Then, he gave a sharp twist “Agh-!”
Dan’s wails of agony echoed through the hallway.
“Thomas Howard! Is hurting your father not enough that you now want to hurt your brother too?”
Tina quickly sprinted over, shoving Yannie out of the way in annoyance, and grabbed hold of Thomas’ arm. “Let go of him!”
Thomas curled his lips into a sneer. “I hadn’t intended to harm him at all, but…”
He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Yannie, whose cheek was red and swollen from Dan’s slap. “He laid his finger on Yannie.”
He gave another sharp twist, and with another howl of pain, Dan finally slumped to the ground limply.
Tina quickly stormed forward to check on him.
Even though Dan had always been tall, he was surprisingly malnourished and weak for his size, so he could not stand a chance against Thomas at all.
At this moment, both his arms lay limply by his sides as though Thomas had dislocated them.
Tina was both upset and concerned by this. However, she had no choice but to lift Dan off the ground and go off in search of a doctor, all the while muttering profanities about Thomas under her breath.
After the two of them left, Thomas furrowed his brow and strode over to Yannie’s side. He placed one arm around her shoulder as he gently touched her cheek with his other hand. “Does it hurt?”
It was his fault for accidentally hurting Senior Howard; if Dan had attacked him because of this, he would not have resisted. Not only that, but he would have welcomed Dan’s wrath and announced that he had already received the punishment he deserved.
After all, Senior Howard had done plenty of bad things toward him throughout the years, so this would put the two of them even.
However, Dan slapped Yannie instead.
This was what had sent Thomas over the edge and broken his arms out of rage.
“I’m fine.”
Yannie felt a little uneasy at the intimate position they were adopting. She pursed her lips, removed herself from Thomas’ grasp, and then pointed at Senior Howard’s room. “You’d better go quick.”
Thomas furrowed his brow. “What’s going on, Yannie?”
Why was she desperately trying to avoid him?
“You should go visit your father first,”
Brettley’s voice rang out from behind him. “You’ll find out what happened with Yannie soon enough.”
Both Thomas and Yannie lifted their heads in unison upon hearing this.
At this moment, Brettley was standing at the door to Senior Howard’s room, staring calmly at them.
It was clear that he had been inside the room all this while and had only emerged when he heard the commotion. This explained why Tina and Dan were waiting outside the room instead of being with Senior Howard.
At the thought of this, Thomas glanced at Yannie, frowning, then at Brettley. He hesitated for a moment before finally making his way across the hallway, circling past Brettley, and entering the room.
The door slammed shut behind him.
Yannie quickly strode over to Brettley’s side and whispered, “Mr. Morrison, Thomas’ father…”
“He’s fine,”
Brettley replied calmly. “Thankfully, Thomas’ bullet did not hit anything critical, and so he’s currently stable. However…”
He turned to glance at the closed door and sighed. “The misunderstanding between them will only run deeper from here on out.
“In the future, you’ll need to try harder to get Thomas and his father to reconcile.
Yannie bit her lip when she heard this.
A split second later, she lifted her head to stare at Brettley. “Mr. Morrison, I know you and Bethan want nothing more than for Thomas and me to work things out, but…”
She let out an exhale. “I’m sorry, but… I don’t think I can continue being with Thomas anymore.”
She took a small step back to increase the distance between her and Brettley, then lifted her head to stare at him in determination. “I’ll help Thomas patch things up with his father, but unfortunately, I won’t stay to help him any further than this.
“I feel that I need some time apart from him to think things through, and vice versa.”
Brettley furrowed his brow upon hearing this. “Do you care about what happened between him and Denise?”
“How can I not?”
Yannie curled her lips into a bitter smile. “Unfortunately, I’m not as forgiving and selfless as some people. I can’t possibly accept what happened between the two of them…”
She bit her lip and recalled the sounds she had heard while being tied up outside the room. She would never be able to forget the cries of pleasure emanating from within the room.
Every time she was reminded of this and laid eyes on Thomas…she would feel strangely frustrated.
She loved Thomas, she truly did, but it was precisely because of how much she loved him that she could not stomach the idea of him having slept with another woman.
At the thought of this, Yannie sighed and said, “Thomas doesn’t know about what happened yet. I’ll tell him the truth after he recovers from all this, and I’m sure he will respect my decision.”
Brettley’s expression darkened upon this. Finally, he let out a sigh of resignation and asked, “Well, what are you going to do in the future?”
“I’ll bring my mother back home to Merchant City or…”
Yannie paused for a moment. “Or perhaps we’ll go to Sea City and Banyan City.
“You and Bethan are from Banyan City, whereas Gwen is from Sea City, the two places I’d like to visit eventually. Perhaps I’ll even consider traveling the world with my mother.”
Brettley pursed his lips. “Have you ever considered what will happen to Riley in the future?”
Yannie was a little shocked when Brettley brought up Riley.
A split second later, she let out a bitter chuckle and said, “I’ll leave Riley with Thomas.”
Riley was sick and needed to be hospitalized long–term for her treatment.
Unlike Thomas, Yannie knew she was not wealthy nor possessed Thomas’ intelligence, so she would not be able to provide Riley with the lifestyle she deserved. Things would be different if Riley were to live with Thomas.
Thomas would provide only the best for her so that she would grow up a healthy, happy child.
At the thought of this, Yannie curled her lips into a smile and glanced at Brettley. “
Mr. Morrison, are you bringing up Riley…to try to convince me not to leave?”
Brettley narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s shameful to use a mother’s child to keep her hostage, so I never intend to do anything like that.”
Yannie’s heart lurched when she heard this.
A split second later, she paused and said, “Well…what are you trying to say, Mr. Morrison?”
Brettley furrowed his brow and explained slowly, “Thomas is my cousin, so it might not be my place to say this, but the truth is, even though I agree that he will be an amazing father, he’s still not capable of raising a daughter all by himself.
“You, on the other hand, are far more thoughtful and considerate than he is. When you were helping Bethan, I could tell that you, like your mother, helped her greatly when it came to small details.
“Besides, your mother also once helped Bethan and I take care of our three children, so…
He fixed his gaze on Yannie and continued, “If you truly want to leave Thomas, I strongly advise you to bring Riley with you, where she’ll be better off.”
Yannie never expected Brettley to say this to her.
She was so stunned she could not even speak, and after a long moment, she finally lifted her head to stare at him dazedly, biting her lip. “Mr. Morrison, you…
“Riley used to be my and Bethan’s adopted daughter, so it’s only natural we’d want her to be happy. Besides…”
He fell silent for a long time before finally adding, “She and our second daughter were born at the same time and eventually switched out for the other, so in a way, we’re fated to be.
“Even if Thomas were not my cousin, I’d still want her to grow up happily and healthily.
“I’m making this request on behalf of the child, but if you feel that Riley will be a burden to you and affect your life…”
“No!”
Yannie bit her lip and interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence. “That’s not what I meant at all! Riley…”
Yannie could not stop her tears from falling anymore. “I’d never want to give up on Riley if I had a choice, but…”
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.