Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
Sheila was so angry could barely hold it together, but she held her breath and gathered her strength. She would finally put Francine in her place today!
Arthur and Sheila seemed to have no shame at all as they proceeded to calmly and respectfully offer old Mr. Guajardo a cup of tea even though they were accosted by cold glares and angry glances from the people around them.
“Take a seat!” old Mr. Guajardo told them in a lukewarm voice after taking a sip of the tea.
“Uncle Timothy!” Alan muttered with displeasure. “You’re too kind and generous! Don’t you remember the shameful deeds of this greedy brother of mine and his cunning son? They almost took over the entire company! If I were you, I would’ve booted them from the Guajardo family a long time ago—yet you still drank the tea they offered…”
“Alan! You’re my own younger brother! How could you accuse me of such things?!”
Arthur acted as if his feelings were hurt and let out a sigh. “At the time, no one knew if Halston was alive or dead. H Group was thrown into chaos, and Jovan stepped in at the most crucial hour, leading the company in a time of crisis and saving the family’s honor. Don’t you know how much pressure he was under?”
“Hmph! It’s not surprising that he was under a lot of pressure since he was a usurper!”
“How could you call him a usurper?” Arthur argued. “He was clearly taking charge of the situation to lead the company out of a crisis! After all, who else in this family could replace Halston other than my son Jovan?”
Indeed, no one could refute him in this matter. All along, there had not been many talented and capable people in the Guajardo family. In Halston’s generation, there were only three outstanding male members of the Guajardo family, namely Halston, Jovan, and Julian. The rest were either too unremarkable and mediocre or were women.
Julian was only a junior member of the Guajardo family. He grew up abroad and had his own career, but he never had much to do with the Guajardo family or H Group at all.
But Jovan was different. He was Halston’s cousin. Ever since he was young, he received the same education as Halston, and he occupied the same important position as Halston in the Guajardo family. Unfortunately, he was always ever so slightly inferior to Halston. If Halston got 100 points in a test, then Jovan could only ever get 99 points, never higher.
It was a minute difference, but it was enough to cement Halston’s position as the CEO of H Group. As a result, Jovan was forever relegated to the position of substitute.
“Arthur’s right,” Alexander agreed smugly. “No one else in the entire Guajardo family could ever hold a candle to Halston apart from your son Jovan…”
Then he viciously added, “But I’ve got a grandson and a granddaughter now. As their grandfather, I will raise them and train them so well that they’d be able to take over the family business from Halston one day. We won’t need to trouble your son anymore.”
Alexander’s words made Arthur and Sheila green with rage, but because old Mr. Guajardo was still there, they remained cautious and dared not cause too much of a scene. Still, these two would never give up so easily, especially not Sheila—she was not one to take it lying down! She had been stifling a grudge all along, and now that Alexander humiliated her in front of the whole family, she swore that she would let them pay no matter what!
“Alexander, Francine, let’s not forget that it is a happy occasion for the family, so let’s not bring up the messy past! When I heard that Halston got back together with his ex-wife, I specially prepared a gift just for them.”
With an affected smile, Sheila pulled a palm-sized gift box from her handbag and placed it in Francine’s hands.
“What is it?” Francine asked. She could not help but be curious when she found that the box was quite heavy.
“Oh, it’s nothing too expensive, just a two-pound lock made of pure gold.”
“What? Why would you give them a lock?”
“Well, it’s not an ordinary lock. It’s called a chastity lock. I even had a master make it…”
Sheila covered her mouth to hide her smile and continued, “Because Halston got back together with his ex-wife, I figured that since no one knows how many men she hooked up with in the years after they divorced, it’ll be important to let her wear this chastity lock. That way, we can guarantee that she stays loyal and won’t dare to run from Halston again.”
When the crowd heard this, they could not help but burst into laughter. In fact, the women seemed to find Sheila’s words especially amusing, as they almost howled in laughter. They were already irked by Flossie for sleeping in so late—a behavior considered utterly improper for the wife of a powerful man like Halston. With Francine’s protection, however, none dared to say anything about it. Now that Sheila had led the way to criticize Flossie, their tongues began to wag again.
“Sheila’s right, Francine. The Guajardo family has a strict tradition of only letting in chaste women to the family because purity is very important to them. If this chastity lock really does work, then I think you’d better let her wear it!”
“Besides, and forgive me for being blunt, I think you should do a paternity test on her children. We don’t ever have a gene for twins in the Guajardo family, yet she somehow showed up with a pair of twins! I’m just worried that Halston is being fooled to raise another man’s children…”
“…”
Francine’s rage almost reached the boiling point. She rolled up her sleeves, getting ready to battle these foul-mouthed women.
Meanwhile, Flossie had just gotten up. In a set of comfy pajamas, her hair was still messy as she slowly made her way downstairs, yawning. Awoken by hunger, she headed downstairs to look for something to eat in a daze.
But just before she could get downstairs, she noticed that the hall was filled with Halston’s relatives. Her face instantly flushed red, and she quickly turned around to slip back into the room to hide, but she bumped into Halston, who was following closely behind her, and fell right into his arms.
“What’s wrong?” asked Halston. He held a coat in his hands, which he gently and lovingly wrapped around Flossie’s shoulders, worried that she might catch a cold from wearing too little.
“Why didn’t you tell me that there were guests downstairs? What would your family think of me now?!”
Flossie buried her beet-red face in her hands, totally humiliated. She wished that she could find a hole in the ground and hide in there forever.
They must have found out that she had been sleeping in this late, and if she showed up looking unkempt and disheveled, she would forever be regarded as the shame of the Guajardo family and drown in their saliva from their disparaging opinions!
“What they think is their business,” replied Halston. “All I want is for you to be comfortable.”
Halston put his arms around Flossie’s shoulders and calmly led her downstairs. Then, in a casual tone, he greeted everyone, “Good morning, uncles and aunts. Please forgive me and Flossie for getting up so late.”
Halston’s power and position in the Guajardo family were only second to old Mr. Guajardo, so as soon as he spoke up, his voice carried a certain authority that instantly silenced the whole room.
But when he looked down at the woman in his arms, his voice became as gentle as spring showers when he dotingly said, “Come on, don’t be shy. Say hello to the elders in our family.”
No matter how embarrassed Flossie was, she could not possibly just ignore Halston’s suggestion, so she bit the bullet and greeted the people in the room.
The women feared Halston, so even though they had wagged their tongues just seconds ago, they didn’t even dare to let out a fart, all of them except Sheila, who feared no one.
“Ah, Flossie! It’s been so long since we last met! It must’ve been, let me see… four years!”
Like a demon hiding behind an angel’s mask, she took Flossie’s hands and smilingly told her, “I remember how everyone was cheering on happily when Halston kicked you out of the house back then, but I was the only one who pitied you because I have a sensitive heart, you see…”
“Sheila!” Francine cut her off angrily, barely able to restrain herself from tearing out Sheila’s mouth herself. “If you have nothing nice to say, then just shut up! No one would think that you’re dumb if you don’t speak for a while!”
The situation had now gotten awkward. Apart from Halston’s immediate family, the rest were staring at Flossie and Sheila, eager to see how the scene would play out.
But Flossie did not mind Sheila’s words at all. With a faint smile, she said, “It’s fine. I don’t hold grudges.”
This emboldened Sheila, and she continued to speak even more viciously.
“That’s a good girl! I was just telling your mother-in-law that I’ve prepared a special gift for you. Why don’t you put it on and see if it suits you?”
She then took out the golden lock from the box and stuffed it into Flossie’s hands, telling her, “This is called a chastity lock. It must’ve been really hard for you, raising two children as a single mother all these years. Undoubtedly, you must have looked for some other men just so you could survive…”
“I heard some ridiculous rumors about you out there,” she continued. “They say that your children aren’t Halston’s, but that their real father is that Osborne boy, because they’ve got a gene for twins in that family. Come here. Let me put this on for you. This lock will signify that from now, you’ll stay completely loyal to Halston and the Guajardo family!”
Sheila, lacking an ounce of respect for her, was undoubtedly trying to humiliate Flossie. Everyone else was also watching on with amusement. After all, everyone in the Guajardo family, even the servants, was so used to bullying and humiliating Flossie that it was no longer a surprising sight.
“We don’t need it,” said Halston with a stony face. He exuded an icy cold aura while his piercing eyes were focused on Sheila.
Intimidated by Halston’s gaze, Sheila sputtered, “What… What’s wrong, Halston? I only mean well!”
“I think this lock is much more suited for Jovan,” Halston replied firmly with an expressionless face. “Perhaps it might stop him from seducing and deceiving so many women, which would inevitably bring terrible retributions like getting cut off from his children in the future.”
Halston’s words caused an instant uproar. Even Flossie was visibly shocked.
This b*stard was downright vulgar!
Sheila and Arthur were seething with anger. They quickly rushed towards old Mr. Guajardo to complain.
“You… You heard that, didn’t you, Uncle Timothy? Halston was simply being disrespectful of us! Sheila only meant to give them the golden lock as a special gift with pure intentions. It’s fine if they don’t appreciate it, but how could he say that Jovan could be cut off from his children? You must grant us justice, Uncle!”
Sheila clung onto the armrest of the chair where old Mr. Guajardo was seated, wailing as if the world was ending.
Arthur then added, bringing up his long-dead father to put more pressure on old Mr. Guajardo, “My father died young, Uncle Timothy, but before he died, he entrusted me to you. Although I’m only your nephew, I’ve always looked up to you as my real father, so you can’t let your son and grandson bully me like this. If Jovan really is cut off from his children, my bloodline will end with him, and in that case, my father will certainly have something to say about it when you meet him in heaven!”
