If she did not live in the villa, she would have free time to take care of Neil. Bethan wanted to take care of Neil, not because Neil was too incompetent that he could not even take care of himself. It was because she felt that Neil was too smart for his own good, and she would not be able to prevent him from doing something inappropriate if she did not keep an eye on him.
“There’s no need for that.”
Brettley raised his fork and spoon gracefully as he spoke calmly and neutrally in between bites,
“She has no right to control who I allow into my house.”
Bethan smiled.
“But isn’t Ms. Peterson your fiancée?
“Mr. Morrison, there’s something I don’t quite understand. I saw on the news that the two of you have been engaged for more than five years. Why has it been more than five years yet you neither married Ms. Peterson or let her move in?”
Brettley’s hand that held his chopsticks paused slightly.
He raised his head, and those black eyes looked at Bethan’s face indifferently.
“If I asked her to move in, then those women who set their sights on me wouldn’t have a chance anymore, would they?”
The man’s words made Bethan squint slightly, but after a while, she smiled.
“I always thought that the relationship between Mr. Morrison and Ms. Peterson was strong enough. It seems that I’ve been thinking too much.”
Brettley curled his lips faintly.
“Even so, some people who approach me with a purpose from the get-go stand no chance.”
“Then Mr. Morrison is a very dedicated and affectionate man,”
retorted Bethan.
“It seems that I misunderstood you.”
Noticing that the atmosphere on the dining table grew more intense by the moment, Nellie quickly stretched out her little hand and placed it between their eyes as a barrier.
“Stop arguing!”
“We’re not.”
Her daughter’s anxious voice made Bethan come back to her senses. She quickly calmed herself down and gave Brettley a faint smile.
“Mr. Morrison, don’t get me wrong. I just think that the future lady of the family is hostile to me, so it’s not appropriate for me to live here all the time.”
Brettley’s black eyebrows furrowed tightly.
“This is my home, and whether you live here or not will only be decided in my hands. Also, you’re just a servant. Don’t worry too much about your boss. Cynthal isn’t the master of this house.”
As he spoke, he lowered his head and gently speared some vegetables onto his fork for Nellie.
“This villa has always had its mistress.”
Bethan sneered quietly. The person Brettley referred to the hostess of this villa was not her, was it?
It was hilarious to her. He never showed her warmth when she was with him, and he even killed her for Cynthal, yet he pretended to be loyal and loving all of a sudden. He was just putting on a show for Nellie, was he not? Had he realized how shameless the things that he did back then were? Thinking of this, Bethan smiled faintly.
“But isn’t the former lady of this house dead?”
“She’s not dead!”
Brettley frowned and slapped his spoon on the table fiercely.
“My wife is still alive.”
The man’s gaze was fierce and sharp.
“Beware of your words; they may cause you imminent danger!”
Bethan met his gaze fearlessly.
“But I read on the news that your ex-wife is dead. If you say she’s still alive, where is she now?”
The man glared at her, and his bottomless eyes seemed to burn with anger. The two people looked at each other, and the atmosphere at the table grew so cold that one could barely breathe in their vicinity.
“Enough!”
Nellie put down her fork and spoon, her little eyes red as a hint of a sob was detected in her delicate voice,
“This is the first time we have dinner together. Do we have to fight?”
With that, the little girl turned around and ran upstairs. Brettley frowned and got up to run after her, but not before throwing Bethan a cold glare. Bethan sat on the chair and watched him run after Nellie’s retreating back, silently closing her eyes. She should not have quarreled with Brettley in front of Nellie, but she had endured too much pain and torture in the past six years. Every night when she lay awake in bed struggling to fall asleep, she wanted to fly back to Banyan City, find Brettley, cut his heart open, and see if it was pitch-black inside. Upstairs…
“Nellie.”
Brettley opened the door to the children’s room and walked carefully to the little girl’s side. She covered herself with a quilt. Her thin body laid on the bed, curled up in a small ball, and his heart
melted at the sight. The man gently sat down on her bedside, raised his hand, and gently stroked her back that shook from her sobs.
“Don’t cry.”
He did not know how to coax such a young girl, so he could only stroke her comfortingly, trying to make his voice soft and gentle. After a long time, Nellie’s back finally stopped trembling. She crawled off of the quilt and looked at him with red eyes.
“Daddy, don’t blame Auntie.”
Brettley paused. After she stopped crying, he thought the first thing she would do was to whine and complain to him, but it turned out that the first thing this little girl did after successfully holding back her tears was to plead for Bethan? The man’s heart instantly melted into a warm mess. He picked her up.
“Do you like her that much?”
“Yeah.”
Nellie sniffed as her little head rested on the man’s shoulder.
“I like her very much, so don’t blame her for this, okay, Daddy?”
Brettley pursed his lips. He was a little reluctant, but since his baby girl said so, he could not really kick Bethan out. The man sighed and nodded gently. A moment later, he raised his hand and stroked her back.
“Why did you cry just now? Do you miss your mother?”
Nellie pursed her lips and nodded silently.
“Then, do you know where your mother is?”
he lowered his voice, attempting to induce her.
“Why not let me take you to her?”
“No.”
Nellie shook her little head like a rattle.
“Mommy said that when the time is right for her to meet you, then you’ll meet. She asked you not to try finding her, Daddy. Just be nice to me.”
Brettley looked at the little girl’s face, her features almost a copy of her mother’s, and pressed his thin lips tightly.
“Daddy.”
Nellie laid in his arms and sniffed,
“I just heard from Auntie that you’re going to marry the evil
lady from yesterday…”
She raised those big dewy eyes and looked at him.
“Is it true?”
Brettley had no response for a while, so he frowned and said,
“These are adults’ matters. It has nothing to do with you.”
“How so?”
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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