In the living room, the entire Alex family occupied the largest leather sofa, while Paige nonchalantly devoured fruit and carelessly tossed the peels on the floor. Ethan, adopting an arrogant posture, sprawled on the sofa. Not only that, he propped his feet on the coffee table in front of him, showing a complete lack of respect as a guest.
“Sophia, you’re finally back.”
Upon seeing Sophia and Leo’s return, Paige only half-heartedly turned her head and greeted her with a seemingly warm smile. As for Ethan, he didn’t alter his unsightly demeanor one bit. He offered a casual greeting, “Sophia, it’s been a while. You’ve become even more beautiful!”
Sophia managed to force a smile and responded, “Uncle, Aunt.”
Ethan rose from the sofa and fixed his gaze on Sophia’s figure for a good while. Then, he casually approached Leo with an air of mockery.
“Leo, you’ve been married to my dear cousin Sophia for four years now, and it seems you haven’t changed one bit. It appears you’re quite content living off her.”
Sophia glared at Ethan fiercely and scolded, “Ethan, watch your words. Leo is your brother-in-law!”
“Brother-in-law? Ha!” Ethan then shot a sidelong glance at Leo and put on a disgusting expression. “I’d sooner call a dog my brother than this freeloading waste of a brother-in-law!”
“You…” If it weren’t for Ethan’s parents being present, Sophia would have given him a piece of her mind.
But Sophia refraining from speaking didn’t mean Leo would stay silent.
“Ethan, are you suggesting you and dogs belong to the same category?” Leo’s sharp gaze was fixed on Ethan as he inquired.
Ethan hadn’t anticipated that Leo would dare to insult him. He was initially stunned and then quickly twisted his expression into one of anger. “Leo, who do you think you are to insult me?”
Paige suddenly sprang up from the sofa, taking several large strides to reach Leo. She placed her hands on her hips, showering Leo with spittle as she yelled, “You trash! What did you say just now? Say it again if you have the guts!”
Leo began to respond, but he was immediately cut off by Paige. “You can spare me your words. There’s no room for you to speak here. You’re nothing but a freeloading son-in-law who doesn’t know how to be a man!”
“Now, hurry up and kneel down to apologize to Ethan, or I won’t spare you!”
In Paige’s perception, Jessica’s son-in-law, Leo, was someone she could freely scold, taunt, and tease. Paige was fierce and ruthless, surpassing even Jessica in her bluntness. Although she was in someone else’s home, Paige considered herself no outsider. When it came to reprimanding Leo, she was even fiercer than Jessica. Paige believed that, despite the passing years, Leo remained the same softie who passively endured everything life threw at him.
Alex walked over from the sofa to Leo, using a commanding tone as he said, “Worthless. Stop glaring, and quickly kneel down and apologize to Ethan. Otherwise, I’ll have Jessica make you demonstrate how to kneel on durian.”
Leo had already clenched his fists tightly, and his knuckles emitted the sound of a cracking bone due to the force.
“Uncle, Aunt, don’t go too far!” Sophia stated with a deep voice.
“Too far?” Paige looked at Alex.
Alex grinned, “Not at all.”
“Dad, Mom, I think this trash needs to be taught a lesson.” Ethan commented as he aimed a slap right at Leo’s face.
“Smack!”
A crisp sound of a slap resounded.
Paige and Alex didn’t even bother looking because they knew the sound came from Leo’s face.
But why was it their son who let out a painful scream?
Could it be because Ethan had hit so hard that he hurt his own hand?
Paige and Alex couldn’t help but turn their gaze to their son. Upon seeing what had happened, they were almost petrified.
Ethan was lying on the ground, clutching his swollen left cheek, whimpering in pain. Leo had actually dared to strike their son!?
Paige and Alex simply couldn’t believe what was happening before their eyes. Just two years ago, when Jessica brought Sophia and Leo back to her family’s home, Leo had been at Ethan’s mercy, and he didn’t dare utter a word, let alone defend himself. How was it that this freeloading son-in-law had suddenly changed today?
After a bout of pain-filled cries, Ethan got up from the ground and then lunged at Leo while yelling.
Leo promptly kicked him and sent him sprawling back to the ground.
“Damn you, if you don’t know your place, I’ll beat you to death!” Leo couldn’t help but curse.
After the initial shock, Paige screamed, “You good-for-nothing piece of trash! How dare you hit my son? I’ll tear you apart!”
Paige immediately transformed into a furious woman, lunging at Leo with wild gestures.
Leo didn’t even bother to look at her, just a swift kick sent her flying.
A muffled sound followed, and like her son, Paige was rolling on the ground, clutching her stomach and crying out in agony.
Alex, Jessica, and Martin were left completely dumbfounded. Particularly Alex, Leo’s actions had completely overturned his understanding of Leo. Although his wife and son had been beaten by Leo, for some reason, when he saw Leo’s fierce expression and felt his overpowering presence, Alex couldn’t muster the courage to approach Leo and confront him.
“Since you are guests here, you need to behave like guests. If you dare to create any more disturbances, get out!” Leo’s dominant and forceful voice resounded in the living room.
Paige, lying on the floor, defiantly retorted, “Leo, this house isn’t yours. You just married into it, so why should we leave?”
Leo smirked, “This house? I bought it.”
“Impossible!” Paige turned to Jessica. “Jessica, say something!”
Ethan and Alex also looked at Jessica. In their eyes, a freeloading son-in-law could never afford to buy the Cloud Dream Mountain mansion. This property should have been purchased by Sophia.
When they saw Jessica reluctantly nod, Paige and the others felt utterly defeated.
“Sophia, let’s go upstairs,” Leo said, turning to Sophia.
“Sweetie, come over, I need to talk to you,” Jessica quickly grabbed Sophia’s hand and led her into the guest room.
Once in the room, Jessica closed the door. “Sweetie, has Leo been acting strangely lately? He even had the audacity to strike your Aunt. He’s completely ruined my image!” Jessica exclaimed in frustration.
“Mom, you saw what happened just now. It was Ethan and Aunt who initiated the fight with Leo. Could Leo have just stood there and let them hit him?” Sophia retorted.
Jessica sighed and spoke earnestly, “Sweetie, although Ethan and your Aunt were in the wrong, they are still our relatives. Leo is just an outsider.”