Chapter 52: Chloe York Hates Adrian Kane
"Oh, Sophie, honey. Your lifesaver isn’t home, so let’s not disturb them, okay?" Holly Hughes said, trying to console her.
"No, no! I want my lifesaver, the pretty sister!"
"I’m so sorry, Mr. York. The child doesn’t know any better." After fawning over Miles York, Jordan Walton turned and shot Sophie Walton a stern glare. "Sophie Walton, why are you being so rude?"
After scolding the child, Jordan Walton turned to berate Holly Hughes. "And you, her mother! How are you teaching our child?"
Hearing Jordan Walton’s words, Holly Hughes immediately flew into a rage, her battle mode activating. "Jordan Walton, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you blaming me? Is she my child alone? Weren’t you involved? Whenever there’s a problem with our daughter, it’s my fault? Shouldn’t you take some of the blame? I haven’t even started on your bad genes yet!"
"You... you’re unbelievable..."
"That’s enough!" Miles York cut in, the shouting already giving him a headache. "You should all head home for now. I’ll make sure to give the banner to Chloe. I’ll also tell her that your daughter is very eager to thank her in person. As for whether she’ll be willing to see you, that I can’t say."
"Yes, yes, of course! Thank you, Mr. York!" Jordan Walton hastily agreed, then turned to Holly Hughes. "You heard him. Mr. York said he’ll help pass the banner to her. Let’s go home for now and not disturb them any further."
Holly Hughes grabbed her daughter’s hand and left the York estate. Jordan Walton gave Miles York a slight bow and hurried after them.
Once they were outside the estate’s iron gate, Jordan Walton demanded, "Holly Hughes, were you doing that on purpose just now?"
"So what if I was? It’s his own fault for being so blind. I know what happened at school. That so-called ’real daughter’ of his is a real piece of work. And to think you used to say the real daughter was better than the fake one. In what world is she better than the fake one?" Holly Hughes made no effort to lower her voice, speaking as loudly as she pleased.
Jordan Walton was genuinely afraid of his wife’s volume. He glanced cautiously back at the York estate. "Okay, okay! Look at you, you’re just getting louder! We’re not even that far away yet!"
"What’s there to be afraid of? I bet they’ve already kicked her lifesaver out of the York family. I’m telling you, you need to ask around tomorrow and find out if she was forced out. If she was, we’ll have her come live with us. You go to the school every day anyway, and since she’s preparing for her college entrance exams, you can tutor her at home."
"Fine, I get it. I’ll find some time to ask around."
"What do you mean, ’find some time’? You’ll ask around on Monday, you hear me?"
"Okay, okay, I’ll ask on Monday."
"That’s more like it." Holly Hughes picked up her daughter. "Sweetheart, how would you like it if the pretty sister who saved you came to live with us?"
"Yay!" Sophie Walton clapped her little hands happily.
"Who sent this?" The first thing Alice Cole noticed when she came downstairs was the banner on the table. She reached out to grab it.
"Don’t touch it!" Miles York quickly stopped her. He snatched the banner and prepared to take it to his study.
"Why can’t I touch it? You’re being so protective. Don’t tell me some little mistress of yours sent it," Alice Cole said suspiciously.
Hearing this, Miles York grew flustered and pointed at Alice Cole. "Is that all you can think about, day in and day out? What kind of mistress sends a commemorative banner as a gift?"
"Who knows? Maybe she’s praising you for your ’skills’!" Alice Cole shot Miles York a glance, her expression suggestive.
Miles York’s face immediately flushed red. He gave the banner a frustrated shake.
Alice Cole scoffed. ’It’s not like Miles York didn’t cheat when he was younger!’
"Instead of spending your time making baseless accusations, you should pay more attention to your daughter and the disgraceful things she’s doing."
"And what about it? Is Chloe York afraid of people talking about the things *she’s* done? Isn’t she the one who was eating with this male student and that one?"
"Alice Cole, stop being so unreasonable. I’m telling you, if Brooke York keeps causing these kinds of disgraceful problems, I’m sending her back to where she came from." With that, Miles York headed upstairs.
Alice Cole shot to her feet. "Miles York, are you even human?! Brooke is our real child! We’ve already failed her for more than a decade. As her biological father, how can you talk about sending her away for the sake of an outsider?"
Miles York paid her no mind, continuing to his study without breaking his stride.
"Unbelievable!" Alice Cole was so furious she collapsed onto the sofa.
Hiding behind a pillar, Brooke York overheard their entire conversation. She had to dig her nails into the wall to keep herself from rushing out to confront them.
’Send me back... Heh. He actually wants to send me back. But this is my home!’
’Does this mean if I make one mistake, I don’t even have the right to stay here anymore?’
’Miles York... the York Group will be mine!’
Her fingernails scraped a chunk of plaster from the wall.
Lying on her bed, Chloe York watched the curtains flutter in the breeze. Green leaves danced outside the window. In that moment, Chloe felt as if she were back in her old rental apartment.
Scholar System: [Host, complete any three worksheets for a reward of +5 Wisdom Value and +5 Memory Value.]
Hearing this, Chloe York immediately sat up, pulled three worksheets from her vacation homework pile, and got to work.
After a few hours of hard work, she successfully finished all three worksheets.
Scholar System: [Congratulations, Host, on completing the mission. Memory Value +5, Wisdom Value +5.]
Chloe York stretched and glanced at the time. It was already past 5:00 PM; time to go out for dinner.
Her place had a kitchen and she knew how to cook, but since she’d completed a mission and earned a reward, she decided to treat herself.
She grabbed her keys and headed downstairs. Just as she was leaving her apartment complex, she saw a car parked a short distance away. Adrian Kane was getting out of it.
Seeing Adrian Kane, Chloe could only think, ’He really is the second male lead. Even Miles York couldn’t find out where I live, but Adrian Kane managed it.’
Not wanting to deal with him, Chloe pretended she hadn’t seen him and kept walking. Just as she was about to pass him, Adrian Kane called out and blocked her path. "Chloe!"
Chloe York barely lifted her gaze to the man in front of her, her tone laced with impatience. "What do you want?"
"Chloe, is there some misunderstanding between us?" This time, Adrian Kane could clearly sense her impatience at seeing him.
"There’s no misunderstanding." ’She knew that the events from the book hadn’t happened yet—and might never happen—but the harm Adrian had inflicted on the original Chloe in the story was very real. She simply couldn’t bring herself to be cordial with him.’
’Besides, he doesn’t even know Brooke York yet. Who’s to say he won’t team up with her to go against me once they meet?’
Adrian didn’t believe for a second that there was no misunderstanding. He’d had her investigated, and the results showed no issues or conflicts between them. ’So where is all this hostility coming from?’
"You’re heading out to eat, right? Since there’s no misunderstanding, how about I treat you to dinner?"
"No, thank you. I thought I made myself clear last time. I saved your life, you paid me. We’re even. You don’t need to keep looking for me. Constantly pestering someone is pretty classless, don’t you think?"