Xavier looked down at Shirley's hand and said icily, "I thought I made myself very clear. It's best not to have anything between us except business." "Why are you being so cruel? You came to me today, and it's proof that there's more between us. You care about me, so why do we have to go against our hearts and hurt each other?""That's you, not me.""Don't be stubborn. I know that you hooked up with Ms. Osborne lately out of spite, but you should know that I no longer have anything to do with your father. I—""Don't bring my father up!" Xavier instantly turned hostile and pushed Shirley away. "Are you mad? Do you think I'll let bygones be bygones and go back to you? Do you think I have no self-respect?""Xavier, don't... don't be mad!" Shirley bit her lip, regretting mentioning Xavier's father. It was his sore spot and biggest humiliation, and she could understand why. She figured he wouldn't be bothered by it if he didn't love her deeply, and his reaction only confirmed this. Em
The number of the onlookers grew, and some of them even used their phones to do live streams. In this way, Shirley's career was ruined.In a dilemma, Xavier took off his coat and draped it over Shirley. After that, he forcefully pulled her to her feet and hissed, "I don't care if you want to retire or not, just get up first.""Xavier, you like me. I can see that. You've always been in love with me..." Shirley hid under his coat, affection shining in her eyes and her voice trembling. It seemed like women had to be shameless when facing a soft-hearted man like Xavier. He could not bear to push her away, making this the most intimate moment between them after they had fallen out with each other. Many people took photos of him doting on her like what he used to do in the past, and the so-called homewrecker seemed like nothing now. "Stop making a scene. Let's get out of here." Xavier refused to talk much, and just hugged her shoulders and held her hand. He brushed past the crowd, wantin
Xavier refused to even look at the homewrecker, and went to the parking lot to get his car. Before he could open his car, he heard people talking."Hey, isn't that Ms. Leia Osborne?""Those people are too cruel. She's a rich young lady, but they stripped her bare. Are they courting death?""You're right. But they're smart. Since they're in a group, they won't be punished much.""But I don't think they're cruel. After all, nobody asked Ms. Osborne to be a homewrecker. I hate homewreckers the most!"Xavier' heart pounded in his chest and he grabbed a man nearby by the collar and demanded, "Who's the homewrecker who's being beaten up?"The man said agitatedly, "What does it have to do with you? Are you out of your mind?""I'm asking you—who is it?" Xavier was usually a calm person, but he couldn't stay calm right now. His grip on the man's collar tightened. "It's Ms. Leia Osborne! Why didn't you go and see it for yourself since you're so curious—" Xavier pushed him aside quickly,
Heart aching, Xavier carried Leia and quickly walked to his car. He opened the door to the back seat and gently laid her there."Are you feeling cold? Just hold on, alright… You'll be okay soon." Xavier got into the car and turned on the heater, and the car slowly grew warm. Xavier glanced at Leia hopefully but she remained silent as she curled up in the backseat. Xavier reached out and touched her cut hair, and his eyes blazed with anger. "They're inhuman! I'll never let them off the hook!""Don't touch me!" Leia snapped suddenly and pushed Xavier's hand away, covering her head protectively. Her eyes were wild and filled with tears as she spat, "You're just like them! Don't touch me.""I'm sorry I was late. You've suffered so much..." Xavier said hoarsely. He shouldn't have been so careless. Leia was probably being abused when he bumped into Shirley at the door of the club. No wonder Shirley had urged him to leave—she probably knew what was happening. How despicable! Xavier never w
Leia pushed Xavier away and tried to open the door. "Cut the crap! I'm not discussing this with you, I'm telling you what I'm going to do.""Lei, calm down. You're seriously injured. Let me take you to the hospital." Xavier didn't want to waste time. He immediately got into the driver's seat and locked the doors, then drove to a nearby hospital."I don't want to go to the hospital! Open the door and let me out. Open the door now!" Leia demanded as she smacked the window and door. Those people had beaten her up badly, so she wanted to go to the police station first. "Open the door!" Leia was so agitated that she almost leaped to the front seat and took control of the steering wheel. She glared at Xavier and sneered, "I know you're eager to take me to the hospital because you're worried that I'll report this to the cops, and you don't want to implicate your first love. Xavier, you're the most disgusting man I've ever met… I hate you!" Leia's heart twisted painfully in her chest when
Xavier's words calmed Leia down."You're willing to let her do a test?" Leia looked at Xavier in disbelief, then scoffed, "Well, powder me in sugar and call me a donut. Are you really Xavier? You agreed to let her do the test.""If I don't, you and Stefan will use other methods to make her do it. It's better that she do it willingly instead of making a scene," Xavier explained as he drove."Well, at least you're sensible." Leia leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, thinking about when Shirley's fans beat her up. Truthfully, she had her own selfish motives—she hadn't resisted at all so she would look worse, and she hoped that would give her the upper hand when bargaining with Shirley. Besides, if her injuries were bad, Xavier might side with her. Now, it seemed like her plan had worked. They arrived at the hospital very quickly. When Leia's attending doctor and nurse saw Leia's condition, they stared at Xavier suspiciously."Don't be scared, Miss. Tell me—how did you ge
Xavier glanced at Leia, who was hiding behind the doctor, and said to her grumpily, "Don't you think you should explain this? They're labelling me an abuser!""Hey, how dare you threaten your wife? You'll be in trouble if you keep this up!" The doctor pointed at Xavier and said threateningly, "I'll call the cops to arrest you if you raise your voice at her again. You'll end up in jail after your wife's checkup!"When Leia heard that, she immediately burst into tears. "Doctor, I can't believe I married such a violent man. He beat me up and humiliated me without any remorse. Do inspect my injuries properly, so I can divorce him once I get the report!" "It's okay, Miss. I've met many people like you, so I know what to do. You must divorce him—only then can you leave this abyss. We must never be with such violent men. I'll get you a report now!" After that, the doctor led Leia to an examination room to inspect her injuries. Leia's injuries were bad—her back, legs, and face were full
At that moment, Leia came out because the nurse had finished treating her wounds. "It's okay, doctor." She dramatically wiped her tears and sobbed. "I don't want to blow this out of proportion. It's fine as long as he sincerely apologizes… This is just my fate." "What's the use of the law if saying sorry was enough? He's so violent, Miss… he could have killed you! You can't be soft-hearted towards him." The doctor urged Leia earnestly, "I've seen many cases like this. The wives kept forgiving their husbands, and the price they had to pay was their husbands beating them to death. You're lucky that you survived today, but it doesn't mean that you'll always be this lucky. Listen to me—you have to call the cops." "I'll call the cops. Didn't you give me a medical report? I'll call the cops if I can't reason with him," Leia said and glanced at Xavier meaningfully. If that report could help escalate the case to attempted murder, Shirley would be involved if Leia called the police. Not onl
Amber grabbed some tissues beside her and carefully covered the scratch between her brows. She kept calm in hopes that she could make Luneth let down her guard. She knew very well that Liam, Renee, and Leia would be doomed if she didn't stop Luneth from telling Benjamin and Macsen about this incident. Although her face hurt badly from the teacup, it was nothing compared to their safety. "I'm sorry, Gem… I didn't do it on purpose. I was too angry and scared!" Luneth realized how aggressive she had been, and apologized to Amber in sobs. At the same time, she complained piteously, "You know how hard it was for me to get a child. Grady is very dear to Macsen and me. We don't even speak loudly to him or beat him up. But today, someone pressed him to the ground and beat him up. There's such a large hole in his head! The doctors told me that we needed to take good care of his wound. If it gets infected or he gets tetanus, the bacteria or virus might invade his brain and turn him mentall
Luneth was staying in the southeast of the fort. Her house was a uniquely styled traditional cottage. Upon arriving, Amber could hear a woman crying from afar. Many servants, doctors, and women were standing in front of Luneth's room. Amber walked toward Luneth's servant Jayna Bowie, and asked carefully, "Hello, is Aunt Luneth around?" "Ms. Jenkins, come another day. Mrs. Klein is crying sadly now. She's furious. I'm afraid you might be harmed if you go in," Jayna advised kindly.Those standing in a row at the door were trying to comfort Luneth. However, they were quickly rebuked and became too timid to approach her."It's fine." Amber was aware of her aunt's temper. Smiling, she kept moving forward. "I heard Grady got hurt. As his cousin, I need to see him. Plus, Aunt Luneth always treats me nicely. She won't be angry at me.""Ms. Jenkins, you don't know how serious this is. There's a big hole in the boy's head. The doctor said it might affect his intelligence. Mrs. Klein beca
After that, Amber looked at Liam, who kept silent the whole time. She tried to make Liam say something nice. "See, Liam? I told you, Matt's a great guy. He was just joking with us in the orchard to scare us. I'm sure he'll take our sides and protect us. Don't worry.""Is that so?" Liam glanced at Mateo and faked a smile. "Well, I should thank him properly."The air between them grew awkward, but Liam didn't care. He wanted to make Mateo uneasy and force the latter to expose his true self.Amber was simple, but Liam was no fool. Mateo's acting was smooth, but he couldn't trick Liam.Moreover, Mateo was the one who came up with that scheme. He wouldn't let anyone expose it—he wanted to be the one to do it."Okay, aren't we going to get a drink? Let's go. I'll make the chef cook us something nice." Mateo enthusiastically held Liam's shoulders and dragged him forward. At that moment, he turned icy. "If you're a man, stop involving Gem if you want to fight against me. Stop showing of
Liam was no fool. He immediately understood the profound meaning behind Renee's words and stopped saying too much. "Fine, be good. You guys are just taking a rest. I'll handle this well. Wait for my news."He knew very well that the conclusion would be the same regardless if Renee and Leia had offended Luneth's son or the child of an ordinary villager. Mateo simply wanted to use that method to control him. The only way to solve this was to defeat Mateo. However, based on the current situation, Mateo had a lot of followers in the fort. It would be difficult for Liam to defeat him.Luckily, Liam wasn't an easy target either. He had been winning people over these days. That, and he was close with Benjamin's other foster sons. If both parties were to get into a fight, he still had a chance to win.After confirming that Renee and Leia were fine, Liam left the cell. Mateo was waiting outside, grinning triumphantly. He sneered sarcastically, "What do you think? I was telling the trut
"No, I'm not!" Liam raised his hand to swear. "Trust me. They're just best friends. They're not in that kind of messy relationship. Both of them have a guy they're madly in love with.""I see." Amber watched how Renee and Leia fooled around intimately with each other in the cell. They looked like they were about to kiss! She shook her head and said, "What a pity! They look so lovey-dovey, better than many novels I read about where the women love each other.""You're hopeless!" It was rare for Liam to see such a straightforward and cute side of Amber. Amused, he poked her forehead and sighed. "Stop reading those messy novels! It's harmful."Their actions were loud and finally attracted Renee's attention in the cell."Liam!" Renee, pressed to the chair by Leia, couldn't escape. Finally, she grabbed a chance to leap up and walk to the door.Well… It wasn't a door. Rather, they were iron bars preventing them from escaping.The decoration and facilities in the room weren't bad. Be
Liam tensed up when he heard that voice. He quickened his pace and rushed through the corridor, toward the cell where Renee and Leia were locked up. Suddenly, he became flabbergasted and his face stiffened. For a long time, he couldn't regain his wits."Hey… What are you guys doing?"On a table lay barbecue, jerky, beer, and fruit platters. Meanwhile, both Renee and Leia were playing cards. Leia ran after Renee, then pressed her on the chair and said seriously, "Hey, gorgeous. You can't run away! You got the card for kissing me, so you have to let me kiss you. If not, you're trying to disobey the rules of the game!""Help! Help me…!" Renee kept resisting, amused and befuddled. "Get away from me! I'm a desperate woman who likes men! I can't kiss you! If I kiss you, I'm going to have nightmares… Oh, just kill me! Is there anyone who can save me?" Liam wasn't the only one standing at the door. Amber was also with him since she was following him. Watching Renee and Leia's antics,
"Hurry up and explain to her, then!" Amber said hurriedly. "Matt, you're close to her. You know Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne would never do that on purpose. Try to persuade her to let this go, and then you can immediately set them free.""I don't have a say in this." Mateo shook his head, pretending to be helpless. "You know how much Luneth dotes on her son. Ms. Everheart pinned him to the ground and beat him up. His head got injured and started bleeding. I heard it's a large cut with a lot of stitches. We can't let it go just like that.""But you can't—" Amber wanted to say more, but Liam interrupted her. He looked at Mateo, his eyes cold and fierce. "I know you set them up. Just be frank. Why did you do that?" "See?" Mateo sighed. He pretended to be aggrieved as he looked at Amber. "The guy you like is sinister. I kindly helped him, but he didn't thank me. He even accused me of setting this up… He always sees the worst in people. He criticized me in front of you and sowed di
Liam immediately noticed something wrong. He asked Mateo fiercely, "What do you mean?""Calm down." Mateo put away his gun and placed it back around his waist. "They broke the rules and barged into the orchard. Plus, they hurt Luneth's child. So, I locked them up for the time being."He appeared calm, as if he was discussing what he had eaten for dinner. He didn't feel that he had been over the line. "Go to hell!" Liam finally failed to hold himself back. He rushed over and grabbed Mateo's neck fiercely. "You can harm me, but how dare you harm them!"At the same time, Mateo's subordinates raised their guns and aimed them at Liam. The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again."Hey, don't!" Amber, all tensed up, braced herself to try and stop them. Even so, she was mentally exhausted."What? You want to strangle me?" Mateo was fearless. He grinned deviously and teased, "Cool it. I just locked them up, but they didn't suffer. They're fine. If you harm me, though, I
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam