Whenever she hugged him, it felt like she gained infinite strength and courage.
Then, he held her face and said to her in all seriousness, “I am your husband. Promise me; the next time something like this happens, you have to tell me. Okay?”
She nodded vigorously as tears overflowed from her eyes again. Turning on her phone, she saw that there were numerous missed calls and text messages as well as messages on Messenger. They were all scolding her in one way or another. Some of the family group chats were also berating her for being inhumane and unfilial, and ruining the Bishop siblings’ ‘marriages’.
As soon as Maddie’s phone was turned on again, Mr. Evans’ call came through. she was just about to hang up on him when Joel suddenly took the phone from her and answered the call. Mr. Evan’s voice immediately sounded from the other side of the phone, blowing up at her at the top of his voice. “Maddie Evans, do you still regard me as your father?! Look at how angry you’ve made Uncle Byron! Did you think I won’t be able to do anything to you since you’ve settled down in Bayside City?! I’m telling you; I have many ways to deal with you! I’m giving you two days to come home and beg for forgiveness!”
Upon hearing that voice, Maddie froze for a moment. It felt as if a bucket of ice water came pouring down on her head, filling her heart with sorrow and disappointment. Squeezing her hand slightly, Joel spoke to the other person on the phone. “Nice to meet you, father-in-law. I am Maddie’s lover, Joel Fletcher. I do not believe Maddie did anything wrong during today’s incident. If you have any objections, you can find me in Bayside City at any time. I will explain it to you myself.”
When Mr. Evans heard his son-in-law’s voice, he became even ruder than before. “You b*stard! What sort of black magic did you cast on my daughter that made her so mesmerized?! How dare she no longer obey me?!”
Joel continued in a calm voice, “Maddie is an independent individual. She has no obligation to do anything for your family.” After saying that, he hung up.
It was nearly 9 PM. Christine was still waiting outside Maddie’s office. Calculating the time, she had to rush home as soon as Maddie left for home, lest she was criticized for going home late again.
As expected, Joel had the means to cheer Maddie up. Not long after he arrived, Maddie came out with a smile on her face. She was all relaxed now. Since the Evans Family no longer considered her as their daughter, there was no need for her to continue keeping in contact with them. They only contact me to ask for money anyway. I might as well cut off all contact with them. I’m not scared of anything as long as Joel is here for me!
Joel was carrying Maddie’s bag. When he saw that Christine was still waiting at the entrance, he said, “Christine, it’s so late. Why don’t you come and stay over at our place for the night? It’s not convenient for you to go back alone at this hour. Besides, you’ve never been to our house before, right?”
Christine hurriedly replied, “It’s okay. I need to hurry back home!”
At this moment, Maddie felt liberated. Since I no longer need to interact with the Evans Family again, it doesn’t matter anymore. Thus, she said, “Let’s go; you’ve kept me company all day long today. I’m sure you haven’t had dinner either. Come on; let’s go to my house for supper.”
Christine’s stomach was rumbling out of hunger. Besides, it wasn’t easy to catch a bus at this hour and it was very expensive to take a taxi home. I might as well follow Maddie to her house to have a look.
Maddie embarrassedly replied, “She is my cousin on my mother’s side.”
Meanwhile, Christine was so shocked that she was at a loss for what to say… It was her first time coming to Bayside City. Therefore, she was completely unaware of the situation between the powerful factions in Bayside City. After the Fashion Week, she heard from some well-informed seniors that both Stanley and Taylor were part of the Fletcher Family. Only then did she vaguely learn about the existence of the Fletcher Family. It was reportedly a military family which produced many generals. Even the God of War, Mark Fletcher, that everybody knew about was part of the Fletcher Family.
She heard that the Fletcher Family was very prominent. Many female celebrities from the entertainment circles desperately wanted to marry into the Fletcher Family. However, the Fletcher Family was an existence that even the bigshots in the entertainment industry could not hope to join. She heard that Taylor was crowned the Academy Award for Best Actor winner twice. Moreover, he was the largest shareholder of The Imperial. Even though he was standing at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, he was nothing special within the Fletcher Family. I can’t believe Maddie is married to Stanley’s uncle! Wow! Looks like this paratrooper is quite something! Maybe he’s the best among all the other paratroopers!
By the time they arrived at Joel’s place, the kitchen was already cooking up something delicious. Christine noticed that Maddie’s house was quite spacious after she entered. The houses allocated by the military are quite large. If each household lives in a one-bedroom apartment, this building probably holds several dozen households!
Joel asked Stanley to keep Christine company for a while as he accompanied Maddie upstairs to change her clothes. Then, Christine saw many pictures adorning the walls of the living room. Curious, she went over to take a look at them. There were photos of Maddie and Joel’s wedding, family photos, as well as photos of Joel in his military uniform with various people.
“Hmm? Isn’t this the legendary Old Master Fletcher? Joel is standing right next to him! Wow! That’s the president! Why is Joel standing next to the president?! This person standing next to Joel… isn’t he the one that’s always in the news—” The more Christine looked, the more shocked she became. Just who on earth is Joel?!
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