Hipps Family… It must be the Hipps Family…
Coward’s eyes widened in an instant.
They had bribed these prisoners to beat him up.
The thought of it made his whole body ache, as if he could see the endless hell looming before him.
In fact, he had no idea that someone else was behind the beating.
Franklin got out of the car and walked towards the main house where Sylvia and Queena’s family lived. He wore a navy blue double-breasted cashmere coat, with thin snowflakes falling on his shoulders, making him look like a messenger from a fairyland.
As he reached the front of the hall, he stopped to brush the snow off his shoulders, and his phone rang.
Jasper’s voice came through, “Young Master, I have followed your instructions in the prison.”
“Good. Thank you.” Franklin succinctly ended the call and walked into the house.
He looked up and met Clare’s eyes. Clare had come over upon hearing a man’s voice, not expecting it to be Franklin.
“Franklin, come in quickly,” Clare said, surprised by the snow on Franklin’s shoulders. “Is it snowing outside?”
Franklin nodded lightly, “Yes, it just started not long ago, still light snow.”
“In this cold winter, it’s almost New Year’s again.” Clare ushered Franklin in and poured him a cup of hot tea. “Come warm yourself up.”
Queena heard the commotion and came out of her room. “Franklin is here?”
“The house has underfloor heating; it feels warm as soon as you come in.” Franklin sat on the sofa, holding a cup of hot tea. He liked coming to the Hipps Family; the atmosphere was as warm as the underfloor heating in the house.
Queena smiled and instructed the butler, “Go call Sylvia down for dinner. The child was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as she got to her room.”
“I saw it online,” Franklin’s eyes darkened. “Such troublemakers should be thrown out as soon as they come in.”
The Hipps Family was too kind-hearted, which was why they gradually lost their edge and fell into decline.
Compared to the Sweeney family and Hogan family, the Hipps Family was becoming more and more insignificant.
“It’s all because of Mariam. If we threw her family out while her life was uncertain, it wouldn’t look good,” Clare sighed. “Today was really chaotic. Luckily, Sylvia was amazing and saved her from death.”
Hearing Sylvia’s name brought a layer of warmth to Franklin’s eyes. His Sylvia… was indeed the best.
As they spoke, Sylvia came downstairs rubbing her eyes. “Is dinner ready?”
“We were waiting for you. Let’s go wash our hands and eat,” Queena stood up from the sofa and headed to the dining room.
Everyone followed her to the dining room and took their seats.
Just as they sat down, Clare’s phone rang. It was Finnegan calling.
“Uncle, is Sylvia there? Mariam is awake.”
“Finnegan, isn’t there a private doctor there? What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Being interrupted during dinner made Clare a bit annoyed.
The mama’s boy really had no backbone; he relied on others for everything.
“Mariam is awake and says her wound hurts…” Finnegan’s tone became timid upon hearing Clare’s displeasure. “So I wanted to ask Sylvia… if there’s any way to relieve the pain.”
“For such a simple matter, you can ask the private doctor,” Clare felt he was making a big deal out of nothing.
Did he really need to ask Sylvia for such a small matter?
Sylvia took Clare’s phone. “Besides the pain, is there any other reaction?”
Finnegan’s voice carried a hint of joy upon hearing Sylvia’s voice. “She’s a bit hungry. Can she eat something?”
“No. She can only have some liquid food once her digestive system is functioning properly,” Sylvia replied calmly. “The private doctor is very professional; you can consult them and the nurse if there are any issues. If there are no major problems, there’s no need to ask me specifically.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t bother you anymore. Thank you.” Finnegan quickly hung up.
Sylvia handed the phone back to Clare and continued eating. She looked down to see her plate piled high with food.
She glanced at Franklin helplessly. “Did you give me all this food? It’s too much…”
“You’ve been busy all day; you need to eat well,” Franklin’s thin lips curved into a slight smile. “Eat this shrimp.”
He carefully peeled a shrimp for Sylvia.
As he spoke, he also picked up a crab and scooped out all the crab roe for Sylvia.
The snow outside grew heavier than when Franklin arrived. Snowflakes drifted down like spirits wandering in the dark night, covering the world in white.
“Driving in the snow at night is inconvenient. Don’t go back tonight,” Sylvia glanced at the snow outside and then at the man beside her.
The man’s eyes flickered slightly, a mysterious fire igniting in his deep gaze. His voice turned husky, “Alright, I’ll do as you say.”
Sylvia gave him a sidelong glance. Why did his voice suddenly become so seductive?
After dinner, everyone dispersed.
Clare helped Mollie back to their room to rest after a chaotic day that left her exhausted.
Her legs were swollen, making it hard to walk.
Seeing this made Queena feel that their family was unfortunate; Finnegan marrying Mariam had really caused chaos here.
But no matter what, Mariam had just given birth and couldn’t be kicked out.
Kicking out a new mother would be heartless.
Especially with today’s online uproar causing such a public outcry.
Fortunately, it ended well.
Austin had gone fishing and playing chess with old friends but rushed home upon seeing the news online. By the time he returned, everyone had already dispersed.
Even so, he was quite angry.
“Finnegan is too cowardly. If he weren’t so spineless, how could these people have come to the Hipps Family to make trouble?”
“Forget it; don’t say anymore. Luckily, it’s all resolved now. Otherwise, our Hipps Family would have been disgraced in Aettosa,” Queena shook her head as she took off her shoes and got into bed. “Alright, let’s sleep early.”
“It’s infuriating!” Austin was still angry and couldn’t sleep.
Upstairs in the bedroom.
Sylvia sat on the bed after taking a bath, her body still damp with moisture.
Her hair was wet and dripping water. Franklin walked over with a dry towel and began drying her hair while asking, “When do you plan to leave?”
“Have you finished handling your matters?” Her beautiful eyes fell on his warm, dry hands as she blinked her long lashes. “Will the president let us go?”
“We’ll leave secretly,” Franklin’s eyes filled with a faint smile. “It’ll drive him mad.”
“Alright then, as long as you’ve decided,” Sylvia didn’t comment further on the matter. “If it’s okay, let’s leave early tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. I’ll have Jasper bring the plane to pick us up,” Franklin put down the towel and grabbed a hairdryer to dry her hair.
Thinking about spending future days together with her filled him with inexplicable joy and excitement.
In the past, being together morning and night was the most ordinary thing.
Now it seemed so difficult…
He couldn’t help but feel a bit self-mocking.
After drying her hair, he put away the hairdryer. “I’m going to take a shower.”
With that, he walked towards the bathroom with his long legs, soon followed by the sound of running water.
Sylvia wrapped herself in blankets and listened until she unknowingly closed her eyes.
When Franklin came out, he found that she had already fallen asleep.
He shook his head helplessly and looked down at himself before returning to take another cold shower.
Fortunately… there was underfloor heating in the house; otherwise… he would have caught a cold.
Early the next morning, chaos erupted in the Hipps Family.
“Mom! Mom!” Clare burst into Queena and Austin’s bedroom like a madman. “Something’s wrong!”
Queena glared at her son irritably. “What are you doing? It’s so early in the morning; you’re almost forty years old and still so reckless. Learn from Sylvia, will you?”
“Mom! It’s about Sylvia!” Clare handed Queena a note. “Look at this!”
“What is it?” Queena put on her reading glasses from the bedside table. When she saw the writing on it, she instantly woke up. “Sylvia ran away from home?”
“She left with Franklin!” Clare said worriedly. “I don’t know why they left Aettosa.”
Austin snatched the note anxiously. “What does it say?”
It read: “Grandpa and Grandma, I hope this finds you well. Franklin and I are leaving Aettosa for a while; don’t worry, we’ll be back soon. Sylvia.”
“Where are they going? Why so mysterious?” Queena’s eyes reddened with worry.
Austin quickly comforted her. “Don’t worry; I don’t think Sylvia is reckless. She must have her reasons for not wanting us to know or worry. Especially Franklin; he’s strong and skilled in martial arts-they’ll be fine.”
“Mom, don’t worry… Sylvia will come back when she’s ready,” Clare murmured comfortingly to Queena.
“Is she feeling too constrained at home? Or what?” Queena couldn’t help but fall into self-doubt.
“Grandma, Grandpa, are you awake?” Jenna’s voice came from outside the door.
“We’re awake; come in,” Queena responded, and Jenna entered. “My sister texted me saying she’s going on a trip and might be back after some time…”