Free Web NovelChapter 28: Help Them?
The atmosphere grew cold. Christian studied his grandmother’s expression quietly and saw that she seemed to have calmed down slightly.
He had already thought of his excuse earlier but waited until now to speak up. He said, "Grandmother, I wish to explain what’s going on. I hope you can hear me out."
Wendy could not help but shift her gaze to Christian. She wanted to see what kind of excuse Christian would come up with.
"You wish to explain?" Mrs. Lucas frowned as she glanced at Christian, who was still kneeling on the floor. She said, "Go ahead."
"Grandmother, can I speak with you in private?" Christian’s request came as a surprise to Wendy.
Michael immediately retorted, "In private? You just want to blind grandmother with your lies! What do you have to say that cannot be revealed to us, too?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"Grandmother, I am still your grandson no matter what. I think you should allow me to speak with you in private," Christian said pleadingly. "I won’t take up too much time, just a few minutes will do."
There was no way Mrs. Lucas could still reject Christian after hearing Christian’s pleading. After all, she was the one who allowed Christian to become part of the Lucas family.
"Grandmother, you can’t agree to this," Michael shook his head, advising Madam Lucas. "You must not believe him. He will fool you with his clever lies. The reason why he won’t talk in front of us is because there’s something he doesn’t want to let us know-he must be afraid of being exposed."
"You’re right, there’s something I can’t let you know. As for whether I’m just trying to trick Grandmother, that depends on what she thinks," replied Christian. His tone was much calmer than Michael’s, and his words were therefore much more convincing.
Mrs. Lucas waved her hand and said, "stop fighting. You can all stand up now." Turning her head, she looked at Christian, "Come with me to the study."
Christian immediately rose to help his grandmother stand up. Mrs. Lucas had not interacted much with Christian and felt uncomfortable receiving his support. She raised her hand to signal her reluctance. Even though it was just a small gesture, Christian’s eyes instantly dimmed. He thought, not a single person here sees me as family. Even Grandmother, who personally acknowledged my status in this family, treats me like an outsider.
"What exactly are you and Christian trying to do?" After Christian’s departure, Michael had no one to interrogate besides Wendy.
Since Wendy had grown so close to him recently, Michael could not help but suspect that they had come up with some despicable plan.
Faced with Michael’s questioning, Wendy found herself to be pitiable. She thought, the past three years of my sincerity were not enough to earn the slightest bit of his trust. However, she had grown used to this a long time ago. Wendy did not feel bad this time. She got up, walked over to the couch, and sat down without answering Michael’s question.
"Wendy Stewart, answer me," said Michael.
Wendy’s indifferent disposition reminded him of Christian, and he immediately grew furious. He continued, "You’ve only been with Christian for a few days, but you’ve already picked up on his temperament and character."
"What do you want me to say?" Wendy looked into Michael’s doubtful eyes and said coldly, "If I told you that I have no idea what Christian is up to, that I have no relationship with him outside of work, and that I am the victim in everything that is happening..." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Would you believe me?"
When she said this, she was still staring straight into Michael’s eyes. There was nothing in his gaze to show that he believed any of her words.
Wendy smiled bitterly and shook her head, "You don’t believe me at all, so why bother asking me?"
Indeed, Michael did not believe her. He always felt that Wendy was a vicious and scheming Woman who resorted to a variety of despicable means to get what she wanted. After Christian’s return, she got involved with him right away.
They even paraded themselves in front of him, publicly holding hands. How could he believe what Wendy had to say?
Michael once thought about whether it was possible that Christian was threatening Wendy. Even though Christian had been abroad all these years, things had never been as calm as they appeared on the surface. Michael knew that Christian had already gained substantial influence in Lake City. But Michael never had any feelings for Wendy, and he concluded that even if Christian wanted to get back at him by seducing his woman, he should have gone for Yvonne.
Being in the public eye, everyone knew that Yvonne was his girlfriend. Nobody knew that he was in fact married to Wendy. Personally, he had never regarded Wendy as much of anything. No matter how much Michael thought about it, it was difficult to believe that Christian was threatening Wendy. Moreover, even if Christian chose to target Wendy, she had to agree to cooperate with him in the first place.
So, Michael did not believe that Wendy was innocent.
...
Christian followed Mrs. Lucas into the study. He watched as she sat down and kept his head bowed respectfully.
"There are only the two of us here, so just tell me what you have to say." Mrs. Lucas rested her hand on the back of her chair and inclined her head slightly. She gazed at her grandson who stood before her, finding him to be an unfamiliar figure.
"Grandmother, this is what really happened.." Christian spoke slowly, "I found out that Michael and Wendy were on bad terms when I came back here for your birthday celebration. Later, I found out that Michael not only disliked Wendy, but there was also the fact that everyone in the company believed Yvonne to be Michael’s girlfriend. To be honest, I started feeling sorry for Wendy as I could tell that she genuinely loves him. I acted on my own accord and decided to help them."
"Help them?" Mrs. Lucas was bewildered. She said, "You did all these things to help them?"
"Michael has always been hostile toward me because of my background, and I don’t blame him for that. But his hostility led me to believe that if I asked Wendy to be my assistant, Michael would be furious. Right now, not many people know about Wendy’s status within the Lucas family. I thought that my actions would not lead to severe consequences. More importantly, my relationship with Wendy is purely professional. We have not interacted privately. Wendy used to be the one chasing after Michael. I just wanted to see if Michael would be jealous if I did all these things. I deliberately had lunch with Wendy in the cafeteria and even initiated physical contact with her in front of Michael. I did all these things purely because I wanted to help her. I know very well that you should not lie to your family members. I’m grateful enough that the Lucas family has accepted me in the first place, and would never harbor any malicious intentions. Grandmother, you can rest assured about that.
Right now, it seems that Michael is not as indifferent about Wendy as he appeared to be. The angrier he gets, the more he cares. Of course, this was a selfish decision on my part, and Wendy was pressured into going along with my plan. I’m not sure if you know that Michael had not been paying Wendy her monthly salary, and when she worked as his assistant, he would use all kinds of reasons to dock her pay. The reason why Wendy is so skinny is because she is malnourished. I offered Wendy a salary ten times higher than what Michael paid her, and she had no other choice but to accept it. On top of that, staying by my side meant that Wendy could continue to see Michael around the company. She had no reason to refuse. Perhaps I did not think things through sufficiently. Grandmother, if you feel that my actions are causing more harm than good, I’m willing to accept your punishment."
Christian’s speech was perfectly worded. He had positioned the relationship between Michael and Wendy as his main driving force. This point alone was enough to capture Mrs. Lucas’s heart.
Moreover, he had also made it clear that he made the decision on his own accord and left Wendy out of this.
Mrs. Lucas did not dare to believe everything Christian had said. After all, Christian had just returned from abroad. She was still unsure about what kind of person he really was. freёweɓnovel.com
However, she was very clear about the personalities of both Michael and Wendy. Wendy was indeed very skinny; she was much thinner than the average person. She had put on a bit of weight recently, but she was still a lot skinnier than most people. And since Michael hated Wendy so much, it was entirely possible that he Would dock her pay for no good reason. Since Wendy had an introverted demeanor, she would never take the initiative to raise these issues and therefore would be forced to put up with them.
Mrs. Lucas always urged Wendy to eat more in the past, but she never expected how difficult her life had been.
After pondering the matter for some time, Madam Lucas told Christian, "You can go out first. Tell Wendy that I want to see her."
Christian nodded in response. This was exactly what he wanted to hear. It seemed he had chosen the right excuse. But this also made Christian’s heart feel heavier. Michael was still the grandson that his grandmother cared the most about. The truth was that Christian understood this.
After all, he was born an illegitimate child and he was not raised within the Lucas family. It was perfectly normal for his grandmother to not take his side. Even though he understood this rationale, he could not strike the same balance with his emotions. No matter what, he was still a descendant of the Lucas family. He did not decide to be an illegitimate child. If he could have chosen, he would have preferred that he never appeared in this world.
He had suffered in his childhood due to his status as an illegitimate child. This was obviously Anthony Lucas’s mistake, but Christian ended up enduring a great deal of suffering.
He thought, why should I have to put up with this? I will make sure that I get everything deserve.
When Wendy saw Christian emerge from the study after such a short while, she felt lost.
Christian called out to her, "Wendy, Grandmother wants to see you."
Wendy pointed at herself doubtfully. After Christian nodded, she rose and entered the study.
Michael stood up as well, but Christian stopped him. He said, "Michael, Grandmother wishes to see Wendy alone."
"What exactly did you say to Grandmother?" Michael clenched his fists and warned him, "Let me tell you, don’t overestimate your own ability."
"Michael, you should work on your temper," Christian’s tone was calm, but his words were obviously mocking. "We’re all adults now. You can’t scare me with just a few words."
Christian was deliberately provoking Michael.
Michael knew that very well. He raised his fist and punched Christian in the face, declaring, "If. you’re trying to provoke me into hitting you, I grant your wish!"
Christian stumbled back. He reached out to touch his face, feeling a numb from the pain.
Shrugging his shoulders, Christian replied, "I’ll advise you to stop at this. After all, we’re here at the mansion, and Grandmother and Wendy are both in the study."
"You..." Michael was furious. He raised his fist again but did not punch Christian this time.
He was not afraid of Christian. It was just not the right place for him to go overboard with his actions.
Wendy entered the study and approached Mrs. Lucas obediently. She greeted her, "Grandmother."
"Wendy, come and take a seat," said Mrs. Lucas as she pointed at the chair beside her. Wendy was a little surprised. She thought, hadn’t Grandmother just been furious? Why is she asking me to sit down now? What exactly did Christian tell her? This man is really not to be underestimated.
Wendy obeyed Mrs. Lucas’s instructions. She walked over and sat down.
"Wendy, let me ask you a few questions. I want you to answer them truthfully," said Mrs. Lucas.
She did not fully believe Christian, but she trusted Wendy. She wanted to find out from Wendy if Christian was telling the truth.
"Please go ahead," said Wendy as her heart skipped a beat. She felt a little scared.
She did not know what questions Mrs. Lucas had in mind.
