Chapter 173 Humiliations
“I-I…” Margaret ended up stuttering when she heard Amanda’s question.
As a result, Amanda snorted and made a face at the stammering Margaret. Out of the blue, Jonathan, who deemed it a waste of his time to engage himself in a conversation with them, broke the silence and announced, “I’m here for the watch.”
“Watch? What sort of watch are you talking about?” the confused Amanda asked with her brows arched.
“What else could it be apart from the one she handed over to all of you during the game last night?” Jonathan took a peek at them and queried, “All of you are aware of the watch’s actual value, aren’t you? It cost more than fifty thousand, but fifty thousand was all it took for the likes of you to deceive her.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “What do you mean by deceiving? We’re merely upholding the rules! She was supposed to hand it over to us since she lost the game! If you need to hold someone accountable, it’s definitely your mother-in-law!”
The rest of Julia’s friends chimed in once they heard Julia, “She needs to blame herself for being such a greedy woman! On top of that, she didn’t even have enough to settle the payment! She needs to consider herself lucky we’re not against the idea of accepting something as inferior as such!”
“Do you really think the watch is worth fifty thousand? At the very most it’s going to cost us is ten freaking thousand! We were kind enough to do her a favor and accept the watch! How dare you show up and ask for it when we wouldn’t even accept it if it weren’t because we’re friends!”
They continued picking on the watch just like they were the ones who had suffered a great loss for accepting the watch in return for the sum agreed upon at the beginning of the game.
Unable to stand the squabbling women’s inferior acting skills anymore, Jonathan queried with his eyes glinting, “Can all of you give me a break and stop acting in front of me? I’m sure all of you are aware of its actual value, aren’t you?”
He urged, “I’ll pay on her behalf once all of you return the watch to me! Hurry up and get going already because I’m running out of time!”
Julia’s expression darkened immediately after Jonathan brought up the suggestion. She screeched, “Are we supposed to listen to you? What makes you think you get to call the shots around here? Do you think this is a pawnshop or a casino?”
“Oh? It seems like all of you have no intention of returning the watch, huh?” Jonathan knew they wouldn’t return him the watch no matter what when he heard Julia.
“What if that’s the case? I guess it’s not necessary for us to keep any of you in the dark anymore! Indeed, it’s a genuine watch that’s going to cost more than fifty thousand, but what about it? It belongs to us as of now! Hold the stupid woman next to you accountable if you need to blame someone! She’s the foolish one who has voluntarily handed the watch to us! There’s no way we’re going to return it to her!”
“Mrs. Harris, you-” As infuriated as Margaret might be, she couldn’t afford to throw a tantrum because her peers were wives of the bigshots.
“What? Margaret, do you really think you are qualified to hang out with us when you’re just a nobody? You need to appreciate the time you get to spend with us because not everyone has the chance to hang out with us! Aren’t you aware of the people we’re acquainted with? Do you seriously think you have what it takes to consider yourself a socialite?”
We’ve never considered Margaret a friend of ours. Her flattering speech is the sole reason we’re not against the idea of having her around. Instead of bringing someone else to threaten us, she needs to consider herself lucky for having the chance to socialize with us.
“Y-You!”
Margaret almost let loose of her emotions when she heard Julia’s orated speech. Considering the time they spent together, she thought they wouldn’t expose her in such a straightforward manner. As a result, she started panting heavily with her cheeks flushing.
As Margaret continued shivering in angst, Julia asked with a contemptuous look, “What’s wrong? Is something on my face? Are you going to see yourself out, or am I supposed to ask others to send you out?”
Julia didn’t even bother to conceal her intention to drive them away anymore since things had gotten to the point of no return.
As a result of extreme frustration, Margaret wouldn’t stop gritting her teeth. She ended up taking things out on Jonathan instead of her peers at fault.
“It’s all your fault! I told you not to tag along! See! You’re the reason I’m humiliated! To make things worse, you can’t even get your hands on the watch! Has this been your goal since the beginning?”
I wouldn’t have to brace myself through this sort of humiliation if it weren’t because of Jonathan! He was the one who insisted on getting his hands on the watch and forced me to join him!
Jonathan was irked by Margaret’s behavior as well. He asked in a serious tone, “Huh? Why are you taking things out on me when they’re the ones who have been shaming you? Are you trying to pick on an easy target?”
He would never tolerate his mother-in-law taking things out on him. No longer would he allow others to put him through all sorts of unjust when he was a different man than he used to be.
“J-Jonathan, you… I-I want you to get the hell out of my sight immediately!” Margaret warned at the top of her lungs. It was an attempt of hers to salvage whatever was left with her dignity.
“You can always do yourself a favor and get out of my sight because I still have some business with these pretentious women!” Jonathan turned around and urged, “I’ll give all of you another minute to return the watch. As long as you return it to me, I’ll forget about everything. However, if you refuse to return it, I’ll-”
“You’ll what?” Julia stopped Jonathan from finishing his sentence and remarked, “Are you trying to threaten us? There’s no way such a wimp like you is capable of forcing us into submission!”
Amanda quipped once she heard Julia, “This good-for-nothing is merely trying to pull our leg, isn’t he? Isn’t he aware of who our husbands are? If you try to lay a finger on us, you’re going to spend the rest of your life behind bars!”
“We shall see if that’s the case!” Jonathan’s eyes narrowed to a slit in a vicious manner. A few seconds later, he slapped Amanda in the face.
Caressing her swollen cheek, Amanda stuttered with her eyes widened in disbelief, “H-How dare you slap me in the face? Have you any idea who my husband is?”
“You know what? I don’t really care! If you fail to return the watch within a minute, even if Kingstone’s your husband, there’s nothing much he can do to turn the tables around, let alone save you!”
