Chapter 73

Chapter 73Chapter 73 Zack Kneels
“I don’t get it! All I want is to be with the woman I love! Why is everyone against that? You all like
Michaela, but to me, even a single strand of Lucille’s hair is worth more than her! I just can’t stand how
pretentious Michaela is!”
Zack was completely humiliated by now. Not only could he not protect the woman he adored, but he had
also been struck by his own uncle.
There was nothing more insulting than having to kneel here like this, and he was prepared to burn
bridges if he had to.
That was why he had no qualms yelling at Jonathan, regardless of how terrifying the latter looked.
Even Albert began to worry for him.
Mr. Zack really doesn’t know his place. He’s already made a huge mistake by defying Old Mrs. Xander,
and now, he’s picking a fight with Mr. Jonathan?
He shook his head, feeling nervous for Zack.
As expected, Jonathan responded imposingly, “Go kneel outside and talk to me again after you’re done
reflecting!”
There was no arguing with Jonathan. No matter how indignant Zack felt, he could only force himself up
and walk out of the house as though he had just lost a battle.
Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the younger man. You need to learn your lesson. You have some nerve
talking about my wife like that in front of me. Who do you think you are?
Nick was absolutely furious over the stir Zack had caused.He had previously gone to a nursing home because of his high blood pressure, and after finding out
about what Zack had done, his blood pressure now began to spike once more to a dangerous level.
Thankfully, the family doctor rushed over immediately, and the older man seemed fine aside from how his
blood pressure was unstable. The doctor advised Nick to rest well and avoid getting aggravated, leaving
only after the latter had taken his medication and fallen asleep.
Jonathan walked the doctor to the entrance and had Albert see him off before coming back to see an
anxious-looking Michaela seated on the couch with her two hands clasped together.
He had already noticed her reddened eyes while the family doctor was examining Nick, but he was too
busy to approach her then.
Now that the doctor was gone, he could finally sit down beside Michaela. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s all my fault that Old Mr. Xander got so worked up.”
Seeing how self-reproaching she looked, he caressed her head gently. “My dad’s at an old age, and he’s
had high blood pressure for a long time. Besides, it’s Zack’s fault. You’re the victim here, so don’t blame
yourself. Got it?”
“But you hit Zack. How are you going to explain this to his parents?”
Quentin and Yvonne founded the environmental protection group after graduating from university.
The couple had spent all those years building the business together—through good times and bad—until
they became a name in the corporate world.
One could only imagine the struggles Yvonne would have faced when she first delved into the world of
business. After years of hard work, the fact that she could now do her job with ease and even receive
praise for it was a testament to her relentlessness.However, she certainly didn’t have the best character either, as shown by how she had tried to stop
Quentin from teaching Zack a lesson back at Sommer Gardens despite knowing that their son was in the
wrong.
Michaela had witnessed how the older woman had protected her son while disregarding his mistakes.
Although Yvonne later called to apologize, no amount of words could reverse the damage that had
already been done.
At present, Michaela was worried that the Xander family would stop getting along because of what had
just happened, given how Quentin wasn’t Nick’s own son.
Yet, her words seemed to carry a different meaning to Jonathan.
The man smiled faintly and gazed at her with his obsidian eyes. “Are you actually worried about me?”
Does he really think that? Ugh! How shameless can he be?
“Of course not!” Michaela shot him a glare before running upstairs.
But the moment she turned around, Jonathan swiftly noticed how rosy the woman’s neck had become.
She’s blushing.
A smile played on his lips, but his gaze quickly darkened at the thought of serious matters.
It doesn’t matter if I had pissed Quentin and his family off. They’re bound to be offended once I announce
my relationship with Michaela anyway.
Besides, Jonathan didn’t think he had gone overboard with his words and actions that day.
Meanwhile, Zack initially still felt disgruntled while kneeling outside the Xander residence.He then grew fearful after learning that the family doctor had to come over. But since he dared not tell his
parents what he had done, he could only endure the punishment he was now going through.
Ever since word about his and Lucille’s private matters got out, Zack’s parents had already warned him
to break things off with that woman.
But had it not been for his firm assurance, he wouldn’t have regained the freedom he now had.
Now that all his wishful thinking had amounted to nothing and he could no longer hide his relationship
with Lucille, even Zack began to wonder how to navigate the future.
Just then, he heard a series of footsteps. “Albert! How’s Grandpa doing?” he asked upon realizing that
Albert had returned from seeing the family doctor off.
“The doctor says he’ll need to get lots of rest and stop getting riled up,” the butler answered truthfully.
He noticed Zack’s eyes turning red. The latter spluttered, “How did this happen? I-I really didn’t mean to
upset him. I… I just…” Zack looked visibly distressed.
“I suggest you keep your voice down, Mr. Zack. If you were to anger Mr. Jonathan by disrupting Old Mr.
Xander’s sleep, you might not get away with just kneeling like this.”
Albert knew all too well that Zack was being used.
Despite not wanting to say too much at first, he regarded Zack as his own son since he had practically
watched the latter grow up.
Thus, he began to advise the younger man in detail, “You were out of line today, Mr. Zack. It was also
wrong of you to blame Ms. Michaela. The truth is, she’s never badmouthed you and Ms. Lucille, at least
not here at the Xander residence. In fact, she even tried to calm things down when Old Mr. Xander
suggested compensating her. You’re still young, Mr. Zack. That’s why you don’t understand Old Mr.Xander’s intentions. He just wants what’s best for you. It’s true that he and Old Mr. Simmons used to be
good friends, but why did he decide to have you marry Ms. Michaela back then? Is it not because he
holds you in high regard?”
The butler continued, “So, even if you’ve now fallen for someone else, the least you could do is to just
quietly cancel the wedding, but you ended up causing such a huge stir instead. Don’t you know what
you’ve done to the Xander family? All Old Mr. Xander wanted was for you to come over and apologize to
Ms. Michaela so that things wouldn’t get too awkward when both families meet again. But instead, you
stubbornly decided to call Ms. Lucille over too. Is this not a slap in Old Mr. Xander’s face? He’s loved you
more than his own grandchildren all these years, but your actions today were simply uncalled for. Can
you really bear the consequences of talking back to Old Mrs. Xander and being rude to Mr. Jonathan?”
Had it been Jonathan speaking, Zack would have surely accused him of blindly siding with Michaela.
However, now that the one speaking was their butler who had served the Xander household for so many
years, he couldn’t help but reflect upon those words.