Ch. 591..600

Chapter 591: Why Didn’t You Tell Me Earlier?

“Besides, it’s just my guess. I don’t have any proof at present.” She looked up into his eyes.

Before she said this statement, he had realized the things that she was going to say were very serious. He took her hand. She was so nervous that there was a fine layer of sweat in the palm of her hand.

“Say it,” he whispered. “Hazel, whatever you say, I believe you.”

“Fine…” She took a deep breath and calmed her pounding heart. She looked at Joshua and said gravely, “Joshua, Simon looks nothing like Ian Flores’s sister. On the contrary, he looks just like your mother! I suspect… he may share the same parents with you!”

“What do you mean?!” He looked at her in surprise. Even if he had said, he believed Hazel, what she said was too absurd.

“I don’t know why,” she said, her face looking troubled with a puzzle. “Your parents should have separated when Simon was born… And Ian Flores’s sister did give birth to Simon… But why did she give birth to a baby that looked nothing like her… Have I made a mistake… Joshua, do you want Simon and mom to take a DNA paternity test or something?”

He recovered from his shock. It did surprise him, but he was just surprised. Looking at Hazel, whose mind was a mess, he squeezed her hand hastily. “Hazel, don’t think so much. It’s very easy for us to get to the bottom of this.”

“How?” She looked up at him. Could there be other methods besides the DNA paternity test?

“If it’s just like you said,” he said, his eyes narrowing, “then someone must know the truth!”

He took out his phone and dialed a number.

The call was soon put through, and he asked directly, “Mr. King, is Simon, my mother’s child?”

Ted froze on the other end of the line. Joshua had never called him of his own accord, so Ted happily answered the phone. But it never occurred to him that Joshua actually called to ask him about this matter.

“How do you know that?” Ted asked in surprise.

Upon hearing this reply, Joshua felt only a surge of anger in his heart. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

He had thought that if Ted had really killed Simon’s mother, Ted would not have the face to talk about improving his relationship with Simon, so there must be something behind it. But Joshua had never thought the truth would be like this, and Ted had been keeping it from him!

Ted had no idea what was going on. He was in a bad mood because he had never expected Joshua to question him when Joshua called him of his own accord the first time.

“It’s you who asked me to accept Hazel in exchange for helping me improve my relationship with Simon,” Ted said impatiently with a sneer. “In this case, you should rely on your own strength to discover this fact. Why should I tell you this to help you?”

Joshua got angrier. If Ted were in front of him, he wouldn’t know what he’d do to Ted even if he knew Ted was his father!

“Very well!” Holding back his anger, Joshua said in a cold voice, “Because of your arrogance, tyranny, and stupidity, you are about to help kill your own son!”

“What do you mean?!” Ted’s heart missed a beat. At this point, how could he not tell that something was wrong?

“Your son is now in the hands of Ian Flores,” Joshua added with a touch of sarcasm. “I guess Ian Flores must have already known something. Mr. King, congratulations. You have made both of your sons wish they had nothing to do with you because of ‘rely on your own strength’!”

With that, Joshua hung up in a huff.

Hazel, still in a daze, asked in astonishment, “Do you mean… Ian Flores knows that now?”

“Mm.” His face was grim. “Ian Flores wants me dead. If he knew I was alive, how could he not come to me? Unless he already knows something, and he has someone he hates even more.”

He didn’t continue, but Hazel understood instantly.

It was indeed Ian Flores’s sister who gave birth to Simon, which couldn’t be false. But she gave birth to the baby, whose birth parents were another woman and Ted, and Ian had been taking care of this baby for years and had done everything he could for Simon.

It was a truth that even Hazel couldn’t believe easily. How could Ian Flores possibly have no hatred? It was likely that Ian Flores had already felt he was duped and blamed all this on Simon.

So instead of killing Joshua, he sent the man of scar to come to Simon and tricked Simon into leaving.

Hazel’s heart leaped. If so, Simon was in danger!

All Ian Flores wanted now was to get even with Simon, but now Simon still considered Ian as his own uncle!

“Joshua,” Hazel hurried to say, “we have to find Simon quickly!”

“I have sent men to follow him. Don’t worry. I’ll save him,” Joshua said in a deep tone. Even if Joshua didn’t know Simon was his brother who had the same mother as him, Joshua would also save Simon.

Joshua didn’t remember the past, so whatever he did now, he went with his first instinct. Joshua repelled Simon, but he did not dislike Simon. Even his heart felt Simon was close and trusted Simon. Joshua believed Simon felt the same way about him. This time around, of course, Joshua couldn’t leave Simon alone.

“I’ll go with you.” Seeing that Joshua was going to leave, she hurried to follow him.

“Hazel, stop that now,” he said helplessly.

“I won’t make trouble,” she said earnestly. “Joshua, when you go to rescue Simon, you’ll definitely bring a lot of men, won’t you? Aren’t you afraid Ian Flores’s men will suddenly come to me after you leave? After all, if he catches me, he can use me to threaten you!”

He frowned slightly. He believed that if Ian Flores really knew something, Ian would be in a state of half madness right now, and Ian wouldn’t be able to come up with the idea of distracting Joshua to kidnap Hazel again.

Before he could say anything, Hazel continued, “So, the safest place for me is next to you! If you’re really worried about me, you should take me with you all the time!”

 

Chapter 592: I Am Not That Fragile

He was helpless. He really didn’t want Hazel to keep running everywhere with him.

But… he was convinced.

Indeed, wasn’t it the safest for her to be with him? With Hazel around, at least he didn’t have to worry about her. Even if they did encounter any situation, he could protect her in time.

It was just…

Joshua’s eyes fell on her slightly prominent belly with a flash of worry.

“Is that okay for you?” he asked in a low voice.

“I am pregnant, but I am not disabled! Even pregnant women also need to exercise, okay?” she said crossly. “I’m not that fragile, okay?! Besides, when this is all over, you must read some books on pregnancy!”

There was a flash of helplessness in his face, and he gave her a little angry tap on the forehead. “Don’t speak like that. Why do you curse yourself?”

“Isn’t it because you pissed me off…” She murmured, feeling wounded.

He rubbed her hair helplessly. Then, the next moment, he took her hand directly, “Let’s go.”

“Mmm,” she said loudly and hurried to keep up with him.

As Simon’s car rushed out, Joshua had arranged for someone to follow him.

But it didn’t take long for Simon and the man with the scar to get rid of Joshua’s men. However, Joshua had installed a GPS tracker in the car in advance. Unfortunately, when his men approached the car, they found that it was parked in a corner, and the man with the scar and Simon had disappeared. The latter had obviously gotten into another car.

At this point, all the clues were broken, and Simon was completely missing. They had to search for the places where Ian Flores might be hiding, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Ted seemed to know what was going on here. He called several times, but without hesitation, Joshua hung up. Joshua did not like his father at all.

Had it not been for Ted’s self-righteousness, it would have been easier for them to catch Ian Flores, and they wouldn’t have lost Simon.

“Haven’t you found him yet?” Hazel asked.

“No,” said Joshua with a grave expression.

Both of them looked pale.

If Ian wanted something, he would call them and make an offer. If so, they could at least be sure Simon was safe. But… Ian didn’t contact them at all, which meant he wanted Simon dead!

The longer they waited, the more dangerous Simon would be!

“By the way,” she said, frowning, “I suddenly think of something. When the man with the scar came, he gave Simon a pocket watch. Simon said the pocket watch was given to the nurse who looked after Ian Flores’s sister, who was in the hospital. Do you think Ian Flores’s hiding place has anything to do with this nurse?”

Joshua’s eyelids twitched. It was quite possible.

He didn’t know when Ian began to suspect it, but when he did, Ian would certainly look for the truth. The nurse must know something.

If Ian could find the pocket watch, he could naturally find the nurse. If his investigation had started with the nurse, Ian might have found out something.

“I’ll have it looked into…” Before he could finish the sentence, his phone rang. He hung up without looking.

“Is it still his call?” she asked with a sigh. But, of course, she meant Ted.

“Yes.” His mouth tightened into a thin line. At the mention of Ted, his heart was filled with uncontrollable anger.

“Perhaps he knows something?” she said, “Why don’t you just call and ask him?”

He frowned unhappily, but he wouldn’t miss any chance to save Simon’s life.

“Good.” He nodded and called Ted.

Ted was very surprised. When he answered the phone, Ted asked with concern instantly, “Joshua, Simon…”

“You’d better pray we will find him soon,” Joshua interrupted impatiently. “Now, tell me everything that you know.”

Joshua’s attitude had never been worse. He had no respect for Ted, his father. Ted’s heart was bitter somehow, but he also knew that it was not the time for him to care about these things.

He told Joshua some places where Ian Flores perhaps was. After hearing that Ian Flores might have found the nurse, Ted told Joshua about the hospital where the nurse was now.

“Go to the hospital.” After analyzing several possible locations, Joshua did not hesitate and took a few subordinates to head for the hospital where the nurse was.

It all started at the hospital. Ian’s sister died in the hospital where Simon was born. Hence, the only place Ian Flores was most likely to go was only a hospital.

It was just that Ian’s sister was abroad during pregnancy under the protection of the Flores family. Now almost the whole Flores family had been cleaned up by Simon. Even if Ian had caught Simon, it would be too difficult for Ian to take him abroad. Hence, for Ian, as long as he could get together with the people that year and put an end to the incident in other hospitals, then he could also make do with it.

Lots of cars roared all the way to the hospital.

Joshua’s guess was correct. However, Ian Flores did bring Simon to the hospital.

In an empty, deserted ward of the hospital, Simon was hung by a chain. His whole body was covered with whipping wounds. The wounds were so deep that the blood had already stained his clothes.

The mask on his face was long gone, and his fragile face was now covered with cuts.

But even though he was badly hurt, Simon kept laughing as if the injured person wasn’t him at all. “Uncle, haven’t you had enough of kidding?”

“I said I wasn’t your uncle!” Ian flew into a rage. He raised Simon’s chin angrily and squeezed his face hard. “Simon King, you little bastard, why do you have such a face? Why?!”

Simon’s face was so similar to Stacy Sloane’s.

But because Simon had been wearing a mask, even as his uncle, Ian Flores, didn’t pay much attention to Simon’s appearance. He only vaguely remembered Simon looked more like Ted.

Until he caught Stacy Sloane.

Ian Flores’s memories all came out. However, it was until then did he find that his sister’s son didn’t look anything like anyone of the Flores family but looked more like Stacy!

How was that possible?

Ian had doubted it, but he thought it was too absurd!

Chapter 593: Aren’t You Thoughtless This Time?

Ian wasn’t with his sister, but she was indeed pregnant and gave birth to a baby.

He could guarantee that the child had by no means been replaced, so over the years, although he knew that Ted nearly destroyed the Flores family and killed his sister, Ian chose to endure the humiliation and help Simon to the best of his ability. He did everything for Simon!

But in the end, reality told him that his sister was just a surrogate mother to Ted’s baby, who had nothing to do with the Flores family! Everything he had done was just a joke, and he had totally been tricked by Ted!

Ian’s heart was filled with hatred. All his hatred was directed at Simon. Just as he cared about Simon very much before, he hated Simon very much now! That was why, after Ian caught Simon, Ian tortured Simon in every way!

“It’s not up to me what kind of face I can own,” Simon said with a chuckle as if the torture had caused him no pain.

“Shut up!” Ian slapped him in the face.

Simon continued smiling with a casual air. “Even if I shut up, you would unnecessarily calm down. Also, uncle, it’s enough. You’ve been holding me for so long, aren’t you afraid someone will find me here?

“Simon, who are you expecting to save you?” Ian snorted and looked at him sarcastically. “Ted King? I know he’s still alive, but I’m afraid he’s hiding abroad like a rat now. Even if he tries to save you, do you think he can reach here in time? Or do you expect Joshua to save you? You covet his woman, and he is dying to see you die! So how could he possibly come to save you?!”

Simon’s eyes became deep as he listened to these words. He breathed out a slow breath, but there was a touch of sadness in his eyes. “Uncle, you didn’t look down on any of your enemies as you do today. Neither Ted nor Joshua is as stupid as you think. If you keep going on like this, they’ll come here sooner or later….”

“Simon, are you really dreaming of them coming here to save you?” Ian gave out a sneer and then said, with a ferocious look, “You’re just a substitute! They don’t care about you at all! You are nothing!”

Looking at Ian, who was almost maniacal, Simon’s eyes flashed with pity. Simon wasn’t expecting others to save him; he was just reminding Ian. Perhaps, in his heart of hearts, he didn’t want anything bad to happen to Ian. But now Ian just wanted to die with him.

“Simon King! I want you dead!” Ian picked up the whip frantically and kept hitting Simon on the body.

Simon gritted his teeth, unwilling to let out a cry of pain. His smile was bitter. How could he care about Ian now? Simon wasn’t sure if anyone would come to save him. Whether or not something would happen to Ian, Simon didn’t seem to be able to survive long. His only concern should be himself.

The pain from his body made Simon close his eyes wearily. Suddenly, the closed door was kicked open, and a group of people rushed in!

Simon managed to open his eyes. The blurred scene in front of him gradually became clear. Joshua and Hazel walked in hastily.

They did come to save him quickly… There was something indescribable in Simon’s heart. He didn’t think… they would come.

“Don’t come, stand still!” Then, seeing him himself become an easy target to Joshua, Ian picked up a dagger and put it against Simon’s neck, panic-stricken.

When Joshua saw Simon’s bloody body, his pupils shrank suddenly. He held Hazel in his arms the next moment, not wanting her to see the gory Simon.

Hazel held his hand tightly and obediently leaned into his arms. She believed that, with Simon’s pride, Simon would not allow others to see his miserable look.

“You’re actually so late?” Ignoring the dagger round his neck, Simon looked at them with a rare smile. This time his smile was genuine. He whispered, “Aren’t you thoughtless this time?”

“Yes…” Joshua whispered. Simon’s appearance made Joshua unwilling to argue with him. Although it was because Ted kept such important information from him, it was also because Joshua misjudged the situation that Ian succeeded.

“You owe me one, so promise me one thing,” Simon whispered.

“What is it?” Joshua asked in a deep voice.

“Shut up!” Ian increased his grip on the dagger as he said, flustered, “Joshua Denmark! I’m the one who wants to negotiate with you!”

“Shh,” Simon said with the kind of levity he was used to showing in the presence of Ian. He chuckled. “How can I help you if I shut up?”

“What do you mean?” Ian looked at him blankly, wondering if he had heard him wrong.

“Let him go,” Simon looked at Joshua, “and you mustn’t chase him.”

The room was silent. Even Hazel in Joshua’ arms wondered if she had heard him wrong, not to mention Ian.

“Are you sure?” Joshua looked at Simon with deep eyes. He did not ask why, but at this very moment, he guessed something.

“Yes.” Simon opened his mouth quietly.

“… okay,” Joshua agreed.

Ian was dazed and incredulous. He tricked Simon into coming to kill Simon, but Simon chose to save him in the end.

“You…” He looked at Simon with astonishment.

“You go,” Simon said, giving him a complicated look. “I won’t owe you anything, and I won’t go easy on you anymore.”

Ian looked at Simon, his expression momentarily relaxed. When he caught Simon, Ian did not intend to live and was even ready to die. But, having said that, now that he had a trace of hope to live, of course, he was not willing to give up!

In the blink of an eye, Ian dropped the dagger and sprinted to the door.

Joshua also kept his promise and did not order his subordinates to chase Ian. He asked two guards to let Simon down first. At this time, Simon finally couldn’t stand it and fainted directly.

He was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Luckily, his injuries looked like they were terrifying, but since Ian Flores just tried to torture him, Simon didn’t have a life-threatening wound. It was just that there were so many injuries on his body that it was difficult to deal with them.

After coming out of the emergency room, Simon was transferred to a regular ward. Unfortunately, he was still asleep when Joshua and Hazel came to see him.

“You’ve seen him, and you’re relieved. Can you go home now?” “Joshua whispered helplessly.

 

Chapter 594: Don’t You Know How Badly You Are Injured?

“You were more worried than I am.” She looked at him speechless.

She knew Joshua, so she could see his worry and guilt for Simon. She clearly felt Joshua was relieved when he heard the doctor say Simon was all right.

Hazel’s heart was warm. She suddenly felt how great it was.

Now Joshua found his biological parents and a younger brother who had a relatively good relationship with him.

“I wasn’t,” said Joshua awkwardly.

Hazel chuckled. She didn’t want to argue with him over this issue. All of a sudden, she frowned and asked with a puzzle, “How did your father do it?”

The facts were clear now, but the story was so absurd that Ian had never suspected it before.

“Ted never had sex with Elise Flores, Ian Flores’s sister,” Joshua explained. “At that time, Elise Flores used the influence of the Flores family to drive a wedge between Ted’s father and my mom, so Ted’s father took advantage of Ted’s absence and drove my mom out of the organization and took me away who was still a baby in the name of Ted.

“Afterwards, my mom and I went missing. After Ted found out the truth, he didn’t do anything. Later, the organization forced him to produce offspring. Many women were willing to get pregnant with Ted’s kids, and Elise Flores was one of them. Ted chose her, but privately negotiated with her, saying that he would not marry her, nor make love with her, and would only make her get pregnant through in-vitro fertilization.”

Hazel understood suddenly. If so, everything made sense. She guessed. “So Ted changed the egg Elise Flores had provided?”

“Mm.” Joshua nodded. “My mom almost had an accident while giving birth to me, so Ted took her to have her eggs frozen. He had planned to ask a surrogate mother for help even if they wanted kids. He didn’t want her to suffer anymore. It so happened that Elise Flores came to him of her own accord, so he changed eggs.

“For Ted, this is the best way to take vengeance on the Flores family. After Elise gave birth to Simon, he told her the truth, and she couldn’t stand the shock and died immediately.

“As for the Flores family who had helped Elise, Ted didn’t let them go either. Only Ian didn’t know about his sister’s actions, and he was on an important mission. That was why Ted spared his life. Later on, Ian had been treating Simon as his own son, so Ted didn’t kill him because Ted thought Simon needed a loyal helper.”

That was what Ted told Joshua. Since Hazel wanted to know about the whole story, Joshua didn’t want to keep it from her. His eyes swept lightly over the bed, and he actually guessed another intention of her.

After hearing this, Hazel was filled with mixed emotions.

Elise had such an ending; it could only be said she asked for it herself. Stacy and Joshua wouldn’t have suffered so much if Elise hadn’t driven a wedge.

Besides, if she hadn’t held on to the idea that if she could give birth to Ted’s baby, she would definitely win Ted’s heart over, she wouldn’t have been used by Ted.

It was just that Simon was too pitiful. He was innocent from beginning to end. He didn’t even have the right to choose for himself. He was born by Elise and had always been indebted to and even brainwashed by Ian. But all of a sudden, Simon was told that his enemies were his family, while his family was his enemies. It was likely no one could accept this kind of thing.

Hazel sighed. “I just hope Simon won’t have too much pressure or dislike you…”

Joshua raised his eyebrows slightly, and he spoke awkwardly. “We have been on bad terms, to begin with….”

“Haven’t you been on good terms, to begin with?” Hazel interrupted with a smile. Joshua worked with Simon for other reasons before he lost his memory, but they were able to work together, at least because they accepted each other in some way. Additionally, Hazel could feel they appreciated each other.

Now, although Joshua could not remember, she could see that he really cared about Simon as a family member.

“No.” Joshua continued speaking uncomfortably.

“Really?” Hazel teased him with a smile.

“It’s so noisy.” Simon opened his eyes helplessly in the hospital bed.

In fact, he was already awake when they came in. He just didn’t know how to face them.

After all, he had a grudge against Joshua. However, Joshua suddenly became his brother, who shared the same parents with him. Thinking that he would have to address Joshua “brother,” Simon could not help feeling that he had better pretend to be asleep himself.

He also knew Hazel and Joshua should have guessed he was pretending to sleep. Hazel asked Joshua in the ward on purpose so that Simon could listen and know about the whole story.

But it was not because of this that he was determined to wake up. It was because he couldn’t stand Joshua and Hazel’s public display of affection in his ward.

“Are you awake?” Hazel looked at Simon in the bed in surprise. In fact, she thought he would pretend to be asleep to the end.

“Wait…” Simon struggled to sit up in bed. He could not help feeling his own face, which was covered with seriousness.

He froze for half a second, and then he shouted angrily, “Mirror!”

Hazel gave him a sympathetic look. While she was hesitant whether she should give him a mirror, Joshua handed Simon a small mirror in the ward.

“Joshua…” She tugged at Joshua’s sleeve, worried.

“Don’t worry.” Joshua patted her hand lightly. If Simon was a man who would break his heart for his looks, then he really didn’t deserve to be his brother.

Simon took the mirror. Looking at the figure being wrapped up tightly like a mummy inside, he roared despite himself, “Who the fuck wrapped me up like that!! I’m not a fucking woman. I don’t need plastic surgery. Take it away!”

“…” Hazel was speechless. It turned out Simon just misunderstood that the hospital was going to give him plastic surgery, so he got angry. Well, she had thought too much. After all, Simon had such a fascinating face, but he could wear a mask all day without any psychological burden to hide his own beauty. How could he be sad because of the few scars on his face?

Watching Simon press the bedside bell to call the doctor in to remove his bandages, Hazel finally couldn’t stand it.

“Can’t you behave yourself?” she asked in exasperation. “Don’t you know how badly you are injured? The doctor put bandages on your face because of the wound!”

Chapter 595: Don’t Bully Him

“What do you think they are used for? For the chin implant? For shaving bones?” Seeing that he could even make trouble in the hospital, she said crossly. “Or breast implant?”

In an instant, he quieted down. However, he felt a little embarrassed to be scolded by her like that. He looked helplessly at Joshua. “Why don’t you control her?”

“Your sister-in-law is right,” Joshua said, initiating a wife-protecting mode. “That’s the majesty a sister-in-law should have, and she can treat you like a son.”

Simon was even more depressed. He was a patient, OK? It was already very inhumane for Joshua and Hazel to keep trying to give him their public display of affection when he was injured. However, Joshua actually wanted Hazel to act as his mother?

Simon snorted in a fit of pique and directly closed his eyes.

“When are you going to Country M?” Joshua asked peacefully.

“I’m not going!” said Simon irritably. Even now, his feelings for Ted remained the same. He still hated Ted very much.

Only his mom changed, while Ted was still his dad. The only difference was that Simon used to think that Ted wanted to see Joshua through Simon’s face, but now it seemed that Ted saw Stacy through it. But even so, the fact that Ted had ignored Simon was still a thorn in Simon’s heart.

“Mom is there, too.” Joshua opened his mouth quietly.

Simon’s body suddenly stiffened.

It wasn’t that hard for him to accept the sudden change of mother.

He always thought Elise Flores was his mother, but when he was born, she died. They certainly could not have had a strong mother-son bond.

As for Stacy… Simon’s eyelids drooped sadly. He didn’t really have feelings for her, but Stacy was his biological mother. Besides, over the last few months, Simon had learned from Hazel how miserable Stacy had been over the years.

How could he feel nothing knowing that his own mother had suffered so much? But… he didn’t want Ted to think he admitted his mistake.

“I’m still hurt,” Simon said awkwardly.

“Go when you get better,” Hazel said.

“Who said I was going?” Simon was very helpless. “Hazel Crowe, even if you’re my sister-in-law, you can’t push your luck!”

She couldn’t resist rolling her eyes at him. Are they both so reserved? Obviously, Simon almost wrote the thought that he wanted to see Stacy on his face, but he kept saying he would not go.

“You made it more difficult for your brother and me to be together. Shouldn’t you deal with it?” Hazel said with majesty as a sister-in-law.

“What have I done?” Simon looked at her in wonder.

“If you hadn’t pestered me, your dad wouldn’t have misunderstood me. Now he’s trying to separate me from your brother. It’s you who bring trouble, so of course, you should handle it,” she said unhappily.

Whenever she thought of this, she couldn’t help but want to settle a score with Simon. If he hadn’t brought so much trouble, it wouldn’t have been so difficult for her and Joshua to live a peaceful life.

“You actually blame it on me…” Simon was a little unhappy. “As a matter of fact, don’t you think it’s the old man who made so much trouble? Would I have been so hostile toward my brother if it hadn’t been for the old man who never explained the fact?”

After that, Simon felt somewhat uncomfortable. Although he approved of Joshua from the bottom of his heart, he had never called Joshua ‘brother’ in front of the latter. Having said that, he actually said it fluently just now.

He wasn’t alone. Even Joshua looked uncomfortably out of the window. Although Joshua had been telling Simon Hazel was his sister-in-law, it was mostly because Joshua was jealous.

Hazel looked at them, speechless. That’s really enough! How can they be so reserved and refuse to face their true feelings!

“I’m very worried,” Hazel said gravely.

“Worried about what?” Joshua asked with concern.

“It won’t be good for our son to be like you,” she said with a serious face. “Your family should have a gene of being reserved and refusing to face the true feelings in the heart. I’m afraid that our son will become a tsundere. Then if he meets a girl he likes, how much would he suffer?”

“How is that possible?” Joshua couldn’t help but smile. “Haven’t I won your heart?”

“It’s not that!” She shook her head.

The more they discussed it, the surer Hazel became.

Joshua was able to win her heart before because he had been taught by the Denmark family, and he had hidden the personality of being tsundere! Even so, when he chased her, he always set a trap to make her walk to him step by step.

He made something obviously simple, so complicated. Wasn’t it because he was too reserved?

Moreover, after he lost his memory, when he saw her, it was clear that he had feelings for her, but what did he do?

He directly kidnapped her!

Was this a way to show his love to a girl he liked? This was clearly something that only a tsundere would do!

If Hazel hadn’t been so passionately in love with him and hadn’t misunderstood him and instead, she had kidnapped him, she wouldn’t know how many detours they would have to take.

“Why not?” Joshua smiled. “Do you mean it’s you who chased after me?”

“You…” Hazel was desperate to bite him.

“That’s enough for you two!” Simon turned livid with anger. It was a pity that his whole face had been all wrapped up, and no one could see his expression now. Simon, who was now really pissed off, shouted, “I’m a patient, patient! Do you still have a public spirit? How can you keep giving me a public display of affection?”

“You’re so energetic. It seems you can get better quickly.” Joshua rarely made a joke.

“Don’t need your care!” Simon howled.

“Don’t bully him,” Hazel said, taking Joshua’s hands quickly. “He’s your younger brother. It would be best if you gave in to him. Buy him some gifts one day.”

“What kind of gifts?” Joshua’s mouth tilted upwards slightly at the corners. “Medicines to remove scars?”

“I don’t need it!” Simon gnashed his teeth. How did he have a brother who liked to bully him so much?

Hazel couldn’t help but laughing. “You two really have a great relationship.”

“Not at all!” They said simultaneously, looking away uncomfortably.

She dropped her forehead into her hand. She was increasingly worried. The tsundere trait would be passed on to their children.

“Alright, let’s get down to business!” She appeared in a little grave. She looked at Simon and said earnestly, “Simon, we really need you to go to Country M because we’ve made a deal with your father that he will not try to accept me as his daughter-in-law until we improve the relationship between both of you.”

Chapter 596: I’d Love To Beat You Up

Simon looked at them in shock.

Because of Hazel’s honesty, he guessed that Joshua and Hazel might have agreed to Ted’s condition, but he had never expected this would be the condition!

“Joshua, have you lost your mind?!” Simon snapped. “Do you really not know what kind of person the old man is? You shouldn’t have any illusions about it, should you? Do you think he’ll spoil you and make concessions because you’re his son? Stop daydreaming! I’m his son too! But what did he do to me?”

Simon used to think that it was because his mother wasn’t Ted’s favorite woman that Ted disliked him. Hence, after knowing the truth, Simon felt even more strongly that Ted had done a bad job as a father.

“I’m telling you, the old man is despotic, domineering, cunning, and cruel. He has never changed his mind!” Simon shouted with a furious face. “He doesn’t like Hazel that much. How can he possibly accept her?

“It’s clear that he said that to deceive you and appease you! Both of you actually believe his statement! I warn you he’ll try to break you up while you are off guard!”

Hazel was shocked by his reaction.

She could also sense Ted’s ruthlessness from Joshua’s narration. Although Elise Flores got what she deserved, Ted must be very hard-hearted as he killed her without hesitation after she gave birth.

Simon had been with him for so many years, but their relationship had been so bad. Of course, it could not be because of Simon’s fault alone, so Simon’s words were certainly credible.

Hazel looked at Joshua and found that he was not surprised.

“You heard him. He was right,” Joshua said slowly. “Hazel, do you still insist?”

Simon looked at Hazel in amazement and couldn’t help speaking, “I thought it was Joshua, but it’s, in fact, you who lost your mind? Hazel, you’re always smart. Why are you suddenly so merciful?”

Ignoring Simon’s sarcastic concern, Hazel replied after thinking for a while, “I insist.”

“Are you mad?!” Simon was shocked.

“You still have wounds in your face. Can’t you keep quiet?” she said crossly.

Simon snorted but said nothing more.

Joshua’s eyes turned deep. He suddenly opened his mouth as if he had thought of something. “Hazel, if you want to do this because of me, don’t do that.”

Hazel slowly shook her head. “Joshua, I’m not that kind of little, naive girl anymore. And I’m sure you’re right to be wary of him. He might just be the kind of person you think. But we should at least try.”

Joshua had parents as well as a younger brother now. Besides, his father cared about him. Hazel really hoped Joshua could have a complete life. In the past, Joshua had no other family members but her. She was very happy to be with him, but she sometimes felt a little sorry for him.

She wanted Joshua to own more, so she should at least try to win it for him when he had a chance to own as much intimate relationship as possible.

“How can you say you’re not naïve?” Simon taunted, “Do you really think you’ll have a happy ending if you go to stay with Ted? I’m telling you, it’s impossible! In the end… he’ll force you to break up, and you’ll be very miserable and helpless!”

Joshua gave him a cold look. Simon muttered guiltily. “Why are you looking at me? I’ve put it mildly, okay?”

“His words are unpleasant,” Joshua said earnestly, with a deep look, “but he speaks the truth. Hazel, it isn’t great for you to go to Country M. If Ted had the chance to kill you, I’m sure he would grasp the opportunity.”

Joshua wasn’t intimidating her because he knew Ted too well.

“I know what you’re worried about,” Hazel remained calm, “but at least he won’t do anything to me now.”

She was now pregnant with Joshua’ child. For the sake of the kids, at least Ted wouldn’t kill her directly.

“What can you do after the baby is born?” Simon sneered.

“So we need a deadline if we go to Country M,” Hazel said with a serious expression. “This deadline will give us a chance to try and give him a chance. If it turns out you can’t have a good father-son bond, we won’t force it.”

Joshua frowned and said quietly, “Do you mean we’ll be back before you give birth?”

“Yes.” She thought for a moment and said,” The baby is five months old now. Three months…”

“Two months,” he interrupted calmly. “Simon needs at least a month to recover. We must take him to Country M with us.”

Hazel nodded. “Yeah, we won’t go until he gets better. Two months.”

Simon had intended to protest, but it was because Hazel and Joshua were worried about his injury that they decided to stay an extra month; this made him too embarrassed to refuse.

“So, you agree?” Hazel’s eyes twinkled with joy as she thought of something.

“Can I disagree?” Joshua sighed and gently rubbed her hair.

Simon rolled his eyes at them despite himself. He said impatiently. “Come on, don’t show me your public display of affection! I, anyway, can’t entirely agree. You can go now!”

Hazel was a little anxious and wanted to scold him, but Joshua stopped her. “Hazel, wait outside for me while I convince him.”

After looking at him and then at Simon, she finally whispered, “He’s sick. Try to persuade him in a civilized way.”

“Got it.” He chuckled.

She walked out, leaving only Simon and Joshua in the ward.

Thinking of Hazel’s words, Simon was more or less a little afraid. Joshua… wasn’t really trying to force him to agree in some kind of crude way, was he?

As Joshua walked step by step in his direction, Simon shrank back guiltily. “Don’t, don’t come! I’m telling you, even if you are my elder brother, I will not give in no matter how you torture me!”

Standing in front of the bed, Joshua looked down at him.

“I’d love to beat you up, but not now,” he said lightly. “When you get better, I’ll settle scores with you slowly for you abducted Hazel.

“… Wasn’t it because I lost my head at that time?” Simon was speechless. “Alright, I really don’t want to defend myself for the fact that I abducted her. But then again, are you really going to take her to Country M?”

Chapter 597: Are You The Butler?

There was sharpness and scrutiny in Simon’s eyes.

“Yes,” Joshua replied as he nodded. “No matter what Hazel wants to do, I’ll be there for her.”

“Don’t you know how dangerous it will be to go to Country M?” Simon was a little helpless, “I think you really spoiled her!”

“I know,” Joshua said, looking at Simon with deep eyes. “Hence, we have to be well prepared so he can’t do anything to Hazel.”

“How could the old man…” Simon suddenly understood and said in surprise, “Wait, do you mean we prevent him from….”

Simon mused. With Ted’s egotism, Ted never changed his mind if he had decided to do something. But Joshua’s meaning was that they could make Ted completely unable to hurt Hazel.

Sure enough, Simon was right about Joshua.

On the surface, Joshua agreed to take Hazel to Country M to get Ted’s acceptance, but what Joshua really wanted was to force Ted to accept Hazel.

If so, Simon didn’t want to miss this wonderful drama.

“Yes.” Joshua’s eyes were deep.

“I’m somewhat interested in the suggestion.” Simon had a wicked glint in his eye. “I’m willing to work with you on anything that makes the old man feel bad. However, we haven’t found out exactly how capable he is. Time is too tight for us to prepare much, I’m afraid…”

“One month is enough,” Joshua said in a deep tone.

“So, in fact, it isn’t because of my wounds that you want to ask him for an extra month?” Simon pretended he was angry.

“Do you think you can’t recover in Country M?” A sarcastic smile played on his lips. “I’m sure the old man you hate would love to be a good father for you at a time like this.”

Imagining the scene, Simon couldn’t resist shuddering.

“A month is a bit tight.” Simon thought hard before he said. Their opponent was Ted King. After fighting him once, Simon dared not to be overweening.

“It’s enough.” There was more sarcasm on Joshua’s face. “With one month’s preparation time and two months’ buffer period, if we can’t get rid of a tiger without teeth in three months, how can you be qualified for taking over the organization? How can I be qualified to take charge of Denmark Group? We might as well surround him obediently and behave like a good baby!”

Irritated by these words, Simon gritted his teeth. “You’re right. If we can’t even defeat the old man this time, we might as well go back to being a baby needing breast milk!”

“So we’re on the same page?” asked Joshua lightly.

“… Nonsense!” Simon was helpless. Didn’t he want to refuse? How was he convinced by a few words of Joshua, who was crafty? It looked as if Joshua had lost his memory, but he was as cunning as ever!

“By the way….” Joshua hesitated for a moment before finally saying, “You shouldn’t have let Ian Flores go.”

“I know,” Simon said with a bitter smile, “but I don’t want to owe him.”

He knew that even if he let Flores go this time, Ian Flores wouldn’t feel grateful and would retaliate whenever Ian got the chance. It was just that Ian really treated Simon wholeheartedly, so Simon let him go as a way of paying him back.

“In the future…” Joshua’s eyes went deep.

“If he comes to me again, I won’t go easy on him,” Simon said, his eyes cooling. “I don’t owe him anything now.”

Joshua’s eyes became deeper. “I’ll catch him.”

Joshua was well aware that Simon might still relent if he faced Ian Flores again despite Simon’s words. If it were Joshua who caught Ian Flores, Simon wouldn’t have to be torn.

Simon looked at Simon with a complicated expression. He was really not quite used to Joshua’s kindness to him…

“Have a good rest, I’m leaving,” Joshua spoke quietly.

“Wait!” Watching him leave, Simon seemed to want to say something, but he paused. After quite a while, Simon finally said in a deep tone, “We must win this time!”

“Of course,” Joshua replied calmly.

***

Hearing Simon wanted to rest for a month in Country Z, Ted disagreed.

But it was the cunning Joshua who Ted faced. Obeying Joshua, Simon repeatedly complained over the phone about how badly he was hurt and how heartbroken he was because he had been kept in the dark, which made Ted feel somewhat guilty and finally agree that they could come back to Country M in a month.

During this month, Simon recovered from his injury very quickly, but unfortunately, he still failed to catch Ian Flores. Ian must have been waiting quietly for the best opportunity.

Hazel was busy handing over the work in the Denmark Group to Jaxson. Both she and Joshua were reassured to ask Jaxson to take charge of the Denmark Group. In addition, because Joshua emerged after several months’ disappearance, the directors would not dare to do anything bad even if Hazel and Joshua left for two months at present.

Hazel also tried to help Joshua get his memory back, but it didn’t go well. Joshua tried harder than she did to remember the past, but the doctors told them bluntly that getting memory back could only depend on chance.

Maybe Joshua could remember everything tomorrow, maybe he would never remember anything, or maybe he would remember something because of stimulation.

Since even the doctors said that, of course, Hazel didn’t want to push Joshua too hard.

A month later, Joshua took Hazel and Simon to a plane to Country M.

It was morning in Country M when the plane arrived at the manor.

When Hazel got off the plane, she felt dizzy. However, she did not expect that the plane would land directly on the manor.

“Master Joshua, Master Simon,” the butler came up to Joshua and Simon before greeting them politely, but his eyes appeared a little contemptuous as they fell on Hazel.

After pausing for a while, he said, “Miss Crowe. This way, please.”

He pointed sideways at the car ahead.

“Are you the butler? Come here.” Simon smiled wickedly.

The butler was slightly shocked. Though he was puzzled, he still walked to Simon.

Simon suddenly lifted his leg and kicked him, forcing him to take a few steps backward.

“My elder brother and my sister-in-law are good-natured, but do you want to bully them because of that?” Simon opened his mouth with a sneer. “They are generous, but I’ve always been petty! Miss Crowe? Didn’t your master tell you that you should call her Mrs. King?”

 

Chapter 598: She Was Left Speechless

The butler put his hand on the chest, which was kicked, his heart full of helplessness.

It was because of Ted’s order that he looked down upon Hazel and called her Miss Crowe.

He even wanted to say something sarcastic in front of Hazel deliberately. That, of course, was what Ted asked him to do. The butler thought that even if he went too far, Hazel would have to put up with it in order to stay with their Master Joshua. Even if Master Joshua weren’t happy, Hazel would be there to persuade Joshua.

However, before Joshua and Hazel could respond, Simon was pissed off.

The butler had heard the rumor about Simon before. It was said that their second young master was quite headstrong and never sensible, and even their master could do nothing to him. When the butler met Simon, the butler had no choice but to accept his bad luck.

Having said that, didn’t the master say Master Joshua and Master Simon had a bad relationship? How could the butler not find it at all?

“I’m sorry, Master Simon.” The butler bowed her head.

Simon gave a sneer. The butler was really crafty. He apologized, but he had no intention of changing the address.

He stepped forward and was about to teach the butler a lesson again when Joshua stopped him.

“Forget it,” said Joshua, looking coldly at the butler and opening his mouth indifferently. “If you kill a man like him, he won’t change his mind either. Besides, you scared Hazel.”

That last sentence was true. Hazel had just stepped off the plane, and she hadn’t come to her senses, so she didn’t notice the butler’s improper treatment. Instead, she was startled by Simon’s sudden kick.

But she knew that she was not welcome here. The butler was just the beginning.

“So we just let him go like that?” Simon sneered.

“Since he won’t change his address,” said Joshua, his eyes a little cold, “there’s no need for him to open his mouth again.”

Hazel tugged at his sleeve with resignation. She had not expected there was a fight immediately after they reached the manor.

“Hazel,” Joshua said helplessly, “if you plead for him, he won’t thank you.”

“I know,” Hazel said quietly. “I just don’t want our kid to see this.”

Joshua’s face softened momentarily.

The next moment, he strode up to the butler and looked down at him.

“I know you won’t appreciate it, but you also need to know that I let you go because of Hazel,” he said in a deep tone. “But there will be punishments. You must keep quiet for three days. If I know you speak in secret, you’ll never be able to speak again!”

The butler’s body shuddered despite himself. Joshua’s words were no threat.

He also knew Joshua’s temper. Joshua seemed to be gentle and polite, but he never relented when anyone really tested his patience.

The butler nodded, showing that he knew.

Joshua gave him a nonchalant look and took Hazel to the car used to pick them up.

The car started slowly and took them to the main hall.

“I didn’t know the old man had such a large estate.” Simon asked. Although he had heard Joshua describe it before, he was very shocked when he saw it with his own eyes.

Simon chuckled, “If I ask the old man for the manor, will he give it to me?”

“He’ll probably leave it to you as a legacy.” There was a flash of sarcasm in Joshua’s eyes.

“That’s true,” Simon sneered. “The old man is stupid. He’s got so much good stuff in his hands, isn’t he obviously forcing me to kill him?”

Hazel looked out the window in shock. The manor was more like a fairy tale castle. But the conversation between Joshua and Simon left Hazel speechless.

“What are you two talking about?” She glared at Simon. “Don’t tell me, you’ve forgotten what you’re here for!”

“No, no, I’m just kidding.” Simon laughed.

He had no intention of letting Hazel know what they were really up to.

The car soon reached the front hall. Joshua helped Hazel open the car door and helped her walk out of the car.

Ted, sitting in the living room, could see everything they had been doing since they got off the plane, and of course, he could hear their conversation.

He certainly wasn’t in a good mood to hear his own son say he wanted to kill him. Unlike Hazel, Ted didn’t think this was just Simon’s joke.

What made him even angrier was the fact that Joshua had been so attentive to Hazel along the way, which made him hate her even more. What had this woman done to her two sons, making them so obedient to her?

Joshua held Hazel in his arms as they walked into the living room.

Hazel couldn’t help looking up. The decoration style here was a bit like that of a medieval castle. It seemed a little terrifying.

“Bumpkin…”

Suddenly, Hazel heard a low, dismissive voice. Hazel felt a bit helpless.

It was a servant standing at the door who said this. But it must be because of Ted’s approval that she was so bold. Ted really hated her very much, otherwise, he would not let so many people deliberately humiliate her again and again. He obviously wanted to deal her a head-on blow at the first encounter. Unfortunately, Ted’s plans were doomed to fail.

Joshua glanced at the servant indifferently and said coldly, “Slap your own face thirty times!”

The servant looked up in shock and looked at Joshua in disbelief. She just said a word to Hazel, but Joshua was actually so cruel that he asked her to slap herself in the face thirty times?

“Master Joshua, how could you be so cruel?” The servant’s eyes turned red. She lowered her head with a wounded expression. “Do you forget, when you lay on the sickbed and couldn’t move, it was me who took care of you all the time!”

Hazel felt uncomfortable, not because of what the servant said, but because Ted deliberately made the servant say these words, which disgusted and embarrassed Hazel.

She had expected that life would not be so smooth after her arrival at the manor, but she had not expected the situation to be so terrible. According to the current situation, it couldn’t be an exaggeration to say this was an extremely dangerous place!

“Do you mean, Mr. King is so poor and mean that he didn’t pay you?” Joshua spoke coldly.

“No, no, it isn’t! I have a good, high salary, and the master is generous…” said the servant, looking frightened.

“Since you have been paid, work is your duty. How can you ask me for affection?” Joshua spoke sarcastically.

Chapter 599: You Lose Your Cool

“I, I…” The servant was dumbfounded, unable to speak fluently.

“Why do you talk to her so patiently,” Simon grumbled. “Since she isn’t willing to do that by herself, I’ll do that! I’m not in the habit of not beating women!”

The servant took a few steps backward in terror. She had already guessed that the man who was itching to beat her up was Simon King. The butler had told her repeatedly that she must not offend Master Simon, who was headstrong.

If Simon slapped her face, it was likely that he wouldn’t show mercy! She didn’t offend him at all, but why did he actually hate her?

Ted had waited for the servants to make things difficult for Hazel, but the result turned out to be just the opposite of his wish! His two sons were extremely protective of Hazel!

Thinking of this, Ted’s face looked even paler as he strode toward them.

“What are you doing?” Ted snapped in a cold voice.

Hazel looked up. This was her first time meeting Ted.

He was more like Joshua than Simon in appearance, but he looked more mature and composed. There was a hint of toughness on his face that lacked Joshua’s tenderness.

Hazel knew at one glance that he was a tough man.

However, it was the woman behind Ted who surprised Hazel. That woman was none other than Madeline.

Meeting Madeline here made Hazel feel bad.

Presumably, it was Madeline who came up with the idea to embarrass Hazel. After all, a man like Ted might play tricks, but he wouldn’t come up with such a cheap trick.

Having said that, since Ted had acquiesced in it, it meant he could accept a woman like Madeline just to make things difficult for Hazel.

“You lose your cool.” Simon sneered. His voice wasn’t loud but was enough for Ted to hear.

Ted’s face darkened.

“Mr. King, your servant has no manners and can’t even do her duty well. Simon is willing to help you teach her a lesson, so you needn’t bother.” Joshua spoke quietly.

He knew that from the moment they set foot on the manor, Ted had been giving his people a tip to make things difficult for Hazel and thus teach Joshua and Simon a lesson.

So Joshua and Simon had to deal with it in the most drastic way. Even if Joshua fell out with Ted, Joshua had to make it clear to Ted that he would not back down when it came to Hazel!

Hazel would stay here for nearly two months. Anything could happen in two months. Only by playing could he keep Hazel safe and keep the butler and the servants from doing anything to Hazel!

Joshua’s attitude made Ted look paler.

“Uncle King,” Madeline, who had been following him, said softly, “Joshua and Simon have just come back. Don’t worry about such trifles.”

“Miss Carter, thank you for urging me,” Simon looked at Madeline with a half-smile. “Don’t worry, I will slap her face hard and fast to make you happy!”

“No, Simon, I’m not asking you to do it….” Madeline said quickly. She deliberately changed the subject in order to help the servant so that the servant would be thankful to her. But now, Simon said as if Madeline deliberately wanted the servant to get hurt. Wasn’t he making the servant hate her?

“So that’s it. You want to do it yourself so that you can vent your anger, can’t you?” Simon deliberately distorted her meaning.

“No, no…” Madeline’s face was very pale, and she hastened to deny it.

“Right. You have little strength. If you slap her face, you won’t be able to slap her face hard, and your behavior will save her instead of teaching her a lesson. You’re afraid she won’t learn a lesson, so you want me to slap her face. How could you possibly want to save someone who had made a mistake? Am I right?” Simon chuckled.

Madeline was unable to speak momentarily. She really didn’t expect Simon’s words to put her in a dilemma.

If she slapped, even if she used little strength, how could the servant possibly have no complaint? If she didn’t do it, Simon wouldn’t be lenient. Would the servant think Madeline had no intention of saving her at all?

She was still hesitating, but Simon gave her no chance to think about it and slapped the servant in the face directly. “I slap your face for Miss Carter. She won’t be happy until I slap your face.”

In an instant, Madeline despaired. The servant would definitely nurse a grievance now. The servant deliberately provoked Hazel just because Madeline drew the servant over to her side on purpose. It looked like what Madeline did before was a waste of time now.

The servant put her hands on the face in surprise. She didn’t expect Simon to really slap her face.

“Stop it!” Ted’s face hardened as he snapped.

Simon shook his hand and spoke with a slight hint of sarcasm. “Well, father, I’m trying to please your new sweetheart. Why aren’t you grateful? Don’t worry. I’ll handle it soon. You can leave with my brother and my sister-in-law first.”

“What are you talking about?!” Ted’s face turned even darker. How could Madeline possibly be his new sweetheart? It was clear that Simon was deliberately trying to disgust him.

“I’m swamped, my father. If you want to talk to me, let’s do it later.” Simon walked slowly up to the servant and was ready to slap her face again.

Noticing that even Ted couldn’t save her, the servant felt hopeless in the heart. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as they fell on Hazel.

“I was wrong, Mrs. King. I shouldn’t have been rude to you,” said the servant, coming to Hazel with an eager apology. “Forgive me, please….”

Hazel looked calm. Joshua and Simon teamed up to build up the momentum for her, and of course, she could see that. They just wanted the people working in the manor to know that Hazel did not expect them to curry favor with her or be grateful to her, but that if they tried to harm her, they would pay a very heavy price!

“Enough, Simon, don’t go too far,” she spoke lightly. Slapping was not their real goal. The servant was kind of sensible, so Hazel thought she did not need to pursue her mistake.

“Listen to your sister-in-law,” Joshua also let it go.

“My sister-in-law is really kind-hearted.” Simon chuckled. His eyes suddenly went cold as he looked at the servants. “However, being kind doesn’t mean being a pushover. Am I clear?”

All the servants present bowed their heads hastily. They had seen Ted’s acquiescence and had been egged on by Madeline, so they were eager to bully Hazel, but how did they dare to do that from now on?

“Come and sit down.” Ted opened his mouth in an angry voice.

Letting the servant bully Hazel wasn’t his intention, but he had acquiesced in this kind of behavior. However, they suffered such a setback from the very beginning, so he was, of course, unhappy.

Chapter 600: The Generation Gap

Madeline was extremely helpless. The servants wouldn’t offend Hazel even if Madeline egged them on. If she really wanted them to help her do something to Hazel, she’d have to threaten or cajole them, but right now, she was completely incapable of that.

Joshua and the others won the battle. They didn’t go too far, either. They quit while they were ahead and sat down on the couch, following Ted.

However, when they saw that Madeline was also sitting on the side, their faces suddenly looked a little unhappy.

“Is the old man mad?” Simon couldn’t help but whisper.

“He is not mad, but he can’t find another woman who is better and more obedient,” Joshua spoke lightly.

Simon suddenly understood.

Ted had promised Joshua, so Ted wouldn’t break his promise and do anything to a woman in person, so he chose Madeline and used her like a sword. To be exact, because there was no better or more obedient sword than Madeline, he had to make do with this sword.

“Pumpkin, don’t be afraid. This woman won’t make a difference.” Simon immediately comforted Hazel.

“I know.” Hazel nodded calmly.

“Call your sister-in-law Hazel.” Joshua frowned.

“No,” Simon said, looking like a tsundere. “Remember, I haven’t considered you as my brother.”

Ted’s face darkened. The three of them lowered their voices. Though he heard nothing, he could see that the affection between the three of them was so intimate that it seemed as if they were family and that he was completely an outsider.

“What happened to your face?” Ted tried to break the ice.

“You find it at long last, I thought my own father had bad eyes,” Simon said with somewhat sarcasm on his face. “They are the scars I asked the doctor to help me keep when I was injured. I think I’m so handsome now that I don’t want to wear a mask anymore!”

He felt his own cheeks with satisfaction. The injuries on his face were made by Ian Flores. While Simon was in the hospital, Joshua managed to get Simon the best scar balm and the best plastic surgeon he could find, which made Simon so angry that he almost beat Joshua.

Finally, at his insistence, the doctor left two scars on Simon’s face. Fortunately, his two scars did not really affect his appearance but made him appear more manly.

“Cough, cough.” Joshua and Hazel coughed uncomfortably, apparently shocked by Simon’s narcissism.

“How can you say you’re handsome with scars?” Ted said irritably.

“You know nothing,” Simon replied flatly. “I used to look too seductive, but now with two scars on my face, I appear more manly and heroic, which can help me seduce young girls who are unsophisticated. Come on, you won’t understand my meaning. There’s a generation gap between you and me!”

“Why don’t you leave more scars?” Ted was even angrier. Simon had a face that looked exactly like Stacy’s, but now Simon left two scars on purpose, so of course, Ted was unhappy.

“I want to! I wanted to leave more scars on my forehead so that it would look like a tiger’s forehead, but they stopped me,” Simon said, looking at Joshua and Hazel with a look of regret. “How strong I would have looked! They don’t have an eye for beauty!”

Hazel’s and Joshua’s lips twitched. They talked in whispers as if they did not know Simon.

Ted’s face turned even grimmer. He looked coldly at Joshua. “You said you would remove Simon’s misunderstanding of me and improve our relationship.”

“Mr. King,” said Joshua lightly, “the misunderstanding between you and Simon has indeed been cleared up, and your relationship has been improved.”

“How can you say you’ve improved our relationship?” Ted was a little angry.

“You don’t really accept Hazel, do you?” Joshua looked indifferent.

Ted got a little angrier. He was about to fly into a rage when Hazel suddenly opened her mouth.

“Mr. King, what do you think a good son should be like?”

Ted’s eyes narrowed. He had been trying to ignore Hazel since she arrived, but it seemed like he was the one who had been ignored.

Hazel had been sensible and didn’t talk to him, so it was hard for him to make trouble for her. But now, in his opinion, Hazel’s question was asking for an insult. How could he possibly answer her?

Ted snorted in disdain.

Hazel paid no attention to his attitude and said peacefully, “If a man obeys you all the time and has no objection but says yes whenever you say something, I can only say that this man is not a good son. It is a puppet you control. It is an inflatable doll without feelings.”

“Inflatable dolls and all that… I think it sounds kind of weird.” Simon felt a little uncomfortable.

Hazel gave him an angry look. Simon immediately shut up.

“Your sons are humans, too. They are living and individual. Don’t you think you should sit with them and talk to them patiently so that they can talk to you about their ideas?

“Even if you think differently, don’t respect each other and seek common ground while reserving differences for the real happiness of a family? Good parents always want their children to go their own paths and find their true happiness, instead of being obedient toys.”

“Well said!” Simon praised in a loud voice and applauded.

A smile played on Joshua’s lips as he also raised his hands and slowly applauded her. His eyes glowed with pride.

Ted’s face was very gloomy. He didn’t like Hazel, but now she actually lectured him in front of him, he was even more unhappy. But somehow, he felt that Hazel had a point… He didn’t know how to retort to her!

Watching his increasingly paler face, Madeline, who had been unable to get a word in, secretly rejoiced. Hazel was courting death. As a junior, Hazel actually dared to lecture an elder. Did Hazel want to be annoying? Madeline thought she shouldn’t miss this opportunity!

“Mrs. Denmark,” Madeline frowned slightly and pretended to warn Hazel with a kind look. “I’m afraid it’s not good for us, the younger generation, to criticize our elders like that. Besides, isn’t it a matter of course for children to obey their parents? This is the filial piety a junior should have.”

“Did Hazel criticize? She just remembered!” Simon looked at Madeline with a sneer. “Since you think it’s a matter of course for children to obey their parents, why did you cry and disagree when your father asked you to marry Master Billy last year? Why didn’t you show your filial piety then?”