Brettley sat in his office chair as he rubbed his eyebrows, seemingly frustrated with all this commotion. “Let her in.”
The door was pushed open, and two people walked in. Brettley frowned and lifted his head. He locked eyes with Theo, and the two men stared at each other. One man’s gaze was filled with hostility, while the other was calm and gentle with a slight hint of arrogance. However, a split second later, their eye contact broke.
“You b*tch! “
Granny Morrison scowled at Bethan, but just as she was about to say more, she caught sight o f the man standing next to Bethan. She frowned and glared at Theo. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m her friend.”
Theo gave a small smile and sat down next to Granny Morrison. “I believe you had a misunderstanding with my friend.”
Granny Morrison’s fury seemed to be doused by this polite young man in front of her. “Are you here to settle our dispute?”
“I guess you can say that.”
Granny Morrison snorted in indignation. “Alright then. Your friend here was jealous of my granddaughter-in- law and ruined her favorite artist’s painting out of spite! She even made my grandson pay for the compensation! It cost ten million dollars! “
Granny Morrison took out her phone and showed Theo the same news article Bethan had seen on Shannon’s phone. “Look at this. It’s making headlines! “
Theo smiled at her. “Alright, Granny. What would you like Bethan to do now?”
“I want her to pay my grandson back, resign immediately, and apologize to my granddaughter-in-law! “
Granny Morrison immediately barked out three conditions. She glanced at Brettley coldly and added, “
I don’t even know what spell this woman put on my grandson. He’s not willing to agree to any of my conditions! “
Brettley frowned at her. “I told you that this whole incident isn’t what you think it is.”
“What do you mean, it isn’t what I think it is?! “
Granny Morrison brandished her phone at Brettley and retorted, “The evidence is right here! Besides, you were the witness, weren’t you?
“I can’t believe this! You saw everything with your own eyes, yet you’re claiming you didn’t! Why are you lying for this woman? What kind of spell did she put you under? Ten million dollars! You paid ten million dollars for her!
“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have just fired here from Blue Bay Villa. I should have sent her out of Banyan City and out of this country! This family is being torn apart because of her! “
Granny Morrison’s accusations finally got on Brettley’s nerves. His brows furrowed, and he immediately yelled, “You’re the one tearing this family apart! “
If it were not for Granny Morrison, none of this would have happened! If Granny Morrison had not given Bethan so much pressure on bearing children many years ago, Bethan would not have gotten so desperate and depressed.
Granny Morrison never expected that Brettley would yell at her like this. She stared at him in rage for a few moments before she turned around and glared at Bethan. “It’s all your fault ! Brettley has never defied me like this before! “
Bethan was amused by Granny Morrison’s words.
Bethan knew Granny Morrison was lying to herself.
“Mr. Morrison never defied you, you say? Many years ago, you wanted him to marry Hailey Walter , yet he ended up marrying Bethan Peterson instead. After she died, you wanted him to retake Hailey as a second wife, but he got engaged with Cynthal Peterson. You gave him and Cynthal your blessing, but in the end, they broke up.”
Bethan stared at Granny Morrison impassively. “Mr. Morrison has been defying you all his life. Since when did he listen to you?”
Bethan thought her statement would shut Granny Morrison up and that she could finally get back at Granny Morrison for ruining her sketch. To her surprise, however, Granny Morrison chuckled.
“None of the stuff you said was true. In fact, it wasn’t me who wanted Brettley to marry Hailey Walter at all–it was his father’s wish. I’m afraid you have no idea how much Brettley respects me.”
Granny Morrison continued smugly, “Many years ago, when he was married to Bethan Peterson, I told him that I wanted great- grandchildren, but Bethan didn’t want any.
Brettley told me himself that he’d do as I wished.
“Bethan Peterson couldn’t get pregnant no matter how many times she tried, so I forced her to try traditional remedies some witch doctors prescribed. The witch doctors cast spells on her and even made her eat dirt and ashes as part of the treatment. Bethan Peterson thought all of this happened behind Brettley’s back when in reality, Brettley knew and even permitted me to do so.”
Granny Morrison sighed. “I never expected the remedies to work, but it turned out they did; Bethan Peterson managed to get pregnant in the end. No, wait. I shouldn’t call her by that name anymore.
She’s Alice now. I like this name. She doesn’t have to share a name with a b*tch like you anymore.”
Bethan’s heart grew colder at Granny Morrison’s words. She stared at Granny Morrison blankly, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to catch her breath.
All the bad memories locked away in Bethan’s mind began to resurface. She remembered Granny Morrison berating her and all the torturous regimens she had to endure. She could still recall the feeling of swallowing dirt and ashes as though it had happened yesterday.
At that time, the dirt and ashes she had to consume a s part of the traditional remedy damaged the inner lining of her stomach. Bethan had spent countless nights tossing and turning, unable to sleep due to the pain. She was even afraid of telling all this to Brettley, lest he becomes upset, and sneaked out on her own to buy medicine for the pain. She never dared to complain about any of this to anyone.
Bethan never thought that her traumatic experience would one day become some form of bragging right for Granny Morrison, that she would use that as a token of showing off how submissive her grandson was.
Bethan felt as though a knife was stabbed into her heart, and it bled profusely. She took a step back away from Granny Morrison, her face pale. Her back collided against the door abruptly, and she felt a twinge of pain shoot down her body.
“Granny, “
Brettley interjected with a frown. “That’s all in the past now. Please don’t bring it up.”
Everything that Granny Morrison had mentioned, Brettley only found out after it was too late. Bethan had never told any of this to him, and at that time, Granny Morrison had simply brushed everything off. She did not tell him that Bethan had been forced to eat dirt and ashes.
Brettley only discovered the truth after Bethan left. As soon as he found out, he immediately stormed over to Morrison Mansion to confront Granny, but it was too late.
When Bethan died, Brettley spent a whole night sitting i n front of her grave in hopes to gain her forgiveness. He was ashamed that he had not fulfilled his responsibility of protecting and looking out for her.
Every time Brettley thought of this, guilt and shame clouded his heart. He had promised to be a good husband to Bethan, but he failed. To Brettley, this incident was a scar that would never fade. He never thought that Granny Morrison would bring this up so many years later!
“Granny,”
Theo immediately piped in as he sensed the atmosphere growing awkward. He let out a chuckle and said, “You mentioned that you want Bethan to pay Brettley back for the compensation, right?”
“Right! “
Granny Morrison scoffed. “If she can pay ten million dollars upfront, I’ll consider letting her stay a t Morrison Group.”
Granny Morrison was adamant that
Bethan could not afford to pay ten million dollars, much less upfront.
Theo chuckled again and took out a check from his pocket. “Would this suffice?”
Granny Morrison took the check from Theo and glanced at it. Her expression changed to that of a confused one. Why was Brettley’s name signed at the bottom?
Theo smiled. “The reason I ‘m here today, besides picking up Bethan from work, is that I wanted to return this check to Brettley.”
Granny Morrison frowned as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Then, after a moment, her eyes widened, and she looked back at Theo. “Is this the check that Brettley paid Mr. Allen with? Are you…”
“I’m Theo Allen.”
Theo grinned at her. “I also want to explain to you, Granny, that the real painting worth ten million dollars is still in my study. I’d never display it publicly. The painting ruined that day was a fake one.”
He glanced at Granny Morrison’s astonished face and continued, “As soon as he found out the painting was ruined, Mr. Morrison immediately issued me a check as compensation. However, I knew I couldn’t take it, so I decided to return it to him.”
Granny Morrison was so shocked that she said nothing in response.
“Now that I’ve returned the money, Bethan shouldn’t have to resign anymore. Do you still have any issues with this?”
Granny Morrison lowered her gaze to look at the check, speechless for a moment.
“Alright then…” muttered Granny Morrison, biting her lip. “She doesn’t have to resign anymore, but she still has to apologize to my granddaughter-in -law!
Although the painting was a fake one, she still ruined it in an attempt to upset Alice! Also, she injured me just now, so she should apologize to me as well! “
“Apologize?”
Bethan crossed her arms in front of her chest. “The painting I ruined belongs to Theo. If anything, I should apologize to him and not Alice. Besides…”
Bethan turned her head and glared at Granny Morrison. “I didn’t injure you just now, and even if I did, it was because you ruined my design sketch. In that case, shouldn’t you be the one to apologize?”
Brettley immediately froze at Bethan’s words. “Granny ruined your sketch?”
“She tore it in half, ” answered Theo with a smile. “
Bethan spent a whole afternoon working on that drawing.”
Theo’s reply made Brettley’s brows furrow. He did not answer but glanced at Bethan instead. “Hey, I’m asking you.”
Bethan rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, your grandmother tore my sketch in half. Although I did grab her just now, I didn’t injure her. Even if I did, I don’t think I’m wrong to do so since she provoked me in the first place. I won’t apologize to her.”
Granny Morrison’s face turned pale instantly.
Brettley rubbed his eyebrows in frustration and shot Granny Morrison a glance. “Apologize to her.”
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.