“You mongrel, how did I end up with such a mess like you?” Louis abruptly stood up and shouted into the busy kitchen at Mrs. White, “Mom, Dad is insulting you.”
Upon hearing Mrs. White, Mr. White immediately wavered, gritting his teeth and muttering, “When did I insult your mother?”
“When you call me a mongrel mess, isn’t that insulting my mom?” Mrs. White happened to hear Louis’ words as she emerged from the kitchen, and she immediately walked over and slapped Mr. White on the back of his head.
“When you call our son a mongrel mess, are you saying I married a dog and gave birth to a child?” Mr. White was left dazed by the slap, unable to come to his senses for a while, feeling that something was off.
“Dear, I didn’t insult you.”
“Don’t try to wriggle out of this!” Mrs. White slapped him again.
Mr. White’s head was buzzing from the slap, looking aggrieved. With their children, nephews, and even the servants present, did he have any face left after this family gathering?
Mr. White was a henpecked husband, so he could only endure at times like this. However, he couldn’t bear to see Louis’ smug face, mocking his own father. Was there any son who could ridicule his own father like this?
“Lou, you’re just stirring up trouble!”
Louis smiled faintly, “Mom, Dad said I’m a troublemaker. If I am, then everyone at this table…”
Mrs. White viciously kicked Mr. White’s leg, “Do you have to speak? We’re about to eat. What’s with the troublemaker talk!”
“I won’t say anything, I won’t say anything.” Mr. White grimaced, clutching his leg, and as he reached for his utensils to serve himself, Mrs. White slapped his hand.
“You haven’t even started, what are you serving yourself for? And Hamish.”
Mr. White murmured softly, “I am the head of this household.”
“The head of the household will be sleeping on the couch tonight.”
“Please, dear…”
With everyone at the table, Hamish was the only outsider. The last place Hamish wanted to be was at the White family’s gathering.
The atmosphere at the White family was so harmonious that it made him envious. He had grown up in the indifferent Burns family, where his parents tragically died in front of him when he was young, becoming his childhood nightmare.
His grandfather’s selfishness and indifference, along with the sudden appearance of an illegitimate child, made him increasingly disgusted with everything related to the Burns family.
Louis, on the other hand, was the opposite. He was so fortunate to not only have caring parents but also Elisa’s affections. Hamish couldn’t understand why all the good in the world seemed to favor Louis.
This was Hamish’s third visit to the White family. If it weren’t for Elisa, he probably would never come here.
Mrs. White picked up a piece of ribs and put it in Hamish’s bowl, “Hamish, eat up. Make yourself at home.”
It had been a long time since Hamish had heard the word “home.” He gazed at the braised ribs in his bowl, feeling somewhat stunned.
“Thank you, Aunt.”
“Don’t be polite, serve yourself.” Mrs. White was the first to take care of Hamish. She felt guilty towards Hamish as well. After her second brother and his wife died, she hadn’t taken care of him much. She knew the situation at the Burns family very well. It was more like a den of wolves and tigers than a family. She was too afraid of her father at the time and didn’t dare to go back.
She had a portion of the Burns family’s inheritance shares, which were supposed to go to Hamish. However, she had made a deal with Finn in advance and exchanged the shares she held for Louis five years ago.
When Louis was born, he was taken away. The child they had raised for eight years suddenly had someone claim that he was not their biological child. Mrs. White had a breakdown and almost didn’t make it through a serious illness.
That was why she doted on him so much after Louis was found, but it was a pity that there was a gap of more than twenty years between them. In addition, Louis had a nearly fifteen-year intellectual disability, and although he had recovered later, his emotions had become very indifferent.
To prevent him from resenting the family, she had simply hired a hypnotist to implant unfamiliar memories into him, making him mistakenly believe that he had always had a heart condition and had been undergoing treatment overseas.
After serving Hamish, Mrs. White also served Louis a pair of chopsticks and ribs.
“Son, stay a few more days this time. Mom hasn’t seenyou in a long time.” She said this, her eyes suddenly welling up, looking somewhat tearful.
Louis looked puzzled, staring at the ribs in his bowl, unsure how to respond. In his blurry memory, his family members were present, but strangely, he felt no sense of affection, as if he were an orphan by nature, without parents.
He could feel the emotions his family had for him, but he couldn’t reciprocate. Only Elisa made him constantly want to get closer, to touch.
Thinking of Elisa, Louis shook his head. “I’ve been really busy with work lately, I have to go back.”
“Oh, I see…” Mrs. White’s eyes dropped in disappointment.
Mr. White, who was nearby, saw this and said, “You’ve got nothing important to attend to. Don’t think I don’t know you’ve postponed all your recent schedules to prepare for a movie. Also, you’ve been getting close to a female star recently. I’ll tell you, I don’t mind if you’re in a relationship, but if you want to get married, you have to pass through your mother and me. Don’t bring any disreputable women here.”
Louis frowned, “Are you investigating me again?”
“Is it considered an investigation for a father to care about his son’s life? You’re out of line.” Mr. White looked somewhat uncomfortable, turning his face away, refusing to look at Louis.
“Let’s put that aside for now. I just want to ask, you called me yesterday and said it was a family gathering. If it’s a family gathering, why is this person here?”