Free Web NovelChapter 198: Standing up (2)
"I am jealous that you have already found the person you want to settle down with while I must now begin my search. I like seeing you and Scarlet together. She will make for a wonderful sister-in-law. She would have to be crazy to not accept your proposal should you do one," said Victor, thinking Ian was well suited for a woman like Scarlet.
After losing his mother and father, he could focus on celebrating Ian and Scarlet being together.
"If there were to be a wedding, would I be invited?" Victor asked, crossing his fingers behind his back.
"Do not get ahead of yourself by thinking about a wedding. I just said that I do not know if it would be something that she wants to do and we are just reconnecting. Let us work on getting to know each other before we speak of invitations," Ian replied.
"I see. I hope that it isn’t much longer before you can start to trust me. I already plan to invite you and Scarlet to my wedding. I only need to find a bride. Scarlet’s warning from last night was enough to make me certain to not court the princess. I need to attend parties to find a wife," said Victor.
"There are many young women still looking to marry so you shouldn’t find it hard to come across a potential bride. I only ask that you pick well," Ian said as he didn’t want to see Victor end up with the wrong woman. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Victor smiled as he got to witness another moment of Ian being caring. "Don’t worry. Though I am in a rush, I intend to find a woman that I love. I don’t want to end up like my father. I have seen enough of a bad marriage to know that it is not what I want. I hope to find love as you have."
Ian wasn’t surprised that Victor wanted the opposite of what his parents had. If Victor had thought those two had something good then something would be wrong with him. "I’m sure you will find someone who will love you. My relationship with Scarlet wasn’t in my plans so know that the right woman might come when you least expect. It is on you to not let her go."
Victor wondered if he had met the love of his life already but he was so concerned about his health that she slipped by him.
"Why don’t you try to speak to one of the women you were with before?"
Victor was puzzled by Ian’s suggestion since he had never courted anyone. "What women- Oh," he blushed, remembering his lies. "It is not good to go back to the past. You should know that as well."
Ian smirked. "Is that so? Enlighten me as to why or will you come clean that you are to wear white on your wedding day. Have you forgotten that I already pointed out you were lying then?"
"If you keep this up then I will tell Scarlet that you are proud you have been with plenty of women," Victor threatened Ian.
"Go ahead. We’ll be celebrating a funeral for you before a wedding. Maybe your bride awaits you in the afterlife. What is this now?" Ian questioned, slowing down because of the sight before him. "I always knew your mother would eventually go crazy."
Victor was taken aback by the sight of his mother ripping their portraits from the walls and destroying them. None of the portraits had Ian in them so why? "Mother!" He called, going forward to stop her.
The servants were standing off to the side not knowing what to do. They couldn’t approach Layla as she ruined the portraits. They could only wait for when it would be time for them to clean up this mess.
Victor grabbed the next portrait before his mother could try pulling it from the wall. "You must stop. You are creating a mess for the servants to have to clean."
Layla let go of the portrait to move to another small one she would be able to break. "Since your father has brought his bastard here, new portraits must be made so I am only being one step ahead to remove his unwanted ones. You should be happy that I am helping."
"Helping? You are only making a fool of yourself. This is to get father’s attention but where is he now? He would send for me to calm you down and remain hidden wherever he is now. Stop doing this to get his attention," Victor said, once more tired of this cycle.
He was stuck in the middle again and this was ruining Ian’s return.
"I am not doing this to get his attention-"
"So why didn’t you order the butler to just take them down? I told you that I am not going to do this with you anymore. Return to your room and calm down, mother. Doing this won’t get father to come to you or Ian to leave. Please send some water to my mother’s room," Victor informed the servants.
Ian kept some space between himself and the pair so he could witness more of their relationship. This looked to be an ongoing thing where Victor had to jump in to save the day while their father was somewhere ignoring this problem.
Ian remembered Victor’s claim that he didn’t have any idea what he suffered inside the big house and now he had a close-up look at what Victor had to do.
Layla could not think of calming down. Everything she worked so hard to protect was about to be ruined by Ian’s return. "He speaks of getting rid of me as his wife. That will make it easier for him to place that bastard before you. You must- You!" Layla spat, angered by the sight of Ian.
Already Ian looked comfortable like he considered this to be his home. Ian and his mother were the source of all her problems in the past and now in the present. Hadn’t she suffered enough?
"You might have the two of them fooled into welcoming you here but I will never accept you. You should have stayed where you ran off to," Layla said, trying to approach Ian but she was held back by Victor. "Let go of me. His presence threatens what you are to have. How can you not see what he wishes to do?"
"Victor," Layla grabbed his arms. "We must get rid of him before you lose everything. Your father’s interest in us is dwindling. You must-"
"Enough!" Hank yelled, storming toward Layla and the mess she made. "Have you gone mad, woman? You’ve broken not only our portraits but also valuable art that cannot be replaced. I’ve had enough of your madness. Victor, take her to her room and lock her up there before I drag her myself."
Victor loosened his hold on his mother. "No. If you want to imprison her, do it yourself."
