Smack!
Miranda felt her vision darken and then, a clear and loud sound rang out right after. Before she knew it, her head had been pushed to the side. It was only when she felt a hot and stinging pain that she realized that someone had hit her.
She turned back abruptly to see Nora standing in front of her. Nora glanced at her carelessly with her cat-like eyes and said, "Aunt Melissa's not hitting you because she's a cultivated lady."
Then, she raised her eyebrows provocatively and said coldly, "However, I'm a wild child with a bad temper, so I can't stand anyone behaving wildly in front of me."
"…"
Her attitude intimidated Miranda. The young woman looked thin and weak, and her fingers slim and slender, yet there was a lot of force in the slap she delivered. It was to the extent that she felt like she was still seeing stars.
Miranda took a step back and put some distance between Nora and herself. She held her cheek with her hand and glared at Melissa furiously as she shouted, "Melissa! Are you just going to watch her get violent with her elders?! Make her apologize! Otherwise, I'll never let this matter rest!"
Melissa's cheek was still hurting fiercely.
She was a learned person.
She had never liked getting violent so crudely whenever she met with a problem, and she hated arguing with uncultured people even more. The way Miranda always behaved like a shrew in the streets made her feel at a loss the most.
Moreover, she was family, so she didn't want to make things too ugly. That was why she had allowed herself to be bullied and suppressed for so many years.
But in the moment that Nora hit Miranda just now, she finally experienced the joy of revenge, especially when she saw how Miranda didn't dare to say anything despite being so furious. Melissa gave a wry smile with her eyes reddened. Then, she straightened her back, looked calmly at Miranda, and replied aggressively, "In that case, shouldn't you apologize to me first?"
Miranda, who was lost for words, stamped her foot angrily after a brief moment. She pointed at Melissa and ranted angrily, "I came here with good intentions to persuade you to invest in real estate, yet you're hitting me instead? I'm going back to tell Farrell about this right now, so that he'll know what kind of person you are!"
Miranda left immediately after saying that.
A sarcastic smile appeared on Melissa's countenance as she stared at her from the back.
Back then, she was well-known for being gentle and intellectual and was no wimp.
She had been so tolerant of Miranda all these years only because she was her sister-in-law, whereas Melissa herself was just a daughter of the Woods who had married into another family. She didn't want to put her elder brother in a spot, so she hadn't said anything.
Little did she expect that Miranda now thought of her as so much of a wimp that she even dared to hit her.
Melissa cast her eyes down.
Next to her, Nora, who could tell that Melissa seemed rather unhappy, couldn't help but rub her chin.
Although she wasn't afraid of the Woods, they were still her aunt's family after all. Moreover, her aunt's elder brother wasn't a bad person either. Should they really fall out, Aunt Melissa would be sad, right?
The thought had only just formed when Melissa suddenly lifted her head and said, "It's time that some things are made clear."
Melissa clenched her fists and said to the chauffeur, "Get the car ready. I'm going to talk to Farrell!"
Nora was rendered speechless.
Why was she suddenly feeling like her aunt had turned into a bitch? Cough. She certainly seemed pretty cute like that, though.
With that in mind, Nora left the Andersons.
Melissa didn't like the jeep, so Nora was the only one driving it now.
She drove to the hotel where the restaurant that Justin had made a reservation at was.
At the hotel.
Justin was currently seated in the private room. As he adjusted his tie, he looked at Sean and, in a deep voice, slowly asked, "You know what to say later, right?"
Sean replied, "… Yes, I've taken note of it, Mr. Hunt."
Seemingly because this was also the first time he was doing something like this, Justin adjusted his tie again in an attempt to conceal his discomfort. He looked at Sean again and said, "Practice your lines a little."
"…"
Sean fell silent for a moment.
Justin cast a disdainful glance at him.
Had it been Lawrence here instead, he would have known immediately what to do without him even having to explain. Sean was simply too reticent.
Upon sensing his boss' disdain, Sean coughed and said, "I'm ready, Mr. Hunt."
Justin nodded and asked dispassionately, "What is Pete doing?"
Sean straightened his back and replied methodically, "It's your birthday tomorrow, so he's making a handmade card for you right now. He intends to give it to you as a birthday gift, so he refuses to come over for dinner."
A dissatisfied Justin commented, "You sound too fake."
Sean, "…"
His boss sure was doing everything he could to let Ms. Smith know that it was his birthday the next day!
But if she really cared about him, how could she possibly not know? As the man in charge of the Hunt Corporation, all his relevant information could be found on Wikipedia!
In the midst of their conversation, the service staff's voice suddenly came from the door. "Ms. Smith, this is the private room."
Justin immediately sat up straight and cast a barely discernible glance at the door. The very moment Nora entered, he coughed, looked at Sean, and asked, "What is Pete doing?"
Nora entered the room the moment he said that. Seemingly having heard his question, she also looked at Sean with interest.
A stern-looking Sean replied with a straight face, "It's your birthday tomorrow, Mr. Hunt, so he's making a handmade card for you right now. He intends to give it to you as a birthday gift, so he refuses to come over for dinner."
Justin nodded coldly at Sean and said, "I see."
Then, he gave Nora a wry look and said, "The child is too spoiled."
Nora took a seat opposite him. Although she was a little disappointed that she couldn't see her son again, the exchange nevertheless still caught her attention. She asked, "Is it your birthday tomorrow?"
Justin tried his best to suppress the lifting corners of his lips and keep a straight face. He looked at her with his deep, bottomless eyes and replied in a low and soft voice, "Yeah."
Nora propped her elbows against the table and rested her chin on her hands. Her face was very small, and her cat-like eyes, which always looked so lazy and sloppy, sparkled with interest as she asked, "Does Pete give you gifts for your birthday?"
She was awfully interested in how her son had spent the past five years.
She wanted to know what her son did while she wasn't around.
For example, how he had grown up and how he had landed in Justin's hands…
Justin nodded. "Yes, he gives me a gift every year."
He emphasized the word 'gift'.
Nora, however, felt a little jealous.
That stinky Cherry had never given her any gifts. On her birthday every year, all she did was give her a huge bout of flattery. She found herself really envious of Justin in this moment.
As expected, her son was more heartwarming indeed.
Nora looked at Justin hostilely and clicked her tongue. Then, she suddenly asked, "Can I attend Mr. Hunt's birthday party?"
Justin replied, "Of course."
Nora blinked and said, "I'm very curious about the card that Pete is making for you. Can I have a look at it?"
Justin, "??"
Next to him, Sean tried his best to suppress his laughter as he looked at his boss.
Pete had been mildly autistic since he was a baby. When had he ever given his boss a birthday gift?
However, Justin nevertheless replied without any change in his expression, "Of course. You can come over with your daughter, Ms. Smith."
Go over together?
Nora's eyes flickered as she replied, "Sure."
She wondered if Justin would like it if she gave him Cherry as a birthday gift?