Meanwhile, inside the living room, Mildred caught sight of the Rolls-Royce and murmured, “Mr. Wilmer arrives so soon. It appears he’s quite eager to meet Madilyn too. Oh? He drives a new car, and it’s a Rolls-Royce, no less. The Cheever family is indeed loaded.”
Norton nodded as well. He got to his feet and walked out to receive Wilmer while wearing a smile, Unexpectedly, after the car door was opened, the person who got out of the vehicle was Madilyn.
The grin on Norton and Mildred’s faces froze. They could hardly recognize Madilyn. The Madilyn standing before them was no longer the girl they had disregarded more than a decade ago.
Her outfit, her clean and flawless complexion, and the faint otherworldly aura she exuded made it impossible for anyone to associate her with the old Madilyn.
Mildred was especially astounded. Envy blazed within her eyes after she regained her senses. How could Lorraine’s daughter undergo such a drastic transformation? She’s like an ugly duckling turned into a swan.
As for Norton, he had initially worried that Madilyn’s temperament wouldn’t match Wilmer’s and was planning to find a makeup artist to give her a makeover when she returned. Upon laying his eyes on her now, he realized that was absolutely unnecessary.
“Madilyn?” Norton called out gently. Madilyn sized up Norton. That man was no different from a complete stranger to her. She had only met him briefly twice more than a decade ago.
At that time, all she witnessed was that man. saying cruel things to her mother. At that moment, seeing he had also aged with a head of white hair, Madilyn felt no sadness. Instead, an odd sense of satisfaction surged within her.
So, he grows old too! Growing old meant losing the looks of his youth that had caused my love- struck mother to be infatuated with him. Fury flashed across her eyes as she regarded Norton with an icy gaze.
Then, she shifted her attention to Mildred. Instantly, her anger reached its peak. Madilyn widened her eyes to glower at Mildred. This woman and her two daughters had bullied me terribly in the past. My books, clothes, and snacks were all ruined by them.
“Mildred, it was your idea, wasn’t it? To forcibly take my mother away to pressure me into returning here for the blind date?” Madilyn gritted her teeth while striding up to Mildred.
Startled, Mildred hurriedly turned to Norton. “Norton, look at your daughter. She’s acting like she wants to kill me the moment she sees me.
“Madilyn, what are you doing?” Norton bellowed, stepping in front of Mildred to stop Madilyn from approaching.
Madilyn stopped in her tracks and sneered.
“Rest assured. I don’t have time to take revenge on you. My purpose here today is to take my mother away. It will be best for us to have nothing to do with your family from now on.”
No matter what, Madilyn wanted to see her mother first and make sure the latter hadn’t been mistreated.
“Let’s talk inside, Madilyn,” Norton suggested. “I’m so glad you’re back.” As it turned out, he too, knew how Mildred used to bully Lorraine and Madilyn.
However, his business had just taken off then, and he barely had time to tend to his family affairs. He knew he couldn’t talk sense into Mildred either, so all he could do was check in with Lorraine.
He’d offer to compensate the latter for her trouble whenever they met, but she always turned it down. Instead, she’d criticize him for his betrayal in their relationship and his lack of care toward Madilyn.
Norton did feel remorseful about his actions at the start, but alas, that ball of guilt gradually disappeared as time passed.
He couldn’t lose the business empire he had so painstakingly built from scratch, nor could he lose his reputation and social status. Relationships, on the other hand, weren’t necessary to him.
“Quit putting on an act, Norton Sheffield. I won’t agree to your terms. There’s also no way I’ll ever abide by your arrangements. All I want is to take my mother away. Please bring her out now, or else…” Madilyn said coldly as she stared daggers at Norton. If looks could kill, she’d have slain the man on the spot.
I can’t believe shameless men like him exist! It’s bad enough that he dumped Mom and me and ignored us for over a decade, but it’s even worse that he now wants to marry me off for his own benefit! Argh! It’s an utter embarrassment to be related to him!
“Or else what?” Mildred interrupted, no longer able to hold her anger in. “Let’s get one thing clear, Madilyn… This is Xandenia, not Horington.”
As much as Mildred hated to admit it, Madilyn’s actions did scare her earlier. However, she remembered how she used to bully the mother and daughter, so why should she fear them now?
So what if Madilyn’s driving a Rolls-Royce? No matter how rich she gets, she can’t change what she’s inherently born with! Wait a minute… Could the car be a rental? Someone might have given her the idea to put up this bluff! Now that I think of it, this car looks familiar. Ah! Doesn’t it belong to Kaiser Hotel’s general manager?
After checking the car’s registration plate to confirm her suspicions, Mildred curled her lips into an arrogant smirk. “Haha! Shame on you, Madilyn Xander! You rented this car from the hotel, didn’t you? I’m impressed you even hired a driver for it. How much is the daily rate? My, my… To think you’d go to such extremes to put up a front.”
Madilyn, on the other hand, was speechless. Huh? I can’t believe Mildred’s focus is on the car. Then again, that’s hardly surprising. After all, she’s the kind who always judges people by their appearances and material possessions. In other words, she’s a snob. Norton’s gaze darkened as he turned to Madilyn. “What’s the deal with this car? Is it really a rental?”
“Birds of a feather sure do flock together!” Madilyn exclaimed as she shook her head and chuckled. “Norton, Mildred, does this mean you’ll only think highly of me if this Rolls-Royce is mine? And if not, you’ll see me as a pushover?”
A sneer instantly crept across Mildred’s face. “Of course! If you have the cheek to fake being rich, don’t blame me for calling you out!” Just then, a slow clap rang out from the Rolls- Royce.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The next second, Jonathan stepped out of the car with an amused grin plastered across his face.
“By the way, Mr. and Mrs. Sheffield, Madilyn didn’t just rent the Rolls-Royce. She rented a boyfriend, too!”
Neither Norton nor Mildred had realized there was someone other than the driver in the car, but as soon as Jonathan appeared, they began looking him up and down.
Sharp-eyed as always, Norton immediately noticed that Jonathan was dressed head to toe in low-key luxury items. Even the latter’s watch was a Patek Philippe that boasted an eye-watering price tag.
More importantly, Norton could tell that the young man carried himself with the utmost class and elegance. Jonathan glanced at the couple before walking up to Madilyn and gently pulling her into an embrace, his gaze soft and loving.
For some reason, Madilyn’s frustration instantly melted away when she felt the man’s tender touch and stared into his eyes. Mildred, on the other hand, remained skeptical as she turned to her husband. “Norton, I don’t think we know this young man, do we?”
Norton nodded. Deep down, however, he was somewhat uncomfortable to see his daughter behaving so intimately with another man. “Are you from Horington?”
Jonathan couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. Ah… Norton sure is one sly, old fox. I can’t believe he figured that out so quickly.
“Yes. I’m indeed from Horington. I’m also Madilyn’s boyfriend. I heard her father summoned her home for a blind date, so I tagged along to see if the guy’s any better than me.”
Even though Jonathan’s voice was steady and calm, Norton and Mildred knew he was sending them a warning shot.
“Listen here, mister. I don’t care if you really are Madilyn’s boyfriend or not. She has come home today to discuss family matters with us. Don’t you think it’s rude of you to show up uninvited?” Mildred snapped.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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