Chapter 254 The Person Who Ran Away From Home
Alexander looked particularly calm. “In that case, are you trying to embarrass me or Mikayla?”
“How am I embarrassing Mikayla? Furthermore, her mother has brought it to my attention several times—as long as we get the greenlight from you, we can even have the wedding tomorrow. Please do not pass the buck.” Scott looked especially livid.
“Mikayla is returning to France at the end of the month. In fact, apart from her older brother, the whole family is migrating. I think it’ll work if you wish for me to migrate with them; France isn’t too bad, after all.”
“What?” Scott’s expression fell and he stood up abruptly from the chair. After pacing around, he turned around to slam his palm against the table. “I don’t care if Mikayla leaves but you will have to get married by the end of this year. You are already in your thirties yet you have not settled down. What does it look like to the public especially when you are off gallivanting with a married woman?”
“Are you saying that I can get married to anybody?”
“Yes! Anybody but Courtney!”
Alexander folded his arms while glancing at his surroundings. In the end, he dragged Hannah out, who had been eavesdropping at the entrance. “In that case, I choose her. You know her background thoroughly; she can just be my live-in child-bride.”
“What?” The color drained from Hannah’s face.
Scott’s expression soured when he caught sight of Hannah. “You brat—”
Harry looked frightened but he tried to smooth things over. “Young Master, please stop joking around. Miss Hannah is your aunt—you’d be committing incest while breaking the law in terms of her age.”
Alexander answered indifferently, “She’s Grandpa’s adoptive daughter, so I am not related to her by blood. As for her age… Well, Grandpa requested me to be married by the end of this year. If he doesn’t mind, I am happy to wait. How old are you this year?”
Hannah was at a loss for words and she seemed to be in a daze. She looked like a damsel in distress when Alexander grabbed onto her frail arm. “I’m t-thirteen,” she stuttered.
“She is thirteen this year, which means I’ll have to wait five years for her; that’s not too long,” Alexander commented and looked at Scott calmly.
Scott, on the other hand, was fuming at that point and he almost smashed the scented rosewood table into pieces. “You must be mad! Are you insane? Do you think you’re making any sense?”
Alexander adjusted his suit after releasing Hannah. “You claim that everything I do doesn’t make sense. In that case, what else can I do?”
“Get lost!” Scott slammed his fist on the table loudly and nobody in the house dared make a sound. His booming voice reverberated throughout the large house as he roared, “From today onward, you shall not set foot within the Duncan Residence if you aren’t aware of your mistakes.” Scott was truly furious this time.
No one had the courage to stop Alexander when he was leaving. Initially, Harry wanted to advise him against it but Scott barked loudly, “Whoever has the courage to stop him shall get lost with him.”
Harry turned around and he saw Scott sitting on the old-fashioned wooden chair while staring daggers at them. “Who did the brat take after? His father used to be so good-natured. Why does he have such a horrible son?”
Harry and Hannah exchanged glances before finally turning to Scott.
Well, I suppose the trait has skipped a generation.
After taking Hannah—who had been scared witless—away, the servants served some chrysanthemum tea to ease Scott’s anger, whereas Harry tidied up the board game at the side. “Young Master is just young and reckless. You don’t have to take him seriously, Master.”
“Is he still young? He is already in his thirties but he is so unsure about marriage. Is it wrong for me to want him to get married? With his identity and status, are you aware of the gossip and scandal which surround him since he isn’t married? Does he treat the accidents happening to Jordan as a joke?” Scott’s expression turned frosty at that point. “That brat has always had a cold and distant personality ever since he was a child. I’m not even sure what he will do in the future if he doesn’t get married sooner to have a wife to keep an eye on him.”
“In all honesty, it’s not a bad thing to keep a distance. When Mr. Jeffrey was alive, you always thought that he was indecisive and soft, didn’t you? Later, it was also due to these factors that…”
At the mention of his only son who had passed away many years ago, a trace of pain flashed through Scott’s eyes. There was a visible change in his gaze too. The originally vigorous old man suddenly looked utterly dejected.
“Jeffrey was such an outstanding child. Previously, I was overjoyed when he told me that he’d be getting married to Mindy. Who would have thought such a thing would have happened later on? It was a sin.”
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have brought up the sad past,” Harry murmured regretfully. “Master, stop thinking about it. You haven’t completed the game; please continue.”
“No. I am tired and I want to take a nap.” With that, Scott stood up slowly.
Harry sighed quietly as he watched Scott make his way to his bedroom.
Mr. Duncan has been through h*ll and back. He lost his father when he was a child and his son passed away when Mr. Duncan was in his middle age; now, his grandson doesn’t get along with him. The family has yet to have a warm and peaceful time all these years. In hindsight, I recall it used to feel like a home just a few months ago when Mr. Alexander and Miss Hunter were dating. I even thought that things would take a turn for the better.
Later on, Courtney returned home after buying some ingredients from the supermarket. She started speaking as she opened the door, “Oliver, I need to head to the Duncan Residence to cook for Jordan so I’ve bought some ingredients back. If you’re hungry, cook some noodles for Tina and yourself. I’ll be back soon—” Before she could complete her sentence, she noticed that there were more than two pairs of shoes scattered in the hallway, two of which were obviously men’s leather shoes.
Just as she froze, a tiny figure charged toward her leg and held onto her tightly. “Mommy…” the figure greeted her weakly.
“Jordan?” Courtney was dumbfounded and bewildered. “Why are you here?”
“Well, I said they came over uninvited but he claims that you invited them both,” Oliver answered from the living room.
Courtney looked up to see his exasperated expression as he glared at Alexander in frustration. “Do you have anything to say for yourself? Pack up right now and leave.”
“What happened? Hannah, why are you here?” Courtney noticed a row of people sitting on the couch when she carried Jordan into the living room. From left to right, in descending height, were Oliver, Hannah and Tina. They were all glaring at Alexander, who was sitting on the single seater. They looked as though they bore a deep grudge against him.
This is truly confusing. Just as she was trying to figure things out, Jordan pried her hands away to run to the couch. He squeezed onto the seat of the couch to glare at Alexander too. What’s happening? “Spill the beans—what’s going on?”
Courtney returned after washing her hands. She stood in front of the coffee table and blocked their view of the television. “Who will go first?”
“Me!” Oliver raised his hand while maintaining a righteous expression. “I brought Tina back after a meal and I saw this little girl squatting in front of our house.” He pointed at Hannah who sat beside him. “She claimed that she’s Tina’s friend so I let her in but in the end, she refused to leave. After trying to clarify the situation, I realized that she had run away from home. I was just about to call the police but before I managed to do that—” Oliver shot an icy look at Alexander. “—he brought that little one over while claiming that they have your permission. He says that from now on, dinner will be at our home. Did you agree to it, Courtney?”
“Your home?” Alexander’s deep voice rumbled and he squinted at Oliver with a menacing and cold expression. He was obviously unhappy with Oliver’s choice of words—‘our home’.
