Chapter 1-50
Chapter 1-50
Chapter 1 On the Southwest border… War between the Nine Provinces calmed down. The fortresses were secured. Each of the impenetrable fortresses instilled fear into the enemies! At that moment, within one of the big buildings, a ruler observed a young man. A scowl creased his face.
“Are you really planning to return to the Eastfield? You’d like to keep this position of Supreme Warrior a secret for now?”
As the ruler, the old man stared into the eyes of the man in front of him. His gaze was filled with respect. Behind the young man were the recently anointed Nine Great Gods of War. The Nine Great Gods of War were meritorious. In just five year’s time, they contributed greatly. Their existence struck fear into their enemies’ hearts. The Nine Great Gods of War were given the official title as Gods of War. They enjoyed matchless power and wealth, and would soon be returning to the Nine Provinces, each ruling over a province of their own. They had the power to decide life and death.
However, at that moment, the Nine Great Gods of War stood humbly behind the young man.
jackie White, the one bestowed by Daxia with the title of Supreme Warrior. His authority was beyond that of the Gods of War. He was the most exalted.
Daxia was shocked. The media originally planned to officially announce the identities of the Nine Great Gods of War along with the Supreme Warrior. However, for some reason, they had only announced the identity of the Nine Great Gods of War. As for the Supreme Warrior’s identity, it became a mystery.
“Mm! I wonder how Selena is doing now? Since it’s settled here, they don’t need me anymore!”
The hint of a gentle smile finally appeared on that man’s chiseled face. Selena was his woman, his wife.
“Master, can we go with you to meet our master’s wife?” Behind him, one of the Nine Great Gods of War, Abner Young, asked curiously.
If people found out that the Nine Great Gods of War behind jackie, with their outstanding service, were his disciples, who knew what their reaction would be?!
“Let’s talk about that some other time!” jackie sighed, seemingly falling into a pensive mood.
Five years ago, the enemies counterattacked. Daxia suffered heavy losses and conscripted warriors from all over the country. Eastfield’s Taylor family were trapped by some scheme, forcing the Taylor family to enroll one of their younger generations to set an example for The Eastfield Region.
Old Master Taylor was advanced in age, Master Taylor had to maintain order, and Young Master Taylor was the only one from the younger generation. He was the only male heir. Naturally, Old Master Taylor was against having his only grandson to fight on the battlefield as he feared having his bloodline ended. However… The Taylor family could not back out of this.
Coincidentally, a delivery boy named jackie White appeared right then. Old Master Taylor had a sudden epiphany and made jackie marry into the Taylor family by faking a marriage with the Taylor family’s second daughter, Selena. That allowed jackie to head to the battlefield in Young Master Taylor’s stead as a member of the Taylor family.
Of course, jackie had his own conditions as well. It was to have Old Master Taylor pay him one million dollars for his sick mother’s treatment. Very quickly, the Taylor family’s second daughter was forced to marry jackie the delivery boy. That simple wedding ceremony made Selena Taylor into the joke of the century.
On the night of the wedding, the dispirited Selena ended up being the one to initiate the marriage consummation with jackie after becoming drunk. The next morning, she cried.
On the same morning, jackie was enlisted by the army. That parting lasted five years.
Over the course of five years, jackie had experienced countless life and death situations. However, he managed to endure those hardships with the thought of Selena waiting for him at home.
In five years, he transformed from the bastard son of the family into a major figure.
‘Selena, don’t you worry. I’ll definitely honor my responsibility for you!’ jackie thought, as he gripped his fists. With the thought of meeting Selena soon, his usually tranquil heart felt a twinge of excitement.
…
Four days later, a private plane descended slowly onto Eastfield International Airport.
“Eastfield! What a nostalgic place!” Stepping foot onto this land once again, the corner of jackie’s mouth showed the hint of a smile.
jackie looked at Lana Zechs, then stated slowly, “From the moment I left the Southwestern battlefield, I’m no longer the Supreme Warrior. From now on, you can just call me brother!”
“Yes, mas— jackie!” Lana said. She was assigned to this province and would be stationed here in Eastfield. She was happy to be returning here with her master.
An eye-catching Rolls-Royce Phantom with the plate A99999 was at the airport exit. There was a bodyguard with sunglasses that respectfully opened the car door as a person in his forties came out.
If anyone from a higher class were to find out that this person was James Drake, the richest person in Eastfield, their jaws would surely hit the ground. A person that could compel James to personally pick them up from the airport was obviously no ordinary person.
“Today will be worth it if I can see the face of the Queen of Hell!” James lamented. He knew full well what a God of War represented. Just as he finished his sentence, a man and woman nearby walked toward
him.
“Goddess of war, Queen of Hell, Lana Zechs is here!” exclaimed one of the bodyguards respectfully as he saw them.
“Let’s go!” James adjusted his shirt. For the first time, he walked over ever so carefully toward Lana.
“James Drake of the Drake family from Eastfield welcomes the goddess of war’s return! We’ve already prepared the War God’s Residence for you. Here’s a black card. I hope the goddess of war likes it!” James led his men to Lana, bowing slightly as he passed her a black card.
However, Lana frowned and calmly stated, “Your information source is quite good. As expected of the Eastfield’s richest person!”
With that said, she casually looked at the black card and laughed coldly. “Since you’ve arranged a place for me to stay, I’ll oblige. As for this card, you can save it for yourself!”
“Yes, of course!” James wiped away his cold sweat before daring to raise his head. He then kept the black card.
“This is?” James looked at jackie as he probed with a question.
“We’re just comrades that joined the army together! It’s by chance that I’m returning to Eastfield and we kept each other company! You guys go on. I’ll grab a taxi and head back!” jackie smiled faintly, then looked at Lana. “Keep in contact on the phone!”
“Of course!” Lana nodded in response.
Upon hearing the exchange, James’s heart skipped a beat. That was the private plane to send the Gods of War. For this person to return alongside the Queen of Hell, his background was definitely something special. Furthermore, to his surprise, the way Lana looked at that man was filled with respect.
Very soon, a taxi was parked outside the gate of a row of villas. That was where the Taylor family was located! jackie, having been through countless life and death situations, could not help but smile bitterly as he looked upon the villa’s gates. Back then, if not for Old Master Taylor’s threat with his own life, Selena would not have been willing to marry him.
It was also due to the Taylor family’s irresponsible attitude toward her marriage that caused her to feel disappointed. That led to her getting drunk and having developed relations with a little delivery boy like him.
Although the marriage was originally a fake one, Selena had lost her virginity to him. Just before he departed, she told him that she would wait for his return. That touched jackie greatly. At that moment, jackie had finally returned!
—
Chapter 2 As jackie reminisced, a little girl with a dirty face walked up to the gates and sneakily looked inside. The little girl was rather skinny. She seemed to be four or five years old with a slightly yellowish skin tone. It would seem that she was malnourished.
“This little girl. Those eyes resemble Selena’s!” Seeing the girl’s cute appearance, jackie could not resist smiling.
A maid of the Taylor family came out. She looked at the guards standing by the door and pulled the little girl to another corner. For some reason, maybe due to the likeness of the girl’s look with Selena, jackie’s interest was piqued. He slowly walked up to them.
He then witnessed the maid carefully fish out two buns from her pockets and pass it to the little girl. “Kylie, there’s only two today!”
“Thank you, pretty sister!” The little girl swallowed her saliva as her stomach growled. It was obvious that she was famished.
“Hurry up, eat it!” The maid patted the little girl’s head. “Sigh, Young Master Taylor is just too mean!”
“No. I’ll take this home and eat it with Mommy, Grandpa, and Grandma!” The little girl took the buns before smiling blissfully. For her, the two buns in her hands were akin to this world’s greatest treasures.
A sports car quickly pulled over beside them, followed by half a dozen Audi A6s as well. “Ivan Taylor?”
jackie recognized the man immediately. After five years, Young Master Taylor had grown up. However, the changes were minimal. He was still as sheltered as before.
“Shauna. What are you hiding there? Take it out and show it to me!” Ivan asked with a grin on his face.
“N-n-nothing…” The maid repeatedly shook her head. Meanwhile, little Kylie lowered her head as though she had just made a mistake.
Ivan crouched down and asked the little girl. “Kylie, please tell me what did Shauna just pass to you?”
“I won’t tell you. You’re a bad man. A very bad man!” Kylie raised her head with her lips pursed.
“A bad man?” Ivan chuckled. “Your mother ruined our Taylor family’s name by giving birth to you. Your mother is the evil one!”
With that said, Ivan stood up and shot a look at the two guards. “Shauna, you’re quite brazen. How dare you pass food to this little bastard? Do you have a death wish?” Ivan smiled coldly, then instantly sent a backhanded slap at Shauna’s face.
“Don’t hit her, you meanie!” Seeing that, the little girl immediately ran over and latched onto Ivan’s leg, giving it a big bite.
“Ah!” Ivan screamed in pain and pushed Kylie to the floor. “Are you born in the year of the dog? You wild dog. How dare you bite me?”
Kylie was pushed to the floor and started crying. “You’re a bad person. You’re very bad!”
Ivan was in a rage, “Here’s the buns this maid gave you. Come on, eat it. You and the maid get one each.” He then threw the buns onto the floor and stomped them with his leather shoes. Ivan then stated, “If you don’t eat, I’ll break her hands and yours too!”
“Young master, I’ll eat it. Don’t make it difficult for the little one, please? I beg of you. Kylie is still Miss Selena’s daughter. Selena is your cousin!”
Shauna knelt on the floor and grabbed the buns as she looked up at the high and mighty Ivan Taylor with a pitiful expression.
“Selena’s…daughter?” Hearing those words, jackie’s mind was blown. How did Selena end up with a daughter? Furthermore, Selena was a daughter of Master Taylor. How could her daughter be like a beggar?
“Didn’t she say that she would wait for me? Could it be that she remarried that quickly after I went to war?” jackie’s eyes turned red. He laughed bitterly in his heart and felt he was naive. He naively thought that Selena would really wait for him.
Ivan laughed and said, “Her father has long died on the battlefield for who knows how many years. This is just a bastard! Furthermore, we initially arranged for Selena to fake her marriage to that useless delivery boy. Turns out she had actually gotten pregnant with that trash’s kid. We told her to abort the baby but she insisted on keeping it! Her fate today was all well-deserved. This is the fate of someone that soils our family’s name!”
At that point, jackie’s heart was in turmoil. This dirty little girl with patchy clothes was his own daughter? He clenched his fists as fury took over him. Just what did Selena experience in the past five years?
“Are you eating it? If you don’t eat it, don’t even think about leaving!” Ivan grabbed one of the dirty buns he stomped on and lifted Kylie with one hand. He then stuffed the bun into the little girl’s mouth.
Kylie, still crying said, “You big meanie. I won’t eat. I won’t eat…” The little girl’s feet kicked about in the air, one of them landing on Ivan’s clothes.
“Motherf*cker, you’re asking for death. Do you know how expensive my clothes are?” Ivan looked at it, then forcefully flung Kylie aside.
“You beast! He’s your niece!” Shauna screamed!
jackie’s veins bulged from his temples. Kylie was petite. If she was thrown like that and hit the ground, how could she be fine? He took a step, then turned into a blur and appeared in front of Ivan. He then extended his arms to catch Kylie who was just thrown away.
“Ah!” Kylie was in shock. She opened her big googly eyes and stared at the brave-looking man. “w-w- who’re you?” Kylie stared at jackie, obviously scared.
“Don’t be scared, Kylie. Nobody will dare bully you, or your mother, in the future!” jackie’s heart trembled as a familial feeling washed over him. This was his own daughter. This was his daughter with Selena.
“Who the f*ck is this? How dare you stick your nose in the Taylor family’s business?” Ivan was extremely pissed after being caught by surprise.
In the span of five years, jackie went through a big change. He transformed from an ordinary delivery boy into the one and only Supreme Warrior of Daxia. Ivan was unable to recognize him in that brief moment.
“I’m definitely getting involved in this matter today!” jackie thought as he shot Ivan a cold glare. His aura that was stained with countless bloodshed caused Ivan to take a few steps back out of fear.
“Kylie, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you!” jackie lovingly looked at Kylie in his arms, then gently placed her back on the ground.
“What are you f*cking doing standing in a daze? Go break his limbs!” Taking a look at the tall, strong guards, Ivan felt confident.
“Brat, you’re really brazen. How dare you stick your nose in Young Master Taylor’s matters!” Around a dozen experts surrounded jackie.
At that moment jackie sprang into action! Unfortunately, before Ivan could see clearly, the guards were all lying on the ground. There were screams of pain from broken arms and legs.
With the guards lying on the floor, Ivan was scared and the color drained from his face. “B-b-brat, who’re you? I’m the Taylor family’s young master. Things won’t end well for you if you offend me!” Ivan swallowed hard, his voice trembling.
“Who am I? I’m the one that went to the battlefield in your place!” jackie yelled internally. jackie’s gaze was intimidating. “Ivan Taylor, I fought your battle for you and faced death in your stead. There were dozens of times where I almost lost my life, yet here you are, feeding my daughter with a bun that you’ve stomped on?”
“Y-y-you’re jackie? Impossible. It’s been five years without any news. How could you have come back alive?” Ivan was scared witless. Not only the Taylor family, but the people of Eastfield City had thought that jackie had died. According to the reports, the battle a few years back was just too brutal with too many casualties.
“I’m sorry, but fate is on my side. I can’t die!” jackie sneered, then immediately sent him a kick.
Ivan fell down kneeling on the ground. The pain in his knees caused him to yell in pain.
“Eat those two buns. Otherwise, I don’t care if you’re Selena’s cousin or not, I’ll butcher you like the animal you are!”
jackie took the two dirt-covered buns and threw them in front of Ivan with a merciless gaze in his eyes.
Chapter 3 “ jackie, are you f*cking crazy? Don’t forget your own identity. You’re only someone that married into our family. Don’t think that just because you’ve been a soldier for a few years, you can play around with me with that little extra strength.” Ivan gritted his teeth and tried to stand up.
jackie responded with a kick and pushed him back down, dusting up the area.“I’m not going to repeat my words!” jackie kept a foot on the back of Ivan’s hand.
“Ah!” Ivan shrieked. He felt as though his bones were being crushed. “bastard…” Ivan raised his head and was scared speechless when he looked up to meet jackie’s merciless glare.
“Are you eating it or not? If you don’t, I’ll kill you right now!” jackie declared coldly.
“E-e-eat. I’ll eat it!” This time, Ivan was utterly terrified by jackie. Although his heart was unwilling, he could not help but take bites off the dirt-covered buns, stuffing it into his mouth.
“Shauna, thank you for your care of Kylie. Is Selena in there?” jackie walked up to the maid, remembering that Shauna used to be Selena’s personal maid that was very close to her.
“M-m-miss was exiled from the Taylor family. The family was against her giving birth to Kylie and she disobeyed them, that’s why…” Shauna’s eyes filled with tears as she recounted the event.
“Let’s go. Bring me to her!” jackie picked Kylie up. “Kylie, nobody will dare pick on you in the future!”
“Shauna, w-w-who is he?” Kylie was spooked by the earlier scene. It was obvious that she was still scared.
“Kylie, he’s your father. He’s not dead. He’s back!” Shauna teared up as she explained. Over the past five years, Selena’s life was horrible.
“Y-y-you’re really my daddy?” Kylie pursed her lips as her eyes brightened. “They said my daddy is dead. Are you really my daddy? Mommy told me that daddy is definitely still alive. Mommy told me that if daddy is back, we won’t have to pick up trash again!”
jackie teared up immediately. Despite his six-foot, five inch height and being the only Supreme Warrior of Daxia, his eyes turned red with tears.
“Shauna, y-y-you should make your choice properly. If you dare walk out of our Taylor Residence, you’ll lose your job. You should know how many people are fighting for the chance to be a maid of the Taylor family!” Ivan shouted after he finally finished the two buns.
“You’re full of nonsense!” jackie gave him a kick, sending him a few meters away. Ivan spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out.
“Good! This meanie deserves it!” Kylie squealed excitedly as she witnessed the scene.
“I don’t want this job. Let’s go. Master jackie, I’ll bring your Miss Selena!” Shauna steeled her heart, then looked toward Kylie and asked, “Kylie, why aren’t you greeting your daddy?”
Kylie lowered her head sheepishly. After a while, she finally spoke up with a sweet innocent voice, “Daddy…”
“Good girl. Look at you, covered with dirt. Let’s go, I’ll get you cleaned up and buy some clean clothes!” jackie lovingly kissed Kylie on the forehead. He felt that his heart was all warmed up. This was his own flesh and blood. Very quickly, jackie brought Shauna and Kylie to the best bathhouse in the Eastfield.
“Master, it’s very expensive here…” Shauna reminded him softly.
“My daughter deserves to enjoy such treatment!” jackie did not look up all the while. His loving gaze remained fixated at Kylie who was in his arms.
“Sir, are you lost? This bathhouse does not welcome beggars!” Just as they reached the door, a server chuckled as he looked at Kylie’s dirty face. His gaze was filled with disgust.
“I know!” jackie sternly warned, “I’ll give you 10 minutes!”
“10 minutes?” The other party was confused.
“10 minutes to clear this place up. I need to give my precious daughter a bath!”
The server chuckled. “Sir, are you joking? We offer individual baths for over a thousand people, and that’s not including other activities. Unless you have around 80,000 dollars, I’m afraid you’re just dreaming to have me clear this place!”
Having said that, the server paused for a moment before continuing, “Looking at you, you’re not someone that can fork out that much money! Furthermore, even if you have the money, you can’t expect us to render our services to a beggar, right?”
jackie’s expression darkened. The surrounding had seemingly dropped a few degrees. “Say that again?”
“Your daughter is so dirty. Is she not a beggar?”
! In an instant the server was sent flying with a kick…
“F*ck you, what are you trying to do? Do you know what place this is?” The server climbed back up and shouted, “Guys, someone is here to cause trouble!”
“This place is under the Clark family’s jurisdiction. Is this fella crazy? He dares to start trouble here?”
“That’s right. We can’t help it if he’s here to court death!”
A few customers shook their heads as they witnessed the scene. One should know that luxurious bathhouses like this one were naturally backed by powerful forces.
To the extent that they might have the power to cause the entire Eastfield to tremble under their feet. Very soon, a group of sturdy men rushed in.
“Who dares to cause trouble at our place?” one of them shouted. He was a burly man.
“This territory belongs to the Clark family. You’re quite brave to dare cause trouble here!” said another guy.
“My daughter is not a beggar. It’s fine if you humiliate me. If anyone dares to offend my daughter, it won’t end well for them!” All these years, his daughter must have gone through much suffering. jackie was only hoping to make it up to her and Selena.
“Kid, it’s you. You’re quite daring! Do you know who I am? I’m Black Dragon of Eastfield, general of the Clark family. Kneel and admit your wrongdoing right now, then get out of my sight! My establishment doesn’t serve ill-dressed folks, nor do we serve stinking beggars. Your daughter is definitely a beggar…” The burly man took two steps forward with an arrogant look on his face.
“What!? He’s Black Dragon? Tch, tch, I heard that he’s a fearsome fighter. All his achievements came from his kills! Once, he managed to kill over a hundred people and saved Master Clark’s life. That story was spread all over the streets!”
Some onlookers took a few steps back, feeling scared. They felt a sense of dread welling up from within.
“You want me to kneel to you?” jackie was astonished. “I’m afraid the one that dares to have me kneel is not born yet. I’ve already forgotten how many people I’ve killed!”
“Interesting. You dare act tough in front of me. Hahaha, I’m afraid you weren’t even born yet when I started chopping others with my saber!” Black Dragon laughed out loud. “I’m sorry kid, I know full well how many people of great power there are in Eastfield. Coincidentally, you’re not on that list!”
“Today… You’ll get to know me!” Just as he finished his sentence, there was a flash of movement and the Black Dragon fell down just like that. Black Dragon remained laying on the ground, his eyes filled with surprise. He was no longer breathing. Silence enveloped the area!
“This is bad. B-B-Black Dragon is dead!” Someone shouted in fear after taking a look.
Chapter 4 “Six minutes remaining. Clear this venue. Since you’re just offended, don’t even think about charging the fee!” jackie stared coldly at the remaining people.
Although they were tough as well, they were nothing compared to Black Dragon. None of them dared to look jackie in the eye. “Everyone, leave immediately or else!”
They started shouting immediately. The other customers were obviously terrified from before and ran away like their lives depended on it. They could not see how Black Dragon had died. It was as though something supernatural occurred.
In less than a minute, the entire bathhouse was empty! A beautiful female server walked out meekly after being signaled by the bouncers and asked in a worried tone, “Sir, t-t-the place is empty. How can we serve you?”
“Go get a set of branded clothing and a sumptuous meal for my daughter. If not, don’t even think of leaving here alive!” jackie carried Kylie inside, causing the server and bouncers to have the color drain from their faces.
“Of course, sir. We’ll get to it immediately!” The beautiful female server recovered from her daze and bowed deeply toward jackie’s back!
jackie brought Kylie into the bath and took the old dirty clothes off her. The corner of his mouth twitched. Kylie was scared. There were some scars on her supple skin.
“Kylie, did daddy scare you earlier?” jackie smiled lovingly at Kylie as a tear almost escaped his eye.
“Daddy, you’re amazing but also terrifying!” Kylie pursed her lips, then finally peeped carefully.
“Terrifying?” jackie was stunned. Kylie was only four years old. That was an age where they were most innocent, yet he took action right in front of her and had even killed a person.
To him, killing a single person was no different from eating or drinking. However, to Kylie, that was…
“Alright. Kylie, from now on, daddy won’t be so terrifying. However, those were bad people and they deserve to be punished!” jackie carefully helped Kylie wash up. “From now on, I’ll have you and your mother live comfortably. You can have a comfortable life just like other kids!”
The little girl seemed confused. Beside them, Shauna smiled. “Master, would you like to give Miss Selena a call? If she knows that you’re back, she’ll definitely be delighted!”
“No need. We’ll head over soon!” jackie calmly stated, “Shauna, from now on you’ll continue taking care of Selena and Kylie. Don’t worry, I won’t skimp on your salary!”
“Oh right, I’ve heard that the retired soldiers are given a decent pension. The lowest is rumored to be around 10 to 20 thousand. Master, how much do you get?”
Shauna quickly thought of something, then laughed. “I’m very close to Miss Selena. It’s for the best that I can take care of Miss Selena. As for the salary, it’s fine as long as I have enough to survive!”
“It will be sufficient!” jackie laughed it off. To him, money was nothing. He could replace the richest person in Eastfield with just a phone call if he so wished.
Shauna contemplated for a moment, then spoke again. “Oh yeah, Master jackie, Kylie’s surname is Taylor. It can’t be helped. Your in-laws were mindful of your previous status and thought you didn’t make it…”
“Oh…” jackie responded, then said, “It’s okay. She’s the daughter of Selena and I!”
Very quickly, the pretty server brought over some delicious foods and a beautiful princess-styled dress. Placing them to one side, she then carefully retreated out of the room. After her bath, Kylie silently swallowed hard, feeling famished.
jackie lovingly touched Kylie’s face as he watched her wolf her food down, saying, “Silly little girl. Eat slowly! After you’re done, we’ll go see your mommy!”
After Kylie finished her meal, she grabbed the two slices of leftover cake with her hands. “Daddy, I… I wanna bring this back for mommy and grandma!” She looked at jackie, then asked in a worried tone, “Can I?”
jackie was speechless. It would seem that his earlier fights had indeed scared Kylie and made her afraid of him. “Of course! As long as you’re happy!”
Carrying Kylie in his arms, jackie was ready to leave with Shauna. However, before they even reached the door, an Audi stopped right outside and a bald man got out of it. The bald man had a scary face with a long scar over it. His eyes were sharp.
One of the servers could not resist snickering. “Excellent. The Clark family’s number one fighter is here. Hahaha, that kid is screwed!”
“That’s right. Master Clark was furious after receiving the phone call and had Dan Jameson come over to turn that kid into a cripple.” The other guard snickered and watched from the sidelines, hoping for a good show.
“Where’s he?” Dan walked over to jackie after asking around.
“Kid, you’re quite the man, having managed to kill Black Dragon! However, it won’t end well for you today!” Dan said in a deep voice, his eyes narrowed.
“If I want you dead, you won’t survive for more than three seconds!” jackie said as he looked at his opponent, then at Kylie in his arms. “However, my daughter is here. I don’t want to scare her. Why don’t we have an arm-wrestling match?!”
“Arm-wrestling?” Dan was caught off-guard. “Do you think I’m here to play with you?”
“Of course it’s not to play around. You just said that your master wants to cripple me, didn’t you? What about this. If you win, I’ll voluntarily cripple my limbs! If you lose, I’ll just need you to cut off one finger!” jackie bellowed in laughter. After experiencing so much killing, he could tell with a look that this person was a ruthless one.
“Interesting!” Dan smiled, then walked up to a table. “Kid, get over here. Since you like to play this, I’ll play with you!”
“Shauna, hold Kylie for me!” jackie then passed Kylie to Shauna.
Very quickly, both their hands clasped together.
“Begin!” announced one of the guards.
“This kid dares to arm wrestle with Dan? Doesn’t he know how strong Dan is?”
“That’s right. Dan can potentially kill a cow with one punch!”
A few buff guys were watching the show with their hands crossed in front of their chests.
If jackie lost and tried to deny the results, Dan would teach him a lesson on regret.
“Argh!” Dan poured in all his strength, just to realize that jackie’s arm had not moved an inch.
“I-I-Impossible!?” He gasped a mouthful of air. The next instant, jackie snickered and Dan lost the match.
“I believe you won’t deny the result. One finger. As for which one you choose, I’ll let you decide!”
jackie then took Kylie back in his arms and left the scene.
“Who’s that guy? His strength is amazing!” Dan finally said with disbelief after jackie was long gone.
“Brother Dan, you’re not really cutting a finger, are you?” asked a person as he walked up to the bald guy. He swallowed hard while looking at the empty gate.
Chapter 5 Shauna led jackie to the door of a small, dilapidated courtyard house. There was a big banyan tree in the courtyard. Looking in from there, it appeared tranquil. However, there was the problem that the place was too run down.
“You’re telling me that my mother, Selena, and the in-laws are staying here?” Seeing the house in front of him, jackie felt sorry for them.
Selena was the daughter of Master Taylor. She was fantastically talented. Back then, she was even known as a stunningly beautiful director that exuded pride. Countless people courted her.
At that moment, because of her decision to keep the kid, she was kicked out of the household to stay at such a place!
Shauna smiled bitterly. “There’s also your little uncle! He was still young five years ago, but he’s now 19 and staying here.”
“That many people!” jackie’s eyes turned red. “Selena must’ve had a hard time!”
However, they quickly noticed a Bentley was parked by the courtyard.
“Why’s there a Bentley here?” jackie scowled, feeling suspicious.
“I don’t know. After all, I hardly come here. Sigh, too many things have happened over the five years. Miss Selena has been waiting for you all the while! However, her parents’ patience ran out a long time ago. Furthermore, they had a strong bias against you…claiming that you forced yourself on Miss Selena during the wedding night, taking advantage of her drunkenness…” Shauna said carefully with a frown.
“Sigh, I can only slowly make it up to them. I’ve caused father and mother-in-law to suffer together!” jackie sighed deeply. He too wanted to stay by the side of his woman, and yet was just as helpless.
Just as he entered, jackie scowled and raised his hand, signaling Shauna to keep quiet for the sound coming from within the house made him angry.
The voice of Selena’s mother could be heard. “Young Master Clark, don’t you worry. There has been no news of that kid for five years. He’s long gone! I’m planning to go apply for a death certificate. By then, you can marry our Selena!”
“thank you very much!” Young Master Clark laughed loudly, then said, “Auntie, there’s actually no need to get that death certificate. The marriage certificate is just a piece of paper. I, Ken Clark, am not such a superficial person. When the time comes, we just need to arrange a glorious and grand marriage ceremony! The most important thing is for Selena to agree to our marriage.”
“Agree! Of course she’d agree!” Selena’s mother immediately thumped her chest and said, “Don’t you worry. Her father and I will help you persuade her!”
“Really? However, she is quite the stubborn one! Back then, if not for her insisting to give birth to that bastard, you guys wouldn’t be kicked out of the Taylor family to suffer alongside her over here!” Young Master Clark then added calmly, “Sigh, five years ago, Selena was the prettiest girl in the Eastfield. Look at her now, what has she become?”
“That’s right. It’s all that delivery boy’s fault. The original deal was just a faked marriage, yet he ended up impregnating our Selena.” Once again, Mrs. Taylor added, “Our Selena is really obstinate, stubbornly claiming that child to be her flesh and blood, swearing to care for her!”
“It’s okay. Uncle, Auntie, I’m sincerely in love with Selena. Once Selena is with me, wealth is not an issue!” Having said that, Young Master Clark took out a jade bracelet. “I had someone bring this jade bracelet over from Shanghai. It’s worth quite a sum. I’ll give it to Auntie as a gift!”
“T-T-This… How can we accept this?”
…
Beyond the door, jackie’s expression turned uglier by the second. His fists gripped tightly together. He tried his best to suppress the raging fire in his heart. After calming himself, he then knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?” Mrs. Taylor’s voice sounded annoyed as she opened the gate.
“Who’re you?” Mrs. Taylor, looked at jackie suspiciously, then looked at Kylie, asking, “Why are you holding onto our Kylie?”
“Grandma, h-h-he’s my daddy!” Kylie looked at jackie, then said softly, “Daddy said that with him home, nobody would dare to bully me and mommy ever again!”
Fiona was dumbstruck on the spot, then quickly exclaimed in astonishment, “Wonderful. jackie, the shameless one, is actually alive… You have the gall to show up now? You need to compensate my daughter for her lost youth. Our family is in a rut because of you!”
“Who? Who’s back? It’s that bastard jackie?” Selena’s father rushed out, limping forward to grab at jackie. “I’ll kill you, you beast. If not for you tainting our Selena’s purity, would she need to make a living from collecting trash? If not for you, my leg wouldn’t have been crippled!”
jackie had a huge shock. How did Selena end up collecting trash? How did her father’s leg end up like this? Although it was not his fault as Selena took the initiative, he was also drunk during that time and did not resist the urge. However, it was still because of him that they ended up like this. No wonder Andrew and Fiona would hate him to this extent.
jackie’s heart was wracked with guilt. ‘That’s right, if not for my impulsive behavior, their entire family wouldn’t have had to suffer.’
“Shauna, take Kylie over to the courtyard to play for a while!” jackie passed Kylie over to Shauna.
“Brat, of all times, you chose to come back now. Why are you here? It’d be better if you had just died on the battlefield!”
Fiona was in tears. “I think you’re just unwilling to let our Selena live a single day in comfort. You animal!”
“I’ll teach you a lesson!” Andrew immediately sent a slap at jackie.
However, the next instant, his hand was firmly in jackie’s grasp. “Father, I’m sorry. It’s because of me that you had to suffer. Regardless, Selena has already given birth to Kylie. I, jackie White, will take full responsibility. I won’t let her down. She has waited for me all this while. I’ll let her live a comfortable life.”
“Huh, you dare to grab my hand? Get out of my sight!” Andrew was pissed. As expected of a retired soldier, jackie’s strength was great. He was unable to move an inch.
Unexpectedly, right at that moment, Young Master Clark approached them with a smile. “This kid is back just in time. Since he’s not dead, we can have him divorce Selena. Moreover, Kylie is his kid. He’s her father, therefore he should take custody over Kylie. From now on, we’ll just have Kylie follow him!”
Having said that, he further added with a grin on his face, “After all, I’m unwilling to help someone take care of their baggage. Without this burden, both mine and Selena’s life will be much better!”
Chapter 6 “That’s right. You’re absolutely right! To be honest, I don’t really like this little girl anyway!”
Fiona nodded repeatedly. “After all, she shouldn’t have existed!”
Hearing those words, jackie felt the urge to kill them all in just one strike. However, deep down, he reminded himself to stay calm. After all, Fiona was Selena’s mother, his mother-in-law. This place was no longer the battlefield where he killed as he wished. At the very least, Fiona and Andrew were not his enemies. Andrew’s leg was in its current condition because of his rash actions with Selena on their wedding night. Their hatred for him was reasonable. However, there was an outsider present.
jackie smiled coldly, then looked toward Young Master Clark. “Kylie is my daughter. She’s not baggage, nor is she a bastard child. You have to kneel down and apologize for your words!” At that point, jackie paused for a moment, then continued, “If not because of my unwillingness to stain this place on my first day home, you’d be dead by now!”
“brat, did I hear you correctly? Do you know who you’re talking to?” Young Master Clark laughed, then pointed at the Bentley outside. “I heard that you used to be a delivery boy. A few years of war as a soldier has made you a tough guy, eh? You’re nothing in my eyes. Do you know how much that car costs? A person like you can’t afford to buy one in your entire life.”
“That’s right. jackie, stop your meddling. Take your daughter and leave!” Fiona took a step forward, then added, “Stop messing with my daughter’s search for happiness!”
“Mother, unless Selena personally asks me to go away, I will never leave her side!” jackie looked at Fiona with a resolved expression on his face.
“What do you have to compare with me? How do you qualify to be with her? A person needs to understand his own shortcomings, no?” Young Master Clark took a step forward, then jabbed at jackie’s chest. “You’re just a useless soldier…”
Smack! To their surprise, jackie sent Young Master Clark a few steps back with a slap. He spat a mouthful of blood along with three teeth.
Young Master Clark screamed while his cheeks burned. “Y-Y-You dare to hit me? You’re courting death! Do you know who I am?” Young Master Clark was furious. He wanted to fight back, yet dared not to. The person in front of him had returned from the battlefield. He, a pampered young master, was surely no match for jackie.
“ jackie, do you know who he is? He’s the Clark family’s young master. The Clark family is a lot wealthier and has more influence than our Taylor family!”
“I don’t care who he is. He dared to badmouth my daughter and have unclean thoughts about Selena. It’s already generous of me to not kill him!” jackie coldly declared.
“Alright, you’re ballsy and quite capable. Do you dare to let me make a phone call?” Ken said menacingly. “I wouldn’t be scared even if you made 10 calls!”
jackie could not be bothered with him. Such trash meant nothing in his eyes.
“ jackie? jackie White?” Right then, a melodious voice could be heard coming from behind them. jackie’s heart trembled. He turned around to see Selena, still beautiful as ever, but dressed in simple garments. His eyes immediately turned watery. “Selena, I’m back.”
“This is wonderful. I knew it. I knew you’d survive!” Selena’s body trembled, dropping the bags filled with trash to the ground. “It’s good that you’re back. Our child must not be without a father!” Selena’s voice quickly regained its calm.
Must not be without a father! Those six simple words made jackie realize Selena’s feeling for him at that moment. That was right. They hardly had any feelings for each other as the marriage was just for show. What happened that night was due to Selena’s rashness… As for the child, she could not bear to abort her as she was her own flesh and blood. Just six simple words fully expressed the helplessness in her heart.
“Selena, rest assured. Nobody will dare to bully you from now on!” jackie raised his hand, declaring matter-of-factly, “I swear!”
“My dear, have him get out of here and take Kylie along. He will only bring trouble!” Seeing her own daughter come home, Fiona grabbed onto Selena’s hand and said in tears, “Divorce him quick. Young Master Clark just promised us that he will take good care of you and us. I don’t want to see you collecting trash again. I also don’t wish to live in such a difficult situation anymore. Staying in a place like this is making us the laughing stock of others.”
“Ma, I’m sorry. I can’t abandon Kylie! Although jackie might be useless, he’s still my man and Kylie’s father. I believe that if we work hard together, our life will definitely get better!” Selena managed a bitter smile, her eyes filled with helplessness.
“H-H-He hit Young Master Clark right after he returned home. Look, even his teeth fell out!” Andrew was squatting on the floor in anger, feeling disappointed.
“What?!” Selena looked at the teeth and bloodstains on the floor, then shot an astonished look at jackie. “W-W-Why did you hit him? You’re too rash! This will be troublesome!”
“It’s fine, honey. You don’t have to worry!” jackie smiled calmly, silently appreciating the woman standing before him. She was just as pretty as before.
“What do you mean there’s nothing to worry about? Quickly come apologize to Young Master Clark. He’s the most promising child of the Clark family’s younger generation and also the Eldest Young Master. He’s
the heir apparent, the Clark family’s future master! This time, you’re really in big trouble!” Selena was extremely worried, urgently pushing jackie toward Young Master Clark.
“Apologize? Ha!” Once again, Young Master Clark spat out the blood in his mouth, then looked up and puffed his chest. “It’s too late to apologize now. My dad has ordered Dan Jameson to come and settle this matter!”
“Dan Jameson?” jackie was baffled. Was that not the person he had just defeated in an arm-wrestling match? What a coincidence.
Seeing how jackie was in a daze, Young Master Clark burst out laughing. “What’s this? Scared? Do you know who Dan is? He’s our Clark family’s number one fighter that will kill without remorse. He took down two to three hundred people all on his own. Do you think you’re so great just because you’ve been a soldier? Ha, what an ignorant fool!”
“Young Master Clark, please show your generosity and let this person go. He’s just a boor. Why bother?” Selena went forward to put in a kind word for jackie, feeling helpless.
“I’ve lost a few teeth and you’re telling me to let him go? Are you kidding me?” Young Master Clark massaged his swollen cheek, filled with anger. “I can let this slide as long as you divorce him right now… and marry me!”
“Young Master Clark, is that necessary? With your status, you can easily find a beautiful young lady. Why would you insist on a married woman like myself?” Selena smiled awkwardly. “Young Master Clark, please stop your jokes!”
“I’m sorry, but you’re the type I like!” Young Master Clark laughed coldly. “Since you’re unwilling to divorce him, then I’m not to be blamed. This brat will die today!”
Chapter 7 “I’ll die today? I don’t think so!” jackie was unfazed. He took a look outside and saw that Shauna had already brought Kylie to play under the banyan tree.
“Hmph, I’ll see how tough you think you are!” Young Master Clark could not be bothered to talk with jackie. He believed that jackie would be regretting soon enough. Very quickly, a few cars pulled over just outside. Dan Jameson, the Clark family’s number one fighter, walked in along with a few muscular guys.
Just as he entered the courtyard, Dan shouted, “Who’s the person that dared to bully our young master? Do you wish to die?” At that moment, Dan was furious as he had just ran into someone he could not afford to offend, causing him to lose a finger. He had just only finished treating his wound at the hospital when his master gave him another phone call, telling him that Young Master Clark was beaten up, sending him over to settle the issue.
“It’s that trash named jackie White. He’s just a stinking, retired soldier, yet he dares to behave arrogantly before me!” Young Master Clark immediately started smugly mouthing off once he saw Dan approach with his men.
“Motherf*cker, this is really—” Dan bellowed, rushing as he was about to take action to vent his frustrations. However, seeing the person standing in front of Ken, he was almost petrified by fear.
“How unexpected. We meet again!” jackie smiled calmly, then looked at the bandaged hand of the other party. “It seems you have a great personality. You’re a real man that keeps your word!”
At first, Ken could not understand what jackie was talking about. He frowned and looked at Dan, asking, “You’ve met?”
Dan smiled bitterly, then nodded. “Young Master Clark, uhm… It’s about time for lunch. Why don’t we head back?” While he spoke, Dan had even winked a few times at Ken.
“Lunch? What lunch? Go beat him up. Damn it! If I don’t vent my frustrations today, I’m not a man!” Ken huffed, failing to understand Dan’s implications.
Smack! jackie took a step forward and gave Young Master Clark a slap to his face.
“You… Dan, get him!”
Smack!
“Dan…”
Smack! After a few consecutive slaps, Young Master Clark almost passed out.
“Dan, why aren’t you and your men taking action?” Young Master Clark was on the verge of tears. He felt so wronged. He had never been treated this way before. Dan did not dare to take action. The men around him had also witnessed first hand how Black Dragon was killed. They lowered their heads in fear, not daring to take a single step forward.
“Sorry for disturbing!” The unexpected had just happened. Dan walked up to jackie and bowed respectfully, then with a wave of his hand, he ordered his underlings, “Take Young Master Clark home!” In an instant, the thugs carried Ken and went out the door.
“Put me down. Dan, what’s wrong with you? I’m asking you to cripple he. Dan, why are you such a wuss today?” Young Master Clark was cursing all the way out, but it had no effect. He was carried away just like that.
“This…” Fiona and Andrew were both flabbergasted. At first, they thought that jackie was done for. Who would have thought such a dramatic scene would ensue?
“Could it be that Dan is afraid of you? You know each other?” Selena asked with a frown on her face.
“That’s a long story!” jackie smiled bitterly, then looked at the bag of trash on the floor, asking, “Selena, why are you collecting trash? What happened in the past five years?”
All was good until that topic was brought up. Fiona immediately boiled with rage again.
Enraged, she walked forward and was just about to push jackie out of the door. “It’s all because of you, trash! If not for you forcing yourself on my daughter and impregnating her with Kylie, would she be kicked out of the family? Do you think we’d be collecting trash for a living?”
“Ma, stop that. He’s not to be blamed for that matter. It was my own decision. He did not force himself on me!” Selena retorted strongly, “The incident that night was nothing to be regretful about. I’ll never regret my decision. I’ll be responsible for my own actions. Didn’t Grandpa have me marry him? He’s the man I’ll be with!”
“Impossible. It must be this scoundrel forcing himself on you. You must’ve been drunk, and he took advantage of that. That must be it! You’re the Taylor family’s Eldest Miss and he’s only a delivery boy. How can he be a worthy partner for you?” Fiona refused to believe Selena’s statement. She glared at jackie through gritted teeth. “Brat, I don’t care. You must compensate my daughter for her loss of youth and divorce her. Let her marry Young Master Clark.”
“Mother, I’ve already told you. Unless Selena says so, I won’t be divorcing her!” jackie was determined. He looked at Selena, finally showing a gentle expression as he asked, “Selena, can you tell me what happened? Even if you’re kicked out of the Taylor family, you shouldn’t have to resort to collecting trash, right? With your networking and capabilities, how could you not find a good job?”
Selena made a bitter smile. That smile was filled with untold suffering. “Do you think I wished for this? After getting pregnant, I was told to abort her. I disagreed and was kicked out. What kind of job could I take while being pregnant? Moreover, my Grandpa gave out an order to ban all affiliated companies from hiring me!” By that point, Selena took a seat by the table. Her gaze had a pitiful look. “Some companies were willing to hire me, for example, those from the Clark family. Although they were willing, the condition
was to abort the child. Moreover, Young Master Clark had always been eyeing me! What else could I do? The Taylor family was even worse. They would only leave me alone when I collected trash. Otherwise, they’d be sending people to destroy my business even if I just set up a simple stall!”
“Damn it!” By that point, jackie could not bear listening on. The wife of the Supreme Warrior was actually forced to collect trash and left without help?
“You see, it’s all because of you. If not for trash like you, would our family be in such a rut?”
Fiona was still as disgusted as before. “Furthermore, Selena’s dad’s leg was broken when he worked as a porter. Look at him now! Sob, sob, sob, why is my life so difficult!”
“Father, mother, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect it to turn out this way!” Seeing Fiona in tears and how the whole family could not even have a decent meal, jackie’s heart was wracked with guilt. “Don’t you worry. Now that I’m back, nobody will dare to bully you in the future!”
“You’re just talking nonsense!” Fiona’s voice trembled, clearly agitated as she pointed at jackie. “You’re just a soldier. What can you do? At most, you can only run your mouth. The way I see it, it’s 10 to 100 times better for our Selena to marry Young Master Clark or that Young Master Wilson when compared to trash like you!”
Chapter 8 “Ma, no matter what you say, he’s still Kylie’s father and your son-in-law. Don’t ridicule him like that anymore! Those matters from the past are far behind us now. You should stop talking about it too!” Selena was just as kind and understanding as before.
“Bullsh*t! We’ve never recognized him as our son-in-law. This doesn’t count!” Fiona retorted.
“That’s right. If not for him, my leg wouldn’t be in this state!” Andrew was similarly holding his grudge.
“But what mistake did he commit? Back then, I slept with him out of spite. I didn’t expect myself to be pregnant from that!” Selena felt helpless. It was indeed her own brazen action that caused this. However, she really could not bear aborting the child. The situations they face up to that point were considered compensations for the mistake she made back then.
“But you didn’t have to carry the child. You…you’re really trying to give me a heart attack!”
Fiona stomped her foot in frustration.
“Nevermind. It is what it is. He’s back from the war. Let’s just see if he can find something to do in the future. Our lives will improve eventually!” Andrew took out a cigarette and lit it. He was indeed angry when he saw jackie, but at that point, there was nothing he could do. After all, Kylie was his granddaughter, the flesh and blood of his own daughter.
“How much better can it get? Can it compare to back when we were staying in the townhouse?”
Fiona was still huffing angrily.
“Selena, where’s my mother? How come I haven’t seen her?” jackie frowned. He had been back for quite a while, but he had yet to see his mother. Shauna told him earlier that his mother was staying with them.
“She’s still working. We can’t help that. Your mother is uncultured and old. She can only work as a cleaner outside. Her monthly salary is quite low, and she has split some over for us. As a family, we can only make do!” Selena finally said after a bitter smile.
“Come, bring me to her! You should know which street she’s in charge of, right?” Hearing that his own mother was working as a cleaner and the entire family’s income was dependent on her and Selena’s trash collecting, jackie felt very uncomfortable.
“Brat, I’m telling you that you need to divorce our Selena. Moreover, I won’t let you off without at least ten million dollars of compensation for her lost youth!” Just as they were leaving, Fiona’s furious outburst
could be heard from behind.
…
At that moment, the scorching sun was high in the sky. The blazing summer day caused the temperature on the ground to rise continuously. On the side of a street, a middle-aged woman was holding onto a hat as she cleaned the road. Thud! An empty mineral water bottle was thrown right in front of that middle- aged woman. The middle-aged woman raised her head and saw two youngsters along with some girls in sexy short dresses. She shook her head in resignation. “Sigh, youngsters these days…they don’t even know how to throw it into the trash can right there.”
Unexpectedly, the cleaner’s lamentation was heard by the other party. “F*ck, you’re just a cleaner. Why are you spouting so much nonsense? I’m throwing it in front of you. What about it? If I don’t throw my trash here, you cleaners would be getting paid for nothing, isn’t it?” The youngster that threw the bottle immediately started running his mouth. Having said that, he followed with spitting on the floor. “People from the lower rung of society can only get so far!”
“That’s right. If not for us creating trash, they’ll be unemployed!” One of the young girls with curly hair was wearing a black skirt and pantyhose. She started chewing on sunflower seed and threw the shells all over the place. “Clean it up. If you don’t clean properly, you might get a pay cut!”
The two youngsters joined in and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, munching away. “That’s right. Auntie, clean it properly. Hahaha!”
“Y-y-you guys are still so young, yet so uncultured. The trash can is right there. Don’t you know that littering is a very uncultured thing to do?” The cleaning lady was aggravated. Under the hot blazing summer sun, she was on the verge of passing out from the heat, yet the street that she spent so much effort cleaning up was…
“you’re teaching me about culture? You’re just a cleaner, yet you’re talking about culture. What a joke!” The first youngster burst into laughter once more.
Witnessing the scene, jackie and Selena almost had an aneurysm. These youngsters were too uncivilized. “What’s the point of you guys bullying an elderly here?”
Before jackie could take a step forward, Selena was already rushing up to them, shouting angrily, “What’s with that behavior? People are working so hard to clean the street. Can’t you guys just do your part to maintain a nice environment?”
“Aiyo, pretty lady, are you trying to stand up for her? You look pretty and have a shapely body. However, you’re a little too poor. Look at those patchy clothes!” That youngster shot a look at Selena and was surprised by what he saw. This woman was wearing such old and simple clothes, yet they could not cover up her beauty.
“Don’t you know to mind your own business?” The two girls, instead, gave Selena disgusted looks.
“Selena, why are you here?” jackie’s mother, Joan Xavier quickly pulled Selena back. “Nevermind, it’s fine. They’ll go away after a while. I’ll just clean it up after that!”
“Mother, they’re too much. They’ve crossed the line!” Selena felt angry. Her fists were tightly gripped, but she could not do anything.
“Hey pretty, you look quite cute when you’re angry!” The youngster took a look, growing more excited. He could not resist teasing, “Come here. If you give me a kiss, we’ll stop littering. Deal?”
“You dare pick on my woman!?” jackie could not hold back any longer. He stepped forward and stared them in the eye.
“You’re…” Joan was caught off guard. She quickly recognized jackie and started tearing up. “ jackie, y-y- you’re back?”
jackie turned around. His eyes were similarly tearing up, grabbing Joan’s hands tightly, “Ma, I’m sorry. Your son made you suffer. I was unable to be by your side for the past five years!”
“No, I’m fine. I’m doing just fine! All that matters is that you’re home safe and sound. They all said that you’ve died on the battlefield. I knew you’d definitely come back alive!” Joan’s passionate tears flowed as her voice trembled. Her pair of old callused hands holding onto jackie’s hands quietly, fearing that it would be all a dream if she let go of them.
“I’m back, I’m really back. We’ll never be separated again and live comfortably in the future!” jackie nodded repeatedly. “Your son has been unfilial for making you worried!”
“No, no, you’re a good boy. I know you married into the family just to get money for my treatment. You went to war for our country!” Joan’s tears blurred her eyesight. “I’m very satisfied to have such a son!”
“F*ck, are you guys from the entertainment department? What’s with all these dramatic flairs? Sickening!” That youngster was frustrated. However, his words caused jackie’s eyes to flicker with murderous intent.
Chapter 9 “That’s right. These bums are talking about war and bringing glory to the country. What a joke!”
The other youngster snickered along.
Bang, bang! However, the very next instant, both youngsters only saw a blur then was sent flying away and slammed into the wall behind them, causing it to crash. Both of them spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Their legs stiffened, then stopped moving.
“Ah! Murder!” Both the girls shrieked as though they had just seen a ghost, running away immediately.
“Oh no, jackie, you’ve killed someone. What if they’re some important people or belong to some organization? What’re we going to do?”
Seeing the two of them lying there motionless, Joan went pale. “Y-y-you’re just too hot-headed. This is not the battlefield. There are some people that we can’t afford to offend. Do you think you’re still on the battlefield where killing your opponent was fine?”
“Why can’t you hold your temper? They’ve only said a few words!” Selena was extremely frustrated as well, unsure of what to do.
Seeing how the two women he cared for the most was worrying about him, jackie felt his heart all warmed up. “Ma, Selena, don’t you worry. They’ve just passed out. I know how to hold back. They’ll be waking up in a while!” jackie made a bitter smile as he explained.
“Really?” Selena quickly stepped forward and placed her fingers under their noses for confirmation. She then let out a sigh of relief. “They’re still breathing. It should be fine.”
“Come, let’s leave quickly!” Joan ushered while looking around.
“Ma, let’s go. You can forget about your job. It’s about time for you to enjoy your life!” jackie looked at both women with a carefree smile on his face, stating, “Let’s go. It’s still early. I’ll bring you both to buy a few sets of suitable clothes!”
“A few sets?” Hearing that, Joan was shocked. “And where is your money? Furthermore, how can I stop working? There are so many people I need to feed. Our whole family is depending on Selena and me! Son, listen to me. Selena had suffered a lot of hardships for Kylie’s sake. You better treat her well and not let her down!”
“That can’t be it. Father-in-law’s leg might be stopping him from working, but mother-in-law and Clifford should be able to work right? Are they also being suppressed at work?” jackie scowled. Clifford Taylor was still young in the past and was unable to be enlisted. However, five years have passed and he should be an adult by now. He should be helping out the family.
Speaking of them, Joan could not help but sigh deeply. “They’re blaming everything on you for their ill fate. Moreover, they’re used to being pampered back when they were in the Taylor family. How do you expect them to be willing to work? They’re just unwilling to look for work!”
“My brother is too useless. He hardly comes home, and every time he does, it’s to ask for money!” Speaking of the useless brother, even Selena was frustrated.
Having said that, Selena looked at jackie. “However, now that jackie’s back, the Taylor family didn’t set any restrictions on him. It’d be great if he can go get a job soon!”
“Them restricting me?” Hearing that, jackie chuckled. “It’s already very kind of me to not suppress the Taylor family!”
“Look at you. Just because you’ve been a soldier, you’re behaving all different now. You’ve grown tougher. However, it has also made you boastful!” Joan looked at her son, her face glowing blissfully. Everyone told her that jackie was surely dead, but she did not believe them. She was sure that jackie would make it back safely eventually, and that day arrived.
“Come on, let’s go get you some clothes!” jackie pushed Joan forward.
“Where did your money come from?” Selena thought for a moment, then a sudden realization hit her. “Oh right, I’ve heard that the soldiers returning from war are given rewards. Seems like you’ve gotten some rewards, didn’t you?”
“Is that so?” Joan was delighted. “Then that should be tens of thousand, right? You’ve been a soldier for five full years after all. However, you should be thrifty. Kylie is about to start kindergarten. Nowadays, better kindergartens are very expensive! It should be more than tens of thousand dollars. I’ve heard from several people returning from the battlefield. One of them was awarded over two hundred thousand dollars, and that’s a common occurrence!”
Selena gave it some thought, then smiled delightfully. “That’s wonderful. If we have two hundred thousand dollars, then our lives would be more comfortable.”
“Ma, you don’t need to worry about it. If Kylie’s attending kindergarten, it must be the best kindergarten!” jackie took Joan and Selena along, quickly arriving at a huge shopping mall. He stopped in his tracks and held onto Selena’s hand, saying in full seriousness, “Selena, you don’t need to collect trash anymore. You can work to kill time if you want. If you don’t feel like working, I’ll take care of you!”
“What’re you talking about? There are so many people watching!” Selena’s face turned scarlet immediately as she quickly retracted her hand. To be honest, she had little feelings for jackie. Back then, she was forced into the marriage. It was out of spite that she got herself drunk, resulting in that incident. However, she really could not bear to abort her own child. Moreover, jackie was a filial son and seemed to have a decent personality. It was because of her child that she held on for so long. Now that jackie suddenly held her hand, she felt extremely shy.
“Let’s go in and have a look. However, jackie, don’t you buy anything for me. You should buy some for your in-laws. They’ve suffered a lot of hardships for the past five years because of you!” Joan, on the other hand, just smiled at them. She obviously hoped that jackie could gain the recognition of his in-laws.
“For clothes, it’s better to bring them over to pick for themselves. If I buy it for them, it might not suit them!” jackie answered after some consideration. They were his in-laws after all. They have suffered hardships all these years because of him, yet he had never treated them properly for even a day. Their dissatisfaction with him was understandable. Very quickly, jackie brought them to the second floor of the shopping mall.
“ jackie, I think it’s better for us to shop around on the first floor. The clothes on the second floor are mostly branded. There are even international brands. Those are expensive!” Selena whispered to him after looking around.
“Really? Are they that expensive?” Upon hearing that, Joan urged, “Son, let’s go downstairs. Those on the first floor are cheaper. Just buy some for your wife. That’s sufficient. Don’t worry about me. I still have quite a lot of clothes!”
“I don’t need them. Just buy some for your mother instead!” Selena interjected. She was also thinking of saving some money.
“Let’s stop this. Listen to me. We’ll shop here!” One on each hand, jackie pulled both of them and strode right into an exclusive store.
“No no no, this is too expensive…” Selena retorted, but it was too late. jackie was very persistently strong, dragging them into the store easily. However, right as they entered the store, she immediately kept quiet. After all, she knew not to embarrass jackie in public. However, unbeknownst to them, their apparels immediately attracted disgusted glares.
Chapter 10 “Are these three people sane? They look so dirty. Look at that woman wearing a street cleaner’s uniform and a straw hat. Good heavens, isn’t this a Gucci store?” A rich woman sneered coldly as she looked over whilst picking her clothes. She was holding onto a Gucci bag.
“I’m sorry, madam. I’ll have them leave immediately!” The beautiful saleswoman beside her immediately responded with a customary smile, then turned around to instruct the other saleswoman, “Go, send them out of here. Don’t let them lower our store’s class!”
The saleswoman quickly strutted over in her high heels and approached jackie’s group of three. “Hello. Are you here to buy clothes? This is a Gucci store. Our products are from overseas and of high quality…” That saleswoman was an experienced employee. She was sure that when put that way, those poor people would naturally realize that they came to the wrong place and quietly take their leave. However, she had obviously made a mistake this time.
jackie looked around, then stated, “High class is good. I’m looking to buy some classy clothes for my mother and wife. I won’t accept anything of lower class!”
“What?!” The saleswoman was stunned. “Sir, are you sure?”
jackie looked at Selena who stood beside him. “My wife is so pretty and graceful. Shouldn’t she wear something classy?”
“Of course. It’s just that I’m worried you would have issues with the payment later.” The saleswoman chuckled. If not for maintaining the store’s image, she would have told him off directly. How could these poor blokes afford their goods?
“What issues?” jackie could not be bothered. He immediately pointed at a dress and stated, “Selena, that dress looked decent. I think it’ll suit you!”
“It’s fine. I don’t really like that color. jackie, I think we should leave!” Selena was feeling nervous. Before her marriage, she would frequent stores like this. However, at that moment, she felt extremely restrained.
“You don’t like this color? That’s quite a good excuse!” Unexpectedly, that rich lady had approached them. She sneered, “Just admit that you can’t afford it. Is there a point to keep up with the facade? What’s the point of keeping up appearances if you’re poor? Only the rich are worthy of keeping up with appearances!”
“Poor? Based on what are you judging our wealth?” jackie was pissed. He did not mind others badmouthing him. However, that was aimed at Selena. It was unacceptable.
Seeing that jackie dared to retort her, she immediately took up the confrontation. “Just about everything. How can a street cleaner and two poorly dressed people afford to buy clothes here? Have a look for yourself. This dress itself is priced at five figures. Can you see it?”
“What! F-f-five figures!” Joan was shocked. She was really taken aback. She knew that it would be expensive, but she thought it would at most be one or two thousand dollars. She never expected it to hit five figures. “ jackie, why don’t we forget about it? We can go look elsewhere!” Joan looked at jackie with a frown.
“Ma, don’t you worry about this matter. The clothes here are for the younger folks. I’ll pick some for Selena first. I’ll help you pick some later!” Faced with his mother, jackie’s expression was a lot gentler. “This one. Selena, go give it a try!” jackie picked the one that he liked and passed it to Selena.
“You really want me to try it on?” Selena frowned. Women liked to look beautiful. She naturally wanted to wear this type of clothes as well. However, her current situation was unlike before. She was no longer the pretty director from before, nor the Taylor family’s Eldest Miss. Even if jackie had over two hundred thousand dollars from his reward, that was earned from him risking his life. She did not want to spend jackie’s hard-earned money this way.
“Go try it on. What are you afraid of?!” jackie pushed Selena into the changing room.
“Wait a minute. Look at her covered in dirt. What if she dirtied our clothes? By then I’m afraid we can’t sell them anymore!” The beautiful saleswoman asked angrily as her expression darkened.
“If you continue spouting nonsense, I’ll give you a beating.” jackie shot her a glare. That intimidating aura caused her to cower and took a few steps back. “You’re not letting us try the clothes out before buying? What’s the point of the changing rooms?” jackie retorted coldly, then ushered Selena into the changing room.
Selena looked at jackie. It all seemed like a dream to her. The jackie right then was really very different from before.‘Is this the same delivery boy from five years ago who willingly marry into my family and enlist for war in Ivan’s place for one million?’ At that moment, jackie seemed very manly and domineering. She smiled, then quickly changed and walked out of the changing room.
“Selena, you’re really beautiful in this dress. Absolutely stunning!” Joan took a look and her eyes brightened. If it’s ten thousand, so be it. We’ll buy this. All these years, my jackie hasn’t bought you anything before. This is something he should have gotten for you. If not because of our lack of money, it won’t matter even if you buy ten of them!”
“It’s really beautiful, but I think it’s a little too expensive!” Selena frowned. Although she was unwilling to part with it, she still suggested, “Why don’t we look around for a little? There are many shops we haven’t checked out yet!”
“Just buy it if it looks good. Money is not a problem!” Meanwhile, jackie passed her another two dresses. “These two look good too. Try it on!”
“Wait a minute. You can’t try this dress!” The beautiful saleswoman quickly took one of the dresses from them. “Sir, this is a limited edition dress. It’s the only dress in the entire country. This dress is really expensive, priced at over a hundred thousand! It’s the most expensive one in our store, so…” Smack!
However, before she could finish her sentence, jackie had given her a slap. “What did I say earlier? Have you forgotten already? I’ve told you that I’d smack you if you continue spouting nonsense!”
“Y-y-you…” The beautiful saleswoman almost had a stroke. What kind of person was that. So uncivilized. He really dared to hit her. The saleswoman looked pitiful. She was at the verge of crying.
“Brat, you’re really daring huh? A poor bloke like you still dare to be this brazen? Now you’ve even hit someone. Poor folks like you shouldn’t be in stores like this! You said you’re rich right? Sure, just you wait. If you can’t afford to pay later, I, Karen, won’t let you leave this store!” Karen was ruthless and chatty. After delivering her speech, she took out her iPhone and made a call. “Old Roger, bring some men to the South Wing on the second floor. I’m being bullied. There’s a poor bloke that’s acting insolently in my face!”
“ jackie, what are you doing?” Witnessing that, Selena frowned and said worriedly, “I think we better get going. I’m not trying it on!”
“They’re just looking down on us and spewing nonsense. If I don’t teach them a lesson, they won’t learn!” Having said that, jackie took both dresses. “It’s fine not to try it. Pack this up. I think the size is about right!”
“I better try it on then!” Selena was feeling helpless. Such an expensive dress. It would be a huge loss if they purchased it just to find it being the wrong size. Furthermore, looking at jackie’s behavior, the purchase was unavoidable. Before she could finish trying the two dresses, there were several bodyguards in suits standing in front of the door. Meanwhile, Karen was also standing by the door, sneering at jackie.
“Karen, that’s the poor bloke? Don’t worry. I’m used to dealing with this type of poor and insolent fool. I’ll let him know what cruelty means!”
Chapter 11 “All three dresses suit you well, honey. Do you like it? We’ll get them if you like it!” The two saleswomen no longer dared to look down on jackie. They merely stood there pitifully.
Hearing jackie’s words, Selena blushed. She was still a little unused to the term ‘Honey’. “I still think it’s too expensive!” By then, Selena had already changed back into her clothes. She took a look at the three dresses, then replied with a smile. “It’s the thought that counts. One dress will do, no need for that many!”
“Just admit that you’re poor and drop the act. Don’t even think of leaving the store if you can’t pay up today!” Karen, the rich woman, started sneering at them.
When the saleswomen heard those words, they felt delighted. ‘These three poor blokes are acting so insolent even though they’re poor. Let’s see how you deal with it now that you met a stronger figure.’
However, out of their expectations, jackie passed the three dresses to the saleswoman that he slapped earlier. “Just these three. Pack them up for me!”
“You’re really buying? The total is almost two hundred thousand dollars…” The woman asked out of surprise, then finally led the way after a moment, saying, “Sir, this way please!”
jackie followed along and took out a gold card. The numbers on the card were all eights.
“This…is it usable?” the saleswoman frowned, unable to resist from muttering. It was her first time seeing such a card.
“Why do you keep spewing nonsense? It’s password-free for payments under ten billion dollars!” jackie gave her an impatient look, then dashingly waved at Selena who was waiting for him.
The saleswoman took a big gulp of air. Somehow, she still felt that this man before him was lying. Even the most powerful black card that she knew of was only limited to password-free transactions under 10 million dollars. Meanwhile, this person was telling her that his card allowed for password-free transactions under 10 billion? If that was not a lie, what was? However, she tried her best to smile and ran the card through the reader. Surprisingly, the transaction was successful instantly!
“Oh my god, he was telling the truth?” The beautiful saleswoman swallowed hard. Even if that was a lie, the card was still capable of password-free transactions for that sum of money. This person’s identity was surely extraordinary. Moreover, this type of customer would definitely be considered VIP amongst VIP at the banks.
“Sir, here you go. Please come again!” It was rare for them to meet such a rich customer. The beautiful saleswoman respectfully passed the card back to jackie and bowed slightly, trying to appease him.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you just diss us for being poor? You’re still asking us to come again?” jackie smiled coldly as he retrieved his card.
“It’s all a misunderstanding. I didn’t expect you to keep such a low profile! The beautiful saleswoman answered with a smile, then added, “If you’re making similar purchases here every day, I don’t mind getting slapped by you again!” After all, those three dresses gave them quite a good commission, especially the one costing over 100 thousand dollars. Most people could not afford it.
jackie could not be bothered with her. He then approached Selena and Joan. “Let’s go. Ma, we’ll go shop somewhere else and see if there are any that suit you!”
“Are you serious? You really settled the bill?” Karen stood in front of the door waiting to teach jackie a lesson. When she saw the saleswoman escorting jackie out delightfully, she was flabbergasted. Although she did not lack wealth, she would still feel the pain if she spent 200 thousand dollars in one go. Moreover, she had just uttered some mean words.
“A good dog doesn’t block the way! Move aside!” jackie stated coldly as he reached the door and stared at those bodyguards.
“Brat, you’re quite insolent! The leader of the bodyguards was aggravated. He took a step forward and sent a punch right at jackie’s face. However, he was sent flying the very next instant, landing heavily on the floor.
“This…” The rest of the bodyguards were stunned. This brat seemed to be a capable fighter.
“What’re you doing standing there? Go get him! Damn it, how dare he hit my men. That’s just disrespecting me, Karen!” Karen snapped her fingers and barked her orders. Upon witnessing that, she was furious.
Unfortunately, the next moment she was speechless. Her rather capable bodyguards that went through special training were all lying on the floor, unable to even touch his clothes.
“Karen, would you like to try?” jackie stared coldly at Karen, curling his finger invitingly at her.
“It’s all a misunderstanding. brother, I can see that you’re quite the capable fighter. Why don’t you be my bodyguard? I’ll pay you!” Karen smiled awkwardly. If her bodyguards were no match for jackie, what could she, a weak little girl, do? She would probably die from a single kick.
“Be your bodyguard? Ha, you’re overestimating yourself!” To jackie, that offer was a joke. He, the Supreme Warrior, master of the Nine Gods of War, and his countless contributions in the war, falling low enough to be someone’s bodyguard?
“Son, let’s get going!” Joan was scared. It was the first time she witnessed such a scene. However, her own son’s strength was truly amazing. A group like that was not his match.
“Let’s go. Ma, the clothes in that store would suit you…”
“Don’t bother. You’ve already spent so much money. Don’t use up all your rewards!”
“It’s fine Ma, your son wants to buy some clothes for you. Isn’t that the right thing to do?”
…
After a moment, Selena received a call. After answering it, her expression turned extremely ugly.
“What’s wrong, honey?!” Seeing that, jackie asked immediately.
“Did you beat up Ivan Taylor?” Selena’s expression was cold. Before jackie could explain, she reprimanded angrily, “Why do you like to fight so much? Yes, you’re amazing. After being a soldier for a few years, you’re now very powerful, right? You’ll just beat up whoever that offends you, isn’t it?”
“ jackie, look at you. That Ivan is someone we can’t afford to offend. He’s very petty. Now that you’ve offended him, we’re not going to live in peace in the future!” Joan sighed. “Ivan is the main reason for Selena being unemployed all these while. Right now, he’s the director of Taylor Group. As long as he sends a word in the market, who would dare to attract trouble by hiring Selena?”
“But he really deserves it. If not because of his identity as a member of the Taylor family and Selena’s cousin, he would be long dead!” jackie turned expressionless, then said, “That bastard. When I came back, I didn’t know you were kicked out of the Taylor family. I met Ivan and he dared to force Kylie to eat buns that he stomped on. How could I tolerate that!?”
“What?!” Hearing that, Selena was shocked. “That bastard. He’s really going overboard. How dare he treat Kylie like that.” Having said that, she looked toward jackie, finally realizing that she had wrongfully blamed him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was for that reason that you beat him up. However, Grandpa is furious at the moment and requested for us to head over. My parents are already rushing over. They asked us to hurry up.”
“What’s there to be scared of? It’s their fault to start with. I’ve not even begun settling the matter of them kicking you guys out of the Taylor family!” jackie harrumphed, then said, “Let’s go!”
Chapter 12 “Settle the matter? How do you plan to settle this? For that matter, I’m at fault too. Furthermore, Master Taylor is still my grandfather. Are you planning to beat him up?” Selena smiled bitterly, then said, “This time, you come with us and just stay quiet in a corner. After so many years, Grandpa’s temper should have improved. Maybe a few good words will stop them from pursuing this matter.”
“Alright, I’ll try my best to follow your instructions and avoid acting. Otherwise, you’ll complain that I’m being too violent!” jackie laughed bitterly. He wanted to see for himself how the people from the Taylor family would treat him without knowing his identity. Furthermore, the reason he came back this time was not to be the Supreme Warrior. He only wished to peacefully accompany his woman and care for his mother, living life comfortably.
Taking a taxi, the group of three quickly arrived at the gates of Taylor Residence.
“That brat is really brazen to actually hit Young Master Taylor. Didn’t he know that Young Master Taylor was extremely petty?”
“That’s right. I’m afraid this won’t end well. He’s just a soldier, a stinking live-in son-in-law. He should consider his own identity!”
They overheard the quiet exchange of the two guards at the gate just as they got out of the car.
However, when the guards noticed their arrival, they immediately kept quiet.
One of them smiled. “Miss Selena, you’re back. We’ll inform the Master and Old Master right away!”
“No need! We’ll go by ourselves!” Selena looked at the gate stoically with complex feelings.
She had numerous wonderful memories of her childhood here. Unexpectedly, after growing up, the Taylor family turned out to be filled with so much political intrigue. To her, the bigger surprise was the fact that she would, one day, be kicked out of this place.
After hesitating for a moment, the trio entered slowly. Just as they reached the gate of the Old Master’s villa, they could hear the voices of discussion coming from within.
“That jackie is too much. Who does he think he is to hit Ivan?!”
“That’s right. He’s just a soldier of a few years. Does he think he’s some big shot now? How can a sparrow transform into a phoenix?!”
“Most importantly, Ivan was suffering from fractured bones. I heard that he was beaten to the point of unconsciousness!” A few relatives of the Taylor family were having a heated discussion, as though jackie was a condemned sinner.
“Yes, that’s right. That brat is in the wrong. I’m so pissed!” Just as Selena was about to enter, Fiona’s voice could be heard. Selena frowned immediately. Her outstretched hand paused in the air.
Right at that moment, Fiona’s voice was heard once more, “You might not know this, but earlier today, he actually slapped Ken Clark, the Clark family’s young master, and caused him to lose three teeth!”
“Young Master Clark? That Young Master Clark that fancies your Selena all this while? He went looking for you?” Old Master Taylor could not help but ask.
“I know, right?” He thought that jackie was surely dead and hoped that Selena would divorce jackie so that he could marry Selena. Moreover, he also mentioned that he does not mind about Kylie’s incident.
“Who could’ve known that jackie would suddenly come back at that time…” Fiona grew more agitated over time. “This time, I’m afraid the Clark family won’t let it go that easily!”
Selena could not bear listening on, pushing straight through the door with jackie and Joan with her. “Ma, I won’t accept Ken’s proposal! He’s a fake gentleman. Do you really think that he would be nice to me after getting married? By that time, I don’t know how much frustration I’ll have to go through!”
“Selena, you’re finally back. If you don’t give me a proper resolution for today’s matter, I won’t let this go!” Upon seeing jackie and Selena’s arrival, Ivan, who had one hand in bandages, stared at them angrily with his eyes wide open.
“Ivan, are you without fault? You had Kylie eat the buns that you threw on the floor and stomped on. Do you think that jackie, as a father, could tolerate that?” Selena’s expression darkened, then looked at Old Master Taylor and said, “Grandpa, jackie can’t be blamed for this matter. Ivan was really going overboard.”
“Ivan, is that the case?” Old Master Taylor was not an unreasonable person. He looked at Ivan and asked slowly.
Ivan immediately retorted, “How is that possible? I was only joking and jackie coincidentally saw it. Who knew he would act without even saying anything! H-h-he even forced me to eat that bun!”
“Ivan Taylor, if you continue to spew nonsense, I’ll break your other arm!” Beside her, jackie could no longer bear to watch it. Ivan was clearly lying blatantly. Hearing those words, Ivan took a few steps back.
It was obvious that he was scared. However, remembering that they were in Taylor Residence and jackie was just a live-in son-in-law, he probably would not dare do anything with this many witnesses.
With his newfound confidence, he took a step forward. “You guys take a look at how insolent this brat is. He’s just a live-in son-in-law, not even a Taylor, yet he dared to utter such words in front of everyone.” Ivan turned around and shot a look at jackie.
The words that jackie was about to say were held back. He had already caused Selena to suffer through so many years of hardships. For Selena’s sake, he did not wish to complicate matters. Furthermore, he only wanted to enjoy a peaceful life.
“ jackie, you’re too brazen. If not for the one million dollars we gave you, your mother won’t be able to afford the surgery and died! Not only are you ungrateful, but you also repaid kindness with malice and treat our Taylor family this way?” One of the relatives of the Taylor family immediately started their accusations.
“That’s right. If it’s not for us, would his mother still be around?” Another elder was similarly putting up airs, acting high and mighty.
In their eyes, jackie and Joan were outsiders, penniless people of the lower class. If not for Selena being pregnant with that bastard child, jackie would have nothing to do with their Taylor family.
Right then, one of the girls from the Taylor family in her twenties, Cecilia Taylor, noticed the shopping bag in Joan’s hand. “Are my eyes playing tricks on me? That is all Gucci stuff!” Cecilia walked forward and studied Joan, who was still in her cleaner’s uniform, closely, then said disdainfully, “Did you rob or steal these?!”
With Cecilia pointing it out, everyone immediately took notice of those shopping bags. They were obviously Gucci. Was that something they could even afford?
“My son bought it for me and Selena. Although we’re poor, we have always been honorable. There’s no way we would resort to stealing or robbing!”
Chapter 13 “Honorable? If you’re not wearing such clothing, I might just believe it!” Cecilia sneered, then added, “There should be a few dresses in there. From the looks of it, some were bought for Selena, right? I’m guessing the total should be some tens of thousand dollars!”
Cecilia commented as she looked through the content. She suddenly saw a dress and took it out of the bag. “It can’t be. T-t-this is a limited edition worldwide! This dress is over a hundred thousand dollars! It’s the newest model from Gucci!”
Hearing those words, several people from the Taylor family had a shocked expression.
It was not that they could not afford that dress, but it was weird that jackie’s group could afford it.
Moreover, it was not some high-end watch or jade pieces, but just a dress. Even those from the Taylor family would think twice before spending hundreds and thousands of dollars.
“Put the dress back. I don’t want your hand dirtying Selena’s dress!” Upon seeing her taking the dress out, jackie’s expression darkened as he issued the warning.
Cecilia was astonished, then proceed to put it back into the bag. However, she soon started smiling. “I know. You must’ve bought fake goods. Tsk…tsk it does seem authentic. I almost believed it.”
The others came to a sudden realization. ‘That’s right. How can they afford international branded items? What a joke. What else could it be if not high-quality imitation?’
“Cecilia, its authenticity has nothing to do with you, does it?” This is my husband’s gift for me. As long as it’s from him, I’ll like it regardless of its authenticity!” Upon hearing the unpleasant words she had said, Selena replied sarcastically, “Unlike some people, without a boyfriend despite their advanced age. Could it be that you’re jealous of me?”
“You…” Cecilia was triggered. Although her appearance was not bad, she indeed had no boyfriend. Selena’s word caused her great discomfort. She then sneered, “I’m jealous of you? That’s rich. Should I be jealous of you being kicked out of the Taylor family like trash? I don’t have a boyfriend because I want to find a rich man. Unlike someone, cheap enough to just marry a delivery boy.”
By that point, Cecilia added more venomous comments. “Moreover, the wedding ceremony was lackluster. There wasn’t even a betrothal gift. What a shame it was for our Taylor family.”
“So what if I’m willing? That’s none of your business. This is my own choice to make!” Selena was fighting back fiercely, almost breaking her ladylike persona.
“Sure, of course. Some people are happy with their degeneracy, what can we do about it?”
Cecilia shrugged. “Well, that kind of hardship is something this lady will never experience.”
“Enough!” Finally, Old Master Taylor roared stoically. The Old Master was quite advanced in age, but his presence silenced the room immediately. He walked up to jackie, checking him out carefully. For some reason, he felt that this young man had undergone a complete transformation. Just him standing there gave off an aura that should not be trifled with. Was he still the same young man that begged him for one million dollars to treat his mother’s disease from five years ago? He thought for a moment, then finally spoke up, “Tell me, how much money should I pay you to leave Selena alone and stop bugging her?”
The Old Master knew full well of Selena’s obsession with the child. Selena’s refusal for a divorce was definitely because of the child. However, he could do it by approaching jackie. Hearing that, Selena frowned and looked at jackie worryingly. After all, with the power of money, it was hard to say. Moreover, despite them being officially married, there were hardly any feelings between them.
jackie was silent. ‘Money? Would I care for those things now?’ Furthermore, five years ago, if not for saving his mother, he would never beg someone for merely one million dollars. “Old Master, I’m afraid
you’ll be disappointed. Selena is my woman. For me and my child, she had suffered through five years of hardship. It’s impossible for me to leave them!” jackie replied firmly with a smile.
Hearing those words, Selena’s heart was filled with warmth. The past five years of waiting was not in vain.
The Old Master quickly took out a check and signed his name, then passed it to jackie. “Our Taylor family does not like you as our live-in son-in-law. Back then, you’ve promised to fake the marriage with Selena to take Ivan’s place on the battlefield. I’m not killing you this time because of your relationship with Selena and Kylie. However, you must leave! Write whatever number you wish! You can cash it in at any bank in Eastfield. Furthermore, I can let the matter of you beating up Ivan slide!” It could be said that from the Old Master’s perspective, he had already made a huge compromise.
Upon hearing that, Ivan was furious. He quickly stepped forward and stated, “Grandpa, we can just kill him. He’s broken my arm…”
“Shut up!” Who would have thought that Old Master Taylor would turn around to yell at him? “Ivan Taylor, do you think I don’t know what you’ve done in secret? You only know that my health is in decline and rarely leave the house, isn’t it? I, Zeus Taylor, might be old, but I’m not blind. Ever since you’ve been the director, our company’s performance has been in decline for the past few years. I’m just too tired to berate you!”
Old Master Taylor then added, “I can’t be bothered with you picking on Selena as I was also angry with her giving birth to a child with him. However, Kylie is Selena’s daughter. She’s only four years old. How dare you feed her with buns that you stomped on. I can’t bear to imagine such an incident!”
“Dad, regardless, jackie can’t beat Ivan up just because of that, right? Furthermore, these are just empty accusations from jackie. Who knows if he might be lying!?” Theodore Taylor, master of the Taylor family and Ivan’s father, interjected as he stepped forward.
“Is that so? Would you dare to let me investigate the matter to see if it really happened?”
Old Master Taylor’s words shut Theodore up. He then added, “You play a big part in Ivan’s current behavior of mixing around with those questionable women. He’s under your care. We’re just a third-class aristocratic family. It took us a lot of effort to get us here. Aren’t you afraid that our Taylor family might one day be ruined in the hands of your son?”
“Grandpa, how is that possible. I go out for drinks to entertain my clients. It’s for my job!”
Ivan laughed awkwardly, then added, “Furthermore, our company’s performance is quite good for the past two months. You need to believe in me. This year, we’ll be making a huge profit and cover for our losses in the past.”
Hearing that, jackie’s heart felt a lot better. It would seem that the Old Master kicked Selena out mainly due to his annoyance of Selena marrying a nameless person like him. However, five years have passed. His anger should mostly subside. Furthermore, he was probably keeping tabs on Selena and Kylie’s situation. All in all, Old Master Taylor still cared for his granddaughter. “Here, sign it. As for the number, just write whatever you wish! With that, we’ll call it even!”
Chapter 14 Old Master Taylor was having mixed feelings. jackie’s guess was almost spot on. The Old Master was a person that cared greatly about his reputation. Back then, he had jackie marry into the Taylor family to prevent Ivan from being enlisted. That itself was already something that affected the Taylor family’s reputation. He never expected an even greater shame to come later on. jackie was only married to Selena for a day when he got enlisted the very next day. However, Selena became pregnant soon after. He was aware that Selena had gotten drunk that night. He even suspected that it could have been jackie that forced himself on Selena. Never did he expect Selena to claim that it was voluntary. That matter almost gave him a heart attack. That was why, in a fit of rage, he kicked Selena, her parents, and her 14 years old brother out of the Taylor Residence. As for Selena’s inability to be employed and the restrictions placed on her, that was the work of Ivan.
“Are you sure I can write any amount?” jackie was surprised for a moment and then asked while snickering.
“Of course! Just fill it!” Seeing how jackie was really moved by money, Old Master Taylor’s heart rejoiced. Selena’s beauty was above others. Furthermore, she was talented in business matters. As long as she divorced jackie, she would have no problem looking for a wealthy partner. In fact, he heard that Young Master Clark was trying to court Selena.
“Of course, the Old Master will keep his words. Fill it in quickly!” said Fiona.
Fiona was extremely excited upon hearing their exchange. She quickly approached the dumbfounded Selena. “Daughter, look. I’ve told you that he will let you down. You wanted to keep the child for him and wait for five years. You suffered five years of hardship, yet he still ended up choosing money? This is a materialistic world!”
Selena stood there in a daze. She felt lost. All those years spent waiting, all those suffering, in the end…
“ jackie, you… Are you stupid? Where else can you find such a wonderful wife? Are you really giving up your wife and daughter for money? Selena suffered five years of hardship. All those scorn and ridicule she had to endure! She even had to collect trash and gave up looking for a job!” Joan stepped forward and looked at jackie, her eyes filled with disappointment. “We can’t be heartless!”
“Ma, let him be!” Selena’s eyes were filled with despair, complete despair. The five difficult years she endured came to such a conclusion.
“You see? Selena, all men are hopeless. I’ve told you to abort the child, yet you didn’t listen!” Cecilia then added out of the blue, “Sigh, although I can’t find a boyfriend, it’s still better than you finding an undependable one!”
Selena’s eyes were tearing up. She looked at jackie, feeling hopeless. “Have you decided?”
jackie smiled. “I’ve decided!” Having said that, he started scribbling on the check. He then quickly passed the check back. “I’m done. You told me to fill it up!”
“Of course, I’ll keep my word!” Seeing jackie choosing money, Zeus’ gaze showed a hint of disappointment. At first, he had come to respect jackie a little bit more. He was thinking if jackie were to show some capabilities and treat his granddaughter well, that would also be acceptable. Unfortunately, jackie failed. However, he froze up after he looked at the check. On the check, it was written with a string of numbers, “999999999999999999…” At the end of the string of numbers, it was followed by ellipsis!
“Brat, are you trolling me?” Zeus’ expression darkened, turning extremely scary. Even Theodore, master of the Taylor family, went forward to have a look at the check, exclaiming, “Brat, what’s the meaning of this? You think this is a joke?”
“What’s the matter?” Cecilia was similarly surprised. She hurried over to take a look. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…why is it ending with an ellipsis? How much money is this?”
“Old Master Taylor, you told me to write as I like. Can you afford the figure I filled in?” At that moment, jackie burst out laughing. He approached Selena and held onto her hand, stating in a serious tone, “My wife waited five full years for me, a mere delivery boy. She suffered all those hardships, yet you’re trying to measure it with money? She’s priceless, hence you can’t afford the price I’m asking for!”
“You rascal…” Selena was trapped in between anger and amusement. However, her heart was filled with happiness. Just a second ago, she thought jackie was about to take the money and divorce her, leaving her and her daughter behind. It turns out that he had written countless nines on that check and even added ellipsis in the end.
“Let me see, let me see!” Joan was originally quite angry. Hearing the conversation, she immediately reached for the check. After taking a look, she excitedly passed it to Selena. “Selena, look! This is your status in my son’s heart. You’re priceless!”
“Mom, I know!” Selena blushed. The few years of waiting turned out to be worth it. This man did not let her down.
“How dare you toy with our Taylor family. jackie, you’re courting death. Guards, cripple him, and throw him out of here!” Theodore stepped forward and bellowed in rage.
“Is this a fight? I’m sorry, but I’m very good at that now!” jackie replied after hearing that. He then stated with a smile on his face, “In the past five years, I’m not sure how many mountains will form from the enemies that I’ve killed. There were many experts within their ranks, yet they all died in my hands. There were a few times I almost died, but I managed to survive because I know that someone is waiting for me back home. I can’t die!” When jackie made his statement, he gave off a strong aura. As he stood there, he seemed like a king. “Today, I’ll let those who dare to act against me know what it’s like to make a grave mistake!”
“What did I tell you before coming over?” Surprisingly, Selena’s face turned dark as she reprimanded jackie in a menacing voice. She felt that ever since jackie had been a soldier, he had grown more capable. However, he was just too boastful. Moreover, they were in the Taylor family. He was just a live- in son-in-law. How could he take action against her own family members? jackie finally remembered his promise with Selena and immediately changed to an awkward laugh. “Um, I’m just joking!”
However, the bodyguards outside the door had already rushed in.
“Get out!” Just as the bodyguards were about to act, Old Master Taylor gave a stern order.
The bodyguards exchanged glances, then quickly went out.
“Dad, this brat is toying with us. Can’t you see that?” Theodore was extremely frustrated. However, they could not disobey the Old Master’s orders. Although he was the master of this household and his son was the director of Taylor Group, the Old Master was the one truly in charge. All important matters of the Taylor family had to go through him.
“He’s not toying with us. I did tell him to fill as he wished. It’s just that we can’t afford that price!”
Old Master Taylor laughed bitterly, then spoke, “ jackie, this has gone on for five years. My granddaughter had also suffered many hardships. Since you’re both truly in love and Kylie has grown, I’m fine with not forcing you through a divorce!” Having said that, Old Master Taylor’s tone took a sudden change. “However…”
Chapter 15 “This can’t be. Grandpa is acknowledging jackie’s identity as the son-in-law of the Taylor family?” Upon hearing the Old Master’s words, some of the Taylor family members had a shocked expression on their faces.
‘Grandpa used to pamper Selena. It’d seem that Grandpa’s anger had subsided after all these years. Within Selena’s body still flows the blood of our Taylor family, after all.’ A member of the Taylor family speculated quietly in his mind.
“Grandpa!” Selena pursed her red lips and felt her tears surfacing. She knew her grandfather had been keeping tabs on her in secret. The old man was only unable to lower himself all this while. For Zeus Taylor, his reputation was more important than anything else.
“However?” jackie scowled. He knew that it would not be that simple.
“However, the matter of you injuring Ivan’s arm can’t be settled just like that!” The old man’s tone changed once more as he continued, “You need to pay compensation!”
“That’s right. Grandpa’s right. My arm is fractured. The doctor said that my arm will take at least one to two months to recover, and that’s with the best medicine!” Due to the Old Master’s lecture earlier, Ivan had been standing in silence all the while. Now that his grandfather was speaking up for him, he immediately rejoiced.
“How about this: I’ll give you one month’s time, jackie. One month later is coincidentally my seventieth birthday. If you can come up with ten million dollars in a month, I’ll acknowledge that you’re the Taylor family’s son-in-law! However, if you fail to produce the money, then you’ll have to divorce Selena as that would prove that you lack the ability, unworthy of being with Selena! Furthermore, Ivan’s hand is rendered in such a state because of you. You need to compensate him with ten million dollars! How’s that?” The Old Master stared at jackie and declared authoritatively.
“Grandpa, aren’t you intentionally making it difficult for him? He was just a delivery boy. Now that he’s a soldier for five years and returned from the battlefield, how can he cough up that amount of money in one month!?” Selena was worried when she heard the proposition. What difference was that from chasing jackie away? It was just a different method.
“Old Master, can you lower the amount? That’s too much. He can’t even produce one million dollars, much less ten million dollars!” Joan’s expression was ugly. She did not wish to miss her chance on such a wonderful daughter-in-law.
“No reduction. If he can’t even produce ten million dollars, how can he be worthy of my daughter?” It was Fiona who interjected strongly. She then pushed on, “Hmph! If he can earn ten million, that can be the betrothal gift for my daughter. When the time comes, that money must be passed to me, or I’ll never recognize him as our son-in-law!”
“That won’t work.” Ivan spoke up, “If he can produce ten million dollars, I should be getting it as compensation. I can’t just get hit for nothing, can I?”
“No way. Your treatment won’t total up to ten million!” There was no way Fiona would let this go. She had suffered in poverty for so many years. If she had ten million dollars, she could live her life comfortably.
“The ten million that Grandpa mentioned was for compensation, not a betrothal gift. Can’t you understand?” Ivan laughed happily. His words managed to stump Fiona.
“In one month, right?” jackie contemplated, then stated, “How about this. One month from now, on Grandpa’s seventieth birthday, I’ll pay Ivan ten million dollars for compensation, send another ten million to Mother-in-law as a betrothal gift, and on top of that, send ten million worth of birthday gifts to Grandpa! A grand total of thirty million dollars. If I can’t achieve that, I’ll be willing to divorce Selena!”
“Are you crazy? That much money in one month? You won’t have enough even if you sold yourself!” Joan was scared witless. She guessed that jackie must have been pushed over the limit and started talking nonsense.
“You can’t be serious, right? Didn’t I tell you not to boast?! Thirty million dollars! It’s not three thousand dollars!” Selena was also reprimanding him anxiously.
“Don’t worry, honey, I really should prove to the Taylors that I’m worthy of marrying you!” jackie moved his hand and caressed Selena’s beautiful cheeks. “I won’t let anything separate me from you and our daughter!”
Selena’s heart was touched. At that moment, she felt confident that jackie was not lying to her. “Alright, I’ll believe you!” In the end, Selena nodded. “Of course. jackie, if you managed to do so, the Taylor family will not only acknowledge your identity! We can also have your in-laws, Selena, and your entire family— including your mother—to move into Taylor Residence!”
The old man contemplated for a moment, then said, “By then, Selena can also resume her work in Taylor Group!”
“Alright. You have a deal!” jackie agreed immediately.
“Brat, you’re really good at boasting. I’d like to see how embarrassing it’ll be for you should you fail to produce the money by then!” Ivan took two steps forward and glared at jackie.
jackie took out a stick of cigarette and casually lit it. He took a deep breath. “And what if I managed to do it? If I fail, I’ll roll my way out of the gates of Taylor Residence. Should I succeed, however, you’ll have to kneel and apologize to Selena. How does that sound? After all, in the past five years, you’ve done quite the harm!”
“sure. Listen up, everyone. This is a promise between me and this brat! Since he wants to embarrass himself, then I can only oblige. When the time comes, we’ll all bear witness to how he rolls from this gate all the way out. Remember, you’re not walking out, but roll!” Ivan laughed out loud. ‘It’s already a miracle for this trash to come back alive. Producing thirty million dollars in a month? Dream on!’
“Brother Ivan, don’t worry, we’re not deaf. We heard it clearly. We’ll be your witnesses!” Cecilia crossed her hands over her chest and gave jackie a condescending look. “It’s been five years. After finally coming back and managed to buy some clothes for your mother and wife, you chose to get some imitation items. Your clothings scream of poverty. I refuse to believe that you can produce thirty million dollars!”
“you’re right!”
“I think he knows that he’s unworthy of Selena and decided to go all out with his bluff. When the time comes, he can only shamefully roll out of Taylor Residence!”
“Look at him. If he can earn thirty million dollars in one month, then can’t I easily set a hundred million as a small goal?”
Quite a number of the Taylor family members started laughing.
There were quite a lot of people present. They were mostly working in the Taylor Group, under the employ of Ivan Taylor. They naturally intended to curry favor for him.
“ jackie, you’ve said it yourself. I’m waiting for your ten million as a betrothal gift. When the time comes, don’t blame me for being merciless!” Fiona reminded him after contemplating it.
“Fiona, have you gone crazy thinking of money? Do you really think that he can come up with that amount for his betrothal gift?” Ivan smiled.
“Just ten million dollars as a betrothal gift will allow me to marry Selena? I’ll pay ten million dollars. Let her marry me! If that’s insufficient, I’m fine with fifty million dollars! What to do when I’m not lacking money?” Right at that moment, a man of stout physique walked in as he laughed loudly, followed by a group of bodyguards.
Chapter 16 “Young Master Wilson, what are you doing here?” Ivan greeted the Wilson family’s young master the moment he noticed him.
“What did you say earlier, Young Master Wilson? Fifty million? You’re willing to offer a fifty million dollars reward?” Overwhelmed with emotions, Fiona’s eyes lit up. “Is your word good?” she sputtered.
One should know that the Wilsons and the Clarks were both second-class aristocratic families. Simply put, they were significantly wealthier than their Taylor family.
“Of course, Auntie. Do we look like people who’d go back on their word? I’m still a member of the Wilson family, my word is still good!” Young Master Wilson chuckled as he spoke, yet he was simultaneously admiring the seemingly perfect appearance of Selena. He could not hold himself back as he gulped. Young Master Wilson was extremely fat; so much so that he resembled a pig. Not only was he extremely gluttonous, but he was very interested in women as well. He was instantly charmed back when he first laid eyes on Selena and her ethereal beauty. When he learned of her marriage to a takeout delivery guy in addition to being pregnant at a later time, he was all too furious. Even so, Selena’s beauty did not fade even after she gave birth; she looked even more beautiful and mature. Her body was practically glowing with femininity. He would do everything to keep her all to himself. Moreover, Selena was known as the
most beautiful maiden in the Eastfield. Marrying her would be an incredible and proud feat in front of other men.
“Splendid. I’ll hold you to your word!” Fiona clapped her hands, chuckling as she approached Selena. “Did you hear that, Selena?” she spoke. “That person, jackie, mentioned ten million. This Young Master Wilson fellow instead offered to pay fifty million dollars, and he had always been interested in you. He’s not too bad himself, the way I see it. You should give it some thought. All you need to do is nod and we’ll make he, jackie, leave immediately!”
The instant Selena heard that statement, she nearly passed out from agitation. She could barely hold her composure just by looking at Young Master Wilson’s appearance. Although that Young Master Clark fellow was not a pleasant man, he was handsome at least. That man from the Wilson family looked fat and his ears were too huge. She felt greasy just by staring at him.
She then argued, “Ma, are you marrying off your daughter or selling her? So, you’ll just hand off your daughter to whoever is offering the highest price? Why don’t you just auction me off then?” Selena furiously added, “Even Grandpa agreed to let me marry jackie, and the agreement was even set earlier. How can you simply act on your own and change it as you like?”
“Selena, that’s not what I meant. That jackie fellow is a takeout delivery boy, and he’s only been a soldier for a few years now. You don’t expect him to amount to anything, do you now?” As she finished, Fiona pointed her disdainful glare at jackie before she continued, “I wasn’t looking down on him. I wonder: can he make thirty million dollars in a month? Hehe! Just you wait. He won’t be able to make that much money after a month. Till then, I’ll have him exiled from our family!”
“ jackie White? Good lord, this person is jackie White? Kylie’s useless father has returned?” Stunned Young Master Wilson carefully scrutinized jackie. “It seems like his appearance is the only thing that’s going for him,” he spoke. “He’s dressed so plainly. How is he worthy of Miss Selena?”
“You sure spout a lot of nonsense!” jackie glared at him icily. He condescendingly spoke, “This is the Taylor family home. What are you, an outsider, doing here? If you have no purpose here, then beat it!”
“Such strong words. Don’t you know just how major of a family us Wilsons are?” Young Master Wilson cackled out loud then added, “Am I really here without a purpose? I’m here to discuss the matters of our collaboration with Young Master Taylor. We happen to have something that we’d like to work together with the Taylors!”
The moment Old Master Taylor heard that statement, he was naturally pleased as he said, “All that come by are guests. Let’s sit here, Young Master Wilson!”
“There’s no need, Old Master Taylor. I’ll be talking to Young Master Wilson!” Young Master Wilson then looked at Ivan before he spoke with a very peculiar expression, “Young Master Ivan, what’s wrong with your hand? Did you fight with someone? Who dares fight with you?”
Ivan’s expression grew incredibly bitter as he eyeballed jackie. Hoarsely, he replied, “A mad man, nothing else. I was merely joking with his daughter Kylie, and he came over to beat me up without saying a word.”
Micheal Wilson was stunned after hearing that statement. He spoke after looking at jackie, “Oh, so it was that useless object, then. Truly unexpected that he was bold enough to hit you. He’s got guts, I’ll give him that!”
“It’s fine. We had a bet. He said that after a month on my grandfather’s seventieth birthday, he’ll give me ten million dollars as reimbursement! In addition to offering Selena’s family a ten million dollars reward, he’ll also give my grandfather a gift worth ten million dollars! Should he fail, he’ll exile himself out of the Taylor family and divorce Selena! He’ll roll out the front door from this spot!” Ivan cackled out loud and said, “That’s right, Young Master Wilson. You have to come by during our grandfather’s seventieth birthday. You have to see how this little brat will roll out of the front door!”
“Alright. The distance from here to the front door is quite far. I’m guessing he won’t be able to roll out of it very quickly!” Young Master Wilson cackled and took a look at Selena. He then said, “Don’t you worry, Selena. All I have is time, and I’m willing to wait for you. You’ll have your freedom once again after this little brat is exiled from the Taylor family after a month, and that means you’ll be single. When the day comes, don’t turn me away!”
“Alright, let’s go, Young Master Wilson. We still have important matters to discuss!” Ivan had a smug look on his face. He was beaten rather badly by jackie today, but if he could get this brat exiled from the family, it would be the best thing that could ever happen! He believed that jackie was nothing but a ruffian. He was merely saying that to preserve his pride. He was actually interested to see how much this brat would humiliate himself when the time arrived. Ivan soon left with Young Master Wilson!
“Alright, you guys can leave as well. Don’t disappoint me in a month from now!” Old Master Taylor realized it was getting late outside as he waved his hand impatiently. Although jackie’s behavior was a little out of his expectations, the thought of his granddaughter getting married to a poor man—which humiliated him—dissatisfied him so.
At this very moment, in an extremely lavish mansion, the wealthiest man in all of the Eastfield, James Drake was looking at a middle-aged man. After some thought, he said, “The man who returned with the God of War, Lana is called jackie White. I’m guessing that their relationship isn’t as simple as it seems on the surface. Look into it for me! I want an answer as soon as possible!”
The man in front of him was James’s most efficient assistant. He had served the Drake family incredibly well.
After he listened to that statement, he frowned and said, “Master, I think there’s no need for that. Even if that man has some ties to the God of War, Lana, he doesn’t possess any useful value to us, right?”
As he said that, he smiled and said, “Why don’t we strike at the very root of our problem, to butter up the great God of War. That’s the most important thing to us!”
Chapter 17 As James listened to what his staff had to say, he could not hold back his bitter chuckle. “The Gods of Wars are way above our status, and they’re not easy to butter up,” he stated. “Not to mention, this is a female God of War. We don’t even know what she likes and dislikes!”
He paused when that point was brought up. He continued, “I’m afraid all of the major powerhouses wanted nothing more than to sweet-talk to the God of War upon her return. Fortunately, we went through so much to learn of her flight today, and it seems the other powerhouses knew absolutely nothing.”
The middle-aged man in front of him nodded his head and said, “The gift we sent for the God of War Lana, did she accept it?”
“She accepted the hospitality we arranged for her. It’s a different story for the money, though. She was quite disinterested with it!”
James chuckled and said, “Lana seems to dislike it when people try to flatter her. Not to mention, we have no idea how exactly we can cajole her.”
The middle-aged man remained silent for a brief moment. All of a sudden, his eyes lit up as he spoke, “Master, so what you meant was, since that jackie fellow shares quite the unique relationship with Lana, all we need to do is butter up jackie. This, in turn, would be an indirect way of flattering the God of War. Thus, if the God of War only grants our family her blessing in the future, wouldn’t this make our business more stable?”
James nodded slowly and replied, “Yes. That man was able to sit in the same plane with Lana when they returned. All we need to do is help jackie, since that would mean we’re also wooing Lana!”
“Bravo, Master!”
The nickname for the middle-aged man was called Spectre, and he happened to be one of the Three Major Guardians in the Drake family. With a smile etched on his face, he then spoke, “Hmm. This God of
War happens to be a female and, from how I see it, she isn’t young at all…”
James frowned after hearing that statement. “Spectre,” he started, “you’re not thinking of making a move on her to make her your woman now, are you? You best keep that thought to yourself. Should you offend her and the God of War gets furious, not only is our Drake family, but the entire Eastfield will end up as a river of blood in a single night!”
Spectre let out a bitter laugh as he said, “Master, how would I dare to even have that thought? Besides, I am not the kind of person to toy with a woman’s feelings just for my future benefit now, right? A man who uses a woman to further their reputation is someone I would be the first person to look down on!”
Upon making that statement, Spectre explained, “What I mean is, jackie isn’t Lana’s man now, is he? Perhaps there’s also a possibility of them sharing an intimate relationship! Besides, they’ve known each other for a very long period in the fields of war. And they see each other very often…”
“That’s very unlikely. Judging by how they both behaved, they seemed very cold to one another. They have quite the cold face on them; could that even spark any romance?” James chuckled and, after a brief pause, continued, “No matter what, just look into them. It doesn’t matter if he’s only a staff to Lana. We still have to butter them up; this will surely strengthen our bond with the God of War!”
“No problem. Recently, numerous military veterans are coming out of retirement in Eastfield. There are also many high-ranking and well-achieved soldiers among them. Go visit them and have someone look into that jackie fellow.”
Spectre nodded as he beamed, “Now that Master has mentioned it, I’m starting to get interested in that man! I hope he won’t disappoint me!”
“Good! I’ll await your good news!” James spoke with a chuckle.
…
At this very moment, in a random room within the Clark family home, Ken was seething with rage. He stared furiously at Dan in front of him and barked, “What’s the meaning of this, Dan? Why didn’t you teach he, jackie, a lesson? Not only that, but you had someone carry me away. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was to me?”
As he spoke, he pointed at his mouth and said, “Look, my teeth have been completely smashed. Goddamnit! When have I, Ken Clark, ever endured such humiliation!”
“Young Master, that man isn’t as simple as you imagine. I’m no match for him!” Dan frowned and spoke in an all too serious tone, “He murdered the Black Dragon. I was told by witnesses present in that scene; they didn’t even notice him so much as move a muscle before he dropped dead!”
“That has to be impossible, right? Don’t we have surveillance cameras? Why can’t we get clear footage of how he made his move?” After Ken heard what he said, his expression was in disbelief.
“I’ve already looked into it and have even slowed down the footage, all to no avail!” Dan let out a bitter laugh and added, “Still, we know that he was directly pierced in-between his eyes. We found an extremely thin silver needle on top of a pillar a good distance away. Moreover, the silver needle completely pierced through the pillar. There are only one to two millimeters exposed out of the pillar!”
Young Master Ken took a deep breath and said, “You’re joking, right? You’re telling me that after a person’s head was pierced, it also pierced through a stone pillar, and all that’s left was a tiny bit exposed on the outside? Such an incredible speed and insane strength!”
“This finger of mine, well, I lost a bet to him, and I chopped it off as a result! This person is way too terrifying! Young Master, don’t ever cross this jackie White, do you understand?” Dan raised his hand and said, “Arm-wrestling with him made me feel like I’m a mere ant compared to him with the strength he had.”
“That’s got to be impossible, isn’t it? There’s someone that powerful in this world? You’re already incredibly powerful; how much more powerful can he be compared to you?” Ken was completely stunned. If that was the case, would it be that getting Selena was a mere dream?
“Yeah, this was also the first time for me to have ever met someone this terrifyingly powerful!” Dan lamented as he left swiftly.
Young Master Ken sat on the floor after Dan had left him be. The moment he thought about the beautiful Selena, his heart felt incredibly dissatisfied. “Goddamnit. I refuse to believe it. This is the Eastfield, and we Clarks happened to be a second-class aristocratic family. Is it that difficult for us to get one woman?” Ken clenched his fist while a glimmer of determination flashed across his eyes. He said, “Selena Taylor, I’ll do everything I can to get you to lay in my bed obediently!”
…
At this moment, jackie, Selena and the others had all left the Taylor family home.
“ jackie, those things were words you spouted earlier on your own. I don’t care about anything else. If you don’t give me ten million dollars on the old man’s seventieth birthday, it won’t be easy for you to be our family’s son-in-law now!” When they had just got out the door, Fiona could not hold herself back from furiously saying, “You’ve already seen our Selena is up for grabs as usual. Even Young Master Wilson had said it himself; all Selena needs to do is nod and fifty million dollars won’t be a problem for him.”
“Don’t you worry, Mom. Anything I say, I’ll pull it off with ease.” jackie let out a bitter laugh as he looked at the elderly couple. He then added, “That’s right, Mom and Dad. You’ve both been living frugally in these five years, so let me bring you guys out to shop for a few sets of new clothes now. It’s a little something from me, as a son-in-law!”
“Forget it. I’m afraid that the clothes you’d buy would shame me in public. It’s better for you to not buy me anything than a good knock-off. I want to wear branded clothes!”
Fiona noticed the clothes Selena had in her hands. She immediately snatched it before she could react and walked to a nearby lake not far from there and immediately tossed it in. “You can’t undersell yourself this way, my girl,” she barked. “You happen to be the lady of the Taylor family. We have to maintain our pride, even though we’re poor. Such imitations aren’t something worthwhile to wear!”
Chapter 18 Selena initially thought her mother would help her carry the clothes in her hands when she snatched and tossed them into the lake. It was already too late by the time she came to her senses. Those three sets of clothes that cost nearly two hundred thousand had been audaciously tossed into the lake beside her.
“What on Earth are you doing, Ma? Those were authentic! Who told you they were fake?” Selena was so agitated that she stomped. Alarmed, she rushed over as her eyes grew red and she seemed like she was about to cry. It was the first time jackie had gotten her clothes. After all the hardships she had endured for the five years they were married, she finally had a taste of luxury. This meant her endurance for the past five years was not for nothing!
“Authentic? How are those even genuine? And if they truly were, can he even afford them?” The skeptical Fiona crossed her arms at her chest. She was unconvinced that jackie had that much money to have bought Gucci branded clothes for her daughter.
“Dear mother-in-law, those were truly genuine. We bought them at the Gucci store. They can’t possibly be fake now, right?” jackie said.
Joan, who stood at the side, finally burst, “How could you toss clothes that cost nearly two hundred thousand into the lake?!”
“No, I must retrieve them!” The already frantic Selena was prepared to dive into the lake and retrieve the clothes. Fortunately, the lake was clear; she could start wearing the clothes after a good wash once she retrieved them. jackie watched Selena’s every move and felt his heart wrench. Selena was only twenty. She even contributed greatly to her family’s company at a young age— five years ago—being the lady
from the Taylor family. Selena, back then, was adorned with branded clothes and had enjoyed being treated as a reputable lady. Yet, here she was, in an attempt to dive into the lake merely to retrieve those few pieces of clothing.
jackie took two steps forward and immediately grabbed onto Selena. “Forget about them, my dear,” he called out, “they’re only three pieces of clothing anyway. I’ll bring you out and buy you another one!”
Selena was unmoved. “No,” she protested. “These clothes are so expensive, and the money you earned has risked your life. Not to mention, this is the first time you bought me clothes. I have to fish them up, and they can still be worn, too!”
jackie chuckled as he heard that statement. He felt utterly touched; he thought that having a wife like her would make him a happy man for the rest of his life. As he released her hand, jackie dove into the lake and picked up the clothes. He was drenched head to toe, but the words Selena spoke to him warmed his heart.
“No way. They’re actually authentic?” As the shocked Fiona saw the event unfolding before her, she looked toward Joan and sputtered, “Where’d your son get the money from?”
Joan let out a bitter laugh before she responded, “It’s all thanks to the five years my son has served as a soldier. When he was discharged this time and upon his return, he was given some prize money from being discharged. He used that money to buy us clothes, didn’t he? Although the money he earned had placed him at great risk, he willingly spent it all for Selena!”
“I…” Fiona was completely speechless. She did not expect those clothes were genuine Gucci clothes.
“You’re hopeless. It doesn’t matter if it’s authentic or not; you can’t just toss it into the lake! It came from jackie’s thoughtfulness!” Even the usually silent Andrew could not help but glare at Fiona.
jackie was already out of the lake at this moment. He looked at Andrew before saying, “Let’s head back now, father-in-law. Your leg was smashed by accident. Don’t you worry, though, I can help you heal!”
“That’s impossible, right?” Andrew’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that statement. He frowned after that and said, “When we went to get it checked in a well-known hospital, the doctor mentioned that it’ll still limp even after it’s treated. This is a nerve problem, and the bones underneath are all progressively necrotic. Even as I’m walking now, I feel numb!”
“What nonsense are you spouting? You, a useless piece of trash, know medical treatment? I’ll never believe you!” Fiona, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at jackie and barked, “ jackie, don’t you dare think that we’d accept you just by giving the prize money this time and buying a few clothes for my daughter. I’m telling you now: it’s not happening!”
Fiona then fell into a momentary silence before she continued her tirade, “We’ve endured so much hardship all these years. How is this small amount of money enough for us? Besides, based on reason, you’re required to give the ten million prize money to us during the old man’s seventieth birthday. Otherwise, don’t even think for a second that we’ll acknowledge you!”
“What on Earth are you saying, Mom?! He’s still Kylie’s father, and the child can’t live without a father. Besides, he’s a responsible man!” Selena stared at Fiona furiously. “It doesn’t matter if you guys acknowledge him or not,” she added, “as in my heart, he’s my—Selena Taylor’s—man. Even if you have him exiled from the Taylor family, I’ll never marry Young Master Clark or Young Master Wilson. From how I see it, those people aren’t even a fraction of a man jackie is.”
“You—” Fiona was livid. She pointed at Selena and said, “How did I give birth to a daughter like you? You’re being disrespectful now, do you understand? Are you here to pressure your mother to death? Are you only satisfied when I’m dead after being backed into a corner?”
“I—that’s not what I meant! You can’t always force me, you know?” Selena could only hold back her frustrations when she noticed her mother lamenting on the side. “Fine. Stop talking about it, Ma. This
whole ordeal is my fault, I admit it!”
“I— jackie White—am a man, and I’ll never go back on any word I’ve said. I’ll give you ten million when the time comes, and I’ll never let Selena be parted from me!” jackie then let out a dry laugh and said, “Alright, it’s getting late now. Let’s all go back to take a shower, change into fresh clothes, and we’ll all eat out tonight.”
Fiona’s eyes lit up at the mere mention of eating out. They had lived meagerly for the last five years and Selena was restricted to find work. She could only rely on the money she made from picking up trash for her family’s living. Aside from Selena, all the expenses they had were paid with Andrew’s earnings. His monthly pay was not much, but he forked everything out every month to allow Selena to buy groceries. They lived as they saved. Hence, Fiona actually felt quite happy when she heard that.
Just like before, however, her expression turned cold as she scoffed, “Are you sure about eating out? I’m telling you now, I won’t accept places that are considered low-class. If you want me to come along, it should only be a lavishly high-class restaurant!”
“Of course. As long you’re willing, Mom. Anywhere you pick is fine!” jackie chuckled then hailed two cabs. “Let’s go,” he spoke. “We’ll head back first since Kylie and Jenny are both waiting for us. I think the little rascal should be famished by now. Have Jenny be at our home next time. She can help us take care of Kylie and clean up the house.”
Fiona rolled her eyes at jackie. She said, “Don’t call me Mom. If I don’t see the ten million prize money, I’ll never acknowledge you as our family’s son in law. Hmph!”
Selena, on the other hand, was frowning. “Jenny is quite good, but the wages our Taylor family offers aren’t too low either,” she mumbled. “It’d cost six to seven thousand dollars per month. We can’t afford that!”
“Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of the money. It’s almost the start of the school’s semester, too, so we should enroll Kylie to a school soon!” jackie chuckled as he made that statement.
“Yeah!” Selena nodded.
It did not take too long for them to reach home with their cabs.
…
At this very moment, one of the three guardians in the Drake family—Spectre—rushed frantically to look for James after receiving a phone call.
Chapter 19 “Master, Master! I’ve made several phone calls, and I finally found something about the whole situation with jackie. It’s very peculiar!” Spectre called out to James as he rushed in frantically.
“Peculiar?” James was somewhat startled when he heard what Spectre had to say. He never thought he would describe jackie as ‘peculiar’.
“Have a look. This is the information I got from people I tasked in the military to look into jackie White. There’s only his name, his ID number, and his past job as a takeout delivery boy. After that, he became the son-in-law of the Taylor family. He got enlisted on the second day of his marriage, and what happens after that is something we can’t find. Suddenly, five years later, he returned to the Eastfield!”
Spectre frowned and said, “Isn’t such a casefile peculiar? Not only was information during his enlistment a mystery, but the department he was enlisted in was unknown as well. All we could find was that his mother’s name is Joan Xavier, currently working as a cleaner in Eastfield. We have nothing on his father!”
“Can’t find anything about his father, and his situation during his enlistment is also a complete mystery…” There was a frown on his face, but James soon came to a deduction. “Judging from the looks of it, there’s a huge possibility that someone had intentionally erased all records about him!” he articulated.
“Or perhaps, this is just his surface-level casefile and that his identity isn’t that simple. There might be a very confidential and secretive casefile on him!”
“Master, if that’s the case, this man’s identity is certainly not that simple. Otherwise, the government wouldn’t blatantly hide his casefile and stop anyone from digging into him!”
The astounded Spectre remarked, “To have power for movement of this scale… If he wasn’t a God of War, he’d be close to one!”
“Yes, yes, yes! It has to be that!” Stirred, James nodded immediately and ordered, “Go, continue your search on jackie’s current situation in Eastfield. Isn’t he living with the Taylor family? Look into how jackie is doing while he lives in the Taylor family home, and look into what he’s doing right now!”
“Not a problem, Master. I, too, feel that this man isn’t as plain as we think!”
Spectre nodded immediately as he said, “It seems that there’s not just one God of War that has returned to Eastfield this time. There are two!”
“This is such a good opportunity for us, the Drake family!” James chuckled humorously. Racking his brain for a moment, he then spoke, “Look into where he currently is right now. I can’t get in contact with him right now. Besides, he’s seen me during the day, and he might suspect that we’re investigating him if he sees me again at night. Still, we can arrange for Titus or Tanner to get in contact with him!”
Spectre tittered. “Excellent idea. I’ll have it arranged right now! As for his situation in the Taylor family’s home, we can slowly investigate and probe progressively. I believe we can find out his current whereabouts in less than an hour!”
…
It was only after jackie returned to his home did he recall something. Frowning, he asked, “My dear, where will I be sleeping tonight?”
Selena blushed after hearing that. That would actually be a problem. Both of them were married; they still had a daughter. It was during their wedding night, when Selena was drunk, that they did the deed. Selena remained silent for a really long while as she had no idea how to answer him.
Upon noticing the distraught look on Selena’s face, jackie mirthfully spoke, “Don’t worry, I’ll sleep in any empty rooms!”
Selena frowned and said, “There are only so many rooms in total. Your mom has one, and so does my mom. Although it’s rare for my brother to return, he has one as well. Kylie and I are sharing a room. Four rooms and not a single one remains. Fortunately, Jenny is renting a house outside. Otherwise, she herself won’t have room to sleep in!”
jackie was embarrassed as he replied with a bitter laugh, “The storeroom is also fine. As long as it provides cover from wind and rain. When we were on a mission out there back then, we survived for a month’s time on a deserted island.”
“Deserted island!” After Selena heard that, she frowned and said, “It had to be hard for you, right?”
“No. I’d always be thinking that I have such a beautiful wife waiting at home for me should we be victorious. With that thought in mind, I’d be motivated!” jackie looked at Selena who was right in front of him; the hellish torture he endured for five years was worth every second. Five years of absolute hell had honed him into a sharp blade. This sharp blade, however, had to hide its edges to protect his woman and family.
Selena felt utterly gratified after she heard what jackie had to say. She was a rebel against her family from the very beginning, but she soon realized she was unable to part with the child inside her belly. Now, jackie made her feel that she could depend on him.
“You… I think you should just share a room with us!” Selena finally pouted her lips as her blush seared.
jackie coughed. “Well then, dear wife, can I cuddle with you while I sleep?” jackie became giddy as the woman before him was absolutely gentle and kind. Selena’s watery eyes could charm anyone.
“No. Allowing you to share a room with me is pretty good on its own. The child was an accident back then and, besides, I can’t fully accept you now. Not yet!” Selena turned around then said, “You can only sleep on the floor with a carpet. Wait…wait till our relationship grows much deeper in the future, and I’ll think about then! Hurry up and take a shower. Kylie’s delighted when she heard that we’ll have a feast tonight.”
“Alright, I’ll get to it right now!”
Unexpectedly, just as jackie had just gone to take a shower, Fiona came over to Selena’s room. She then coldly asked, “There aren’t any extra rooms, so where will jackie be sleeping tonight?”
“On the floor. Am I not placing the carpet down now?” Selena let out a bitter laugh as she took the covers out.
Upon noticing that, Fiona’s expression recovered slightly. She then said, “Daughter, you can’t ever allow that bastard child to touch you now, do you understand? If it wasn’t for him, we won’t be living in such a hellish state. Besides, as long as I’ve not seen the promised ten million, you can’t sell yourself short. Do you understand? Men will never appreciate anything they can easily get!”
“You’re being too judgemental now, don’t you think, Ma? From how I see it, as long as jackie treats us well and if we work hard together, everything would be better!” Selena pondered for a moment then added, “Besides, he’s not too bad. He treats me well, he treats Kylie well, and he’s also very respectful toward his mother!”
“What’s good without money? Can he treat you well, feed our family with good food, dress better, and live better? Only by giving us money to spend is he treating you well, not by saying a couple of kind statements!” After Fiona finished her harangue, she got out immediately after slamming the door. “I don’t
care,” she sneered. “Since he mentioned that he’ll be treating us to dinner tonight, I want to make it extremely difficult for him! I want him to know, he can’t afford to treat us!”
Chapter 20 “Yay, yay! We can go for a meal now!” Kylie was dressed in a beautiful mini princess dress while she pranced delightfully in the courtyard.
“Madam, I won’t be joining you guys. I still have some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now.” Jenny smiled at Selena.
“A date with your boyfriend again? Oh, you. Hurry up and go!” Selena spoke with a compassionate smile.
Joan had already finished her shower at that moment. She changed into the new clothes jackie had bought for her; she looked younger at a short glance. Although she was already in her forties, she looked younger and more elegant. Joan looked effortlessly beautiful, and she had her natural elegance as well. Although she was usually dressed in her cleaner’s uniform to work, she still emanated a personal grace that only belonged to her and no one else. It was also this reason that jackie’s father fell in love with her back then. Unfortunately…
“Ma, you look pretty in that dress!” Selena smiled as she took a look at Joan.
“Oh, you. Stop flattering me; I’m already old!” Joan chuckled while she spoke.
Fiona who was sitting on the side could not hold herself back from mumbling while she witnessed that scene. “Am I her birth mother, or is she?” she mumbled. “Goddamnit…”
Andrew, on the other hand, was smoking. He had a frown on his face as he seemed to be lost in thoughts. After a moment, he nudged Fiona next to him with his elbow and said, “Say, jackie said he can heal my leg. Do you think it’s possible?”
Fiona immediately said, “You actually believe the nonsense he sputtered? Don’t you know anything about him? He’s only a soldier, so is he capable of healing your leg? I think it’s more likely that he’ll break
your leg!”
Andrew was speechless. Embarrassed, he found himself unable to argue.
Fiona then looked at the direction of the washroom and spoke impatiently. “How is he taking such a long shower? I’m already famished!”
Andrew took a look at the time and said, “It’s only been five minutes, though. You were taking a shower for half an hour earlier…”
Although this courtyard seemed old and disheveled, it was in a strategic location. After jackie was done with his shower, a few of them began to discuss where to eat while they strolled.
“Hmm, not this one. It’s too cheap. It’s not enough!”
“This one is even worse. A public buffet? Meaningless!”
As she strolled, Fiona intentionally looked at jackie with disdainful eyes while she goaded him, “ jackie, you suggested treating us to a meal. I want to eat in a better restaurant. Have you brought enough money? Don’t bail on us after we’re done with our meal!”
“Don’t worry. Today’s my first time treating everyone to a meal, so we should all be happy. My dear mother-in-law, just pick as you please, and eat to your heart’s content!” jackie then turned to Kylie, who was in Selena’s arms. He then reached out and said, “Kylie, let Daddy carry you for a bit!”
The flustered Kylie looked toward Selena with her pair of huge sharp eyes, seemingly asking for her approval. “Kylie, he’s your father. Hurry and call out to your father. Let him carry you.”
Selena felt her emotions stirred. She lamented at the fact that a child could not be without a father. On the day her child was born, she started her long journey of waiting. She was internally terrified. She was afraid of jackie dying on the battlefield.
“Da—Daddy!” Kylie reached out and called out to her father with her child-like voice.
As a Supreme Warrior, jackie’s heart wrenched the second he heard her innocent voice. It was the first time she called him ‘daddy’. In the five years of constant battle, he felt like he had slowly become downright merciless and cold-blooded. However, he never expected his heart would soften after just hearing his daughter calling him daddy in such a sweet way.
“Let’s eat here. This place seems alright!” Just as jackie was carrying Kylie, Fiona noticed an impressive looking restaurant. Although it was not in some fancy hotel, the style of this restaurant looked impressive and rather classy. The main point was that the restaurant must have a very expensive rent to have been built at that spot. In other words, the prices of the food must be expensive as well.
“Hmm… You’ve got good taste, dear mother-in-law. This place has a romantic feel to it, and the interior design isn’t bad. Music is also playing in the background. Truly, only people who know how to enjoy life would choose such a place!” After jackie took a look at it, he nodded in agreement as well.
“Well, isn’t it obvious? Just look at who picked it!” Fiona’s expression seemed slightly prideful before her eyes swiftly shifted, rolling at jackie. “Don’t even think for a second that praising me would make me forgive everything you’ve done, brat,” she sneered. “I’m telling you, that ten million shouldn’t be short by…”
…
Upon noticing jackie and the group of people approaching, a beautiful waitress walked up to them and started catering to them. “Please come inside, all of you! Our services here aren’t any less than the ones in those fancy hotels. Besides, our customers are rather reputable people…”
“Give me a table close to the windows!” jackie nodded and the rest took their seats. The beautiful waitress came over with a menu.
“I’ll order!” Fiona immediately snatched the menu. After taking a look, she pointed at the lobster and said, “This ain’t bad. One would cost more than a thousand, right? How many people do we have here? Let’s have one for each!”
“Ma, why are you ordering that much? It’s such a waste, don’t you think so?” Selena was completely speechless. Judging from the looks of things, her mother was actually going to make it difficult for jackie.
“How could you say that, my daughter? He said it himself; he can make 30 million in a month. That would mean he’ll make 1 million dollars in a day, right? For a person like that, could he not afford this meal?” Fiona raised her voice intentionally. In an instant, the few tables around them started looking their way.
“No way…he’s that capable? 1 million a day? Is he boasting? 30 million a month. Does that mean he’d make 300 million in a year?”
A woman gasped audibly. “That’s ludicrous. Truly can’t judge from his looks, though. That man seems to be dressed normally, doesn’t he?”
“Is this real? Why come here if he makes thirty million dollars a month? Why don’t they head to a five- star restaurant then?”
“Do you think it’s cheap here? It really isn’t. It’s easy to spend tens of thousands here.”
More people were starting to look at jackie. Some were envious, while some were merely interested to see who on earth this person was to have such power.
Fiona grinned when she noticed the attention. Would he be completely humiliated if he was unable to pay later? Until then, he would not have the pride left to marry her daughter!
“Must you be so loud when ordering food, Ma?”
Selena was speechless. It genuinely seemed like Fiona wished to humiliate jackie in public.
“Pardon me, I’m a loud talker!” Fiona laughed as she immediately crossed her arms. “You wouldn’t mind now, would you, jackie? After all, you know our Selena is named the most beautiful maiden in all of Eastfield! Her status is priceless. If you can’t even afford a single meal, do you think you’re worthy of her? If you can’t even fork out the money for this meal, I suggest you leave her sooner rather than later for her own good! Only Young Master Wilson and Young Master Clark can provide my daughter with happiness!” She stared directly at jackie as she spoke, and she continued word by word, “And you’ll only drag my daughter down. Drag our family down. I advise you: Don’t. Humiliate. Yourself.”
After jackie heard that statement, he chuckled coldly as he seemed unfazed. He said, “Dear mother-in- law, how can you speak so much in one meal? Don’t you worry; I’m the only one that can secure Selena’s happiness. I’ll still be able to pay everything, even if you ordered the entire menu tonight!”
“You speak heavy words. Well, don’t mind if I do!” The corners of Fiona’s mouth twitched as she held in a full belly of disdain. She wanted him to know what ruthless meant tonight!
Chapter 21 In the restaurant, Fiona Lewis was so angry that her complexion turned red and her chest heaved. She would not be mocked and looked down on in these past five years if it was not because of jackie White. jackie White was the reason for everything. Everything happened because of this useless son-in-law. Instantly, the atmosphere became very tense!
Fiona thought of Young Master Clark and Young Master Wilson, who were young masters of second- class aristocratic families and were richer than the Taylor family. When she thought about the 50 million that Young Master Wilson was willing to pay as a betrothal gift, all she wished was to immediately chase away this veteran brat in front of her. She hated how this brat had taken advantage of her drunk daughter at the night of the wedding and would never forgive him. With so many eyes on him, she wanted to see how jackie would conclude the matter.
It was rumored that veterans who came back from war would get a generous amount of bonus, but it would generally be around 200 to 300 thousand. Those who got more were the ones who had a
meritorious service or the ones who had an official position. It was clear that jackie was not that kind of person.
Furthermore, he had probably already spent most of his money in order to make her daughter happy and had not much left.
If she ordered any more, jackie would have to sell himself to this place.
“This, give me two of this. This one too, it looks good.”
Fiona suddenly saw the beverage section at the bottom. In the beverage section, there were bottles of wine priced below 100, which was suitable for normal consumers. There were also beverages and alcohol that were suitable for rich people, and the most expensive one was 20 thousand dollars.
“This red wine, 20 thousand dollars per bottle, get me 20 bottles of it. After all, Selena’s father is very troubled for these few years and has gotten fonder of drinking wine!”
Subsequently, Fiona smiled, faced jackie, and asked, “20 bottles?” NôvelDrama.Org content.
Joan Xavier inhaled sharply after she heard Fiona and was worried that jackie did not have enough money with him. She spoke lightly with a frown, “Fiona, it’s 400 thousand dollars for 20 bottles. On top of that, not many of us here like drinking. How can we finish so much wine? Also, it’s such a big amount of money. We are one family, why would you do this?” Joan spoke in a pleading tone.
“Who are your family? That is merely what you think and I don’t think so!” Fiona had a cold smile on her face.
“Lady, you can order more alcohol later, if you feel that it’s insufficient. However, if you place an order now, it cannot be refunded even if you did not open the bottle. We can, however, reserve it for your next visit…” The pretty waitress could also see that this mother-in-law was obviously being deliberately arrogant toward her son-in-law that she disliked, so the waitress spoke up to remind her.
“No problem, we can take it away even if we cannot finish it! He has to be rich to be my son-in-law!” Fiona handed the menu back to the waitress. Only then did she look at Joan with a fake smile, “Joan, you should not take me as your son’s mother-in-law right now. It’s said that marriage requires both people to come from the same social status. We are not from the same class. On top of that, he said that he would give me a 10 million dollar betrothal gift. It’s better that we discuss our relationship after your son pays the 10 million betrothal gift!” Fiona continued saying.
“Mum, aren’t you going overboard for doing this? It’s such a big sum, do you really want jackie to get into trouble?” Selena Taylor was extremely angry. She had no idea that her mother would become so harsh and ridicule.
“He allowed me to order as I please, how am I acting overboard? That’s funny. If you can’t afford to treat us to a meal, why did you agree to it? Is it really so hard to acknowledge that you are poor and inadequate?” Fiona asked, as if she was not embarrassed that people around them were watching them as a joke.
“Selena, it’s fine. She’s your mother and also my mother. It’s fine if she wants to eat better food! If we cannot finish it, we can take away and eat it at home. As long as there’s no wastage!” jackie smiled calmly and even spoke up for Fiona.
“In my opinion, this is a wastage.” Selena twitched her mouth and could not help but started mumbling.
After a while, the big meal started. The delicious dishes were served and placed in front of jackie and the others.
“Eat more, Kylie!” Looking at the little one swallowing saliva by the table, jackie smiled as he served her dishes.
Selena looked at how cozy the scene was but had a frown on her face. She thought, could jackie White have achieved something during his five years in the war zone? When others come back, they would
normally receive 200 to 300 thousand as a bonus. jackie, who had stayed there for five years, might have 400 to 500 thousand. Even if he only had a small achievement, he might have one million dollars worth of reward.
If this was the case, buying clothes and other things today cost him around 200 thousand, jackie might still have 800 thousand with him. All the dishes on the table together with the red wine were estimated to be around 500 thousand.
‘ jackie should have enough money,’ she thought.
However, the money was exchanged with jackie’s life in extreme difficulty. She felt reluctant that the money was ‘eaten’ in one meal Of course, she felt a little comfort in her heart because jackie was willing to invest everything for her. It seemed that she managed to find a good man out of her impulsive move.
“Darling, what are you thinking about? Start eating!” jackie smiled, picked up a piece of prawn, and placed it in Selena’s bowl.
“Hmm, let’s eat!” Selena looked at Kylie, who was eating happily. A sweet smile appeared on her face.
However, what they were not aware of was that a security guard walked out immediately when he saw Selena and jackie. He headed to the street outside and made a call to Young Master Wilson, who was drinking alcohol.
As Young Master Wilson ended the call, Ivan Taylor, who was by his side immediately asked, “Oh Young Master. Wilson, what’s the matter? Somebody actually contacted you so late at night!”
“That rubbish son-in-law that married into the wife’s family, actually brought my goddess, Selena, to have dinner in the high-end restaurant owned by my family. It seems that this young man has returned from the army and got some money. He ordered 20 bottles of red wine that costs 20 thousand dollars each!”
The fatty bit the chicken drumstick in his hand ruthlessly and said again, “That motherfcker, I’m fcking mad. I’m so much richer than the useless veteran. I’m the young master of the Wilson family and I’d take over the Wilson family’s estates. Your cousin was…by that guy, and they even have a child. I just don’t understand no matter how much I think about it.”
“How much red wine? It seems that the young man had some luck and some small achievements in the past five years. If not, how would he have the money to pay for the bill, otherwise?”
Ivan frowned, drank a mouthful of red wine, and his eyes lit up. “Young Master Wilson, I actually have an idea. How do you feel if Selena comes over to you obediently tonight?”
When Wilson heard this, his small eyes suddenly widened and he said in excitement, “What’s the idea? As long as you can make her come to me obediently, I’ll have a lot to offer you!”
“don’t worry. It’ll definitely work. Young Master Wilson, you just wait for my cousin’s body tonight!” Ivan Taylor smiled evilly, his face had a cunning expression.
Chapter 22 “Oh my, I am so full. It’s so delicious. I haven’t eaten good food like this for such a long time!”
Fiona ate to her heart’s content. She had suffered a lot for these past five years. It was all because of that bastard, jackie White. He did not only cause her daughter to be driven out of the Taylor family, even both of them old folks suffered together.
It had been five years, she had not eaten luxury meals like this for five years! She did not care if jackie had the money to pay the bill. After all, the person who would suffer from the embarrassment was not her. After all, nobody asked jackie to act rich and offer to pay.
“Wow, I’m so jealous! I estimate that this table’s bill must be around 200 thousand! That is the most expensive red wine available here!”
Most of the people at the tables around them had not left, quite a number of people looked at the delicious dishes on the table and were extremely envious.
“It really is a lot. Especially the 20 bottles of red wine that they only drank two bottles of. Oh my, they ordered so much. They really are rich!” One of the men lamented.
“Wait, look at that man. Does he look like a person who earns a million a day? He dresses so ordinarily. Does he really have the money to pay the bill? Do they plan to eat a free meal?”
On the other hand, one of the women doubted jackie’s ability to pay the bill.
“Has everybody finished eating? I’ll get the bill if everyone’s done!” jackie smiled and was prepared to pay the bill.
“Go, go, we are done. Waitress, how much is everything? Please pack these wines, we would like to take them to go!” Fiona waved to the waitress. She wanted to see if jackie could manage to come up with so much money.
What they did not anticipate was that the waitress did not come over, a manager walked over with a smile instead. He passed the bill to jackie, “Sir, can you please go over there and pay the bill? Thank you for your visit!”
jackie looked at this man’s smile and felt a little weird. Why did his smile look insidious? He lowered his head to look at the bill in his hand. He immediately frowned, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that I will pay such a bill tonight!”
The customers at the nearby tables were stunned. This person asked his mother-in-law to order whatever she wanted and was unable to pay the bill?
“F*ck me, these people are really here for a free meal!”
“How can they be so shameless? They acted as if they were very rich just now and even said that they earn 30 million every month. A man who earns 30 million a month can’t even pay a 400 thousand bill?”
A few people started chatting. Some of the people even looked at jackie with some feeling of dislike in their eyes.
“This person is so daring. Can he afford to offend the person who has the ability to open such a high-end restaurant? Is he looking for trouble?”
Some of the people were waiting to watch a good show.
Although Selena felt a little sorry about spending the money, but, there was nothing she could do. She had stood up and was prepared to leave after jackie paid the bill. She had no idea that there would be such a scene. She was frightened and directly sat back on the chair, a little stunned. Did jackie really not have the money? If he did not have money, where did his previous confidence come from?
“Sir, I’m afraid that you can’t leave here if you don’t pay the bill at our place!” that manager said and laughed as he looked at jackie.
Chapter 23 ”Great, jackie White. Weren’t you very proud and said that you can pay the bill? Weren’t you the one who asked me to order whatever I want? You’re finally admitting that you have no money, right? Since you don’t have any money, why do you need to boast more than your abilities in order to impress us? Selena, look at this. Is this person really worthy of you marrying?”
Fiona was extremely angry at that moment. She pulled Andrew Taylor and said, “Go go go, let’s leave. Leave him here and see how he would settle this matter. Serves him right even if he gets killed. Why act rich when he does not have money?”
“ jackie, you have really let us down!” Andrew was also extremely angry. “Just tell the truth if you don’t have money. We wouldn’t have been so embarrassed. You say that you have money when you don’t and
want to treat us to a meal. How can we hand our daughter to such a person like you?”
“ jackie, what’s going on? Is it true that you don’t have the money?” Selena took a deep exhale, looked at jackie and asked.
jackie smiled bitterly, passed the bill to Selena and said, “It’s not because I don’t have money, it’s because there’s really no way to pay such a bill and I won’t pay it!”
Selena looked at it with doubt written all over her face. After she looked, her facial expression suddenly darkened. Looking at the manager, she said, “Mister, what’s going on? We only spent around four hundred thousand, why is it over four million on the bill?”
“No way?” Fiona snatched the bill over. She looked at it in detail and then looked at the manager in front of them. “What’s wrong with this place? This is robbery! Isn’t this wine twenty thousand per bottle? Why is it billed as two hundred thousand per bottle? Did you make a mistake and added an additional zero?”
“I’m sorry. This is the correct price. It so happens that these twenty bottles of wine were transported over through airfreight so all the alcohol today has increased in price! You ordered twenty bottles and that is four million. Together with the pricing of the dishes, it is four million and eighty thousand. Isn’t that right?”
That manager laughed and said again, “I’m afraid that you cannot act dishonestly today even if you want to! You have to pay for the bill!”
“You… This is a scam! Your shop is cheating. It is stated twenty thousand for every bottle on the menu!” Selena was extremely angry. She just realized that she and the others have misunderstood jackie. It was not because of jackie not wanting to pay the bill, it was true that he should not pay such a bill.
“Yes, your shop is a total scam! A table of dishes like this would never cost four million plus!” Both Fiona and Andrew were also very angry as they had never met with such a case before.
It was no wonder why jackie did not have the money to pay the bill. How could he pay such an expensive bill?
“It seems like you can’t pay the bill, right?” The manager clapped his hands and about twenty people rushed out from the back of the restaurant in a sudden. All of them looked fierce.
Fiona, who was originally arguing with them, was frightened and lost her previous grandeur. She immediately said with a smile, “Hey…hey, handsome man, you must have remembered wrongly. We only made the order because we saw the price on the menu and it was indeed twenty thousand per bottle . If you don’t believe it, you can ask the waitress over there!”
“Come over, bring the menu and let them have a look!”
The manager waved his hand at the pretty waitress, the waitress quickly walked over with a menu and handed it to Fiona.
“Have a look, have a look. Isn’t it twenty thousand here?”
Fiona held the menu, and he immediately pointed at the price and said. “This lady, please look carefully. How many zeros are on it? It’s five zeros, not four. This is two hundred thousand per bottle!” the fat manager smiled coldly as he said this.
Fiona counted carefully as her face darkened. “Why, why is it five zeros? This is really two hundred thousand per bottle?”
Chapter 24 ”Let me have a look, let me have a look…” Andrew also took the menu and looked at it cautiously. His face darkened after he finished looking at it. “I only saw four zeros just now. Why is it five zeros now?”
“do you guys have the blurred vision of an old person? It has always been five zeros, you guys must have seen wrongly!”
The fat manager said with a smile, “No matter what, you have to pay since you made the order!”
Fiona’s eyes gleamed and spoke again after thinking about it, “This is none of our business. It’s jackie White, he was the one treating us to dinner. The rest of us can leave, right? You can just go after him!” After she finished speaking, she signaled Selena and the others to leave together. As for jackie? He asked for this.
This was more than four million and it was totally understandable that jackie could not afford to pay it. Even if it was not more than four million, it was possible that jackie did not even have the money to pay around 400 thousand.
“I’m sorry. I’m afraid that all of you cannot leave here temporarily!” The manager waved his hand and a few of the men moved forward to surround them in a circle.
“ jackie, I blame all of this on you. Why did you treat us to a meal when there’s no need to? You even acted generous. Well, isn’t this just great? It’s such a big amount, what should we do now? Are you trying to kill us all?” When she realized that they could not leave, Fiona looked at jackie in a flustered and exasperated way.
“Mother, what are you saying? It should be your fault as you were the one who ordered the most expensive wine. All of those were ordered on your request!” Selena also felt helpless and had no idea what to do at that moment.
“If jackie hadn’t let me order as I please, would I order it? Besides, who knew that he was so poor!” Fiona pouted but actually felt guilty inside. In this case, all of them were surrounded and the other party did not allow everyone, including her, to leave. What should they do now? That was more than four million and it was not a small amount!
After Selena thought about, she smiled at the manager, “Mister, let’s see. We did order 20 bottles but we only drank two bottles. How about this, we pay the money for these two bottles and we return the
remaining 18 bottles. After all, we haven’t opened it and you can still sell it, right? I believe that my husband can still come up with 480 thousand!”
“Yes, they only drank two bottles, just take the money for the two bottles!” A few of the onlookers could not stand it anymore. It was obvious that the people of this restaurant did that on purpose. They, too, saw the menu and the most expensive wine was only 20 thousand per bottle.
“What does it have to do with you guys?” The fat manager turned around and stared at the other party before turning around and said to Selena, “Young lady, the situation here is you must pay after you made the order. I believe that our waitress had told you this. You can leave it with us here or take away if you cannot finish. However, you have to pay the bill once you make the order!”
“What’s the difference between you doing this and robbing?” jackie pulled Selena back and said coldly, “If only one of us saw it wrongly then it must be giddiness, but, can so many of us be giddy at the same time? In my opinion, the latest menu that you showed us must have been newly made? I’m sorry but I am still saying the same thing, I’m not paying this bill today! I will not pay you even if it’s 480 thousand!”
“Young man, I see that you refuse to be convinced unless you are faced with the grim reality, right?” The manager laughed coldly and few of the men immediately moved forward and surrounded them. On the other hand, the manager spoke to the other guests in the restaurant, “Everyone, you may leave. The meal is on the house today. We have people causing us trouble here, we need to settle it!”
When the other guests heard him, they were so frightened that they ran out one after another. It was as if they were afraid that it would affect them too.
“What do you want to do? You want to rob us? We are from the Taylor family!” Selena was really frightened when she saw this situation and she shouted out loudly.
Chapter 25 After all, the Taylor family still had some influence. Perhaps using the Taylor family’s name would work.
As soon as the manager heard this, he immediately waved his hand to order everyone stop and said with a smile, “From the Taylor family? You must be Selena Taylor. If that is the case, you may go beg our boss and see if this issue can be solved!”
“Who is your boss?” jackie immediately frowned when he heard this and he was a little suspicious in his heart. Looking at this situation, it seemed that the other party knew that Selena was here and this was them deliberately causing trouble to jackie and the others.
“Young man, you have no right to know who our boss is!” That fat manager laughed again before saying again, “Miss Taylor, our boss is inside. You should go talk to him. I believe he might let today’s issue go for you!”
“Oh… Okay!” Selena frowned and could only force herself to agree.
There were so many people on his side, while she, except jackie who had served the military, only had old and weak folks. She did not want this matter to escalate. What would happen to Kylie if they got into a fight? What should they do about her parents and jackie’s mother?
“I’ll go with you!” jackie was a little worried and said immediately.
“I‘m sorry but my boss did not say that he would meet you, hence, you cannot go in. Besides, we heard about you. You are just a son-in-law who married into the wife’s family. You can’t even be considered as one of the Taylor’s family. As an outsider, you don’t qualify speaking with our boss!” The restaurant’s manager laughed coldly.
“Really? Let’s see if you can stop me then!” jackie’s face darken and a scary aura of killing oozed out of his body. It caused people to feel like the surrounding temperature had suddenly dropped a few degrees.
Selena was frightened when she saw what was happening. She was afraid that jackie would cause any trouble so she immediately turned around and said to jackie, “What do you want to do following me? You
just need to wait for me here, I will come out in a short while!”
“But, I am worried that you will be in danger…” jackie frowned.
“Nothing will happen, what could be dangerous? I will go and ask their boss to see if we can return these 18 bottles that we did not drink. After all, I am Zeus Taylor’s granddaughter. They won’t dare to act recklessly!”
Selena smiled bitterly and said to jackie again, “You just need to wait for me here.”
“Alright, I’ll only give you five minutes. If I don’t see you coming out after five minutes, I’ll barge in!” jackie saw Selena’s begging look in her eyes and could only nod. He did not want Selena to worry for him anymore.
Furthermore, he did not want to injure anyone with Kylie around. It would not be good if it was seen by Kylie and caused the child to be frightened.
“Ok!” Selena nodded before walking inside with the fat man.
They walked deeper into the restaurant and went up to the second floor before coming in front of a private room’s door.
“Our boss is waiting for you inside. Don’t have to be afraid, I’m sure you know our boss. Go in and have a chat with him and the four million bill today might be waived!” The manager smiled and stood in front of the door to keep watch.
Chapter 26 Standing in front of the private room’s door, Selena Taylor became a little hesitant. She had a feeling that this matter was staged. She saw the menu, the most expensive red wine was 20 thousand per bottle, how did it become 200 thousand? On top of that, the person in this private room was a familiar person. This made her even more hesitant. If the other party was a familiar person, why did they
approach in such a way? However, if she did not enter the room, what would happen to Kylie if they all cannot leave the place?
jackie was in the army for a few years and seemed energetic enough to fight. It was not a problem for him to take down two or three people. However, the other party had a lot of people, a dozen of them. They did not seem to be normal gangsters you see on the street. No matter how good jackie was, it was difficult to fight being on the disadvantaged side with less people. According to jackie’s temper, it would be even troublesome if he really started fighting with the other party.
With all the pressure, Selena really regretted deeply in her heart. She really should not have come out for dinner, or she should not have come to this kind of place. By spending a few hundred to eat at some small home-cooked restaurant on the street would have been a good idea too. With no other way, she could only exhale heavily, pushed the door open, and walked inside.
After she entered, her face darkened because she discovered that the person who sat in this private room waiting for her, was Young Master Wilson, Michael Wilson.
“Young Master Wilson, you’re the boss of this restaurant! I didn’t expect that!” Selena smiled indifferently and closed the door. “You knew that I was having dinner downstairs so you put on a show just to see me? I don’t like making jokes like this!”
Michael stood up and walked toward her. “Selena, you have always ignored me. Would you come meet me if it wasn’t for that?” He smiled and continued, “What? Are you surprised? Is this unexpected? The Wilson family owns many businesses. This restaurant is just one of them. If you like it, you will be the lady boss of this place after marrying me in the future. You can come here at any time to eat and drink for free. How good is that! If that’s not possible, you can be my woman in secret!”
While speaking, Michael stretched his hands out to touch Selena’s chin.
Selena stepped two steps backward, dodged to the side to avoid him. She said with a cold expression, “Michael Wilson, you can stop dreaming. I don’t like you at all. Besides, don’t think that I’m clueless, you have had fun with quite a few women outside, just because you come from a rich family. Do you think that I will like you?”
Wilson was not happy about it and his face sank as Selena pointed out so clearly. “Selena, I have liked you for so many years and you really would not give me a chance?” After he spoke, Michael walked to a stool and sat down on it before saying, “Yes, yes, yes, I’m a playboy and I have no control over my diet so I gained weight. However, I really like you! I swear that after you marry me, I will not look for those women again!” Michael spoke while looking at Selena’s voluptuous chest and swallowed his saliva hard. “Don’t worry, Selena. You’re incomparable to those women. I will honour my words!”
“Michael, there’s a saying, it’s difficult to change one’s habit! Your lust has become a habit. Do you think that you can change this type of thing by just saying you want to change? Besides, it has nothing to do with me. I don’t like you at all!”
Selena really did not expect that the person waiting for her tonight would be Michael. Although Michael had been pursuing her constantly before this, he had never used such means. He sent flowers or something else in his previous attempts.
Chapter 27 However, Selena had never responded to him let alone given him chances. Who would have thought that this person would use cheat in order to see her for once this time.
“Okay, I’ve said what I should say. My parents are still waiting for me downstairs! That wine should still be billed as 20 thousand per bottle and the total should be four hundred and eighty thousand. We will take away the remaining eighteen bottles that we have not opened!”
Selena said her last words, turned around, opened the door, and prepared to leave.
“Wait!”
Just as she was about to open the door, Michael stood up. “Selena, do you think that the useless brat will have enough money to pay for a four hundred and eighty thousand bill?”
“I believe that he will be able to come up with the money. Although he is not as rich as you, but, at least he will not lie to me!” Selena said coldly.
”Selena, I’m sorry. You thought that I’m joking just to see you?” Michael had already become flustered and red, and his eyes looked fierce. “This time, if you don’t pay four million and eighty thousand, don’t think about leaving!”
“You…” Selena had never imagined that Michael, who was always weak, would say such a thing. She turned around and looked at him, her face was filled with the color of disbelief.
“Selena, I don’t have the patience to wait. I already have a crush on you for five years, and you have not given me any chance! Tonight, if you don’t pay for the bill, your husband will have to die here. Oh yes, your parents and your daughter are also downstairs, right?”
“Although I can spare them in the name of Taylor family, however, beating them up should be fine, right? After all, the Taylor family will not dare to offend the Wilson family because you’re just a third-class aristocratic family!” Michael smiled coldly paced toward Selena. “Selena, I have no choice. I wanted to win you with my sincerity, but you did not give me a chance, so I can only resort to this!”
“Michael, you bastard. I really have had the wrong idea about you. Before today, I thought, apart from being lustful, you’re not a bad person after all. I even thought that we could be friends! I have never looked down on you because of your body size… I can’t believe you’re this malicious!” Selena’s eyes were bloodshot and she stared straight at the other person.
“Selena, you should not talk to me with this attitude, do you know that?” Michael smiled coldly again. “Now, you guys are the ones that spent that much money in my restaurant and you guys want to eat for free. It’s four million and eighty thousand, do you think that I’ll allow you all to leave if you don’t pay?”
Selena frowned even more. At the beginning, she thought Michael was just joking with her, that he deliberately asked her to come upstairs to just meet. She had no idea that Michael Wilson was really digging a hole for her!
“Spit it out, what do you really want? I believe that you’re not the kind of person who needs that money, right?” Selena was silent for a few seconds before saying.
Michael stepped two steps forward and held Selena’s waist in one swift move, “You’re smart, you have answered it correctly!”
Chapter 28 Smelling the delicate fragrance from Selena’s body, Micheal felt excited. He wanted so badly to immediately push Selena on the floor.
Selena smelled Michael, who was filled with the smell of alcohol and felt a wave of disgust. She immediately pushed the other party away hard, “Michael, I am telling you this, don’t overdo it!”
After Michael was pushed away, he still felt unsatisfied. After all these years, he had longed for this woman, Selena, for too long. It was a pity that he hadn’t even touched her hand once. Just a second before, he actually grabbed this woman’s waist. This made him felt like he was in a dream and he really did not want to wake up.
“Am I too much?” Wilson smiled and spread his hands, “Of course, after all, you are the woman that I like and I also respect you very much. So, you just need to pay the four million and eighty thousand to me for the meal and I will immediately let you go. However, if you can’t come up with the money, then you really can’t blame me for being too much!”
“I…” Selena’s facial expression immediately became extremely hard to look at. She had a dark expression on her face and said helplessly, “I… We don’t have money!”
“No money?” Michael smiled coldly, “Since you don’t have the money, then use your man’s life to pay the debt. By that time, your daughter would no longer have a father and your parents would be implicated. Sigh, my subordinated should not be trifled with!”
Seeing that Selena has a terrible look on her face, Michael still continued, “However, Selena, I really like you so much. How about this, I don’t want to make it difficult for you. As long as you accompany me out for a coffee tonight, chat together and then go for a movie, we can just forget this!”
“Just, drink coffee with you? Then watch a movie?” Selena bit her sexy red lips, frowned and she was a little worried in her heart. Although this Michael used to respect her very much, but, the matter tonight also made her understand that this guy was not so easy to deal with.
“If you want to do something more, that is also possible!” Michael smiled and then said again, “Actually, my thoughts are really simple. I have been pursuing you for so long and you have never promised me once to go on a date with me. I am really disappointed in my heart! I just want to go on a date with you once and feel the taste of love. You are not willing to agree to such a simple request?”
“But… But it’s so late now!” Selena was a little hesitant. If Michael only wanted a cup of coffee with her and he can waive this four million plus and allow them to leave safely, that would be great. Although she also felt that this Michael might not have such a simple idea, she had no other way now.
“What do you think? Selena, don’t worry, I really like you. Just have a cup of coffee with me and today’s bill would be waived. You don’t have to pay a penny, how about that?”
Seeing that Selena seemed to be moved, Michael was secretly delighted. This Ivan Taylor was really good, threatening Selena with this method was really effective. After all, Selena loved her daughter very much and was also a very filial woman. Threatening her with her parents and daughter would naturally succeed. The most important thing would be that he held the waist of Selena Taylor, the previously high and mighty girl, who would not even allow him to touch her once, just now. He was still nostalgic about the slender waist.
“How about another day? It’s past seven in the evening now!” Selena thought about it and finally said with a frown.
“How would that work? Choosing a day is not better than doing it now. I can’t let your parents go home another day, right?” Michael immediately straightened his face and then said, “How about this, if you are afraid that your husband will know. You can go home with them first then find an excuse to sneak out. Would that work? When you are ready to come out, give me a call a few minutes in advance and I will drive over to pick you up?”
“Well, I hope that you mean what you say. It’s still okay to have a cup of coffee together. AS for a movie, I’m afraid that it would be too late, so forget it!”
Chapter 29 A wry smile spread across Selena’s face. Although she felt helpless, she still nodded her head. It was because she knew very well that jackie would not have 4 million dollars. jackie, who worked as a soldier for several years, had become aggressive after constantly going to war. It would be disadvantageous if a fight broke out.
“Don’t worry. I’m Young Master Wilson, the Wilson family’s only Young Master who inherited the family business. When have I ever gone back on my words?” Michael spoke assuringly, immediately patting his chest.
Soon after, Selena opened the door and walked out. On the other side, Michael came to the door too. He spoke to the plump restaurant manager, “Ms. Selena is my friend and also an old acquaintance of mine. Forget the 4 million dollars. For my friend’s sake, it’s on me. Give it to them for free!”
“Then, those 18 bottles of red wine…” After thinking for a moment, the manager reminded him of it.
“Of course let them take them. You charged them for 20 bottles anyways, so it’s only natural for them to take the rest away if they’ve ordered it and couldn’t finish!” Michael immediately broke into a grin.
Besides, the cost of the wine was only around 100 thousand dollars. Saying that it was 200 thousand per bottle was a trap set up to trick Selena.
“In that case, thank you very much, Young Master Wilson!” Selena smiled, then followed the manager and walked downstairs to the second floor.
“Why is she not back yet? Did something happen to her?” Joan, who was waiting downstairs, could not help but worry.
“It shouldn’t be possible. Although we were chased out, my daughter is still part of the Taylor family. I’m sure that the boss wouldn’t dare to cut her down? Judging by the way he spoke, it seemed like they knew each other before!” Fiona frowned before she comforted her.
“It’s been five minutes. I’ll go inside and have a look!” jackie looked at the time. Five minutes passed. Worried that Selena might be in danger, he immediately walked inside.
“Kid, you’re not allowed to go to the second floor without our boss’…” One man stepped forward and tried to stop jackie.
Bang! Unfortunately, jackie landed a kick on his chest the next second. Instantly, he was sent flying away. Bang! The man flew and crashed into a table, causing it to collapse. Blood spurted out from the man’s mouth. His complexion instantly turned white.
“Oh, this is unexpected. I wanted to come here for a meal but instead of serving guests, you guys are fighting behind closed doors!” Right at that moment, a bell-like voice sounded from across the room. Accompanied by a few bodyguards, a young, beautiful, and energetic lady walked inside.
The man stood up from the ground. He was about to send his men to fight against jackie but stopped immediately after laying eyes on the woman. “Drake-Second Miss Drake, why are you here?”
Chapter 30 The girl looked young and energetic. She donned a sexy miniskirt with a few braids flowing down her back. A tiny pair of dimples appeared on her cheeks as she pursed her lips slightly. Her pair of large and beautiful eyes appeared quite stunning. A girl that oozed such a youthful aura like her would definitely catch one’s attention.
“So this is the Drake family’s second daughter? You’re really a stunning little beauty. If you already look so pretty at such a young age, what will you become in two years’ time when you grow older?” Two men who were standing at the side could not help but gossip about her.
“Get out of the way!” jackie could not even be bothered by the Drake family’s second daughter as he roared at the people in front of him.
“Handsome guy, what’s the matter?”
Tanya Drake looked at jackie and was slightly taken aback. It seemed like this was the jackie guy whom her father had mentioned. She took another look at jackie and wondered what was so remarkable about him. She did not understand why her father wanted her and her brother to keep in touch and integrate themselves in his life. Yet, she did not have any other choice. She could only obey her father’s words. She believed that this person must be extraordinary if her father had said so.
“Wait a minute, Tanya. You’re James Drake’s daughter, the richest person in the Eastfield?” Fiona looked at the girl in front of her carefully and asked in surprise before jackie could even answer.
No wonder the girl gave off a noble presence. Moreover, fear spread across the thugs’ faces as soon as they saw her. It was obvious that the girl was no ordinary person.
“Yes, my name is Tanya Drake!” Tanya nodded her head and asked, “What’s the matter? It seems like this restaurant is nicely decorated and exudes a pleasant atmosphere. I was about to have my dinner here. Why are you guys fighting?”
“Oh, Tanya, this is what happened. We were here for dinner…” Fiona started complaining right away. “Aren’t these people just evil? The wine originally cost 20 thousand dollars per bottle but they changed it to 200 thousand dollars. They now want us to pay 4,080,000 dollars or they won’t let us go! My daughter is still inside debating with the boss. jackie was worried sick so he started a fight with these people!”
Upon hearing the story, a tinge of joy sparked in Tanya’s heart. How lucky was she as this was a great opportunity for her to make friends with jackie. Her brother could not come over as he was busy today and she happened to be nearby. After receiving her father’s call, she came over.
She did not expect to come across such an opportunity.
“Well, that’s way too much. This is definitely an unscrupulous shop!” Immediately, Tanya said angrily, “Don’t pay them. Why would someone pay such a shop?!”
“Who is that swearing and cursing out here?!” Right at that moment, the restaurant manager and Selena walked down from the second floor.
After hearing Tanya’s words, the manager scolded, “How dare you come and create trouble here? Do you have a death wish? Do you think you can leave without paying?” However, right after he finished speaking, he came eye to eye with Tanya who was standing there.
The manager gulped and said, “Tanya Drake, what brings you here?”
“Hah, you’re a wild one, aren’t you? Motherf*cker, I’ll wreck the place! I want to see how heedless and reckless you guys can be!”
Tanya waved her hand as she roared. One by one, the bodyguards carried stools and started to smash the place up.
“Miss Tanya, don’t, please don’t. This is the Wilson family’s business. Please show us mercy, Miss Tanya!” The restaurant manager no longer dared to be arrogant when facing the people from the Drake Family. He pleaded with a sad face, hoping that they would stop for the Wilson family’s sake.
“The Wilson family! Hah, I don’t care whose family business this is. You guys only act this way if I’m not around. If I catch you guys acting this way in front of me, it’s only natural for me to smash up your place when I’m angry!” Tanya crossed her arms in front of her chest. She stood proudly as she belittled them.
Although there were numerous thugs from the Wilson family, they all lowered their heads. None of them dared to make a sound. They knew the Drake family’s power. The Wilson family would not dare to offend the Drake family! However, what made them dumbfounded was Tanya nosing into other people’s business. What did it have to do with her!?
“Miss Tanya, thank you very much. Did you say that we don’t have to pay?” Upon seeing the situation, Fiona immediately stepped forward and asked. She could feel the resentment.
“Of course, you don’t have to pay a single, f*cking penny. I can’t stand people like these who bully the weak!” Tanya looked at the manager and said, “Tell me, do they still have to pay? If they have to pay, I’ll burn this whole place down!”
The manager was speechless. “No, no. They can take away the leftover 18 bottles of wine. They don’t even have to pay for their meal earlier. Miss Tanya, our boss and Ms. Taylor actually know each other. He was just joking. They don’t have to pay for their meal. Our boss already said that it’s free.” In regard to that, the manager said with a distressed face, “This, this is all a misunderstanding!”
The manager’s heart ached when he saw all the wrecked up tables and shelves. What had just happened?
“Ms. Taylor? You are Selena Taylor, right? You’re indeed a very beautiful woman. I’ve heard a lot about you, but this is my first time seeing you!” Tanya took a look at Selena and it was only then that she said
to her bodyguards, “Stop now, that’s enough!”
After she finished talking, she spoke to Selena again, “Miss Selena, is this really a misunderstanding?”
Selena smiled bitterly. “You can call it that. Thank you very much for your help, Miss Tanya. I heard you like to fight against injustice and are a very helpful person. It’s my first time seeing you today. Thank you so much for your kindness!”
“Misunderstanding, how can this be a misunderstanding? These people said that we couldn’t leave if we don’t pay. Also, they insisted that we have to pay over 4 million dollars!” While asking the waiter to pack the wines on the table, Fiona spoke up, “Miss Tanya, I really owe you this time but what if they come searching for us if we leave without paying?”
“This is my name card, auntie. Keep it and call me whenever you need help! If they ever bother you and ask you to pay again, I will not let this shop survive!” Tanya smiled, took out a name card, and handed it to Fiona.
“Ah, that’s very kind of you.” Fiona was excited. She took the name card and smiled. “Thank you very much, Miss Tanya!”
“Alright, you guys can leave now. They won’t dare to do anything!” Tanya stared at jackie who was standing at the side with a deep gaze. Then, she turned around and spoke to Selena. “Miss Selena, if you need any help in the future, give me a call!”
jackie frowned as he went deep in thought. Tanya came right on time; was it really a coincidence?
However, it did not matter whether it was a coincidence or not. At least she had helped them out.
He stepped forward and stretched out his hand. “Miss Tanya, thank you very much for your help. My name is jackie White. I’ll consider us as acquaintances. If the Drake family needs a helping hand in the future, feel free to contact me!”
Chapter 32 “No way. This guy wants to shake Miss Tanya’s hand? Isn’t he too overconfident?”
“That’s right. Does he even know who Miss Tanya is? He’s a live-in son-in-law and the reason why the Taylor family chased his wife’s family out of the house. Is a person like him in the position to shake Miss Tanya’s hand?” A few thugs standing behind the restaurant started to quietly gossip.
An ordinary person would not hear them as their voices were very soft. However, they were not aware that jackie had clearly heard everything they said. jackie paid no attention to them. Smiling, he kept looking at Miss Tanya standing in front of him.
“You’re welcome! Nice to meet you, I’m Tanya Drake! I heard you’re also from the army, right? I admire people like you the most. I appreciate your contribution to our country! If it wasn’t for guys like you, we wouldn’t have won this time!” Miss Tanya stretched out her hand and shook jackie’s in front of the crowd.
It seemed like Miss Tanya did not often shake hands with the opposite sex. She looked slightly shy and embarrassed when she did so.
“To protect our country is what we, the people of Daxia, should do!” jackie laughed and said, “I did not expect Miss Tanya to be such a kind-hearted and helpful person! We’re now acquaintances. Feel free to contact me if you need any help!”
Selena thought for a moment and walked to the manager. Then, she said in a soft voice, “Tell Young Master Wilson that he didn’t give anything for free. We did not pay because Miss Tanya despises your behavior. Do you understand?”
The manager’s lip twitched and he awkwardly smiled. “Of course, of course, it’s all for Miss Tanya’s sake!”
“I’m glad you know that so I don’t owe him anything!” Selena said coldly, feeling a gush of relief.
Earlier when they were upstairs, she promised Michael she would grab a coffee and hang with him because she had no other choice and could only say yes. Although she knew that she might be in danger and it would be hard for her to escape, there was nothing she could do about it. She could only bite the bullet and do it for the sake of her family and Kylie’s safety. She could only pray that Michael just wanted to grab coffee with her. She did not expect Tanya, who was passing by for dinner, to take the initiative to help them. In the end, they did not have to pay. As such, she could take back what she had promised earlier and did not owe Michael anything anymore. The most important thing was that Tanya was the one who helped them out so Michael would not dare to bother them after that.
“Miss Tanya, thank you so much for your help. I will certainly repay your kindness if we have the chance to in the future!” Selena turned around and said to Tanya, “We’ll make a move first then!”
“Alright, take care and goodbye!”
Chapter 33 In the end, Miss Tanya watched as jackie and the others left.
“You people better learn your lesson. I’ll let you go for what happened today. If you keep bothering them for today’s matter, I’ll end you guys. I don’t care whether you’re a part of the Wilson’s family!” After jackie and the others left, Tanya gave them a warning before she and her people drove away.
“Tanya Drake is so exasperating! Why didn’t she come sooner or later, instead of right on time? She could’ve come even just a few minutes later or waited until Selena and the others left. Things wouldn’t have been such a mess then!” Looking at the damage done, they had definitely suffered a great loss. The manager was furious. He did not know that at that moment, Michael was feeling joyful in the private room.
“That’s great, Young Master Wilson. Your method really worked! Selena’s face turned pale when she heard 4,000,000 dollars. jackie does not have that much money. I bet he doesn’t even have 400,000 dollars! Selena didn’t have any other choice. Once I threatened her with her daughter and parents, she
could only listen to me. She promised me she would come up with an excuse to go on a coffee date with me!” Michael was very excited. He immediately called Ivan to tell him his victory.
“Congratulations Young Master Wilson!” Ivan, who was on the other side of the phone, sneered. “Young Master Wilson, just do as I say. Secretly add some ‘ingredients’ to the coffee and by that time, you will have her under your foot. She might even become more proactive!”
“Yes, that’s great. This mother*cking Selena is worried about losing face and will not tell others about this. I know her very well. If she tells others about it, not only will she be humiliated, she’ll be a disgrace to her parents and the Taylor family!” Michael burst out in hearty laughter. He had waited for too long. He was finally going to get the cold goddess who had always ignored him. At the thought of Selena’s almost perfect face and body, as well as her bodily scent, Michael almost had a nosebleed.
However, thinking that this might be his only chance, his face darkened. “Young Master Taylor, your method will work. However, knowing Selena’s character, she won’t tell others about it but it’ll be impossible to ask her out for a second date!” Upon saying that, Michael was slightly angry. “I planned to marry her in the future. If that’s the case, I will have such a beautiful woman for my entire life. However, if what I mentioned just now happens, I’ll only be able to feel her once. I won’t have the chance to do so anymore. I cannot accept that!”
Ivan kept silent for a few moments before saying, “Young Master Wilson, I’ve always thought that you were just playing around with Selena. That you’d just throw her away after getting her, just like the other girls. I didn’t expect you to be that serious about her!”
“Of course I’m serious about her. Selena is the prettiest and most gentlest woman I’ve ever met. Moreover, she’s the most beautiful woman in Eastfield. I think only the Drake family’s second daughter can compete with her. Even then, Miss Tanya is not as charming as Selena. I like mature women like her!” Michael sighed as he talked. He was about to get Selena, but felt sorry for her at the same time. That was because he knew that Selena would hate him and refuse to marry him.
After thinking for a moment, Ivan on the other end, spoke up. “If you want to play with her a little bit longer, it’s certainly not impossible!”
Chapter 34 “Really?” Michael’s eyes brightened upon hearing that. His heart was filled with excitement.
He thought that he would only have one chance. Although it was only once, it was much better than not being able to get this goddess for a lifetime. Previously, he even hoped that there were no men in Selena’s family as she would be a widow if jackie died. Then sooner or later, she would be moved by his efforts and agree to be together with him. He did not expect jackie, who was a soldier, to come back alive. Since then, he felt that the possibility to be together with Selena was far too slim. Therefore, when Ivan told him his method, he agreed without much thought. After all, he had been waiting for that day for years.
“Of course it’s real but Young Master Wilson, about the profits on the project we’re working
on…” Ivan smiled coldly. He wanted to make a profit for the Taylor family’s business to flourish. He would be a major contributor if the Taylor family made money. By that time, he could secure his position and nobody could take away his right to become the Master’s successor. He did not care about the trauma Selena would go through. That woman had put herself through all that misery.
Old Master Taylor thought highly of Selena. Many people from the Taylor family felt that Selena had the chance to get a part of the Taylor family’s business. Who knew that she would give up on herself. She had it coming and consequently, that gave him a great opportunity.
“Don’t worry. In regard to profits, I’ll give you 10 more points. In that case, your profits will double. You can rest assured as there won’t be such a good price out there!” Michael laughed and said, “Young Master Taylor, please hurry up and tell me what I can do. I can no longer wait. My lady might already be home by now. She might text me and ask me to pick her up anytime soon!”
“The method is very easy. If you want her for the long-term, you must have something you can hold against her. Aren’t you bringing her to a hotel? Why not use your phone or something to capture a few videos? You can use them to threaten her in the future! If she refuses to go out on a date with you after that, you can threaten to upload the videos to the internet. Do you think Selena would dare to reject you then?” Ivan smirked. “In that case, wouldn’t Young Master Wilson have her all for yourself? Moreover, she won’t have any choice but to be at your beck and call. jackie might not even realize he’s being cuckolded!”
“this is interesting and exciting!” Michael laughed loudly. “Alright then, I’ll stop bothering you now. I have to get myself dressed and go on a date early. after all, every minute is precious!” Excited, Michael hung up. In the private room, he twisted his fat body around and struck a pose he assumed was cool. Then, he happily walked downstairs.
When he got down however, he was stunned to see the scene before him. “What happened? Who the f*ck wrecked up our shop? Does that person have a death wish?” Michael roared. He was angry.
“Young Master Wilson, I was about to report this matter to you but you already came down. Ah, such rotten luck!” Wearing a long face, the manager slapped his thigh and sat on a stool.
Chapter 35 “There’s so many of you and none of you managed to stop them? Didn’t anyone fight back? Did you just sit back and watch them wreck the place?” Looking at his men standing there, Michael was furious. “Did I hire you for nothing?”
“Young Master Wilson, it’s not that we didn’t fight back or stop them, it’s because we didn’t dare to fight back!” The manager did not know whether to laugh or cry. “ jackie wasn’t the one who did this. It was Miss Tanya Drake’s men.”
“Tanya Drake?” Michael gulped when he heard the name. “That girl. Why did she come here and wreck our place up?”
“Ah, she passed by our restaurant, thought it looked nice, and wanted to come in for a meal. After knowing what happened, she defended them and said we shouldn’t blackmail them. After that, she wrecked the place! The most important thing is that she let jackie and the others leave without having them pay. She also warned us not to bother them anymore!” The manager sighed. “In the end, jackie and Miss Taylor owe Tanya a favor. Before Miss Taylor left, she wanted me to tell you that you’re not the reason they didn’t have to pay as it was because Miss Tanya let them skip paying the bill. So…”
“Damn it!” Michael angrily stomped his foot. What did Selena mean by that? It was obvious. She was telling him to say goodbye to tonight’s date. “I lost what I just happened to get!”
Raging, Michael sat down on the floor. He was not reconciled. What rotten luck. He had almost succeeded but ended up meeting with the nosy Miss Tanya.
…
At that moment, jackie and the others were already on their way home.
“Thanks to Miss Tanya’s kindness, we got to vent our anger today!” Hand carrying several bottles of wine, Fiona said that with a smile. jackie and Selena’s hands were also occupied with several bottles too.
“Since the last time, I heard that Miss Tanya has a good personality. There was an old man who accidentally scraped her car but considering his age, she didn’t let the person pay a single penny.”
“Not only is she kind-hearted, but Miss Tanya is also very pretty too. She deserves to be rich!” Andrew was filled with strong emotions.
“You’re right. She’s very rich. Unlike us, we can hardly dine out, yet we almost couldn’t leave!” Fiona was smiling, inadvertently taking a glance at jackie who was beside her. Her expression instantly turned cold. “It was all someone’s fault for acting like a rich guy when he had no money. If we had the money, would we have to suffer this kind of treatment?”
Joan was not pleased to hear that. Fiona used to make lots of sarcastic remarks before jackie came back. However, she could endure it back then. Now that Fiona was criticizing her son in front of her, she could not hold back anymore. She said, “My son’s mother-in-law, you can’t phrase your words like that. You can’t blame jackie for this, right? How is it possible that a meal would cost four million? It’s obvious that person was blackmailing us. No matter how rich we are, we shouldn’t have had to pay four million, right?”
“you’re putting it in such a way as though jackie would pay if it was 400,000!” Fiona let out a contemptuous smile.
“If they didn’t blackmail me, I would have paid 400,000 for a meal.” jackie calmly replied.
Chapter 36 “You would pay 400,000?” Fiona laughed coldly when she heard that. “ Just keep acting. Look at yourself, I highly doubt you’d have that much money.” Another thought struck her mind after she said that. She then said to Selena, “By the way, Selena, the Taylor family works in the construction material industry. You’ve worked for them all this while, but it’s too bad that you’re restricted from it now. You can’t even find a job. Many companies dare not hire you because they’re tied to Ivan!”
“You’re right. Ah, I have no other choice. Ivan already said that he will only leave me alone if I become a garbage collector! Otherwise, he’ll create a ruckus no matter where I work. That’s why no one dares offend him as they want to avoid trouble.” Selena sighed. “Now that jackie is back, our family will be better off if we’re both working!”
“That’s true. Although it might be tough, we won’t be so miserable right now if we find a job!” Fiona sighed.” That was why I was thinking about Miss Drake. Didn’t she give us her name card earlier? Since she’s so kind-hearted and likes to help others, why don’t we give her a call and see if she can help us find one? What do you think?”
“Mum, I don’t think that’s a good idea. We did not have any acquaintances with the Drake family before this. They helped us earlier and we have yet to repay them. How can we trouble them again? Moreover, Miss Drake gave us the name card and told us to find her if we need help simply out of courtesy. Are you actually thinking of troubling her?” Slightly embarrassed, Selena said that as she smiled bitterly.
“What’s wrong with that? Sometimes, you have to be more thick-skinned. Isn’t it better to have a proper job rather than to collect garbage? Besides, Kylie is going to kindergarten soon. If you don’t find a proper job, what will happen to us? Doesn’t your daughter have to study?” Fiona continued immediately. “I think that this might work. Didn’t you say that you want to repay Miss Drake? This would be a great opportunity. You can work in their company and help them make a profit by improving their performance rates. That’s a way of repayment, is it not?”
“That’s true!” Selena frowned and said, “It’s too late now. Give me the name card and I’ll check tomorrow if the job’s still available. Ivan won’t be able to do anything if I work with the Drake family. The Drake family do not care about his whims.”
“Yes, yes. That’s right!” Fiona nodded. “You might earn a better salary with a better job.”
Soon after, they arrived at their home. After putting the wine away, Fiona said to jackie, ” jackie, this wine is very expensive. Selena’s father likes it a lot so you better not drink in secret, alright? You can drink it if you buy it from us. It’s 20 million per bottle!”
Selena’s face darkened when she heard that. “Mum, what are you talking about? He’s your son in-law and also a part of our family, what’s wrong with him drinking a bottle or two?”
“Who said anything about him being my son-in-law?” Fiona retorted, “Anyways, I will not accept him until he gives us 10 million worth of betrothal gifts on your grandfather’s birthday. It is only until he fulfills this promise with your grandfather and we can go back to the Taylor family that I’ll accept him!”
Chapter 37 In regards to that, Fiona stopped for a moment and said, “Of course he can’t do it. If he can’t bring us the betrothal gift, my son-in-law might end up changing into either Young Master Wilson or Young Master Clark!”
jackie pulled Selena back when he saw her urge to argue with Fiona. “Forget it, Selena. Mum is right. You are indeed a wonderful woman. I won’t let you down on grandfather’s birthday! You’re my woman and nobody can take you away!”
Seeing jackie’s determined gaze, Selena’s anger disappeared as warmth lled her instead. She nodded shyly and said, ”I believe in you. I heard that the battlefield was very dangerous and many died, but you stayed there for ve years and survived. You must be better than others.”
Fiona’s face turned sour upon hearing those sweet words. She quickly reminded Selena, “Selena, I told you not to fall for his sweet-talk. He won’t be our son-in-law if he can’t give us 10 million worth of betrothal gifts. You must not allow him to touch you until then, alright?” Speaking of that, Fiona looked at Kylie and said, “I didn’t chase him out of the house just for Kylie’s sake. We’re kind enough to let him live with us temporarily! “
“Grandma, why does daddy want to touch mummy? Is he beating mummy up? Daddy, you cannot beat mummy up, okay?” Kylie, who was only a little over four years old, looked at Fiona with a confused expression. It was obvious she seemed a little bit anxious!
“Kylie, that’s not what it means. How would daddy have the heart to beat mummy up?” jackie was embarrassed when he heard what Kylie said. Immediately, he carried her and walked into the room. “Let’s go, it’s time for you to sleep. Daddy will tell you a story later, alright?”
“Alright! Mummy, daddy is going to tell me a story!” Kylie squealed to Selena excitedly.
A comforting smile appeared on Selena’s face as she saw Kylie beaming back at her. After jackie carried Kylie into the room, Selena started saying to Fiona, “Mom, you can see that Kylie must have her father by her side. Kylie likes jackie a lot. After all, blood is thicker than water. I’ve made up my mind; I will stay with jackie even if he can’t give us 10 million dollars!”
“My daughter, are you stupid? You have to think about Kylie’s future. All the other children can attend good schools, enjoy the best education, play with expensive toys, and wear nice clothes. Kylie is so mature despite her young age. Do you want her to suffer with you her entire life? I’m not only doing this for your sake, but also for your kid. What’s the point of staying with a bum like him? Are you going to be poor your whole life? A woman’s time is limited and we grow old quickly. You waited for him for five years. That was five years of youth! You cannot waste your youth like that again!”
Fiona started to persuade Selena. “You are already 25. You were 20 and immature back then so I don’t blame you. However, you have to know that men have more value as they grow older compared to women. You still have assets right now and are still young. The rich young masters are still interested in you. Do you think they will still be into you when you grow older and reach 30? It’ll be too late for you to regret then!”
“I won’t regret it!” Selena shouted and went straight back into the room.
Chapter 38 Not long after listening to jackie’s story, Kylie fell asleep.
In that moment, Tanya had already arrived at the Drake family’s home. She went to see her father.
“How was it? Did you meet the guy named jackie?” James asked Tanya eagerly as soon as he saw her.
Tanya poured herself half a glass of wine. She swirled it around before taking a sip. Then she said, “Yes, I saw him. He’s quite good-looking and manly too!”
James was speechless. “Did I ask you to admire his face? I asked you to befriend him and keep in touch with him. Think of it as having another friend. Although he’s not as good as the God of War Lana, they’re very similar. The most important thing is that he and Lana are very good friends. Befriending him means we’re on our way to reaching the skills of the God of War.”
Tanya took another sip of her wine. She put her glass down on the table and said solemnly, “Dad, I don’t understand. If we want to fawn over this God of War from Eastfield, why don’t we just fawn over Lana? Even though jackie’s status is quite high, he can’t be better than the God of War, right?”
“You know nothing.” James’s eyes showed a depth of wisdom. He grabbed his own wine glass and poured some for himself. He then sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said, “Lana is a very cold woman. Approaching her is no easy task. She’s already giving me face by accepting the God of War mansion I gave her. Moreover, I don’t know what a woman like her desires! I can’t find out how to help her!”
After saying that, James stopped for a moment before he continued,” On the contrary, jackie is a live-in son-in-law. He had no other choice but to become a live-in son-in-law to save his mother’s life back then. He replaced Ivan in the army. Now, he came back and has a daughter. Although his wife has no thoughts of leaving him, the Taylor family still looks down on him!”
Tanya understood her father’s intention after hearing what he had to say. She nodded her head, “I know what you mean now. You mean the God of War Lana doesn’t need our help, but jackie does. As long as we keep in touch with them and help them out more, it’s equivalent to giving
Lana a helping hand!”
James smiled and took a sip from his glass as he started praising her, “You are indeed my daughter. You understand right away. Helping jackie means helping a friend of the God of War. This means that the next time we need Lana’s help, she’ll help us!” Then, he asked again, “Right, you haven’t told me how things went today?”
“Don’t worry, I gave them my name card. I was there right on time. If we were there just a little bit later, I’m afraid we would have lost a very good opportunity! So this was what happened. We went there, and…” Tanya quickly told James what had happened. Then, she said happily, ” jackie isn’t an indifferent guy. He even shook my hand to express his gratitude before he left. However, something feels strange…”
“Strange?” James was stunned. “Why do you say so?”
Tanya spoke after thinking for a while. “Logically, a soldier would have calluses on their palms as they often use guns. Despite that, I realized jackie hardly has any calluses on his palms. They were very smooth. It was as though he had never been to the army!”
James was shocked. He thought about it for a moment and said, “Maybe he didn’t go onto the battlefield but worked in the logistic department. Whatever it is, help them as much as possible. Even if he asks for 10 billion dollars, give it to him, alright? I believe that there must be something special between him and Lana.”
…
The next morning, Ivan eagerly gathered all the Taylor family relatives as they came looking for Old Master Taylor and his father.
Chapter 39 Ivan, what’s the matter? It’s so early in the morning and you have everybody gathered here. Do you have something important to announce?” Theodore, the Taylor family’s head, asked in confusion as he looked at his son.
“I have good news for everybody. I received a big project this time. The crucial thing is that we’ve never worked on such an expensive project before. I estimate that we can earn at least 300 million dollars from this project.” Ivan smiled as he said that, wearing a proud look on his face.
He believed that Michael was a man of his words, so he could not hold back his excitement. Hands trembling, he gathered everyone and told them about it.
“That’s great, this must be a really big project!”
“That’s right. Young Master Ivan is such a competent man. He got us such a big project. Moreover, the profits are exceptionally high!”
A few relatives from the Taylor family gasped in admiration.
“Really? Did you sign the contract?” The Old Master Taylor was very happy as well after hearing the news. It would be a major profit. It had been quite some time since the Taylor family last received such a project and it was worth around 300 million dollars of profit. The Taylor family had to pay attention to this project.
“The contract draft is done. Young Master Wilson already agreed to the project. We made a deal on the phone!”
“Grandpa, I will meet him later and get the contract signed. Don’t worry, it’s already settled.” Ivan immediately patted his chest and reassured his grandfather.
However, he did not tell them about how that bum, jackie, was now being cuckolded. Selena might have even been crying under her sheets right now.
“Then hurry up and get the contract signed. Nothing is settled yet until the contract is signed, alright? One can change their mind very easily when it comes to verbal promises!” Extremely delighted, Old Master Taylor immediately reminded Ivan.
“Yes, yes. Hurry up. Let’s book a hotel and celebrate when you come back! Let’s have lunch together!” Theodore was even more excited. He felt very proud of his son finally achieving something. He had finally made money for the Taylor family.
“That’s great. It’s been quite a while since we last had dinner together.” The old master nodded his head and agreed. “Let’s make a reservation at a more luxurious hotel. What about the Dorsett Hotel?”
“Alright. Dorsett Hotel is a five-star hotel. It’s very impressive!” Theodore laughed heartily.
“By the way, grandpa, should we invite Selena and that bum? The more the merrier!” Ivan immediately proposed the idea when the thought came into his mind.
He wanted to see how Selena would force herself to smile after sleeping with Michael last night. Of course, he also wanted to show Selena that he was a competent man. Without Selena, he was still capable of helping the Taylor Group flourish!
Chapter 40 “You want to invite those bumpkins? Young Master Ivan, you’re trying to show off, right?” Unexpectedly, Cecilia stepped forward and exposed Ivan’s intentions.
Embarrassed, Ivan explained himself hurriedly, “What nonsense are you talking about? Am I such a person?” Ivan stopped for a moment before continuing, “After all, Selena is also part of the Taylor family. She is grandpa’s biological granddaughter. This is considered a big event for the Taylor family. Inviting her to such a grand celebration benefits us too. Otherwise, other influential people might call us stingy if they knew we didn’t invite her. Besides, it doesn’t cost much to invite a few more people, right?”
Satisfied, Old Master Taylor nodded his head. “Indeed, Ivan has grown up now. You’re more matured these days. You have to keep this mindset if you want to achieve great things in life! After all, it’s been five years and many have already forgotten about that incident. It wouldn’t hurt to invite them over for a meal!”
“Grandpa is absolutely correct. That was my intention. I want them to know that we’re very generous.” Ivan laughed. “Alright, grandpa. I’ll go get the contract signed now. You can book the reservation at the hotel in the meanwhile. We’ll have lunch at 12pm sharp. I’ll be ready to bring you the good news!”
“alright. You go ahead!” The old master laughed. Undertaking such a big project with a 300 million dollars profit was enough to prove Ivan’s ability. If Ivan could undertake more projects like this in the future, he would consider handing over the Taylor family’s business to Ivan.
Looking at the old master’s delighted face, Theodore was very happy as well. Finally, Ivan had made him proud for once. Although he was the head of the Taylor family, the old master never gave him any rights because he used to have a gambling addiction. There was this one time he had lost 10 million dollars in one night. Since then, the old master never trusted him. Five years ago, the old master thought highly of Selena’s talent of conducting business. He even wanted to pass down the family business to her. Theodore was slightly flustered by that thought. However, he never imagined Selena’s wayward behaviour would end up destroying her own bright future and benefit his son instead. Although his son liked to play around, he could finally heave a sigh of relief today. In spite of Ivan’s words, many family members of the Taylor family knew that Ivan wanted to invite Selena and her family over for lunch to show off his abilities.
…
The sun was shining brightly above a garden. jackie came back carrying a linen sack.
“Mum, you don’t have to go to work. I told you to just stay at home. I can take care of you!” jackie smiled as he talked to Joan.
“But my heart cannot be at peace if I don’t work. After all, we need money.” Joan smiled bitterly. It was tough sweeping the streets under the hot sun, but she could not find a better job as she got older. She suffered a lot over these past few years for the sake of supporting her family.
Suddenly, jackie put his hand into the sack and took out a bundle of cash. He handed her 50 thousand dollars. “Mum, I just went to pick up some money. Here is your pocket money. Do you feel more at peace now?”
Joan was shocked looking at the amount of money in her hands. “This is too much. Instead of giving it to me, you should give it to Selena so she can spend it on groceries. You need money when Kylie starts going to kindergarten too!”
Chapter 41 “This is for you, take it!” jackie laughed and shoved the money into Joan’s arms.
Fiona’s eyes lit up as she witnessed this. She walked over quickly and said, “You little brat, you’re only giving your mother money now that you have some? We’ve been taking care of your kids and suffering so much, how come you’re not giving any to us? You should give us some for all the money we’ve spent on your kids, shouldn’t you?”
Jenny the maid could not stand it anymore. She mumbled, “You haven’t been working for the past few years and don’t have any income. Kylie was basically raised by Miss and their income was earned from Miss going out and about to scavenge for her and Joan’s salary through her office job. You haven’t spent a cent, how dare you ask for compensation!”
After hearing that, Joan angrily said, “Hey, you stupid girl, what are you talking about? You’re just a maid, what does this have anything to do with you?”
“Mom, if you want the money, you can have it. However, you’ll have to acknowledge this son-in-law. Otherwise, why would he give you the money?” Selena walked over and rolled her eyes at her mother.
Fiona’s expression changed after hearing that. She said coldly, “It’s just a bit of money, it’s not like I’ve never come across such a sum before. You want me to acknowledge him for this bit of money? No way!”
jackie did not care about his mean mother-in-law. He passed the bag to Selena and said, “Take the money inside and spend it, there should be enough for groceries and to register Kylie for school. There should be enough for some time.”
“How, how much money is in here?” Selena lifted the heavy bag. She was stunned. Was this weight all from the cash in the bag?
Fiona was no longer calm. Before jackie could say anything, she walked over and grabbed the bag to pour out its contents.
Seeing the cash on the ground, Fiona inhaled sharply and asked, “This is a lot of money, how much is there?”
jackie laughed forcefully and said, “Not much, I withdrew a million dollars, gave my mom 50 thousand dollars for change, and there’s still 950 thousand dollars left!”
Fiona swallowed her saliva. She nearly cried. “950 thousand dollars, I haven’t seen this much money in so long! This is great, I don’t have to live frugally anymore now!”
“Mom, pick it up. That’s a lot of money. If someone else sees it, we’ll be in trouble!” Selena reminded her mother anxiously while silently breathing a sigh of relief. “This is great, Kylie can now study in a better kindergarten.”
“It seems like you’re not that useless after all. This should be the money you received from leaving the army, right? The government is pretty good to you after all for giving you a million dollars. Together with the money you gave Selena for clothes, it should be about 1.2 million dollars in total,” Fiona said while picking up the cash to put into the bag.
To her, jackie must have withdrawn everything he had to please them and have them acknowledge him as their son-in-law. He must have really wanted to impress her.
After being deep in thought, she said, “ jackie, this 950 thousand dollars shall be the compensation for raising Kylie for the past five years. It’s your child after all, so you should be paying for her. Don’t you dare think that I will acknowledge you as our son-in-law for this money. I reiterate my point, if you can’t
whip out 10 million dollars for dowry on Selena’s grandfather’s 70th birthday party, you still need to get out of the Taylors’ house. Understood?”
Chapter 42 “Hah, don’t worry mom. I mean what I said! Take this money for Selena’s groceries and register Kylie for school!” jackie said while laughing.
Fiona scoffed. “Hmph, as long as you’re aware of it!”
Before the cash was picked up, a young man unexpectedly walked in with a young girl who had a tattoo on her arm. They both seemed like they were about 18 or 19 years old. The young man had blonde hair with an ear-piercing. It was an ear stud.
“Wow, that’s a lot of cash!” The young man ran over upon seeing the cash. He picked it up and said excitedly, “God, this is a lot! There’s some in the bag as well. There must be a million dollars here, right? I haven’t seen this much money in a long time!”
“Who are you? Put it down!” Seeing the young man’s face angered jackie. He stared straight at the man and spoke coldly.
“You, who are you?” The young man looked back at jackie and was so shocked by jackie’s sharp gaze that he dropped the cash he was holding onto.
“ jackie, what are you getting angry about? Don’t you recognize Ben anymore?” Fiona glared at jackie.
“Ben?” jackie was stunned for a while before coming to a realization. “Oh, it’s Ben, he was only 14 when I left. He’s so tall now and all grown up, I couldn’t recognize him!”
“Fck, here I was thinking who was this guy being this angry at me. You’re the useless brother-in-law!” Ben snapped out of it and continued, “I thought you were dead. Who knew that you would make it back! For five years, you’ve put our family through sht!”
The young girl came over and stood next to Ben. She checked jackie out and said, “Ben, is this the useless, live-in son-in-law who became one just to get a million dollars for his mother’s medical costs, then went to war the next day?”
Ben’s eyes were filled with hostility. “Yes, it’s this bastard who agreed to a sham marriage at first, but took advantage of my sister on their wedding night seeing that she was a little drunk. He got my sister pregnant. If it wasn’t for this bastard, our family would not have been kicked out by Old Master Taylor. We would still be staying in our mansion and living a good life!”
“So it was this bastard, how evil!” The woman looked over at jackie in anger and said, “I can’t believe you’re still shameless enough to come back. If it wasn’t for you, would we be staying in a place like this? If I was you, I’d rather die at war than come back and embarrass myself!”
“Xena, who are you to say that? I was drunk that night but I knew for a fact that I made the first move. I was angry at Grandpa for treating our marriage like a deal! It was my fault. I was too naive, and I caused mom, dad, and my brother to live frugally with me for the past five years. I’ll try my best to make it up to them from now on but it has already happened and I’ve taken responsibility for it. You can’t blame jackie for this!” Selena could not take it anymore after hearing what Xena said. She looked at her in the eye and said, “No matter what, this is my family’s business, You’re nobody to butt in, are you?”
“Ben, look, look at your sister. She’s saying that I’m a nobody. I’ve yet to marry you and she’s already this mean to me. When I marry you in the future, who knows how she’ll treat me then?” Xena was pissed. She tugged on Ben’s arm with her hands and threw a tantrum.
“Sister, what are you talking about? Xena is my girlfriend. Although she hasn’t married me yet, it will happen sooner or later. We’ll be family in the future. How could you say that to her?”
Chapter 43 “On top of that, jackie is the one who put you in this position but you’re still siding with him. I really don’t understand how you think,” Ben continued to speak on Xena’s behalf.
“No matter what, we have a marriage certificate. We’re legally husband and wife so we’re a family! You’ve said it yourself, Xena has yet to marry you. We’ll only be a family in the future, not now. So she should not butt into our family’s business right now!” Selena was still up in arms about it. It seemed like she was prejudiced toward Xena.
“I don’t care, it’s your happiness anyway. If you’re willing to marry a soldier, a useless man, we can’t do anything about it! Aren’t you the cause of where you are today? If you didn’t do such a stupid thing back then, you would’ve been the chairman of the Taylor Group by now! The beautiful chairman is no longer who she was, what a shame!” Xena said while crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“If you don’t want to care, shut up!” jackie said coldly after seeing how she was treating Selena.
“You…” Xena was so angry that she began breathing heavily. Her expression was horrible.
“You bastard, you got our family into this mess and not only are you not apologizing, you’re pissing my lady off. You’re asking to get beaten up, aren’t you!” Seeing what was happening, Ben, who was usually protective of his girlfriend, walked over and clenched his fists. He threw a punch at jackie.
“Ben, are you nuts? No matter what, he’s still your brother-in-law. He did not do anything wrong back then. We were both drunk…” Selena was now pissed seeing that Ben wanted to start a fight.
Meanwhile, jackie bent backward in the face of Ben’s fist. He easily avoided the attack.
“I don’t believe this!” Seeing that he did not hit jackie, Ben got up and aimed his fists at him again. Unfortunately, his attack was nothing for jackie. No matter how he tried, jackie looked like he knew where Ben was trying to hit him and avoided it every time.
“Goddamnit, if you’re a man, stop avoiding my hits. What kind of hero are you if you’re avoiding my punches!” Ben was panting after throwing a few empty punches. He stopped and put one hand on his waist while pointing a finger at jackie with the other.
“Seeing that you’re Selena’s brother, I don’t want to hit you. Otherwise, you’d be on the ground by now!”
“Seeing how you are right now, you must not be big on exercising. With a body like yours, you would’ve been dead a hundred times over at war!” jackie said coldly.
“I…” Ben was pissed, but remembered that the guy standing in front of him had spent five years at war. How could he beat that?
Ben clapped his hands and said, “I’m not going to waste my time on a boorish fellow like you!”
Ben turned around to see the cash-filled bag and asked excitedly, “Mom, where did the money come from?”
Chapter 44 “Yeah mom, where did the money come from?” Xena ran over and endearingly called Fiona “mom”.
Fiona was stunned for a moment before looking excited. “Girl, what did you call me? Didn’t you call me Aunty before this?”
Xena became shy and said in embarrassment, “Aunty, I’m sorry. I’ve been wanting to call you ‘mom’ for some time, but I was never brave enough to do so. I accidentally did what I’ve been wanting to do just now!”
“Hey, that’s great, girl. You should call me ‘mom’ and not ‘aunty’ then. Your dad and I like you, so just call me ‘mom’ from now on. You’ve been in a serious relationship with Ben and are going to get married someday anyway, aren’t you?” Fiona was so happy that the smile on her face was extremely bright.
“Mom, you haven’t told me, where did the money come from? Why is there so much money? Could it be that there’s a rich Master somewhere trying to marry my sister and giving this as dowry?” Ben asked excitedly. It seemed like he really wanted his sister to marry a rich guy so that his family would be able to live better again.
“No, it’s not dowry!” Fiona forced a smile before looking at jackie and said, “It’s jackie’s money for Kylie. There’s 950 thousand dollars here, he should be giving this amount!”
“He gave this?” Ben looked back at jackie with a peculiar gaze. “Could he really have withdrawn this much money? Does being a soldier pay this much?”
“You don’t know this, but I’ve heard that those who leave the army will get compensation. Those who spent a shorter time in the army could get about 100 to 200 thousand dollars so since jackie spent five years in the army, he should be getting more!”
“If this bastard could get a million dollars, I think he must’ve achieved meritorious service in the army. Otherwise he wouldn’t be able to get this much!” Fiona smiled and lifted the heavy bag while saying, “This bastard is a bit compassionate after all. He brought some money back for us as compensation. If he died at war, we could’ve gotten nothing!”
Ben nodded. “Since he had the decency to bring money over, that’s alright of him. However, jackie, don’t you dare think that making me call you my brother-in-law is this easy!”
“The money is for Selena to buy groceries and register Kylie for school. Selena should be keeping this!” jackie said coldly while looking at Fiona’s grip on the bag of cash.
“You don’t need this much money for groceries and school, do you? Even if you’re looking at a fancy kindergarten, it should cost about 10 or 20 thousand dollars per semester, shouldn’t it?” Fiona said.
“How much does the best one cost?” jackie asked Selena.
“It must be about 50 thousand dollars, but that’s for a year!” Selena forced a smile and said, “Is it really necessary to go to such a good school?”
“Of course, Kylie must go to a better school!” jackie nodded and stared at Fiona. jackie’s gaze was threatening; even Fiona did not dare look straight at him.
“Fine, fine, here’s 100 thousand dollars for Kylie’s school fees and the living expenses for now. When you’re out of money, take some from me!”
“I’ll hold onto the money, otherwise, I won’t feel secure about it!” Fiona counted 100 thousand dollars and passed it to Selena. She was adamant on not handing over the other 850 thousand dollars.
“Mom, there’s still 850 thousand dollars and I’m out of money. Since there’s so much, you should give me some, shouldn’t you?”
“On top of that, Xena’s been dating me for so long but I’ve yet to buy her anything nice…” Ben said shamelessly.
“Fine, fine, here’s 50 thousand dollars. Go get a gift or something for Xena!”
Chapter 45 Fiona pulled out another 50 thousand dollars with a smile.
“Thanks mom!” Xena happily thanked Fiona.
jackie ignored them and approached Andrew. “Dad, I can cure your leg!”
“Can you really do that?” Of course, Andrew wished that his leg could recover. Now that jackie mentioned it, his cloudy eyes lit up.
“Are you exaggerating? Even the head of the orthopedic hospital took a look at my dad’s leg and said there was nothing he could do. How can you cure it?”
Ben walked over and said, “I remember you used to be a delivery boy before serving in the army. After being a soldier for five years, you now know how to cure someone? Could it be that you joined the medical team to treat the wounded?”
“No wonder he made it out alive after spending five years on the battleground, he wasn’t a frontliner at all, he was just treating the wounded!” Xena crossed her arms in front of her chest and said sarcastically, “I thought he was a hero, but he was just backup, haha!”
jackie ignored the duo and said to Andrew, “Dad, don’t worry. You’re Selena’s father and that makes you my father as well. I’ll never harm you!” After hearing such earnest words, Andrew was visibly moved by jackie. It seemed like he wanted to give it a try.
“That might be untrue, you’ve put us through hell for five years. Five years. Just imagine the number of days and nights!” Fiona reminded jackie with a sarcastic tone, “If your medical skills aren’t up to par and end up completely ruining your dad’s leg, it’ll really be over for him!”
“Uh…” Andrew started hesitating. If jackie’s skills were not up to standard and made his leg worse, it would be over for him.
“Dad, I trust him, let him try it!” Selena advised Andrew.
“Fine, let’s try it. Since it’s already in this state, it can’t get any worse than this!” Andrew sat down on a stone-made stool next to him, rolled up his pants, and let jackie inspect his leg.
jackie took a look and felt Andrew’s leg before pulling out a small box with a long needle inside.
“Is pricking it with a silver needle sufficient? Wouldn’t I require medicine or something?” Seeing what was going on, Ben could not help but ask jackie.
“Could this pricking ruin my leg?” Andrew was a little worried.
“Don’t worry, this is acupuncture, a type of treatment in Chinese medicine. It’s magical. After this, I’ll massage your leg and dredge the blood vessels. You’ll be cured over a few days!” jackie smiled. He was confident. Although the Taylor family was always looking down on him and could not wait to kick him out of the family, jackie understood that he was the one who got Selena pregnant. Their family was chased
out of the mansion and forced to stay in such a shabby place. He was responsible for it and if it was anyone else, they would blame jackie as well.
Moreover, they were all Selena’s family, so jackie did not want to ruin the relationship with them. After all, Andrew’s leg became what it was because of himself. He had been feeling guilty about it. Just as jackie was treating Andrew, Fiona got a call.
After hanging up the phone, she started jumping around in excitement. “Great, the Taylor family’s butler called. The old master asked us to go to the Dorsett Hotel for dinner with everyone! It’s for a celebration!”
Chapter 46 “Dorsett Hotel? The famous Dorsett Hotel in the city center? The five-star hotel where the minimum spend is 100 thousand dollars?” Xena asked excitedly after hearing about it.
“Of course it is, are there any other Dorsett Hotels around?” Fiona’s face was filled with pride. She lamented, “The old master has finally come to his senses and actually let us go over for lunch. He has never called us over for anything worth celebrating before this!”
“That’s great, it looks like Old Master Taylor is gradually accepting you guys!” Xena smiled excitedly before saying shyly, “Mom, can I follow you?”
Fiona was floating from being called ‘mom’. She nodded, “Of course you can, you’re my son’s girlfriend and my future daughter-in-law. You can definitely have lunch with us, don’t worry!”
“That’s great!” Fiona thought of something and said, “Right, it’s still early. Ben, bring Xena shopping, she’s showing up with you today!”
“Yes! Let’s go and shop!” Ben grabbed the 50 thousand dollars and left with Xena immediately.
“Mom, it’s not really a good idea to bring Xena along, is it?” After the duo left, Selena was silent for a moment before saying, “They’re still dating and have yet to get married, she’s not a part of our family
yet!”
“What’s so bad about it? They’ve been together for two or three years already so isn’t it going to happen soon?” Fiona continued, “Did you not see how happy Xena was when she heard she could go to a five- star hotel? She’s even shopping for it. She’s got decent looks anyway, which would make us look better today. On top of that, won’t she join the family sooner if we start treating her like one?”
“Fine!” Selena knew that it was pointless to debate; her mother was not going to listen. Moreover, her mother did promise Xena that she could come today and based on her personality, Fiona would not change her mind.
“Done!” After performing the acupuncture, jackie began massaging Andrew’s leg. A faint, warm feeling flowed from jackie’s palm to Andrew’s leg and into his bones.
“It doesn’t hurt at all. I had lost all feeling in this part of my leg and the doctor did say that it would only get worse and I would be disabled. Who knew that I would feel something now!” Andrew felt something and his face was filled with excitement.
“Really? You’re able to feel something this soon?” Fiona crossed her arms in front of her chest and said in disbelief, “Is it just an illusion? How could that be possible? He’s just messing around and did not prescribe you anything. How could you be getting better?”
“This isn’t an illusion, is it? It’s quite obvious!” Andrew frowned. It was evident that he felt a bit unsure.
“Dad, don’t worry. You’ll feel more tomorrow and be cured in about a week.” jackie smiled and said so with confidence as he stood up.
“Really? If that’s the case then great!” Andrew’s eyes were lit up after hearing what jackie said. He had never been this excited before as he thought that he had lost his leg for good. He did not expect that jackie’s return would bring hope for him.
Chapter 47 “Young man, these are your words. If he doesn’t recover by then, you’ll have to get lost!” Fiona said as she grabbed jackie by his collar. She was a little excited as well.
“Mom, you’ll find out whether it works in two days!” jackie replied with a smile.
“Okay, we shall see!” After saying so, Fiona looked over at the cash-filled bag and took it back into the house to hide it.
As it approached noon, Ben returned with Xena and a few sets of clothes in tow. Xena seemed more beautiful than ever. Kylie was dressed in the clothes jackie got her yesterday. She seemed classier than before. After drying the clothes she put in the laundry yesterday, Selena put on a dress and her gorgeous appearance immediately outshined Xena.
“Sister, you’re beautiful and definitely worthy of the title as Eastfield’s most beautiful woman. Your child is already a few years old and your body still looks amazing. I couldn’t tell that you’re married!” Xena walked over and immediately started praising Selena.
“I’m no match for you young girls, you’re more energetic!” Selena said nonchalantly. She did not care much for Xena.
“Let’s go, let’s go, we can’t be late and let the old master wait for us. Otherwise, they’ll be unhappy!” Fiona took a look at the time and they were running late.
The group left and called for a cab. Soon after that, they arrived at the entrance of a huge hotel. The hotel was grand. Under the sunlight, it seemed extra shiny and classy.
“The people who eat here are rich and famous and we as the Taylor family rarely come here!” Andrew stood on the piazza outside the hotel and lamented. “It seems like the old master is not that angry at us anymore so let’s hope we get to return to the Taylor family, sigh!”
“We can. Dad, let’s go in?” Xena went over to hold Andrew and called him ‘dad’ endearingly. However, jackie realized Selena’s frown while watching this unfold.
…
Meanwhile in Michael’s mansion, Ivan ran over to him and excitedly asked, “Master Wilson, how was it? Were you relaxed last night?”
“Relaxed? Haha, of course I was!” Michael sneered and replied sarcastically. He was still pissed at what happened last night.
Not only did he not get any girl, on top of having his restaurant trashed last night, the image of a gentleman he had been keeping up in front of Selena was ruined. He would probably never get a chance with her again.
Ivan did not realize how angry Michael was at the moment. He continued saying with a smile, “Relaxed is great, relaxed is great. This cousin of mine has an amazing body so you must have taken a few photos of her, right? Just threaten her with them in the future and she’ll definitely come over. I’ve thought it out for you, give her some money every time and she’ll gradually give in to you one day and end up marrying you!”
“Look, this is the contract, let’s sign it. I got someone to draw up the new contract overnight according to our deal yesterday!”
Ivan passed the contract to Michael with a smile. Michael took a look at the contract, sneered, and tore it into pieces!
Chapter 48 “Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Master Wilson, why did you tear it? Didn’t we agree to signing the contract
today?” Ivan was dumbfounded at the scene. His head was ringing and the Taylor family was waiting for him to go home and celebrate. Could this whole thing be ruined?
“Sign your a**!” Master Wilson sat on the sofa and said angrily, “Last night, I did not even drink my coffee or do anything I wanted to. Not only was my reputation ruined, my restaurant was trashed and I did not dare to even say a word throughout the ordeal!”
“How could that be? What’s going on? I knew it, is it jackie? This bastard had the courage to trash your restaurant? Wait, that’s not right, where were your men? Don’t you have a ton of them? Were they no match for jackie?”
Ivan inhaled sharply. He thought that Michael was successful with Selena last night and did not expect the opposite to be the case. He did not understand how this happened even after Selena’s consent.
Michael became pissed upon thinking about what happened last night. “ jackie didn’t do it, he wouldn’t have the guts to. How could he even possess that ability? It was the second daughter of the Drake family, that b*tch Tanya Drake!”
“No way, Tanya Drake? Why was she there?” Once again, Ivan was shocked after hearing that it was Tanya. It was the Drake family after all; there were plenty of families trying to please them.
“Here’s what happened, this Tanya Drake coincidentally walked past our restaurant and saw that the interior design was decent. Because of that, she decided to go in for a meal, but…” Defeatedly, Michael continued, “This Tanya Drake is so lifeless that she likes going around causing trouble. She’s so annoying!”
Ivan finally understood what had happened last night. He stayed silent for a moment before saying, “Master Wilson, look, it was an accident. None of us expected Tanya Drake to show up, did we?”
He paused and pulled another contract out of his briefcase. “Therefore, I can’t be blamed for that. Thankfully I’ve made a copy of the contract. Master Wilson, let this go and sign it, shall we? Okay? Please remember all the years we’ve been friends!”
“Sign my a**!”
Master Wilson did not hold back from shaming Ivan. He turned his face away and said, “You’re the one who gave me the sh*tty idea to get Selena and now I’ve yet to get her. I’ve also suffered quite a loss in my restaurant as well. Did you really think I’m still going to sign the contract with you? Based on the fact that I haven’t asked you for compensation, I’m already being compassionate enough about this! I used to have a good rapport with Selena, but now I can never get near her again.”
“But Master Wilson, my grandpa and the others thought that I’d be signing the contract. They’re waiting for me to go home and celebrate.”
Ivan’s face turned sour and pleaded, “I can’t be blamed for this. If it wasn’t for the Drake family’s second daughter, wouldn’t you have succeeded?”
“Escort the guest out of here!”
…
Meanwhile, it was lively at the Dorsett Hotel’s private room.
Old Master Taylor was all smiles. The private room was huge; it was big enough to fit three large tables. Everyone was happy.
“Let’s just wait till Selena’s family and Ivan arrive, then we shall begin!”
Chapter 49 “Yes, even the champagne is out. The old master has gone all out this time paying a million dollars for
each table, how lavish!”
“Ivan’s making his father proud this time. The profit from this project alone is 300 million dollars. It seems like this project is massive!”
The Taylor family were talking about Ivan while Theodore seemed satisfied.
At this very moment, the private room’s door opened. Fiona and Andrew walked in with Selena and the rest.
“Fiona, aren’t you a big-shot, making us all wait for you!” Just as they entered the room, a relative sneered and said that loudly.
Fiona smiled in embarrassment and said, “I couldn’t help it, it was a little jammed on the way here!”
Cecilia took a look at the Gucci Selena was dressed in and said, “Tsk, Selena, you’re shameless, aren’t you? You actually had the guts to wear this counterfeit item out of the house. If it was me, I wouldn’t even dare to wear it. How embarrassing. If someone catches that it’s counterfeit, wouldn’t that be horrible?”
Fiona could not stand what she was hearing. She walked over and said, “Cecilia, don’t you dare. This is real. Even though our family is a little poor, this is the real deal!”
“Really? You’re just a little poor, and yet, you’re still capable of buying something that costs 100 to 200 thousand dollars? Why do I find that hard to believe? This isn’t anything ordinary!”
Cecilia continued arguing. “If you could afford that, then we should be able to buy clothes that cost about one or two million, shouldn’t we?”
“Don’t you dare say we can’t afford it!” Fiona replied, ‘At the very least, jackie is a veteran who served the country for five years so of course, he came back with some money. Maybe you don’t know this, but those who serve for one or two years will get 100 or 200 thousand dollars in compensation. Since jackie
was gone for five years and achieved meritorious service, it’s no problem for the government to compensate him with about a million dollars!”
jackie was embarrassed. Thankfully he did not withdraw more money today, otherwise, his mother-in-law would be putting him on a pedestal as high as the sky. If she knew that his card could get him 100 billion dollars through a password-free transaction, she might be shocked to death.
“He achieved meritorious service?” Cecilia scrunched her brows together and started to believe Fiona. After all, she did hear that the veterans who returned in the past two days came home with money. Some of them who achieved meritorious service, even minor ones, were awarded with a million dollars or so. It was possible.
“Of course!” Fiona replied right away but was a little hesitant about it. After all, jackie did not admit to it. However, for the sake of her reputation, she admitted it on jackie’s behalf.
“Really? jackie, what meritorious service did you achieve?” Old Master Taylor seemed interested in the conversation. He squinted and looked at jackie.
Everyone shifted their attention to jackie at this moment. They wanted to know what meritorious service he had achieved.
“Uh, I’ve achieved too many to remember. If I were to keep track of them, there must be at least one or two thousand awards!” jackie replied after briefly thinking about it.
The crowd felt ashamed for him. This brat was obviously lying. Was it that easy to achieve meritorious service? Other veterans would usually feel incredibly proud for achieving one, while this brat was boasting about one or two thousand awards as if it was as easy as cutting fruits and vegetables!
Chapter 50 Old Master Taylor’s expression darkened as well. He said, “ jackie, do you think I’m joking with you?”
“ jackie, aren’t you a little too childish for doing this? How dare you not answer truthfully to a question from the old master!”
“That’s right, where is your respect for the old master? Do you not remember that if it wasn’t for the old master lending you a million dollars back then, your mother would be dead by now!”
A few of the members from the Taylor family began speaking to jackie angrily.
“Old Master, I’m telling the truth. Sigh, if you don’t believe me then forget it!” jackie shrugged. He did not want to elaborate any further.
If it was not for worrying that Selena might be bullied today, he would not have even came here.
“Wait, who’s this girl?” Cecilia initially wanted to cause trouble for Selena but did not expect jackie to have achieved meritorious service. Her clothes might be real so Cecilia had no choice but to give up. Soon after that, she realized that a stranger’s face was in the room.
“Oh, Cecilia, let me introduce her to everyone. This is my girlfriend, Xena jackieson. We’ve been dating for quite some time and are getting married soon!”
“Since grandpa invited everyone over here, I thought that I should bring her here and introduce her to everyone!”
Ben smiled shyly and seemed servile.
“Ben, that’s not nice of you, is it? This is a lunch for the Taylor family and you got an outsider over here, this…”
“At least jackie has a marriage certificate, the person you’ve brought here…” Cecilia said sarcastically while feeling excited internally.
“Xena is not an outsider. She’s already calling me mom so she’ll definitely marry my Ben soon!” Fiona butt into the conversation upon seeing that Cecilia was bullying Xena.
“Stop it, some people haven’t been to a place like this so isn’t it normal to want to experience it?” Another woman sneered on the side.
“Yes, it’s nothing for us, but for some people, it’s an achievement to bring his girlfriend here!” Cecilia said as she looked over at Ben.
Ben’s expression darkened but he did not know how to defend himself. He glared at jackie who was standing next to him. It was this bastard’s fault. If it was not for him getting his sister pregnant, would he be shamed this way today? If it was not for jackie, his family would be living lavishly today. Who knows, his sister might have been the family heir. At that point, who would have the guts to shame him this way?
“Xena, you have to think this through. Although Ben is a Taylor, you should know where he stands since he stays in a place like that!”
“You’re pretty so it would be a waste to marry him. You might be poor for the rest of your life!”
After giving it some thought, Cecilia went over to stir trouble again.
Xena smiled shyly and replied, “Sister, you’re too nice. Ben is nice to me and I like him for who he is. I haven’t been thinking about anything else so as long as I’m happy, I’m good!”
“Cecilia, are you too free? What does our business have anything to do with you? You’re just jealous because you don’t have a boyfriend, right?” Ben could not stand it anymore. He finally rebutted Cecilia.
“What are you talking about? I have nothing to be jealous of. It’s not that I don’t have a boyfriend, it’s just that I haven’t found anyone who meets my standards. If I wanted to have one, I’d definitely find a man who’s rich, powerful, and capable of protecting me. As for someone like you, tsk, anyone who’s not an idiot wouldn’t want you!” Cecilia said sarcastically as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Grandpa, is there anything worth celebrating today?”
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