Chapter 78

Chapter 78Chapter 78 Shut Yvonne Up
Due to Yvonne’s appearance, the originally relaxed and happy atmosphere within the Xander residence
instantly turned ice-cold.
Michaela fidgeted in her seat next to Mavis, with her hands subconsciously clasped together. As the root
cause of all the conflict over the past weeks had been indirectly caused by her, it was only natural for her
to feel anxious.
Jonathan walked in and sat on the single-seater directly opposite Yvonne. With a carefully blank
expression, he waited for Yvonne’s next move in silence.
The grim atmosphere did nothing to return Yvonne to her senses. She spoke again as soon as she sat
down. “Zack has had a high fever since yesterday night. His face was covered in bruises when I saw
him. I was so scared that I thought he had gotten beaten up outside. Only when I asked did I find out he
was punished here. The boy is young and immature. As his mother, I will naturally take responsibility. I
also beg you not to hold a grudge against Zack, Uncle Nick and Aunt Mavis. There’s just one thing I don’t
understand. What did Zack do that was so bad to warrant such a beating after a visit to the Xander
residence? Please enlighten me!”
After all that build up, she finally got to the point.
Jonathan leaned back lazily on the couch and stretched out his long legs before glancing at his sister-in-
law carelessly. “Since you’re clearly addressing me, Yvonne, why don’t you just come right out and say
it? Why beat around the bush?”
Mavis frowned. “Jonathan!”
Despite being she was highly disappointed by Yvonne’s attitude, the matriarch did not want to make
things difficult for Quentin’s wife.Mavis’ gesture of trying to spare Yvonne the embarrassment was not appreciated by the latter. Already
simmering with rage, Yvonne lost her temper at Jonathan’s words.
“Have I ever wronged you over the years, Jonathan? Zack has been respectful to you as well, hasn’t he?
Did you reciprocate the respect? Zack is your nephew. Why did you have to be so heavy-handed with
him? Kneeling in punishment is embarrassing enough, and you even resorted to physical assault. What
kind of an elder are you?”
Yvonne felt distressed at the thought of how her son had suffered from a high fever the night before. Her
gaze toward Jonathan turned hostile.
Jonathan’s eyes narrowed in return. Emanating an aura of silent fury poured out of him, his tone became
sharp. “Have you asked Zack why I did that?”
“Zack has been obedient and sensible since he was a child. You are his elder and his employer. How
would he dare say anything?”
Zack’s fever had subsided when Yvonne departed. He had some oatmeal before falling asleep again.
At the mention of the events that had occurred the day before, Yvonne took Jonathan’s hesitance as an
opportunity to push the blame on him.
Yvonne responded strongly to his rebuttal. Her eyes glimmered coldly as if she had already decided that
everything was Jonathan’s fault.
“Hah!” Jonathan laughed instead of taking offense, though his gaze was colder than ever. “Now I
understand how Zack turned out this way,” he said in a merciless whisper. “It has been an eye-opening
day for me to learn about your parenting style, Yvonne.”
“What do you mean by that, Jonathan? Are you questioning the Fandel family’s upbringing?”Yvonne asked loudly with a rare trace of arrogance in her voice. Her brows hardened haughtily.
Her arrogance stemmed from the position of her family in the city. Though the Fandels were not as
powerful as the Xanders in Quakersville, they were still considered societal elites.
However, seated across her at that moment was Jonathan. A legendary figure who forged the business
world and would have no fear of the Fandel family’s influence.
Jonathan’s brows twitched. His calm voice was laced with cold stiffness as he raised his eyebrows
aggressively. “So what?”
The arrogance contained within merely two simple words far exceeded Yvonne’s. Uttered by Jonathan,
the authority in his provocation could not be ignored.
Even Yvonne seemed instantly discouraged. Though she did not speak again, she was unwilling to show
weakness by refusing to lower her defiant gaze.
Jonathan merely smiled in response, which did not reach his eyes. His voice was lower and colder than
ever when he spoke again. “Isn’t it a duty of us elders to discipline our young, Yvonne? He spoke up
against my mother and made my father faint from anger. Is that decent behavior?”
“What did you say?”
Yvonne gazed at him in disbelief. Instinctively frowning, she looked as if she was expecting a different
answer.
Jonathan’s expression remained stony. “After the cancellation of the wedding between the Xanders and
the Lingards,” he said with deliberate slowness. “My father rushed back without regard for his health as
soon as he heard the news. He summoned Zack to initiate the reconciliation between both families but
your son ended up bringing Lucille here and tried to get my parents’ blessing. Why don’t you question
why Zack behaved that way and placed the Xander family in such a predicament? Since the dissolutionof the engagement, your son and Lucille have been together. You’re his mother. Didn’t you know? Could
Zack’s actions have been silently condoned by you? Or have you already acknowledged Lucille to be
your daughter-in-law?”
“I have not!” Yvonne denied it at once. “Quentin and I have been abroad. How could we have known
about that?”
After the incident, Yvonne and Quentin traveled abroad for a partnership negotiation.
Over that period, she spoke to her son every day and did not discover anything unusual. Furthermore,
Zack had agreed to her anxious reminders every time she brought them up. Yvonne could scarcely
believe how he had never actually ended things with Lucille.
“That’s exactly the problem. Being so busy with work every day, have you really cared for your son,
Yvonne? Despite looking obedient, Zack is actually very assertive. For example, I once found a pinhole
camera in Sommer Gardens. Despite proof that the fingerprints have been identified as Lucille’s, Zack
later told me that he believed her innocence. Lucille bribed the magazine to sabotage Mich. Zack came
to confront Mich before clarifying matters.”
“Speaking of yesterday,” Jonathan continued, “Zack actually defended Lucille against Mom’s sharp
words toward her. He contradicted his elders for a woman. Very rudely, too. Was it wrong for me to hit
him? Despite Dad fainting from anger, Zack still did not repent. He even asked me what was wrong of
him for wanting to be with the woman he loves. I watched Zack grow up. I disciplined him because he is
my own nephew. You not only did not thank me but instead came to confront me about it? If that’s the
case, I will not bother myself in the future!”
Yvonne’s finger tightened involuntarily. She looked as though she had swallowed something unpleasant.Having been part of the Xander family for over twenty years, she had never embarrassed herself before
the elders until that day. For the sake of her son, she had come to blindly seek justice without first
clarifying the matter.
Not only did she anger the old couple, but she also offended her powerful cousin-in-law.
Yvonne could no longer refute Jonathan’s unshakeable logic. Finding herself at a loss for words, she felt
her face turning red in the ensuing silence.
As she was still stewing in regret, Yvonne wondered how she was going to explain to her husband how
she had managed to anger Nick over the matter of their son.
She finally succumbed after several seconds of uncomfortable silence. She stood up and faced the old
couple. “Uncle Nick, Aunt Mavis, please forgive me for speaking out of turn earlier. I was merely
anxious.”
Nick simply shook his head impassively and headed straight to his bedroom.
Mavis, on the other hand, Mavis felt obliged to return Yvonne’s courtesy no matter how unhappy she felt
about the incident. “Forget it,” she said with an airy wave of her hand. “We’re family, aren’t we? At least
we managed to clear the air of any misunderstanding! I’ll check on the old man. Please, sit around a little
longer.”
Since Quentin’s parents passed away, the old couple regarded him as theirs. In fact, they even held him
in higher regard than their own son. Yvonne’s outburst undoubtedly caused much sorrow in the old
couple.
After waiting for the elderly couple to retire into their bedroom, Yvonne turned her attention to Jonathan
again. “Please forgive me, Jonathan,” she said with an unnatural-looking smile. “You were right to put mein my place. Your firm hand in guiding Zack assures me, you know. We are a family. Though we bicker
sometimes, I would like you to continue guiding Zack. Will you?”
“And Mich,” she said, turning to the girl, “it was Zack who had let you down. I’ll teach him a lesson for
everything he has put you through, poor girl!”