Chapter 744

It looked like Vivian had managed to cheer Jeffrey up.

He was in his seventies, with a gorgeous young wife by his side. Jeffrey probably doted on Vivian, but she was always a bit aloof and didn’t visit him much.

Edward put a piece of fish on my plate. “Eat up.”

I mumbled a quick thanks, and Vivian smiled, “Don’t be a stranger, Victoria. Make yourself at home, okay?”

Jeffrey looked at me, all the sternness gone from his face. “Since you’re with Edward now, you two should really stick together. Just go with him to the UK and live there for good.”

I was totally floored. ‘Is he for real? He actually thinks I’m gonna marry Edward and just pack up and move to the UK?’ I thought.

Vivian gave Jeffrey a playful, exasperated look. “You’re way too old to get how young people date these days. You still think it’s like your generation—see someone you like and just get married on the spot?”

Jeffrey looked genuinely puzzled. “If you’re already together, doesn’t that mean you’re supposed to get married? Edward’s not like Ryan, always chasing after fun and games.”

Ryan choked on his food at the mention of being “young and playful,” coughing a few times.

Jeffrey immediately placed a glass of water in front of him. “Take it easy, what’s the hurry?”

Ryan took a drink of water and said, “Grandpa, you already agreed to me and Fiona getting divorced in two years, didn’t you?”

“What’s wrong with Fiona? She loves you so much—even if it’s just about interests, are you made of stone?” Jeffrey said, slamming his fork down in frustration. “Fiona’s a wonderful girl. Don’t you dare take her for granted.”

Edward said calmly, “Yeah, Miss Chamberlain is all about you. The least you can do is take responsibility for her.”

Ryan slammed his glass down on the table. “I got roped into this marriage for the family’s interests, and now my own backyard’s on fire—so who’s supposed to answer for that?”

My head snapped up as I stared at Ryan, caught off guard by his words.

Ryan’s eyes were blazing with anger. “Uncle Edward, I really wanna know—did you stop me from being with her because you liked her yourself?”

Edward looked a little awkward as he said quietly, “I didn’t think about her that way at all back then.”

“Oh, really? So you’re saying you only suddenly fell for her right after I broke up with her?” Ryan shot back, not holding anything back now that it was just family—he dropped all pretense and went straight for the jugular.

My breath caught, anxiety and panic flooding through me.

Edward frowned. “Yeah, it was a chance encounter in the UK, and I just found myself falling for her out of the blue.”

“Don’t give me that!” Ryan slammed his hands down on the table. “Back when I was with her, you basically kidnapped her to your villa. Her hairpin snapped—wasn’t that all because you forced her into it?”

Edward shot me a look. “Go ahead, tell him yourself.”

Turning to Ryan, I said quietly, “It was me who broke the hairpin. He had nothing to do with it.”

Ryan suddenly let out a bitter laugh. “So, you two are teaming up to lie to me now? Is this the kind of understanding you’ve built up lately?”

Jeffrey and Vivian just sat there, not saying a word, just watching everything go down—which honestly surprised me.

Edward’s voice was low and serious. “Ryan, you need to understand—you can only truly own what you’re able to hold onto, not just make a fuss and expect to get everything you want.”

Ryan stiffened, fixing me with a heavy, somber gaze. “Thanks for the reminder, Uncle Edward. I’ll work on it.”

Jeffrey slammed his fork down. “Is this what we’ve come to? Turning against each other over a woman—have you all forgotten the Jennings family rules?”

Vivian’s face changed and she jumped in, “Alright, that’s enough, you two. Are you really looking to get yourselves in trouble?”

Suddenly, Ryan pulled off his T-shirt, spun around, and dropped to his knees by the door. “Go ahead, beat me to death for all I care.”

Jeffrey turned to the butler. “Discipline this kid—he’s gone off the deep end.”

The butler was reaching for the whip when Edward stood up. “Dad, come on, it’s not that serious.”

“You kneel too. He gets twenty lashes, you get ten,” Jeffrey commanded, his tone full of authority.

My brain short-circuited. ‘Wait, what? Are they actually getting flogged like kids—even as grown men? Is this for real?’ I thought, totally thrown off.