After Josie and Anson left the room, Luke followed them.He sighed, still holding the magic cube in his
hands.
"That ungrateful little brat! I've always been nice to him.But what do I get in return? Refusing to give
some of his wontons! He is such a pain in the ass! If only he was as easy to be dealt with as
Precious...A few snacks would do the trick in no time!"
Josie grew tired of his tirade.
"Just shut up, will you?"
"Well, that's great! My own mother hates me! Don't worry! I won't impose my presence on you any
longer.I'm going out."
He jingled his car keys dramatically and walked away without glancing back.
'Hmm.I need some comfort food ASAP.And after dinner, I'll visit a bar.Since Ryan met Wendy, all I had
time for was helping him get the girl.I haven't been with a woman in two months! Oh, God! This must
be a personal record forme'' Luke called Kane and Roger and asked them to meet him at the bar.
Kane agreed without hesitation, but as soon as Roger found out Kane would be there too, he hung up,
offering some lame excuse that he already had plans.
Luke looked at his phone in confusion.
'Your loss.Who would turn down a free drink? Well, more for me and Kane, then'' He started the car
and drove away.
Josie and Anson got to their car in silence.
When the driver saw them approaching, he started the car and drove away as soon as they were
settled in the back seat.
The ride home was tense and silent, until Anson noticed that Josie didn't look good.
He took her hand and pulled her into his arms.
"What are you doing? The driver..."
"You are my wife.I think I can hug you whenever I want."
The driver discreetly raised the partition to give them some privacy.
Josie's face softened.
She leaned against Anson's chest and murmured, "I'm not feeling that well."
"I know.It's because of Ray, right?"
Josie's eyes were rimmed with red.
"He is only three.How can he be so...harsh! Vindictive even! We tried everything and still he wouldn't let
his hatred go.Did you hear what he was saying? I don't know where he could possibly have picked up
that kind of behavior."What she didn't say out loud was that she blamed Wendy for Ray's upbringing.
Anson patted her on the back.
"I think he is a good boy.He has a clear distinction between love and hate.He has a good judgment for
his age.He is polite and mature..."
"I don't think that polite would be the correct word to describe his attitude tonight,"
Josie snapped back, rolling her eyes.
"Well, you are being too harsh on him.Think about it.If you were kidnapped, would you greet your
kidnapper with a smile? Although Ray was unpleasant, he was still decent and civilized.And that's
pretty rare if you ask me."
Josie lapsed into silence.
"You said he was vengeful and that you didn't know where he picked it up.I'd say that he probably
inherited that trait from a certain someone...Ryan has always been like that too.And aside from some
facial characteristics, Ray is really a mini version of Ryan."
It was all true.
Josie couldn't argue with that.She felt kind of relieved at that.
"If Ray had immediately forgiven you and accepted us as his grandparents just because we are rich,
would that make you happy?"
Josie shivered at the sound of that.If that had been the case, then Ray would be a really horrible
person.
"So, in a way, it's good that he hates us right now.There's no need to be angry about it."
"I'm not really angry.I just think..."
Anson interrupted, "You just think that because Ray is only three, he knows nothing.You think that he
hates us because Wendy put him up to it, right?"
Josie stayed silent as Anson revealed her true feelings and thoughts.
That was exactly what she had been thinking.
Anson went on, "Since Ray was taken to the ICU, Wendy only visited him once and Precious was with
her.Wendy is not stupid.She would never speak ill of us in front of our granddaughter!"
That actually made sense! Josie felt slightly better for a moment, but then she looked up at Anson, and
pinched his arm hard.
"Why do you always take Wendy's side?"
'You know that I don't like her!' She kept that last part to herself.
"I do it for our son!"
Anson grabbed Josie's hand and added, "Don't you think Luke was right, Josie? For fifteen years, Ryan
seems to have been swallowed by responsibilities! I have forgotten what his smile looks like.It's not
easy for him to find a woman he really likes, and then Wendy shows up and also happens to be
Precious' mother! Things like that don't happen every day! How lucky they are to have found each
other."
Josie chuckled.
Anson returned the smile.
"If Wendy can make Ryan happy, I'll accept her.And just for the record, all the scandals were utter
bullshit.And even if there was any truth to them, I would still support their relationship."
Josie sat up straight and exclaimed, "What?"
"Calm down, honey! Let's just keep an eye on Wendy, okay?"
"Fine."
As they were deep in the autumn, night fell pretty early.
Sundown found Brian busy with his company's affairs.
His family owned a chain of five-star hotels called Vienna Chain Hotel.
Almost every large city in the country had one of them.
Yesterday, a customer of theirs accused their hotel for poor sanitation.
The man was a germaphobe and insisted that the staff change his bed sheets upon his arrival.
During this process, he found a dead mouse under the sheets.
This would be easy to deal, as long as everything they agreed upon would be in private.
But that particular customer was proving a tough nut to crack.
He wasn't willing to keep the matter hushed and even posted the pictures of the dead rodent online.
People suddenly rallied to relay their own bad experiences in Vienna Chain Hotel, like how they saw
the cleaning lady wiping the toilet with a bath towel or how a naked man broke into a woman's room.
Some people insisted that their rooms were infested with bedbugs.
And once it all started, there was no stopping it.
Now it was completely out of hand.
There were several reporters around, looking for an interview with the company's representative.
The more Brian thought about it, the angrier he was.
In the meeting room, Brian was roaring non-stop.
"How the hell did that happen? A five-star hotel must be spotless! How did a dead mouse end up under
the sheets? And the damn thing had been dead for some time! Wasn't the room cleaned? Answer me,
damn it!"
The manager kept his head down and said nothing.
After a while, Brian's tirade was over and a member of his staff said in a low voice, "Mr.Oliver, the most
important thing right now is to put an end to this matter.The situation is getting worse by the minute.If it
isn't dealt with quickly, I am afraid that it will mean the ruin of our company!"
'Deal with it? You made a fucking mess and you are asking ME to deal with it?' Brian's anger hit a
whole new lever''
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