Chapter 160: Scorched Earth
Yunice and Elianna were startled, but being seated on Wyatt’s side of the table, they avoided the chaos. Jackson’s face was already dark with fury after such blatant defiance. “You little bastard! Think I can’t handle you? Go kneel!”
“Heh,” Wyatt kicked aside a shattered porcelain bowl with his cane, took Yunice by the hand, and swaggered out of the dining room. He left the other guests, splattered with sauce and stunned into silence, unsure whether to sit or stand. Everyone stared nervously at Jackson, terrified he’d turn his wrath on them next.
Just then, rushed footsteps echoed from the hallway. Taylor appeared at the dining room entrance, panting and out of breath. She froze when she saw the wreckage.
Linda, noticing she was alone, quickly asked, “Ms. Taylor, where’s Paul!”
Only then did Taylor seem to realize Paul wasn’t in the room. Her face turned cold. “I didn’t see him.” After that, her cheeks flushed with humiliation, and she stormed off, clearly furious. Linda stood frozen for a moment, then suddenly caught on. “Don’t tell me Taylor never found Paul at all?” Linda’s face turned pale as she hurried after her.
Of course, Jackson and Jensen understood exactly what had happened. Paul had always been entangled with Elsie. Ignoring Taylor was one thing, but making her lose face in front of everyone! That kind of embarrassment—how was the engagement supposed to go forward now?
Jackson, already seething, exploded. “Find that useless brat and bring him back to me!” Everyone knew exactly who he meant. When they found Paul, he was entangled with Elsie—again.
Jackson immediately dragged him to the ancestral hall, where he struck him with his cane over a dozen times, hard enough to break the skin. Paul’s mouth was bleeding from biting down too hard. He had never been punished like this in his life. And worst of all, he genuinely didn’t understand what he’d done wrong.
Jensen and Linda stood silently by, not daring to intervene. Jackson pointed at him furiously. “You were supposed to be with Taylor! What the heck were you doing?”
Linda tried to smooth things over. “Paul, Ms. Taylor felt humiliated because you ignored her. Apologize to Mr. Jackson.”
All Paul had to do was take the offer Linda made. But instead, still riding a wave of youthful arrogance, he didn’t feel like he’d done anything wrong. He felt the beating had been completely unjust. So he snapped. “It’s not like I invited Taylor here! She came running to the Powell family to make a fool of herself—that’s not on me!”
Jackson shouted, “Say that again!”
“I’m serious! What, she can’t get married to anyone else, so now she’s got her claws in me?” Paul continued. “She acts like… (man—bossy and self-centered). I never even liked her!”
Jackson’s cane slammed onto the table with a deafening crack.
Paul froze, thinking he’d misheard. He raised his voice in disbelief. “I’m not functioning?”
No one answered. They all just stared at him—heavy, silent, as if the accusation had already been decided. And he, flustered as he was, only looked defensive. The truth was, their suspicion had a basis. They knew Paul. He was the first among his peers to start messing around with women, and the women he dated were all schemers. Hooking up with a wealthy heir like him, any one of them would’ve killed to have his child and leverage it into status. But Paul—simpleminded as he was—had never had a single woman show up with a surprise pregnancy. Not once. Even those two girls from the Saunders family—he’d had both of them, and neither ended up with so much as a late period. So if there was a problem, it was probably with him.
If Yunice hadn’t made that little jab at dinner earlier, none of them would’ve dared say it out loud. But now…
Jackson said, “If it’s really your issue, you’ve got no right to reject Taylor. This is a business marriage. Love and children aren’t part of the deal. Marry her first, then get treatment. Medical tech these days can fix anything.”
Paul stood there, stunned. “Wait, what do you mean my issue? What treatment? Can you all stop being so cryptic?”
But no one was listening. Jensen said, “If you don’t cut things off with that girl from the sticks, don’t blame me if—”
“If what?” Paul cut him off, annoyed. “You gonna have another kid? Look at how old you are. Do you think you can still pull that off? Hah, maybe grandpa should try it too.”
Even if Jensen had another kid now, there was no way they’d catch up to Wyatt. That was just the truth. The three of them fell silent.
Paul wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, growing more self-righteous by the second. “This is what this is about, huh? You can’t deal with Wyatt, so you’re taking it all out on me!”