Holden gave a slight smile. “Uncle, how are you doing? I heard you got hurt pretty badly, so I came to check on you.”
Samuel’s expression turned strange.
Heard he got hurt pretty badly? Didn’t Holden know exactly how badly he was hurt?
The injuries were Holden’s doing.
If Holden hadn’t beaten him up, would he be in this condition?
Nicola nodded. “The doctor stitched him up-he needed over ten stitches and has a slight concussion, but otherwise, he’s fine. Holden, Samuel is your uncle. Please don’t hit him anymore.”
Holden chuckled. “What happened today was a misunderstanding. I’m really concerned seeing Uncle so badly hurt. Uncle, you’re not angry, right?”
“No, not at all,” Nicola jumped in before Samuel could say a word. “We’re all family. It’s normal for young people to have little scuffles. Have you checked on your grandfather?”
Holden nodded. “The doctor said he’s recovering well, but since he’s getting older, we need to make sure he stays warm at home.”
“I used to keep an eye on your grandfather every day, but he’s so stubborn. He loves going down to the river to fish, and sometimes when the wind hits him, he comes back with a headache. No matter how much I tried to talk him out of it, he wouldn’t listen. You should talk to him about it too,” Nicola said with a cough. “Linda hasn’t seen you in a long time, and she misses you a bit. Holden, please try to talk to her more often. She’s not in the best health, so be patient with her.”
While Nicola was talking, Linda had already returned. When she heard that Holden had hit Samuel because of Sarah, Linda felt terrible. Her tear-filled eyes were fixed on Holden, but as usual, Holden couldn’t care less about her feelings.
With her son getting beaten up, Nicola didn’t dare blame Holden, so she shifted the blame onto Holden’s wife instead.
“Where’s Sarah?” Nicola asked. “I heard she’s here too. Let’s have her come over so we can all have dinner together tonight.”
When Sarah was invited over, she noticed Linda giving her a hateful look. But since Linda had never liked her anyway, Sarah didn’t pay it much mind. Her attention quickly shifted to Samuel.
“Hey, what happened to you, Uncle?”
Holden answered nonchalantly, “He wasn’t careful and walked into a rock.”
Sarah couldn’t help but laugh internally. Figures-a villain who goes against the boss can’t even walk without hitting his head.
Samuel felt incredibly frustrated, but he didn’t dare contradict Holden, afraid of getting beaten up again.
With Old Mr. Smith bedridden, everyone at the Smith family’s private hospital, from doctors to nurses and other staff, took their orders from Holden. To them, Holden was the only boss.
Even if Samuel and Nicola were foolish and arrogant, they knew better than to cause trouble while Old Mr. Smith was ill. Without his protection, Holden could deal with them as easily as handling baby chicks.
At dinner, only Nicola, Linda, and Reuben were present, with Samuel stuck in bed.
Reuben, who was younger and seemed more respectable, didn’t say much during the meal.
For some reason, Sarah sensed something was off about the atmosphere, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Nicola didn’t dare put on airs with Holden, but she had no problem acting the part of a demanding mother-in-law with Sarah.
“Sarah, you’ve been married to Holden for a few months now. Why aren’t you pregnant yet?” Nicola asked, clearly displeased. “Since we’re in the hospital, you should get checked out, and see if you can even have children.”
“…” Sarah was stunned. They hadn’t even had sex. How was she supposed to have a baby…? Out of thin air?
“We did a premarital checkup,” Holden replied calmly. “Sarah and I are both healthy. There’s no rush for a child.”
“Is it because Sarah doesn’t want kids? Young girls these days are all afraid of hardship. It wasn’t like that in my time,” Nicola continued, adopting her feudal wealthy wife attitude, nitpicking at Sarah. “Holden, your grandfather’s biggest wish is to see you with a son. Don’t let him down.”
Holden responded, “Some things are up to fate.”
Sarah nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Grandma, it’s all up to fate.”
Nicola was starting to get irritated. “Sarah, Holden’s grandfather is getting old. If you can’t have a baby, it’s better to find someone who can.”
Switching her out wasn’t even an option. Sarah wasn’t about to hand over twenty million just like that.
“Grandpa’s a blessed man. He’ll definitely live to see Holden have kids,” Sarah said with a smile. “Grandma, you should have faith in Grandpa.”
Nicola was so annoyed by this couple that she lost her appetite.
Linda, sneaking a glance at Holden, placed a piece of deboned fish on his plate. “Holden, I remember you love fish the most.”
Sarah noticed Holden’s expression immediately turned cold. In most stories, big shots like him usually had a thing about cleanliness and wouldn’t touch food that someone else served them.
So Sarah took the fish herself. “Thanks, but I like it more.”
Linda’s face turned ghostly pale, looking like she was about to have another heart attack.
Sarah worried that if she did anything else, she might actually push this fragile beauty over the edge.
Nicola praised Linda. “Holden, see? Linda is still the most considerate and knows how to take care of others.”
Sarah nodded. “Yes, she’s got the makings of a great housekeeper.”
Tears welled up in Linda’s eyes instantly.
Nicola frowned. “Sarah, do you have something against Linda?”
“No,” Holden cut in. “Sarah just likes being honest.”
That was the last straw for Linda. She jumped up and ran out of the room. Reuben and Nicola quickly followed after her.
At the large dining table, only Sarah and Holden were left.
Sarah quickly pulled her favorite dishes in front of herself and placed some cabbage and a bowl of soup in front of Holden. “Mr. Holden, you better eat before they come back and ruin the mood again.”
Holden’s lips curled up slightly. “I want fish.”
Sarah stared at him.
When you’re under someone’s roof, you have to go along with it.
A minute later, Sarah finally gave in and placed a piece of fish, carefully deboned, on his plate.
She sighed. “When I think about it, you’ve had it pretty rough. Your grandma isn’t your real grandma, and your uncles aren’t much older than you. They must’ve bullied you a lot when you were a kid.”
Judging by how Samuel acted, he was like a thug who picked on the weak. Compared to him, Holden seemed like a refined gentleman.
Today, Samuel had been bad-mouthing Holden behind his back, clearly enjoying using his position as an uncle to push him around.
Holden’s face grew a bit colder as he recalled the past. “I got beaten up by them when I was younger.”
What?! That bastard Samuel dared to hit her boss?
Sarah suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Holden. No wonder he had this detached vibe despite his warm exterior.
Nobody’s born cold-hearted.
When Holden was a kid, he probably was warm and sunny, like a little ray of light. But after enduring abuse, he kept up a friendly front while growing cold inside, eventually turning into a ruthless capitalist who probably lost sleep every night, haunted by memories of his painful childhood.
Thinking about this, Sarah, the loyal “servant”, couldn’t help but feel for her wealthy boss.
“Mr. Holden, I didn’t know you had it so rough as a kid,” Sarah sighed, feeling sorry for him as she brought over the entire plate of fish and started deboning it for him.
Luckily, the fish didn’t have many bones, so it was easy to clean. She quickly removed the main bones.