Ch. 561..570
Chapter 561
Xyla Quest and Stanley Batton both looked stunned when they heard this.
Neither of them thought that Henry would actually be their grandfather's friend.
In fact, they thought Bailey Ronson bribed him to pretend to be his grandfather's friend and to deceive others.
Stanley had never been introduced to Henry as his grandfather's friend.
Immediately, Henry wiped the sweat off his face and looked away from the camera. "I'm... Sigh, it's hard to explain. I mean, didn't you tell me that your grandson was ugly, Ron? You even showed me a picture and told me that was your grandson... Also, why didn't you tell me that your family owns Dragon Group?"
"I was just trying to keep a low profile. I didn't want to talk about it, but first, tell me, how did you end up with my grandson? Also, how did you find out about my identity?" Ron Batton had a confused look on his face.
"Answer my question first. Do you have any idea that my life is at risk because of you?" Henry added.
Ron seemed even more confused now. "What do you mean? How is your life at risk because of me?" Ron asked.
"Because of the picture you showed me and the wrong information you gave me, I have made a huge mistake." Henry wiped the sweat off his face again.
"Why do I feel even more lost now?" Ron asked dumbfounded.
"That's not the point. Now tell me, why did you lie to me that your grandson, Stanley, was extremely ugly?"
"It was to protect my grandson. I've been hiding my identity for the very same reason. Sometimes, it's better to be cautious because showing off one's wealth may end up attracting unwanted attention and ill intentions," Ron explained.
"So that is why..." Henry frowned slightly before wiping his sweat away again.
"Can you answer me now?" Ron wanted to get to the bottom of this.
Stanley switched the camera back to face him and looked at it. "Grandpa, I'll explain these things to you later."
Stanley then hung up the phone.
Immediately afterward, Stanley looked intently at Henry. "Explain to me what's going on."
Henry wiped the sweat off his face again and looked at Stanley. "One day, Miss Bailey approached me out of the blue and invited me to the Quest family's charity dinner. I refused at first because I didn't know who she was at all.
"But she told me that if I came, she would help market my wine business into Country Z. That sounded like a great idea to me at the time.
"Hence, I agreed. After that, she showed me a picture of you and Xyla, and she asked me if the people in the picture were Ron's grandson and granddaughter-in-law. I told her the truth.
"I said that Xyla Quest was indeed his granddaughter-in-law, but you were not his grandson. Miss Bailey asked me if you were violent with Xyla back in Country Y. I told the truth by saying yes.
"Then, Miss Bailey told me how Xyla Quest, in an attempt to protect her reputation, made you act as Dr. Batton's grandson to deceive her own family and the public. She also asked me to help Xyla in public. "At first, I didn't want to tell anyone about Xyla's long history of suffering from domestic violence in Country Y, but Miss Bailey said she'd give me ten million dollars if I did, and so I agreed.
"It's because my wine estate, which recently ran into some problems, happened to need ten million dollars. I thought that since Xyla Quest and her husband were not on good terms anyway, they would get a divorce sooner or later. Besides, you weren't Ron's grandson from what I knew, so I thought it would be okay if I harmed you guys." Henry told the truth, sincerely.
"Also, I thought it would be fine saying something bad about Ron's grandson since he was in Country Y, and nobody else knew what his grandson looked like. Hence, it wouldn't have affected anyone," Henry added.
After saying that, Henry quickly wiped his sweat with his sleeve again. "Had I known you were Ron's grandson and that Miss Bailey provided me with false information, I wouldn't have come.
"And then I followed her to the party, and the rest is history..." Henry said truthfully.
Xyla had guessed some of the things he said. Hence, she was not overly surprised.
Stanley thought the same.
"Who told you that I suffered from domestic violence frequently in Country Z? And who did Bailey hear it from?" Xyla asked.
Chapter 562
Chapter 562
"I heard it from a mutual friend of your grandfather-in-law and I. He said that your grandfather personally told him about you being regularly beaten up by your husband, and you two were going to get a divorce
soon.
"As for Bailey Ronson, I'm not too sure how she found me or how she acquired that false information. She didn't tell me when I asked her back then," Henry said truthfully.
"...Which mutual friend?" Stanley Batton asked.
"It's Mike..." Henry said carefully.
As soon as Stanley heard this, he seemed shocked. "What? Mike? Can you even trust what he says?"
Two years ago, Mike's business failed. He began to suffer from a mental illness that caused him to say many inappropriate things whenever he lost control.
Could anyone believe in what someone like him said?
"When Mike told me these things, he seemed very calm and collected. He told me that your grandfather personally told him those things. That's why I believed him,” Henry said awkwardly. Now, he felt like a complete fool.
"Is that why you didn't verify the information and simply told other people about it?" Xyla Quest felt speechless.
She knew who Mike was as well.
To her knowledge, Mike was incapable of saying anything truthful. Hence, everything he said was probably part of his imagination.
All these years, Mike had stayed with Xyla's master to receive psychological treatment. However, his mental illness was very complicated, and it was often triggered. The only way to suppress it was through medication.
"Who could ask something like this directly?" Henry asked before standing up and looking at them with a genuinely apologetic expression. "I'm truly sorry for causing you so much trouble, all because of my foolishness. I'm truly, truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me," he added.
"I shouldn't have done something like this for money..." Henry said before sighing helplessly.
"It's fine. You've already made everything clear to us," Stanley said.
"I'll personally apologize to your grandfather." Henry lowered his head like an ashamed criminal.
"That's up to you. Do whatever you want," Stanley said nonchalantly.
Things hadn't gotten out of hand. On top of that, Stanley also found out why, and he was aware that Henry was his grandfather's friend. Hence, Stanley decided not to take any further action. Henry nodded furiously before turning around and fleeing.
After Henry had left, Xyla turned to look at Stanley. "How did Bailey find out about all of this? When I first investigated you, I couldn't find a single thing despite a large amount of effort I put into doing so." Stanley narrowed his eyes and hugged her by her shoulders. "There's always been fake information about me in the database. Whenever someone in Country V asked my grandfather about how his grandson looked, he would show them the picture from the faked data."
"Why didn't I find it when I investigated you back then?" Xyla asked.
"It might have been a system failure. That's probably it," Stanley added.
"I see. Isn't that a coincidence? Emily Quest and I both failed to find that piece of information," Xyla said.
"The only person who investigated you in the past was Emily. You've already heard about all that. But Emily seemed to have given up on digging for more information. Why do you think Bailey suddenly brought this up again? Could it be that Emily has never stopped being suspicious, and she is still investigating? She might have found something and told Bailey about it so that Bailey would do the dirty deed for her," Xyla said while she carefully thought about it.
"We'll be able to find out after asking Bailey about it," Stanley said.
"That's all we can do." Xyla nodded.
"Hmm... Do you want to go home?" Stanley added.
Xyla chuckled before grabbing Stanley's arm. "Sure... Let's go home."
The two held each other's hand affectionately and returned to the car.
After putting her seatbelt on, Xyla looked at Stanley. "Oh right, there's something else. Your family seems to want to keep your identity a secret. Now that you've told so many people about who you are, wouldn't it be a problem? Would it affect you? Did I act too rashly?"
"It's fine..." Stanley ruffled Xyla's hair lovingly.
"I think I shouldn't have done that," Xyla said.
"Do you think those people would dare to take pictures of me when they see me? Even if they did, would they dare to leak the photos? Everybody knows that information related to the family that owns Dragon Group can't be exposed," Stanley said.
Chapter 563
Chapter 563
Xyla Quest immediately nodded. She felt the same way too.
"Alright. Let's not talk about this. You don't have to worry, alright?" Stanley Batton ruffled her hair affectionately again.
Xyla nodded before turning up the music in the car.
Coincidentally, a song that Stanley sang before, 'From Now On', was playing.
"From now on, be there wild winds or calmness, poverty or wealth, you will always be in the bottom of my heart and my eyes." The original singer's voice made the song sound very good. Coupled with the moving lyrics, it made Xyla's heart feel warm.
However, she still felt that Stanley's rendition of it was the best.
"I think that you sing better than him," Xyla said with a chuckle.
"Oh?" Stanley turned to look at Xyla with a seemingly faint smile on his face.
Although the view outside was very pretty, Xyla found Stanley way more attractive.
In that instant, she felt as if she would soon drown in his eyes.
"Hmm... So, can you sing it for me?" Xyla turned the music off.
Stanley looked at her helplessly. "Is that what you were waiting for?"
"What do you mean?" Xyla asked.
"Were you setting me up to sing?" Stanley replied.
"It's not a set-up. I meant it from the bottom of my heart. Will you sing or not?" Xyla asked.
"Would I dare refuse if you wanted to hear me sing?"
"Go on then," Xyla said.
Helplessly, Stanley shook his head and began to sing.
"Looking for the sun in a place without the wind, being the warm sun for you in a place of coldness. Despite the harsh world, you're still so naïve. From now on, I only want to be with you." The timbre in his voice sounded like a cello, perfectly illustrating the beauty of the song.
Xyla felt that hearing him in person, instead of through the phone as she did last time, made him sound even better.
She was mesmerized by his voice...
Very soon, the song came to an end.
Xyla gave him the thumbs up while she asked for more. "It sounded very good. Can you sing me another song?"
"Hmm... What would you like to listen to?" Stanley gave in as usual.
"Do you know how to sing 'Trees in the Mountain'?" Xyla asked.
"Yes..."
"Sing it," Xyla said.
Stanley obediently began to sing again.
After singing the song, they arrived at a traffic light that happened to turn red as they did so.
Stanley slowly brought the car to a halt and turned to look at Xyla. "Will that be enough?"
Xyla was looking at him as if she was his fan. "Yeah... To be honest, I want more. But you've already sung three songs, with the two songs just now and another song on stage from before. I think that'll do for now."
Chapter 564
Chapter 564
"Darling, you're the only person who can make me do something like this," Stanley Batton said affectionately.
When Xyla heard this, she found it very sweet from the bottom of her heart. "Is that true?"
"Do you think anyone else can make me do that?" Stanley asked.
"I guess not..." Xyla said.
Stanley smiled widely without saying anything.
At that moment, the traffic light turned green. Their red Maserati continued to move forward.
"Would you like to go shopping?" Stanley asked when he saw Goldfield Plaza by the side of the road.
"No. I'm feeling tired today." Xyla shook her head.
"Alright then..."
"What's the matter? Do you want to buy something?" Xyla asked.
"No. I just want to buy things for you," Stanley said.
That felt heart-warming to Xyla.
Her husband was very nice to her.
"It's alright. There's nothing I want to buy for now..." Xyla said.
"Okay."
Stanley didn't say anything else as he kept one hand on the steering wheel and reached out to her with his other hand.
Xyla obediently placed her hand in his before interlacing their fingers.
Stanley seemed even cooler when he drove with a single hand.
With the lights turned off in the car, the glow of light from outside made Stanley's face appear even more handsome. In fact, Xyla thought it was the most wonderful view in the world. Sometimes, Xyla couldn't even find the words to describe how good Stanley looked.
"Josh Batton is going to start touring in Atlantis Stadium soon. Would you like to bring your parents? If so, I'll reserve a few spots for you guys," Xyla said.
"My father won't be going. You'll only have to save a spot for my mother," Stanley said.
"Save one for Catherine too," he added.
"Isn't Catherine going back to school?" Xyla asked.
"At first, she said she would go back after my father comes home. In the end, she said she wanted to go back after Josh's concert has ended... My mother wouldn't agree in the beginning, but my father gave in and convinced my mother too," Stanley explained.
"...Okay. She's determined. In that case, I'll save her a spot. I really find her fascinating," Xyla said and chuckled.
Whenever Catherine was brought up, Xyla would be in a good mood.
Xyla felt as if her heart would melt whenever she imagined Catherine smiling.
Catherine was the perfect example of a little princess who was naïve and adorable, untainted by the darkness in this world.
"She's just avoiding her responsibilities..." Stanley said helplessly.
"Isn't she good at her studies? I don't think she's avoiding her responsibilities. She just likes to play. Aren't all girls her age like this?" Xyla said.
"That's true."
"Catherine is very adorable. I like her a lot." Xyla was generous in offering her compliments to Catherine.
"She is rather adorable. Ever since she became a part of our family at the age of seven, she's brought nothing but joy to us." Stanley's gaze softened as he spoke.
Xyla felt a little confused after hearing what he said. "What do you mean by her becoming a part of your family at the age of seven? Isn't she your biological sister? Why do you make it sound as if she was adopted?" She asked.
"We are related, but she's my cousin. Her father was my father's little brother. Back then, my uncle got together with a mute girl. Despite wanting to marry her, my grandfather wouldn't agree, no matter what. In the end, he broke off ties with our family and went with the woman to live in the countryside," Stanley explained.
Chapter 565
Chapter 565
"Soon after they lived together, Catherine was born. They had a pretty happy life together, but it didn't last. When she was three, her parents were run over and killed by a large truck on their way home after working in the fields. Back then, nobody in the family knew about it, and there wasn't a single person in the village who knew my uncle's real identity.
"Hence, the village chief sent Catherine to an orphanage. When Catherine turned seven, my grandfather missed my uncle so much that he sent my father to look for him in the village. However, the village folks told my father that my uncle and his wife had died.
"They also informed my father that Catherine was sent to an orphanage. Hence, my father hurried over to the orphanage and brought Catherine home. He treated her like his daughter ever since," Stanley Batton explained.
When Stanley talked about these things, he couldn't help but recall the first time Catherine came to their house. He remembered the day she came to their family; it was raining heavily outside when their father walked through the door holding Catherine's hand.
Everyone in the family was waiting for them in the living room.
When the two entered, Catherine was wearing a dirty denim overall and an equally dirty white T-shirt. Stanley remembered she had two pigtails, and she smiled at him as soon as she saw her. Although Catherine was in an unfamiliar environment and was seeing so many strangers for the first time, she was not timid at all. Her natural cuteness made everyone fond of her immediately.
When Xyla listened to Catherine's life story, she couldn't help but feel her heart clenching painfully.
She would never have thought that Catherine, who seemed like a jolly person, actually had such a painful past.
Catherine had lost her parents at a young age and spent many years in an orphanage on her own. Xyla could only imagine how terrible it had been for Catherine, and her eyes began to well up with tears. "She had lost her parents and lived in an orphanage. She must have been bullied a lot, right? After all, she was only three when she went in..." Xyla said.
"Yeah. The other kids often beat up Catherine before she came to live with us. That's also why she asked our father to take her to martial arts classes and trained herself with Country Z's martial arts techniques," Stanley said.
"Sigh. It must have been so tough for her." Xyla told herself she wanted to be even nicer to Catherine.
"It was indeed difficult. Because of that, we gave her a lot of love and affection..." Stanley said truthfully.
Xyla nodded before letting out a long sigh.
Beep, beep, beep...
Right then, Stanley received a call from Sebastian Brenand. He put on his Bluetooth earphones and picked up the call. "What's up?" Stanley asked.
"Are you free to talk?" Sebastian asked.
"Is there anything important?" Stanley said.
"Of course. D*mn you! You've not come out to spend time with us for a long time. We feel terrible..." Sebastian said.
"Some other day," Stanley said.
"Why are you putting it off again?" Sebastian was in front of the crowded entrance to a bar with Gary Lakes in his arms. They were about to head inside.
After saying that, Sebastian stopped walking. "Hang on. Give me one reason you can't come out," Sebastian added.
"I'm spending time with my wife..." Stanley said blandly.
With that, Stanley turned to look at Xyla's face.
When Xyla heard what he said, she felt extremely touched. Stanley behaved like how normal couples would when they didn't even want to spend a single minute apart. "Spending time with your wife again. Don't you care about your friends anymore?" Sebastian said.
"What for?" Stanley retorted.
"I feel hurt. Can you come out tomorrow?" Sebastian said.
"Let me check with my wife," Stanley said.
"Can't you decide for yourself anymore?" Sebastian said.
"Is that any of your business?" Stanley asked.
With that, Stanley hung up the phone.
Sebastian, on the other hand, felt completely lost. He turned around to look at Gary. "You... Did you hear what he just said? Our Stanley has changed completely.
Chapter 566
Chapter 566
"Isn't that normal?" Gary Lakes rested his arm over Sebastian Brenand's shoulders while ushering him into the bar. "He already has a family. How could he behave like us?" Gary asked. "I've never seen Stanley treating a woman like this before. Xyla truly is special... She's something else," Sebastian said.
"Isn't that right?" Gary added.
After hanging the phone up, Stanley Batton removed his earphones, put them in his pockets, and looked at Xyla. "Would you like to go out tomorrow night?" He asked.
"Sure. But it's a gathering between you and your friends. Would you guys feel uncomfortable if I were there?" Xyla nodded.
"No..." Stanley said.
"Alright," Xyla nodded and said. She then continued to hold Stanley's hand tightly.
"Oh, right. I already know Sebastian's identity. What about Henry and Gary? Who are they?" Xyla couldn't suppress her curiosity when she thought about these people.
"They are quite similar to Sebastian..." Stanley said.
Xyla understood instantly and didn't press on any further.
However, she couldn't resist complaining. "You are all from influential families, but you banded together to fool me into thinking you're all gangsters. It was an extremely odd thing to do." "Sorry. We were at fault for doing that," Stanley said apologetically.
"Tsk." Xyla couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. It must have been difficult for them to pretend to be gangsters when they had such powerful identities.
"To be honest, I've always been curious about something," Stanley said as he shifted his gaze slowly over to Xyla. He glanced at her before he continued to look forward. "What is it? Just say it," Xyla said.
"What made you think I was a gangster back then?" Stanley had been bothered by this question for a long time.
"Well, after we had sex for the first time, I overheard you talking on the phone. You said, 'just do it' in an icy tone. That's why I thought..." Xyla explained.
Stanley couldn't help but laugh out loudly. "Did you think I was ordering someone to commit murder? Was that how you ascertained the fact that I was a gangster?"
Xyla nodded. "That's how it happened. The things you said and the tone of your voice were very misleading, didn't you realize that? You can't blame me for it," she said.
"Fine, fine. I won't blame you. It's all because I have an awful tone of voice when I'm on the phone. I was just talking to Zack Cassidy about work back then." Stanley had a helpless look in his eyes. "Oh." Xyla nodded without asking anything else.
The two of them chatted and shared their thoughts and feelings on the way home. Very soon, they arrived.
Once they got inside, Xyla could feel her legs aching terribly, and she also felt exhausted all over.
High heels were a woman's most beautiful tool.
However, there was a price to pay when using it to enhance one's appearance.
After changing into slippers, Xyla felt a huge relief in her legs. The aching sensation in her toes and heels was greatly reduced.
She pulled Stanley over to the couch before the two of them sat down.
"I still prefer my slippers in the house... Wearing high heels is torture for my legs," Xyla said.
Stanley carefully placed her legs on his lap before giving her a gentle massage. "Does this feel a little better?"
Stanley was very good at giving a massage, and it instantly made her feet feel much better.
Xyla nodded with a pleasurable expression on her face. "Yeah. My husband is the best."
"Since wearing high heels is uncomfortable, don't wear them so much in the future," Stanley said.
"That won't do. High heels are an important part of my life I can't do without," Xyla said.
"That's what a typical woman who prizes looks over comfort would say," Stanley said.
"If sacrificing an acceptable level of comfort can make me look good, I'm more than willing to accept it," Xyla said.
"I can never understand women," Stanley said.
Xyla chuckled before casually leaning backward and resting her head against the couch's armrest.
Chapter 567
Chapter 567
When Xyla Quest saw how serious Stanley Batton looked, she felt very proud from the bottom of her heart.
She was fortunate to have met such a wonderful person like him after going through so much hardships on her own.
Although Stanley was like a divine being who ruled over the rest of the population, he was willing to get off his high horse and do the most mundane things in the world for Xyla. For example, he cooked for her. When Stanley looked up, his eyes immediately met with Xyla's gentle gaze.
He instantly held her up and placed her on his lap. "Why are you staring at me? Do you want sex?"
Xyla's heart shuddered at the question. Her body began to feel hot, and she couldn't help but blush. "Stanley, can't you think of more appropriate things?"
"How are my thoughts inappropriate now?" Stanley asked.
"You're a jerk. Mmphh..."
Before Xyla could finish her sentence, Stanley pressed his lips against hers.
As soon as that happened, everything became a mess.
"Beep, beep, beep..." Xyla's phone was ringing behind her. An unknown caller appeared on the screen.
She reached out to grab her phone, but Stanley forcefully stopped her and pressed her against his chest.
They became entangled, and Xyla gradually let her mind run wild.
Although the view of the moon outside was pretty, she found Stanley much more attractive.
After it was past midnight, Stanley finally loosened his grip on her. He hugged her from behind as he kissed her shoulder. "Do you want to take a shower?" He asked. "No. I'm exhausted..." Xyla said. Her body was aching all over. She didn't have the energy to take a shower.
"Alright. We won't take a shower then," Stanley said before hugging her tightly.
Suddenly, Xyla recalled that her phone was ringing downstairs. "I think my phone was ringing earlier. Can you get it for me? I want to check who called," she said immediately. Stanley got out of the bed without saying a word. He then grabbed a towel from the bathroom, wrapped it around his body, and headed downstairs directly. Meanwhile, Xyla carefully moved her body around before sitting up. She lifted the duvet to her armpits so that everything below her collar bones was covered. However, there were still red markings all over her arms.
When Xyla thought of everything that happened earlier, her heart began to pound wildly.
Very soon, Stanley returned with her phone.
He got into bed right away and handed the phone over to her.
Xyla quickly looked at her phone, and she realized the caller had a number she didn't recognize.
In fact, this person called her over ten times.
The calls had only ended about an hour ago.
Xyla instinctively felt that this person must have been Bailey Ronson.
Apart from her, nobody else would behave so urgently and call Xyla this many times late at night.
"Someone from the Sullivan family?" Stanley glanced at her phone and asked. After that, he retrieved a cigarette from a cigarette pack on the nightstand nearby. He then lit it up and began smoking with his head resting against the bedhead.
The smoke that wafted around his face made him appear cold yet desirable. Xyla felt charmed by the sight.
"I guess so. It's probably Bailey Ronson..." Xyla said.
Stanley didn't say anything. Instead, he snorted coldly and continued to smoke.
Chapter 568
Chapter 568
"She must be calling to apologize..." Xyla Quest said.
"Yeah. Are you going to forgive her?" Stanley Batton exhaled a puff of smoke before lifting her hand and giving it a gentle peck.
"I'm not keen on forgiving her. She doesn't deserve it," Xyla said nonchalantly.
Xyla knew all too well how the Sullivan family and Bailey Ronson were.
If she forgave Bailey this time, she would definitely do something like this again.
This time, it was clear that Bailey was bent on destroying her. If Xyla let it slide and forgave Bailey, Xyla might just think that something was wrong with her brain.
Bailey had never been an easy person to deal with.
"Okay." Stanley gently pulled Xyla into his embrace with one hand while he held onto his cigarette with the other.
"Forget it. Let's take a shower after you're done smoking. I feel much better now," Xyla added.
"Alright," Stanley said.
After Stanley was done smoking, he carried Xyla into the bathroom to take a shower.
Throughout the process, Stanley didn't let Xyla do a single thing. He took care of everything...
After they were done, Stanley carried her back into the room.
The two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.
Although they had a peaceful night, things were completely different in the Sullivan family's home.
Due to what happened at dinner, Tony Sullivan had already kicked Bailey out of the master bedroom. He insisted they slept in separate rooms because he was disgusted by the sight of Bailey. Bailey, whose body was covered in bruises, lay on the bed in the spare room. Not only did her body ache, but so did her heart. She couldn't sleep all night.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the hacker must have provided her with the wrong information.
She wouldn't let the hacker off the hook so easily!
Bailey immediately picked up her phone and tried to call the hacker. However, the call couldn't even get through...!
From the time she returned from the hospital, she had been trying to call the hacker, but her call didn't go through a single time.
As such, Bailey felt even more confident that the hacker was a liar. The person Emily hired was not reliable at all.
In the room next door, Emily was also alone. Although she had slept on her own for a long time, she still couldn't get used to it.
During quiet nights like this, she always desired Tom Sullivan's warm hugs.
With her eyes wide open, Emily couldn't help but recall how Xyla was the center of attention during dinner. The feelings of jealousy and loneliness made it impossible for Emily to fall asleep. After laying in bed for a long time, Emily sat up and looked for the hacker's number from her phone before trying to call him.
Her call couldn't get through.
Emily began to suspect that this person had intentionally lied to her to cheat money from her. Meanwhile, Henry had also purposely set things up to scam her money. Otherwise, why would he provide such made-up information?
***
The next morning, when Xyla opened her eyes, Stanley still had his arms around her.
The thing that brought the most joy to Xyla was waking up to Stanley's face.
Even with his eyes closed, Stanley still seemed like the most handsome man in the world.
Xyla couldn't help but reach out and touch his nose.
Very quickly, Stanley opened his eyes. He flipped over, pressed his body against hers, and held her face in his hands. "What are you doing? Hmm? Do you want to do it again?"
Xyla immediately pushed him away with her hands on his chest. "What nonsense are you saying? Can't I just touch you because I think you look good?" Xyla asked.
"Sure. You can touch anywhere you like. All of me belongs to you. Perhaps, you would like to touch more private places. That's fine too," Stanley said.
Xyla instantly blushed after hearing what he said, and her heart rate began to increase.
"Shameless!" Xyla cursed softly.
"What would you like for breakfast?" Stanley asked with a chuckle.
Xyla thought about it intently. "I want sunny-side-ups and a ham sandwich. Oh yeah, I want a fruit salad too."
"Okay. I'll make those for you," Stanley said.
"Thank you, darling," Xyla said.
"Is saying 'thank you' all I'm getting?" Stanley smiled with a hint of mischief his eyes.
Xyla immediately gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. "Will this do?"
Chapter 569
Chapter 569
"No..." Stanley Batton said before hugging Xyla Quest tightly, and the two engaged in a passionate exchange.
After a long while, Stanley finally let go of Xyla and carried her into the bathroom to get themselves cleaned up.
Once they were done, Stanley chirpily headed downstairs to make breakfast.
Meanwhile, Xyla dragged her exhausted body over to the dressing table and sat in front of it.
When she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she noticed the red markings all over her body. A sense of devastation filled her.
Xyla realized there was a lot of covering up to do.
After a long, frustrated sigh, she poured a little bit of toner onto her hands and patted it against her face.
Beep, beep, beep...
Right then, her phone began to ring on the bed.
Xyla immediately stood up and continued to pat her face while she walked over to the bed to pick up her phone.
When she saw that the call was from her father, she smiled gently. She answered the call before returning to the dressing table. "Father..."
"Hello, Xyla. Why don't you come home with Stan for lunch? I've got a lot of questions to ask both of you." Jeremy Quest had spoken in a very straightforward manner, but his tone was as gentle as usual. "I'll have to ask if he is free later. Let me get back to you shortly," Xyla said.
"Okay," Jeremy said.
After hanging up the phone, Xyla continued to apply skincare products on her face and foundation while she looked in the mirror.
After half an hour of hard work, she proceeded to put on some light makeup.
Once she was done with her face, she started applying concealer on the exposed parts of her body.
The markings only disappeared after several layers of concealer were applied.
Xyla then entered the closet to get changed into a professional-looking, black-and-white dress. After that, she headed downstairs and into the dining room.
By then, Stanley had finished preparing breakfast and was now setting up the table.
Xyla sat down casually and looked at him. "My father just called and asked us to have lunch back at his place. He also mentioned having questions for us. Do you have time for it?" Xyla asked.
"I will have to make time even if I'm busy. It's an invitation from my father-in-law, after all." Stanley chuckled before placing a fork and knife on the plate of sunny-side-ups in front of her. He then sat down. "In that case, I'll let my father know that we'll be heading over at noon," Xyla said.
"Alright," Stanley said.
Xyla called Jeremy on the phone right away to tell him that she and Stanley would be heading over at noon. After that, she picked up her fork and knife and started to eat the delicious breakfast laid out before her.
Ding-dong... Ding-dong....
Ding-dong... Ding-dong...
The sound of the doorbell ringing interrupted the peace and warmth in the dining room.
Xyla instantly stood up and was about to head to the door.
However, Stanley stood up and stopped her. "I'll get it," he said.
With that, Stanley walked over to the surveillance monitor by the door.
He could see that it was Bailey Ronson standing outside the door.
He could clearly see marks from being whipped on her face and neck. It was a horrifying sight.
Stanley deactivated the doorbell and returned to the dining room...
"Who came by?" Xyla asked curiously when she saw him returning.
"Take a guess," Stanley said with a chuckle as he sat down on his seat. "Bailey Ronson?" Xyla asked.
"Yeah. I don't want to see her..." Stanley said.
"Okay," Xyla said.
"She was beaten up," Stanley added.
"Beaten up?" Xyla asked.
"Yeah. There were whip marks all over her face and neck," Stanley said.
"I bet Uncle Sullivan must have done it to her. I didn't actually think he could be so cruel to Bailey." Xyla was a little shocked.
Chapter 570
Chapter 570
"Yeah," Stanley Batton replied calmly.
"You should let her in. We have to ask her about a few things," Xyla Quest said.
"She won't be leaving. Let's have our breakfast in peace first," Stanley said as he placed a sandwich in front of Xyla.
"Okay," she said.
***
After breakfast, Xyla and Stanley went out together.
Right then, Bailey was still waiting in front of the main entrance.
When Bailey saw Xyla's car approaching, she immediately ran in front of the car and extended her arms frantically to block Xyla from leaving.
In the next second, Xyla's red Maserati and Stanley's black Bentley Arnage came to a halt simultaneously.
Xyla frowned slightly before lowering the window on her side and glared at Bailey coldly.
Bailey quickly walked over to Xyla's side and tried to open the door to her car but to no avail.
"Aunt Bailey, what made you suddenly think of investigating my husband? Did someone tell you something about him? Or did they give you some unreliable information?" Xyla asked.
Bailey immediately understood what Xyla was thinking, and she shook her head right away. "It didn't suddenly occur to me."
"So you've been investigating him all along?" Xyla asked curiously.
"Back when Emily found out you were married, she told me about this and why she felt suspicious. On top of that, she also told me when you confessed to having a husband. I already felt something was amiss...
"Since I didn't like you all along, I had asked someone to do a background check on you. Coincidentally, I came across such information, and I..." Bailey decisively placed all the blame on herself. Clearly, getting another person involved at this point would only make matters worse.
"Is that so?" Xyla didn't completely believe her.
"It really is. I swear to God. If even a part of what I said was a lie, my two sons and I will be killed in a car crash." Bailey swore an oath without hesitation.
Who took oaths like this seriously anyway? How could someone believe god actually existed?
If god were real, many people would have died from thunder strikes or car crashes due to such oaths.
Hence, Bailey didn't really think that swearing an oath would affect herself.
To Xyla, the things Bailey said made sense.
Besides, nobody would be willing to swear an oath on their sons' lives if they believed divine punishment was real.
Even so, a part of Xyla's suspicions remained.
Meanwhile, Bailey pressed her hands against the car window and pleaded with Xyla while looking at Xyla. "Xyla, I'm truly sorry. Could you please forgive me? If you keep doing this, my husband is going to file for divorce. I'll lose everything," she said.
Xyla snickered coldly while she put her thoughts away. "Didn't you want me to lose everything?"
If Bailey had succeeded with her plan before, what would have happened to Xyla?
Not only would Xyla be thoroughly embarrassed, but she would also lose her father's trust. If that happened, Quest Group might have ended up in the wrong hands.
Moreover, her relationship with her father might also have been greatly affected.
"Xyla, I was just too foolish at that moment. It's true. I'm sorry..." Bailey added.
"Not all apologies of yours can be accepted," Xyla said before pressing on a button to roll up the car window.