Free Web NovelChapter 486: Chapter 486: Selling a Daughter
Hearing Melody Summers say this, Caleb Summers’s expression completely darkened.
Zoe Kane, on the other hand, was overcome with a sense of injustice and resentment.
If it weren’t for her in-laws’ refusal to take in her family, her sister and mother wouldn’t have died in the snow disaster, and Howard Fletcher wouldn’t have become an orphan, forced to live under someone else’s roof!
Zoe Kane didn’t understand why Melody Summers would speak about Howard Fletcher that way.
’Are these in-laws all heartless? Don’t they feel even a shred of guilt for the deaths of my family members?’
’How can such cold-hearted, cold-blooded people exist in this world?!’
Just as Zoe Kane was about to say something to Melody Summers, Howard Fletcher, who was standing beside her, suddenly turned to Caleb Summers and shouted, "Dad, I don’t like this bad woman! Since she won’t acknowledge me as her brother, I don’t want her as my sister! Dad, why don’t you marry her off to Mr. Sheffield too?"
Howard Fletcher’s words struck like a clap of thunder, stunning everyone in the living room.
Melody Summers was completely baffled. ’Mr. Sheffield?’
Zoe Kane quickly covered Howard Fletcher’s mouth and whispered into his ear, "Leo! Don’t talk nonsense!"
’We can’t let the cat out of the bag now. What if Nina finds out and refuses to go back with us?’
But Howard Fletcher had a temper. He smacked away the hand Zoe Kane had clamped over his face, pointed at Nina Summers, and yelled, "I’m not talking nonsense! My dad said he’s going to marry her to Mr. Sheffield!"
Although Howard Fletcher was young, he was precocious. He understood the adults’ conversations and knew that being married off to that Mr. Sheffield was definitely not a good thing.
He then pointed his small hand at Melody Summers and said with a malicious tone, "You bad woman! Since you won’t acknowledge me, I won’t acknowledge you! I’m going to make my dad marry you off to that bald Mr. Sheffield too!"
Hearing Howard Fletcher’s words, Melody Summers suddenly remembered something. During the heatwave two years ago, Caleb Summers’s family had come to her door to propose a match. The groom they mentioned back then seemed to be called "Sheffield."
’I can’t believe two years have passed in the blink of an eye, and this ’Sheffield’ still isn’t married?’
Melody Summers didn’t understand, but Nina Summers, standing to the side, knew exactly what was going on.
Nina Summers’s eyes widened. She stared at Caleb Summers in disbelief and asked in shock, "Dad... is what he’s saying true? You... you’re going to marry me to Winston Sheffield’s third uncle?!"
Faced with Nina Summers’s shocked and incredulous expression, Caleb Summers’s gaze shifted evasively. He rubbed his nose awkwardly and said in a low voice, "Let’s talk about this when we get home..."
Seeing Caleb Summers’s guilty look, Nina Summers knew everything. ’What Howard Fletcher said was all true!’
Even though she had been disappointed in her father thousands of times, hearing that he was going to marry her off to Jim Sheffield still sent a chill through Nina Summers’s heart.
She stared blankly at Caleb Summers, shaking her head repeatedly as if in disbelief. "Dad, how could you do this? Winston Sheffield’s third uncle is over fifty years old, and four of his wives have died... Aren’t you just pushing me into a pit of fire?"
At her words, Caleb Summers’s expression grew even more awkward. He turned his head slightly, not daring to meet Nina Summers’s eyes.
Seeing this, Zoe Kane quickly stepped forward. "Nina, dear, don’t listen to the gossip outside, all that talk about a pit of fire! Your dad and I have looked into it. Director Sheffield is a man of good character and really dotes on his wife. It’s just that his short-lived ex-wives were unlucky!"
Hearing Zoe Kane say this, Caleb Summers nodded in agreement. "That’s right, daughter. How could I possibly push you into a pit of fire? Director Sheffield may have had a few wives die, but that’s just because they were ill-fated! If you think about it, Director Sheffield is a pitiful man himself!"
Nina Summers just looked coldly at Caleb Summers, not wanting to say another word.
She was only now realizing that Caleb Summers was far more shameless than she had ever imagined.
’He not only abandoned his mother and betrayed his wife, but he also mistreated his children. A man could actually be unfilial, unfaithful, unkind, and unjust all at the same time.’
’And this was her father... Nina Summers found it so outrageous that for a moment, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.’
Seeing Nina Summers’s silence, Zoe Kane thought she had been convinced.
Zoe Kane was secretly delighted. She smiled gently at Nina Summers and said in the tone of an experienced elder, "Nina, dear, this marriage is a match your father carefully selected and secured for you. He truly has your best interests at heart. You can’t misunderstand all his hard work!"
"Director Sheffield may be older, but older men know how to dote on someone. He’ll surely cherish you. It’s a blessing for you to marry him. If your mother’s spirit is watching from heaven, she would be happy for you too..."
Before Zoe Kane could finish, Nina Summers shot her a vicious glare and snapped, "Shut up! What right do you have to mention my mother! Older men know how to dote on people, is that it? Since you like him so much, why don’t you marry him! After all, you bitches love being mistresses to old men!"
Zoe Kane’s face paled. She immediately turned to Caleb Summers, her eyes welling with tears. "Caleb, look at this... I was just kindly trying to persuade Nina. How could she say such things to me..."
Seeing this, Caleb Summers immediately scowled and bellowed at Nina Summers, "How dare you! Nina Summers, who taught you to speak like that? Apologize to Miss Kane right now, or don’t blame me for disowning you!"
Of course, Nina Summers refused to apologize. She looked at Caleb Summers’s furious face, let out a cold laugh, and retorted, "Dad, why did you agree to this marriage? What exactly did the Sheffield family promise you?"
As if Nina Summers had read his mind, Caleb Summers’s face flushed then paled. But he still gritted his teeth and said, "You’re the one getting married, not me. What benefits could I possibly get? What nonsense are you talking about?"
Zoe Kane chimed in from the side, "That’s right, Nina. Don’t be so ungrateful. Your father is doing all this for you! The Sheffield family is so well-off, and Mrs. Sheffield herself said that as soon as you’re married, they’ll add your name to the deed of their downtown apartment!"
Nina Summers shot Zoe Kane a mocking glance and said with a sneer, "Do you take me for a three-year-old? If the Sheffield family didn’t promise you anything, why would you be selling off your own daughter?"
Caleb Summers’s expression instantly turned ugly. ’Even if what Nina Summers said was the truth, how could she say it so bluntly? Where was he supposed to put his face as a father!’
He shot up from the sofa, rolled up his sleeves, and roared at Nina Summers, "You rebellious daughter! I see your wings have hardened! You dare to disrespect me, your own father! How did I end up with a daughter like you!"
With that, he strode toward Nina Summers, intending to teach her a lesson. Zoe Kane made a token effort to hold him back, murmuring, "Oh, don’t hit the child," but there was no real force in her grip.
Seeing this, Howard Fletcher began clapping and cheering for Caleb Summers, shouting, "Beat her to death! Kill that bitch!"
Howard Fletcher’s clamoring gave Melody Summers a headache. She had seen enough of this farce. As Caleb Summers advanced menacingly, she casually picked up the vase from beside the TV stand, preparing to crack his skull open on the spot.
But before she could act, Nina Summers, as if snapping, let out a crazed scream, snatched a metal decoration from the cabinet, and smashed it down hard on Caleb Summers’s head!
