Ch. 751..760

Chapter 751: Helping but causing more trouble

Wyatt Kirk hurriedly said, “It’s just that the timing was good this time. If there’s a next time, there’s nothing I can do.”

“So, in the future, don’t offend Master Adrian ever again, whether it’s him or someone else, just stay low-key,” Wyatt Kirk said. “If something like this happens again, I won’t be able to help.”

He put it out there in advance.

Everyone knew what Wyatt Kirk meant by this.

It even seemed unfriendly to the Lopez Family.

Mrs. Lopez curled her lips and said in angrily, “Since you’ve known Adrian Zhekova for so long, why didn’t you tell us before?”

“You know how troubled and difficult our family is, and since you have a good relationship with Adrian Zhekova… ”

“Enough!” Mrs. Kirk interrupted coldly.

“Even if you all knelt before Adrian Zhekova, it would be useless. What do you expect Wyatt to do?” Mrs. Kirk said coldly.

“Wyatt has already taken a huge risk by standing up for you today. You heard what Adrian Zhekova said, he only spared you because of Wyatt. Instead of being grateful, you blame Wyatt?”

“Our family lent you 50 million in cash, and Wyatt helped you out of trouble. Yet we’ve received no gratitude, only complaints?”

“It seems like we’ve done wrong by helping,” Mrs. Kirk scoffed. “In that case, don’t ask us for help in the future!”

From this incident, Mrs. Kirk had seen the situation clearly.

It would be fortunate if the Lopez Family didn’t drag them down.

Speaking pragmatically, with Wyatt Kirk’s current relationship with Adrian Zhekova, their family just needed to not mess up.

They didn’t need the Lopez Family for anything.

“You’ve always looked down on my son, Wyatt. I don’t know how you still feel disdain after how he performed in there, but I know,” Mrs. Kirk stated bluntly.

“But I think my son is great. He hasn’t brought any trouble to our family,” said Mrs. Kirk with pride. “I’ll have you know, if you could get on Adrian’s good side, everyone here, including you, would do anything, no matter how shameless.”

“So, there’s no need to look down on anyone,” Mrs. Kirk said coldly. “You all should just look out for yourselves in the future.”

Mrs. Kirk hadn’t intended to be so absolute in her words.

But seeing the attitude of the Lopez family, and especially Mrs. Lopez’s attitude, she knew it would be better to keep a distance from the Lopezes in the future.

Helping them this time resulted in resentment rather than gratitude.

Mrs. Kirk found that disgusting.

With that, Mrs. Kirk left.

She didn’t leave the banquet hall, just moved to another location.

The only connection between the Kirk Family and the Lopez Family was through Mrs. Kirk.

With Mrs. Kirk unwilling to stay, Mateo Kirk and Wyatt Kirk had no reason to stick around either.

The three of them left together.

Unexpectedly, the leverage that Cindy Clarke held with such confidence turned out to be this.

Although Cindy had never been worried, she now felt relieved knowing the truth.

In the future, Wendy Clarke would no longer bother her with any imagined leverage.

“Because we were all thinking about tonight’s plan, we didn’t bring the children,” Zane Hamilton said with a hint of regret. “While they’re on their Spring Festival break, we should find a time to get together and let the kids play together.”

This suggestion was naturally met with everyone’s agreement.

Cindy Clarke held Adrian Zhekova’s arm: “Were Mr. and Mrs. Lopez invited by you?”

Adrian Zhekova nodded.

Mr. and Mrs. Lopez came because Adrian Zhekova had promised that as long as they came to testify, he would not harm the Lopez Family.

Chapter 752: Chapter 752: Who Has He Offended and Provoked

Mrs. Lopez chose to trust Adrian Zhekova.

Because apart from choosing to trust, she had no other choice.

The life and death of the Lopez Family was entirely at Adrian Zhekova’s discretion.

Without proof, the Lopez Family would die.

If there was proof, there could be a chance for survival.

Moreover, she believed that Adrian Zhekova would keep his word.

Also, she didn’t have the qualification to negotiate with Adrian Zhekova.

So, it only took Mrs. Lopez 5 seconds to consider, and then she agreed to this matter.

When leaving, she didn’t remind Adrian Zhekova again to keep his promise.

Anyway, Adrian Zhekova knew about this matter already.

Keeping a promise was only a thought to Adrian Zhekova, unrelated to her reminder.

Mrs. Lopez and Mr. Lopez came to the entrance of the hotel and saw Wendy Clarke who had just been kicked out by the security and hadn’t left yet.

Wendy Clarke’s face still carried the pale fear and unwillingness.

Perhaps she was waiting for Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke to come out to entangle them again without leaving?

Mrs. Lopez sneered silently.

Mr. Lopez saw Wendy Clarke as well.

If it was before, Mr. Lopez would still feel some warmth when seeing an old acquaintance like Wendy Clarke.

But now, there wouldn’t be such a feeling anymore.

Seeing Wendy Clarke again was like looking at a mortal enemy who sought revenge. They could not share the same sky!

Right?

If Wendy Clarke had succeeded tonight, he would be done for.

This was truly a deep-seated hatred.

It couldn’t be said that just because Wendy Clarke failed, the hatred didn’t exist anymore.

So, Mr. Lopez hated Wendy Clarke even more now.

At the same time, Mr. Lopez thought of how he felt about Wendy Clarke.

He hated her for failing to harm him, and he wanted her dead.

So when Mr. Lopez almost touched Cindy Clarke at the beginning, how could Adrian Zhekova not hate him?

With this thought, Mr. Lopez broke into a cold sweat.

In this cold winter night, the cold wind seemed to penetrate his coat, hitting his cold sweat, making him shudder to the bone.

Fortunately, he listened to Mrs. Lopez’s words and followed her here.

Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Thinking of this, Mr. Lopez glared at Wendy Clarke hatefully.

He rushed forward and slapped Wendy Clarke’s face.

Wendy Clarke was not prepared at all and got hit squarely.

Mr. Lopez was full of hatred for her, so he used 100% of his strength in this slap.

Wendy Clarke couldn’t withstand it at all.

She was directly knocked down to the ground by Mr. Lopez’s slap.

She had just been kicked out shamelessly, and her coat was originally left for the waiter to keep.

When she was dragged out, her coat was thrown onto her body as well.

They didn’t even give her time to put on her coat.

After they let go of her, Wendy Clarke finally put on her coat.

But she didn’t have time to fasten the buttons.

Inside the coat was a formal dress.

The V-neck was quite open, and the cold wind blew on her exposed skin, making her shiver.

But Wendy Clarke’s heart was cold, colder than when the cold wind blew on her.

After being slapped down by Mr. Lopez.

When she fell to the ground, her coat spread open.

The clothes inside were too thin, and they couldn’t provide any protection.

Her knees were practically hitting the hard stone ground directly.

Wendy Clarke only felt that her knees were in so much pain that it seemed like her bones were about to shatter.

In winter, bones seemed to become particularly fragile, and the stone slabs became particularly hard.

It seemed to have penetrated through the thin skin and hit the bone directly.

There was also a burning pain as if the skin had been torn.

When she fell, she instinctively used both hands to protect herself.

Her palms, as expected, were scratched.

But these pains were nothing compared to the pain on her face.

The left half of Wendy Clarke’s face had been slapped by Mr. Lopez so hard that it went numb and lost sensation.

She only felt her head, eyes, face, and mouth were in pain.

Without a mirror to look into, she felt her half face was swollen.

Her head was throbbing with pain.

Her vision even turned black.

Wendy Clarke was shocked and panicked, fearing that she had been blinded by Mr. Lopez.

After a while, her vision slowly recovered.

It turned out to be just an intense impact.

But now, although her vision had recovered, her head was still throbbing with pain.

She felt her left eye corner hurt so much as if it had swollen, so much that her eyelids couldn’t open

Her mouth corner also couldn’t move, as if she had facial paralysis and only her right face could move.

“You despicable person!” Mr. Lopez still didn’t vent his anger, and kicked her again.

Mrs. Lopez just watched coldly from the side.

Wendy Clarke was despicable, but Mr. Lopez wasn’t any better.

So let them fight.

Mrs. Lopez didn’t want to get involved.

However, it was a bit cold outside, and the doorway was a wind vent.

So Mrs. Lopez walked back to the lobby, watching comfortably through the hotel’s glass door.

She had no intention of stopping the fight at all.

“If you had succeeded today, I would be finished!” Mr. Lopez was most angry that Wendy Clarke wanted to target Cindy Clarke but ended up dragging him into it!

Who did he provoke?!

Mr. Lopez felt particularly innocent.

Wendy Clarke couldn’t withstand Mr. Lopez’s punches and kicks.

There were few people on the streets now.

Every year during the Spring Festival, those struggling in Belfard would return to their hometowns for reunions.

Suddenly, Belfard became an empty city.

Such a big city, local residents were actually a minority.

Especially on the first night of the New Year, everyone was busy with various gatherings.

There were hardly any people walking on the streets.

So now, there wasn’t even a single person on the road watching the commotion.

Except for the security at the hotel.

Wendy Clarke still didn’t believe it. While defending herself from Mr. Lopez’s kicks, she couldn’t resist them and could only protect her head.

The hairstyle she had made by someone was now messy beyond recognition.

She looked extremely disheveled, like a madwoman.

“You liar! That child, Cindy Clarke, is yours!” Wendy Clarke raised her head and looked at Mr. Lopez unwillingly.

Mr. Lopez, furious and frustrated, kicked her again: “If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you!”

“You clearly touched Cindy Clarke back then! Denying it is useless!” Wendy Clarke said with red eyes, “I will find proof!”

“You better shut up!” Mr. Lopez fumed, “Why don’t you believe that I didn’t touch her? I did not touch her!”

“I didn’t even see Cindy Clarke that day! Do I need to lie to you?” Mr. Lopez was extremely frustrated, “All I wanted was a son. What do you think I actually liked about you?”

“And to lie just to sleep with you?” Mr. Lopez was furious, “I just thought you were ambitious, clever, and knew what to do after giving birth, so you wouldn’t bother me.”

“Who knew you were stupid! If I had known you were this stupid, I wouldn’t have found you in the first place!” Mr. Lopez yelled, “Did you really think I was lusting after your body!? Stupid!”

“No! It’s because you want to exonerate yourself that you’re saying this!” Wendy Clarke stubbornly refused to believe.

Mrs. Lopez saw how disgraceful it was.

So she walked out once more.

It was really cold at night, making her shiver involuntarily.

She exhaled a warm breath and stood in front of Wendy Clarke.

“You probably don’t know, but when you tried to trap Cindy Clarke, you accidentally let her get together with Adrian Zhekova.” Mrs. Lopez said coldly.

Chapter 753: Chapter 753: Followed her, Damn it.

“What do you mean?” Wendy Clarke was stunned.

Seeing Mr. Lopez stop, Wendy struggled to stand up.

Mrs. Lopez sneered and said, “If you don’t believe me, you can go back to Nork City and check the surveillance footage of that hotel.”

“At that time, Adrian Zhekova was also in that hotel. You and your mother accidentally sent Cindy Clarke to the wrong room.” Mrs. Lopez laughed mockingly, “By a mere accident, you sent her to Adrian Zhekova’s room.”

“You could say that Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova’s fate was brought together by you and your mother.” Mrs. Lopez said sarcastically.

Wendy was stunned.

“No, it can’t be!” Wendy didn’t believe it.

The truth of this matter was even more shocking to her.

Knowing that Cindy Clarke had married Adrian Zhekova was even more shocking.

It could have been said that Cindy had the ability to marry Adrian Zhekova.

But if it was because of her that they got together, Wendy would hate it.

In the end, did she somehow end up helping Cindy Clarke?

This truth made Wendy feel nauseous!

Mrs. Lopez didn’t care about Wendy’s reaction.

She was just unwilling to accept the truth.

“Cindy Clarke’s child is indeed Adrian Zhekova’s.” Mrs. Lopez said, “You personally brought Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke together, even letting Cindy bear Adrian’s child.”

“If it wasn’t like this, Cindy might not have been with Adrian Zhekova. If there was no child involved, even if they had met, there might not have been any intersection between them.”

Mrs. Lopez’s words were like knives stabbing into Wendy’s heart.

“So, Adrian Zhekova knows about what you did. Your supposed trump card is nothing for Cindy to be afraid of. Because all of this is just your own imagination, your own misconceptions.” Mrs. Lopez said coldly.

“My husband didn’t lie to you,” Mrs. Lopez said, “Or do you think that if he really had touched Cindy Clarke, my husband would still be able to stand here now…”

Mrs. Lopez glanced at Wendy, from top to bottom, finally landing on her most obvious facial wound, and sneered, “Punched and kicked?”

“Not to mention cursing at you here, but he might not have even come out of the Banquet hall intact.”

Mrs. Lopez smiled, “Miss Clarke, you may be foolish, but you should have at least a little bit of intelligence. The situation couldn’t be more obvious, but you’re just unwilling to think it through.”

“You just don’t want to admit it. But do you think that as long as you hold onto the idea of my husband and Cindy Clarke, you believe it’s true, it can become true?”

“That’s nothing more than self-deception.” Mrs. Lopez said coldly.

“I think you must have had a lot of doubts before. For example, how could Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova, who are from two different worlds, know each other? How could the Zhekova family accept Cindy’s ordinary background?”

“How could the Zhekova family accept a woman who has had a son? What kind of woman can’t Adrian Zhekova find, yet he falls for an unmarried mother like Cindy Clarke?”

“But think about it, if you accidentally sent Cindy Clarke to Adrian Zhekova’s room by mistake. The child Cindy had is Adrian Zhekova’s. Doesn’t everything make sense then?”

“What you couldn’t understand, all becomes logical.” Mrs. Lopez said.

Since Wendy was pretending to be confused and unwilling to understand,

Mrs. Lopez decided to break down the situation for her, so Wendy would understand it clearly.

Wendy’s right side of her face was white.

Her left side was bruised, so the original color couldn’t be seen.

Even the paleness was not visible.

“So, if you still want to target Cindy Clarke, do whatever you want.” Mrs. Lopez doesn’t care.

Besides, with Wendy’s intelligence and means, trying to deal with Cindy probably wouldn’t be easy anyway.

“But don’t drag us down with you. Otherwise, don’t blame my family for being rude!” Mrs. Lopez said coldly.

“With your current level, offending Adrian Zhekova would make it difficult for you to move about in Belfard. Even though my family isn’t very influential, dealing with you would be as simple as lifting a finger.”

Mrs. Lopez stepped closer to Wendy.

Suddenly, she reached out and pinched Wendy’s face.

Wendy was caught off guard and winced in pain.

Her left cheek was already hurting and swollen like a fermented bun.

Mrs. Lopez grabbed her and Wendy couldn’t help but shiver in pain, unable to evade her grasp.

“So, next time you want to target Cindy Clarke, find someone else and don’t involve my family.” Mrs. Lopez rudely let go of Wendy’s face.

Then she took out a small bottle of hand sanitizer from her bag.

Squeezing a bit into her palm, she rubbed it together.

She obviously found Wendy disgusting.

Wendy’s pupils contracted sharply.

She had received too many humiliations tonight!

Mr. Lopez was still not satisfied, looking at Wendy like this, he wanted to beat her to death.

“Wendy!” A woman’s voice echoed.

Immediately after, a couple rushed over.

It was Joshua Clarke and Christy Xenos.

Christy Xenos grabbed Wendy’s arm, and saw only the right side of Wendy’s face, not the left side.

She quickly asked, “Wendy, how was it? How did it go tonight? Was it successful? That bitch Cindy…”

Thinking of Joshua Clarke’s presence, Christy swallowed back the vulgar words.

“What happened to her?” Christy’s eyes sparkled.

She wanted to know how Cindy Clarke’s downfall turned out.

Was she rejected by Adrian Zhekova?

How miserable was her fate?

Mrs. Lopez silently sneered as Wendy reluctantly said, “No, it failed.”

“How could it fail?” Christy Xenos couldn’t help but raise her voice.

“With such a big handle on her, did you not speak up?” Christy asked in surprise, “Or did you not get in there?”

“I did get in, and I did speak up.” Wendy said.

As soon as Christy heard this, she interrupted Wendy, “Then how? Can Adrian Zhekova even tolerate this? Is he a turtle or something?”

“No!” Wendy was impatient and said, “Let’s go back first, I’ll tell you when we get back.”

Christy Xenos reluctantly agreed.

As Wendy turned around, Christy saw the wound on the left side of Wendy’s face.

She immediately screamed, “Wendy, what happened to your face?”

Recalling what happened earlier, Wendy seemed to be entangled with Mr. and Mrs. Lopez.

Christy quickly glanced over at them.

As she glanced, she felt that the two looked familiar.

Earlier in her haste to find out about Cindy’s downfall, she hadn’t paid attention to Mr. and Mrs. Lopez’s faces.

Now, because of the injury on Wendy’s face, she was reminded of the previous scene.

As she looked more closely, they became more and more familiar.

Finally, it dawned on her: “It’s you!”

Christy was elated, and quickly asked Wendy, “Are they the witnesses you found? To prove that Cindy…”

Out of hatred for Cindy, she even ignored the injury on Wendy’s face.

“Tsk!” Mr. Lopez spat.

No wonder Wendy was so stupid; it turned out she followed in her mother’s footsteps!

As soon as Christy Xenos noticed something was off, she immediately said, “Wait a minute, this injury on Wendy, it wasn’t caused by you, was it?”

Chapter 754: Chapter 754: Don’t Look!

“They’ve really sunk to a new low!” Mr. Lopez didn’t bother with Christy Xenos, pointing at Wendy Clarke’s nose and saying, “I’m warning you, don’t bother us again!”

“Wait!” Christy Xenos stopped Mr. Lopez, “What gives you the right to hit someone?”

“Why? Because she dared to plot against me!” Mr. Lopez raised his voice, “Cindy Clarke has nothing to do with me, keep dreaming!”

“Do you want to know what happened tonight?” Mr. Lopez laughed maliciously, deliberately raising his voice even more.

Although there were fewer people on the street at this time, there were still some.

Occasionally, one or two people would pass by, better than nothing.

“Tonight, everyone at the banquet knows that Wendy Clarke is the one who gave birth to my son.” Mr. Lopez said loudly, “No matter how much Wendy denies it, it’s useless!”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Christy Xenos reacted the same way as Wendy Clarke, and cried out shrilly.

This was a secret they had both tried so hard to keep.

Even when Cindy had told Joshua Clarke about how they had plotted against her, insisting that they had already taken 10 million in exchange for her life, they never let this secret out.

They would rather have Joshua believe that the money in the house was indeed exchanged for Cindy, suffering in silence, like swallowing bitter medicine, without revealing Wendy’s sacrifice.

Just to give Wendy a clear and innocent past.

They absolutely couldn’t let Wendy’s past be tainted.

They’d kept it a secret until now.

Who would have thought, Mr. Lopez had openly exposed them?

Joshua Clarke’s eyes widened in disbelief, looking at Mr. Lopez.

Joshua Clarke swayed a little, looking at Mr. Lopez, who didn’t seem much younger than himself.

It would have been enough for them to be called brothers.

“What did you say?” Joshua Clarke asked tremblingly.

“I said, Wendy gave birth to a son for me, in exchange for 10 million. She gave birth to a son for me. Otherwise, where did you think the money to open your restaurant came from?”

“I have nothing to do with Cindy Clarke, Wendy thought so, came to slander her, and ended up exposing her own deeds!”

“What? It seems you didn’t know?” Mr. Lopez sneered, “This is the shame that Wendy did, and she’s afraid of others knowing. But it was her who sold her dignity for money!”

“You’re talking nonsense! Don’t frame our Wendy!” Christy Xenos was angrily ashamed, “Don’t frame her!”

“I’m not!” Mr. Lopez took a few more photos from his pocket.

These were the ones he had asked Mrs. Lopez for earlier but hadn’t distributed yet.

He directly threw them into Joshua Clarke’s arms: “Take a look for yourself!”

Joshua didn’t know what it was, and instinctively picked it up to take a look.

“No! Don’t look!” Wendy shouted in panic, trying to snatch it away.

What would it mean if her own father saw her in such photos!

However, Wendy was still a step too late.

Joshua had already looked down and seen them.

His face turned red, as if he had been scalded.

He shakily threw the photos to the ground, looking away, unable to look again.

“These are the ones I took of her, as long as she dares to bite me, I’ll reveal them all!” Mr. Lopez said viciously, “This is the proof!”

“The real slut is Wendy Clarke, she has nothing to do with your other daughter!”

“When Cindy ran away, Wendy gave herself to me as compensation.” Mr. Lopez said.

Chapter 755: Chapter 755: Bad Openness

Joshua Clarke’s expression changed, as these words matched what Cindy had said before.

When he and Christy Xenos first met Cindy in Belfard, she told them about being schemed against by Christy and Wendy.

But she also said that she did not let Mr. Lopez have his way.

In the midst of the chaos, Cindy ran away.

Joshua believed her at the time.

However, later on, Wendy analyzed a lot and thought that Cindy had not actually escaped.

She just didn’t want others to know about that past.

It was understandable since it was not an honorable matter and was very disgraceful.

But Joshua was still swayed by Wendy’s words, feeling that she made sense as well.

But now, he heard Mr. Lopez saying something similar to what Cindy had said.

It was just slightly different from what Cindy had told them at the time.

Cindy said she had injured Mr. Lopez and then ran away.

However, from what Mrs. Lopez just said, Cindy was sent to the wrong room by mistake.

Unable to hold back, Joshua asked, “Cindy told us that she injured you and ran away, how did it turn into being sent to the wrong room?”

“Did you know about her relationship with Adrian Zhekova back then?” Mrs. Lopez asked, having a pretty good idea what was going on after hearing Christy’s words and attitude towards Cindy just now.

“You mean… Cindy concealed her relationship with Adrian from us? She didn’t want us to know? Why?” Joshua asked incredulously.

It wasn’t until Wendy discovered it that Cindy probably would never tell them about her relationship with Adrian.

Joshua had known this for a long time.

It was just that the truth from Wendy just now had made him momentarily forget.

Upon being reminded by Mrs. Lopez, Joshua was no longer too surprised.

Mrs. Lopez had seen many shameless people, but she still felt somewhat disgusted by Joshua now.

After all, Cindy had not much to do with her.

She didn’t think about clinging to her either.

Adrian letting the Lopez family off the hook was already the limit.

Given that Mr. Lopez was still around, Mrs. Lopez wouldn’t be able to win over Cindy and Adrian no matter what she did.

So, in front of the Clarke family, she really didn’t have to pretend to be a good person for Cindy’s sake.

She had to make things clear to them.

Why would Joshua not know why Cindy didn’t want to tell them about her relationship with Adrian?

He was just playing dumb.

But Mrs. Lopez was truly disgusted by Joshua and couldn’t help but say, “Look at your wife and Wendy’s attitudes. Oh, and yours too. You’re asking me?”

“Do you really have no idea why Cindy kept it from you?” Mrs. Lopez sneered coldly, “Even if it were me instead of Cindy, I would keep it a secret!”

Mrs. Lopez couldn’t help but say, “How nauseating!”

Christy became displeased upon hearing this and angrily said, “What do you mean! Who are you calling disgusting!”

With that, she was about to confront Mrs. Lopez, “Explain yourself!”

It seemed as if she wouldn’t let Mrs. Lopez leave.

Now Mrs. Lopez knew where Wendy got that shrewish temperament from.

For Cindy to emerge from this family without any flaws was truly a miracle.

“What are you doing!” Mr. Lopez slapped Christy’s reaching hand away.

He was still a novelty-seeker and couldn’t help seeking out young and fresh girls outside from time to time.

It was impossible for him to be faithful to Mrs. Lopez for the rest of his life.

But Mrs. Lopez had saved him and their family.

So he had to show more respect to her in the future.

As long as she didn’t try to seize his property and leave him penniless.

Basically, he wouldn’t intervene in whatever she did from now on.

“You people have no shame, are shameless and greedy, and neither the parents nor the sister act like they should. All you want to do is exploit Cindy, and now you’re blaming outsiders?” Mr. Lopez said with disgust.

He wasn’t a good person either.

He had done despicable things too.

But he was unashamed of his wrongdoing.

He wasn’t like Joshua, who not only did bad things but also refused to admit it, pretending to be so innocent and acting as if he knew nothing, as if he alone was kept in the dark.

Taking advantage of Joshua’s stunned moment, Mrs. Lopez pulled Mr. Lopez away.

They had said enough tonight and meddled in many affairs.

They couldn’t continue any longer.

Only the three Clarke family members were left here.

Wendy’s left cheek was swelled even worse now.

Christy had just called out, “Wendy…”

She wanted to ask if what Mr. Lopez and Mrs. Lopez had just said was true.

She didn’t expect Joshua to ask it aloud, “Is it true what they said? The sudden influx of money in the family… was it because you… you gave Mr. Lopez a son in exchange?”

Wendy clenched her teeth tightly.

Seeing this, Christy said, “All right, let’s go home first. We can talk about it when we get home.”

Joshua frowned and didn’t say anything more.

Christy then called a car.

She wasn’t very old, so learning to use Whatsapp, takeout apps, and ride-hailing apps was not difficult for her.

So now, she could also use a mobile app to call for a car.

Wendy had already rented a house in Belfard.

It was much more convenient than staying at a hotel.

She rented a four-bedroom, two-living room house with a good location.

The house was large, well-located, and had expensive rent.

However, money was no longer a problem for Wendy.

She could afford to buy a house if she wanted to.

However, even if she decided to buy a house, she would prefer to get a mortgage rather than pay all at once.

Not because she didn’t have enough money for the down payment.

With a mortgage, she would have more funds to invest in her restaurant.

For the same reason, Wendy thought that instead of using the money to buy a house now, it was better to use it in her restaurant.

Even if it’s just the down payment, it’s better spent on the restaurant.

She would think about buying a house once her restaurant was on track and started making a profit.

If she wanted to buy a normal two- or three-bedroom house like Cindy, the pressure wouldn’t be too great.

But Wendy had gotten used to living in a large house in Nork City.

Even though she had spent more than 20 years in that small room and only a few years in a villa, not just Wendy, but also Christy and Joshua, found it hard to go back to their previous poor days.

They had all become quite spoiled.

But buying such a large house in Belfard costs a lot of money.

When the three returned home and entered the house, Christy immediately said, “Come, let’s put some ointment on your face first.”

On the way home, they asked the driver to stop in front of a pharmacy, and Christy bought some ointment to reduce swelling and bruises.

After they returned, Christy still cherished Wendy after all.

Concerned about Wendy first, she set aside her questions about the banquet.

She applied the ointment to Wendy’s swollen face.

Looking at Wendy’s unbearable swelling on half of her face, Christy said with heartache, “How could Mr. Lopez hit a woman like that!”

Wendy looked at the mirror and saw her swollen face, realizing that she wouldn’t be able to go out until the wound healed.

Chapter 756: Chapter 756: You Never Really Respected Me

“Wendy, what happened tonight?” Christy Xenos asked.

Joshua Clarke, with a sullen face, finally spoke up: “What’s going on with you having a child for Mr. Lopez!”

“Didn’t you expose Cindy Clarke’s scandal tonight?” Christy asked again.

“Adrian Zhekova protected her, and I don’t know how Mr. and Mrs. Lopez ended up at the banquet.” Wendy briefly explained.

“What?” Christy’s heart turned cold, “The Lopez Family just ignored it?”

“The Lopez Family can’t protect themselves, how could they care about others? I didn’t expect that Adrian would like Cindy so much. In this situation, he is still helping her.”

“I don’t believe that Cindy has nothing to do with Mr. Lopez. It must be Adrian trying to protect her by claiming responsibility himself.” Wendy said this, perhaps more to deceive herself than others.

“But since the result is like this, this can’t be used against her anymore.” Wendy said.

They would have to think of other ways in the future.

Wendy looked at Joshua Clarke and Christy Xenos, her eyes flickering.

Without any leverage to keep Cindy bound, they could only rely on family ties.

After all, Joshua Clarke and Christy Xenos were Cindy’s parents.

Cindy couldn’t ignore them!

As for how to do it, Wendy still needed to think about it.

Wendy did not yet know the speech Adrian made to the guests after she left the banquet hall.

Otherwise, she would not be in the mood to think about these things now.

Unexpectedly, Joshua Clarke spoke up at this moment: “Did you really have a child for Mr. Lopez for money?”

“Yes,” Wendy said, “So when Cindy kept saying that the family traded her for 10 million, she was lying.”

“All that money was brought back by me, and it had nothing to do with Cindy. So when she asked you for money, I didn’t want to give it.”

“It’s the money I got from sacrificing myself, why should I give it to her! The money I earned from running the restaurant was also earned through my own efforts, why should I give it to her!”

“You shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have had a child for Mr. Lopez just for money!” Joshua said angrily.

“Where else would I get the money? I want to live a good life, I want to be rich.” Wendy stared straight at Joshua, “What’s wrong with that? I want money, and I got it on my own. What’s wrong with that!”

“Our family may not be rich, but we’ve never lacked for anything.” Joshua trembled, “You want money, I work hard at running the restaurant, you work hard at your job, isn’t that enough?”

Wendy sneered: “You worked hard at that small restaurant for over 20 years, but it never improved. How much harder should we try?”

“Rely on you? Where does the money come from? I want to live a good life, I want to live in a big house, I want endless amounts of money. I want to wear clothes worth thousands, buy bags worth tens of thousands without blinking an eye. Can you provide that? You can’t!”

“You say work hard? Even if I worked my hardest, I wouldn’t make that much money!” Wendy said, “All I did was trade for what I wanted.”

“For all these years, you’ve been living so well off my money. And now you turn around and blame me for being. cheap?” Wendy said shrilly.

“If you were capable, I wouldn’t have to go to these lengths!”

“You’ve always thought this way?” Joshua’s face turned red, “You never respected me?”

“Since you can’t make me live like a trust-fund baby, don’t stop me from trying on my own! If my sister looks down on you, don’t look down on me!”

After Wendy finished speaking, she went straight back to her room.

“Wendy has suffered enough, stop saying these things to her.” Christy complained to Joshua, “Besides, everything has already happened. What’s the use of saying these things now?”

“You’ve spent the money Wendy earned, you can’t spend her money and blame her at the same time!”

Joshua moved his mouth and looked dejected: “Yes, it’s my fault.”

“If it weren’t for my incompetence, Wendy wouldn’t have to think of ways on her own.” Joshua clenched his fists, “It’s all my fault, for being useless and incapable!”

Chapter 757: Chapter 757: Facing Reality

Wendy didn’t know about the chaos in the Clarke family.

They didn’t stay at the banquet until the end.

The reason Adrian and Cindy attended was to wait for Wendy.

Wendy had always thought she had something on Cindy.

Wouldn’t it be suffocating to not let Wendy speak up?

Letting Wendy say it quickly would be a good way to let her give up quickly.

The mission for tonight was accomplished.

Everyone knew that Cindy was Adrian’s wife, and Wendy had spoken her so-called leverage.

Adrian and Cindy considered their mission tonight as completed.

So, they left with Zane and the others.

As soon as they left the banquet hall, Zane thought about it and said, “It’s rare that we all get together like this, and we don’t have our children with us, so why don’t we just pick a day to hang out?”

“Deciding on a day is as good as bumping into one, why not now?” said Zane Hamilton.

“Sure,” Benjamin nodded, “I didn’t eat much tonight, so I’m kinda hungry.”

The point of attending a banquet wasn’t to eat anyway.

Not to mention them, even other guests wanted more time to socialize and had no time to eat.

Although tonight, not many people dared to come and talk to them.

But because of Wendy’s drama, they really didn’t have time to eat anything.

Their stomachs were empty now.

So everyone figured that it would be a good idea to take advantage of tonight and get together.

The children were at their respective family mansions.

There was no need to worry about the children being home alone.

If children were brought to the gathering, it would be necessary to go home when they got sleepy.

It was just right that the kids weren’t there, no need for them to worry.

So they decided on that, and they didn’t choose any other place.

They just had a large room opened at Sheng Yue.

They didn’t even order dishes, just letting the chef serve whatever.

After all, they were all regular customers here.

No need to mention Bertrand York, Sheng Yue belonged to him.

As for Adrian and the others, they were Bertrand’s good friends.

And whenever they had a gathering, it was always at Sheng Yue.

The kitchen was very familiar with their tastes.

So, they didn’t need to bother ordering.

The chefs probably knew what they liked.

So they just sat in the room and waited for the food, without having to worry about anything.

“Speaking of which, we haven’t celebrated properly for Adrian and Cindy since they got married and got their license,” Stanley recalled.

“You’re right,” Clifford squinted his eyes and said with ill intentions, “Such a big happy event, the kids aren’t here tonight, and you don’t have to hurry off.”

“Hm?” Nathan raised his eyebrows, looking at Clifford, “What do you want to do?”

“Of course, have a good drink, we won’t stop until we’re drunk tonight,” Clifford ordered red wine first.

“You guys, when you first got married, it was fine, but ever since you started getting ready to have children, you all stopped drinking. Finally, once the children were born, you were busy taking care of them and bringing them to parties, so there was no time for drinking.”

At the mention of this, Clifford seemed full of grievances.

“It’s been so long since we’ve had a good gathering,” Clifford said, “Just think about the days when we were young, we would party all night and not stop until we were drunk, how exhilarating.”

Bertrand laughed, “I think you just want to face your wife later, Sonny. Don’t try to drown your sorrows in alcohol, it’s not going to work. Even if being drunk brings a world of dreams, it’s all temporary; you’ll have to face reality eventually.”

Chapter 759: Chapter 759: How well-behaved is Adrian Zhekova after getting drunk?

Brushing aside the Callaghan brothers, he was the only bachelor left now.

He and Zane Hamilton, Nathan Spencer and Adrian Zhekova had agreed to stay bachelors together, toughing it out together.

Who knew the two quietly ditched their single status without even giving him a heads up!

Leaving him to take quite a beating!

Clifford Wells drank his beer, feeling that even the beer was bitter.

Life was hard.

After tonight, Cindy Clarke realized not only that Adrian Zhekova couldn’t get drunk, but his alcohol tolerance was pretty low too.

Not to the point of getting drunk after one drink, but he could only handle about three bottles of beer.

Probably because Adrian Zhekova knew that he could easily be manipulated when he was drunk.

So when he had to socialize, he would just take a few sips, at most one glass.

Because he drank so little, his alcohol tolerance wasn’t well developed, which made it even more modest.

However, Cindy noticed it was not just Adrian Zhekova.

Others seemed to have a similarly average tolerance for alcohol.

Seeing Cindy’s gaze, Olivia Davis instantly understood.

So she helplessly said, “Zane used to be able to hold his alcohol, not saying he was great, but not this pathetic either.”

Cindy looked around and Zane Hamilton seemed to be at his limit too.

Presently, he was hugging Olivia’s arm, his head resting on her shoulder, murmuring non-stop, “Liv, Liv…”

He didn’t have any other words, just kept calling out for Olivia.

“I’m right here.” Olivia immediately responds.

Upon hearing Olivia’s reply, Zane relaxed instantly and immediately fell silent.

Cindy finally figured it out.

Zane didn’t intend to say anything to Olivia.

He was just getting a bit affectionate in his drunken state while being around Olivia.

Upon hearing her response, Zane instantly calmed down.

Seeing Zane quieted down, Olivia continued speaking to Cindy, “When he was planning on having kids, he quit drinking.”

Adrian Zhekova didn’t smoke at all; among those present, only Christopher Smith initially smoked.

But when he began dating Cherry Swift, he quit smoking.

Because Cherry didn’t like the smell of smoke.

The rest of them never touched cigarettes at all; at most, they drank.

“After I got pregnant with Lin Xun and Lin Zhe, he didn’t drink at all,” Olivia said.

They had to be careful during the first three months of pregnancy, intimate moments were off-limits.

But they could after three months, so Zane naturally wouldn’t abstain.

Fearing it might affect the baby in her belly, he didn’t touch alcohol.

Even when there was no intimacy, he didn’t drink.

His passion was unpredictable; he just never knew when the mood would hit.

So just in case, he simply abstained completely.

Long periods of not drinking or drinking less would naturally result in less alcohol tolerance.

It was the same for everyone else.

Less drinking meant reduced alcohol tolerance over time.

Although Clifford Wells claimed to be a big drinker, his own alcohol tolerance wasn’t great.

Despite being single, without a wife or kids, he didn’t need to quit alcohol.

But his poor alcohol tolerance was natural.

Plus, he didn’t have many opportunities to practice typical liquor drinking.

So, he’s remained pretty poor at it.

Earlier, he declared he would drink all night and not return until drunk.

It sounded impressive, but it was only talk.

Consequently, everyone had to wrap up.

Cindy could drive and had her license with her.

So she didn’t call Cleave Roland.

She let the waiter assist Adrian Zhekova instead.

Cindy went to fetch Adrian Zhekova’s coat, ready to help him put it on.

Adrian Zhekova obediently sat in his chair, staying still, his composed and formal posture made him look like studious student listening attentively in a classroom.

“Adrian?” Cindy called out.

“I’m here,” Adrian Zhekova obediently replied.

“Time to put on your coat,” Cindy said.

Adrian Zhekova glanced at the coat, then raised his arms.

“…” Seeing him sitting there, Cindy realized she couldn’t help him put on his coat, so she asked, “Can you stand up?”

“Oh.” Adrian Zhekova then stood up, his arms still raised.

Cindy helped him wear his coat and it was effortless.

Cindy finally experienced how obedient Adrian Zhekova could be after getting drunk.

Adrian Zhekova seemed stunned, his eyes wet and shiny, with a somewhat scattered look.

The waiter helped Adrian Zhekova stand, and less like Adrian Zhekova had no stumbling.

Just obediently followed the waiter.

“Where are we going?” Adrian Zhekova asked softly.

“I’ll help you out,” quickly responded the waiter.

“Oh.” Adrian Zhekova answered softly, obediently followed without any objections.

At this point, if someone had sold him, he wouldn’t even know it.

“Have you seen my Cindy?” As they left the room, Adrian Zhekova suddenly asked.

“Mrs. Zhekova will be out soon,” the waiter answered. “Let’s wait for her here.”

There were too many people in the room.

All the men were drunk, so the women had to clean them up and dress them.

It wasn’t practical to gather and wait together; it would’ve been too crowded.

So the only option was to tidy up one and bring out one at a time.

Chapter 760: Chapter 760: No one can touch me

When Cindy came out, she saw a waiter helping a man stand in a neat line, very orderly.

“Where’s my wife?” Benjamin Smith was causing a commotion, asking continuously, trying to walk away, “I want to find my wife.”

The waiter carefully held onto him: “Soon, Mrs. Smith will be out momentarily.”

Christopher Smith was the chatty type, turning his head to talk to the waiter helping him: “Do you know who my wife is?”

Waiter: “Yes, I know.”

“My wife’s name is Cherry Swift, an architect. She is terrific.” Christopher Smith added.

Waiter: “I know.”

Nathan Spencer was especially silent, his face looking even more paralyzed than usual.

At least not talking saved the waiter some trouble.

Zachary Hamilton clung to the waiter’s arm, almost in tears: “Mia, please come out quickly, I feel scared without you.”

Waiter: “…”

What is Third Young Master Hamilton afraid of?

Soon, Zachary Hamilton gave the waiter an answer.

He clung to the waiter’s arm, mysteriously saying: “Let me tell you, there might be spirits or souls around us that you can’t see, trying to strangle you!”

Waiter: “…”

“Really, don’t disbelieve. For example, when you normally ride an elevator, even though it’s closed, suddenly you feel a breeze on your neck, that means there’s a spirit around, whether it’s a good one or an angry one.”

“And like when your shoulders suddenly ache, it might not be because of working too long and being tired, it could be due to spirits pressing down on you.” Zachary Hamilton’s voice grew lower, “Right now, do you feel any cold wind blowing?”

Waiter: “…”

Mom, who can take Third Young Master Hamilton away?

He’s scared!

Zander Hamilton was drunk but somehow, people couldn’t tell.

He still stood upright, his momentum still daunting.

The waiter who stood by his side felt his calf muscles cramping.

The waiter wanted to help Zander Hamilton since he was helping everyone else, and not helping him felt negligent.

“Don’t touch me,” Zander Hamilton shot a glance at the waiter.

The waiter immediately withdrew his hand, so scared!

“Do you need help?” the waiter asked, still worried.

“Only Mia can touch me!” Zander Hamilton insisted righteously.

Waiter: “…”

I was just trying to help, I didn’t intend to do anything!

Plus, I’m a man!

The waiters all found out that the drunk men of The Big Eight families were all oddities!

Cindy and the others came out as well.

The men were too drunk to say goodbye properly.

So the women said their farewells one by one, then took their men and left.

“Cindy.” Seeing Cindy, Adrian Zhekova was extremely happy, as if he had found a family member.

“I’m here,” Cindy replied quickly, “let’s go.”

Adrian Zhekova nodded obediently and followed Cindy.

On the other side, the waiter was still helping him.

At the entrance of Shengyue, the car had been waiting for them, allowing them to get in directly when they reached the door, without walking any further.

The waiter helped Adrian Zhekova sit in the front passenger seat and closed the door.

Cindy sat in the driver’s seat.

Adrian Zhekova sat there motionless, not even putting on his seatbelt.

“Adrian?” Cindy called.

“I’m here,” he obediently answered.

“Can you put on your seatbelt by yourself?” Cindy asked.

Adrian reached for the seatbelt.

After one try, he didn’t catch it.

He tried again, still not catching it.

He tried once more, finally catching it.

But after pulling it halfway, his hand loosened and the seatbelt retracted.

Cindy: “…”

“Let me,” she said, pulling the seatbelt over for him and fastening it.

Once done, Adrian grabbed her arm.

“What’s wrong?” Cindy asked.

Adrian was so well-behaved when drunk that she didn’t believe he could do anything wrong.

“Kiss me?” Adrian requested.

Cindy: “…”

He looked like a three-year-old child begging for a kiss.

“Do you always act like this when you get drunk?” Cindy couldn’t help worrying, wondering if he would ask just anyone for a kiss when he was drunk.

“Hmm?” Adrian looked confused.

Seeing that communication seemed fine even though he was drunk,

Cindy asked him: “When you’re usually drunk, do you ask people to kiss you?”

“I only ask my wife to kiss me,” Adrian immediately replied.

“Where’s your wife?” Cindy was afraid that when Adrian was drunk, he could mistake anyone for her.

“You’re really silly, isn’t that you?” Adrian laughed.

Cindy: “…”

Alright, she was being silly.

So, Cindy pecked him on the lips: “There you go, your reward for not getting the wrong person. Even if you get drunk in the future, you can’t confuse people.”

“I won’t get too drunk,” Adrian immediately said.

“What about now?” Cindy asked, “Are you too drunk?”