Chapter 35 Making Use Of Him
“What are you talking about? Did I mention anything of that sort? Why don’t I remember saying that?” Margaret started playing dumb as she had said those words in fear of Jonathan dragging the family down. Since he was no longer the good-for-nothing son-in-law of the Smith family, there was no way she would allow him to sever ties with them.
“Mom—”
When Josephine was about to say something because she couldn’t take it anymore, Margaret yelled at her, “Shut up!”
A few seconds later, she carried on with the conversation and added, “Jonathan, weren’t you thinking of getting married to Josephine again? Just consider it done! You’re the son-in-law of the Smith family again from today onward!”
It was Jonathan’s turn to stop Margaret. He rebuked, “What sort of nonsense are you talking about when Josephine and I have never filed for divorce?”
Margaret couldn’t wait to take Jonathan home with them. Thus, she played along and said, “You’re right! It must be my memory messing with me again! Anyway, since you’re also a member of the Smith family, don’t you think it’s better to appoint someone from the family as the person in charge of the Blackwood family’s business?”
See! It turns out she’s up to no good again! She can’t even conceal her intention when we’re merely a few minutes into a conversation!
Instead of promising Margaret, Jonathan suggested, “Why don’t you approach Harrison and see if he’s willing to hand it over to you since he’s currently the person in charge of everything?”
Margaret wouldn’t stop cursing her son-in-law in her mind, but she did a great job keeping her emotions to herself. “Jonathan, stop joking around. It’s not like he would know who I am. Why don’t you approach him on our behalf since he’s your subordinate? He was kneeling in front of you earlier, wasn’t he?”
Since Josephine was insistent on believing he had a powerful and mysterious backer, he decided to add on to that misconception. He came up with something fun and announced, “Actually, that’s not the case; they kneeled to show respect to the one I’m affiliated with, not me! It was also his instructions to appoint Harrison as the person in charge. All I did was deliver the message on his behalf.”
Margaret commented with a scowl, “Huh? Are you telling me you’re nothing more than a dog for someone else?”
“Mom, can you be mindful of your choice of words?” Josephine grasped the hem of her mother’s shirt to stop her from ruining things.
Margaret snorted and ridiculed, “Stop getting in my way! I thought he had finally made it in life, but it turns out that’s not the case! He’s still doing someone else’s bidding without being compensated for his services!”
Josephine couldn’t stand it anymore. She tried defending Jonathan. “Mom, can you stop asking for the impossible? Hasn’t he resolved the conflict between the two families on our behalf?”
“So? You don’t think that’s some sort of merit worthy of being mentioned, do you? He passed everything to an outsider instead of prioritizing the family!”
Margaret was infuriated by the thought of gaining nothing when the mysterious figure had done them such a huge favor.
Connor was of the same idea as their daughter. He bellowed to defend his son-in-law, “It’s fine as long as the issue has been resolved!”
“You need to keep your mouth shut as well!”
A glare from Margaret was all it took to render Connor speechless.
Meanwhile, Jonathan chuckled as he had long foreseen things turning out as such immediately after he resolved the issue on the Smith family’s behalf. He was glad he had a countermeasure to stop the greedy bunch from trying anything.
“Jonathan, who’s the one backing you up? Can you introduce him to us?” Margaret asked with her head held high.
“Zachary Lint!”
Margaret arched her brows in confusion while her husband’s eyes widened in disbelief upon Jonathan’s announcement.
Connor wondered, “Are you serious?”
His son-in-law asked rhetorically, “Would I lie to you?”
The confused Margaret questioned, “Huh? Who’s this Zachary we’re talking about? Is he a big deal or something?”
“He’s the King of War! Kingstone, the governor of Jazona, has to show him some respect as well! If Jonathan is really on good terms with him, no one is going to pick on us as long as we’re in Jazona!” Connor answered with a quavering voice.
“If that’s the case, we’ll get Jonathan to introduce him to us.” Margaret came up with something else after a few seconds.
Jonathan’s merely a good-for-nothing. I’m sure he was just lucky to have gotten himself acquainted with that influential figure. As long as I get him to introduce this Zachary to us, I can then sever ties with him.
“Jonathan, did you hear me or not? No matter what, you need to introduce him to us! Otherwise, I won’t allow you to get married to Josephine!”
“Mom!” Josephine couldn’t stand the thought of her mother using Jonathan again.
“Shut up!” Margaret snapped at her daughter with a snort. Turning to Jonathan, she continued, “Jonathan, did you hear me or not?”
Jonathan replied nonchalantly, “I’ll give it a try.”
Truth be told, a call from him would send the man on the other end rushing to Jadeborough. However, he was irked by the thought of his mother-in-law using him like that.
“No! It’s a must! I’ll allow you to return home with us for the night!”
Since I need to leverage his relationship with Zachary, I need to please him for the time being. All it takes is to allow him to return home with us, right? I’ll allow that for the convenience of keeping an eye on him.
“Are you telling me you’re allowing me to return home with Josephine?” Jonathan couldn’t believe his ears since he had been chased out of the family just last night.
“What? Are you against the idea or something? If that’s the case, just forget about it!” Margaret started playing hard to get.
“No! I mean, I’d love to!”
Jonathan took a peek at Josephine and found he couldn’t bear to leave the woman he held dear in mind after being indebted to her for the things she did throughout the years.
“With that being said, you’re not allowed to join Josephine in her room! You’re spending the night on the couch!”
