before Ted could speak, Wendy was laughing coldly. "You're asking this one for a favor? What favor? Some corporate issue? Then you have the wrong person—you should be asking my daughter Luna! This loser doesn't call the shots for my daughter… Oh, right, you wouldn't know this, but my daughter has already divorced him.

"That's why you don't have to be afraid of him—our family is kicking him to the curb now, and we don't want anything to do with him anymore. As for you… I mean, really? Tying up your own son for business? For making money? Oh, just let him go already. Come visit me at my home whenever. As Luna's mother, my word holds sway."

Wendy was so conceited that she simply presumed that John was approaching Ted for some corporate issue, since Luna must have turned him down.

Such a thought was not at all surprising since Ted was no more than a loser, who knew nothing but cooking, writing crappy literature, and drawing doodles.

Without Luna, who would ask him for anything, let alone be scared of him?

Naturally, she was deliberately humiliating Ted to satisfy her urge for petty revenge.

While John was left stunned by Wendy's ramblings, Lucas' eyes lit up.

Ted was already divorced? And these people were his in-laws?

Still, his gaze soon dulled since he was supposed to keep his mouth shut today no matter what happened.

His father was right there—moreover, did his family need to ask Luna for favors when it came to business?

Meanwhile, Ted leveled a cool look at Wendy. "You can spread the news about my divorce all you want—I don't care. But you also seem to have forgotten that since there are no ties binding me now, you're going to get your other cheek swollen if you insult me again."

Wendy was left gritting her teeth. "Hmph. Let's see how long you can strut—just don't come to us begging for scraps later. And that temper of yours… you must have used Luna's influence to push people around and make a lot of dough, haven't you? You'd better cough it all up, or I'll make you pay."

Turning to Dean, she then said, "Go get the car. Once he takes his stuff, we're kicking him to the curb."

Dean was now scared of Ted, not daring to breathe a word and only shooting Ted a glare.

Still, as he walked past Lucas, he glanced at the other young man who was twitching and slid him a card, muttering under his breath, "This is my card. I can see that you have a hard time because of him too, but there's no rush—once I take back everything he owes us, we have all the opportunity we need for revenge."

Lucas was left stunned even as he blankly took the card.

However, just as John was about to snap at Lucas again, Ted growled, "That's enough. You could all leave now—I said I'll be visiting, and I will."

Before John could argue, Ted shot a cold glare at Lucas before turning back to him. "What? Are you doubting me?"

At those words, John gritted his teeth as he bowed his head at Ted. "No, I'd never dare doubt you… I-I'll have my son kneeling as we await your arrival. P-Please, Mr. York… I really have no other option! My wife doesn't have much time left, so all I can ask is for your compassion—for me, and for my wife."

Even as John spoke, tears rolled down his cheeks—there really was no faking such genuine desperation.

Ted was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Whatever. Just wait for my arrival."

As he got into Dean's car, however, he felt a pang of emotion as he watched John's tears flowing down his cheeks outside the window.

So, John's wife needed help.

But John was an incredibly important man here in Melville, whose fortune was almost beyond comprehension. And yet, this very same man did not shy from coming to Ted, begging for his help even through waterworks.

Was there anyone who would claim that there was no love between them?

The stark contrast of that against Ted's present situation left him incredibly emotional, which was also why he agreed to visit the Grahams.

This was not the retaliation he meant before, as he was really going to examine John's wife to see what ailed her and how strong their love was that it endured to this day.

Wendy was at once gleeful, thinking that John was crying because he realized he had humiliated himself, since asking Ted for help had been proven useless.

"Just look at you, Ted!" She laughed. "Hahaha! You've been dumped, so you can't make money by offering favors now! And that geezer, honestly… Isn't he embarrassed, crying out loud at his age? Even tying up his own son to ask my daughter for help? And now, all he gets is humiliation for it! Oh, how tragic!"

Ted turned to her and asked quietly, "You're a self-proclaimed elite of Melville. Don't you know who that is?"

Wendy snorted coolly as she rode shotgun. "Why would I know the name of some bawling loser? Anyone who asks you for favors must have no dignity left anyway and be way beneath me. Only you would care about your fellow losers."

As Ted sat in the backseat, he did not argue, instead smacking Dean on the head, leaving him stunned.

What the hell did he do?! He had just been driving despite the pain!

"What's that for?!" he snapped at Ted. "You're too much!"

Wendy was bellowing furiously too, "You're crazy! You don't get to hit my boy!"

On the other hand, Ted simply folded his arms before his chest and snorted quietly. "Another word and I'll hit him again!"