A few minutes later, Kayden finished inserting the silver needles into Mike Johnson. Once the needles were in place, Mike Johnson pushed himself up from the couch. Instantly, he felt rejuvenated, as if his entire body had been recharged with energy.
“Mr. Scott, is it done? I feel like I could go three hundred rounds right now,” Mike exclaimed energetically.
Tessa’s face turned red at his words. She coughed lightly, shot him a glare, and muttered, “Mike Johnson, mind your manners! Who’s going three hundred rounds with you?”
Her words were sharp, but the anticipation in her fiery gaze and blushing cheeks betrayed her true feelings.
Kayden glanced at the two of them and tactfully said, “Alright, your body has fully recovered now. I’ll leave you two alone. As for this item, I’ll be taking it with me-it’ll only bring trouble if left here.”
Hearing this, Mike Johnson quickly responded, “Of course! Thank you, Mr. Scott. I can’t thank you enough! From now on, if you ever need anything-no matter what it is, even if it’s climbing a mountain of swords or crossing a sea of fire-I’ll do it without hesitation.”
Kayden said nothing more and quietly left Mike Johnson’s house.
—
At Alaric Center.
“May, you’ve really disappointed me. Just leave! If you stay here, I don’t even know how to face you anymore,” John said bitterly, his voice filled with disillusionment.
To John’s shock, he had discovered that May had been secretly exchanging intimate and flirtatious messages with Finnian. Just moments ago, under John’s relentless questioning, May had confessed everything.
“All this time, I’ve put up with your sharp tongue and demanding nature. I told myself it’s just a woman’s temperament, and I didn’t hold it against you. Whatever you wanted, I gave you. Whatever you asked for, I made sure to do. But this-flirting with another man? I could forgive anything, but I can’t forgive your betrayal,” John said, his voice rising with anger.
“You need to leave. I don’t want to see you anymore!” he shouted decisively.
“John, what are you saying?” May retorted. “I only did it to motivate you, to push you to be more ambitious! If you had shown a shred of drive, I wouldn’t have done it. I wanted to inspire you, to make you stronger!”
John felt like his chest was about to explode. She was justifying her behavior-her intimate conversations with another man-as some twisted form of encouragement? It was outrageous.
“No man could tolerate this!” John roared.
“You’re telling me to leave now? Is that it? You got this house, and now you’re kicking me out?” May shot back, her voice filled with indignation. “I’m not leaving. I refuse to leave!”
John let out a cold laugh. “Oh, so now it’s my fault? Let me remind you of something-when the young master and I were almost taken away earlier, what did you do? You immediately distanced yourself from us, didn’t you? You didn’t want to get caught up in the trouble.”
“I…” May started, but her voice faltered. She had no defense.
After a few moments, she straightened herself, her tone growing defiant again. “I was protecting your daughter! If you got taken away, who would look after her? Did you want all of us to be dragged into it? Is that what you wanted?”
“That’s nonsense!” John snapped. “The moment you decided to abandon us, you’d already figured out your escape plan, hadn’t you? Were you already planning your future with Finnian?”
May scoffed. “I don’t care what you think. Let me tell you something-this house belongs to our family, not just to you. If you want me to leave, fine. Sell the house. Give me two-thirds of the money, and we’ll go. My daughter and I will leave you forever. But until then, I’m not going anywhere.”
She crossed her arms, her stance firm and unyielding.
“Smack!”
John’s anger boiled over. He stepped forward and slapped May across the face. Pointing at her, his voice trembled with fury. “How dare you? This house belongs to the young master. I’m just here to take care of it. And you-you’re already thinking about selling it? You’re shameless, absolutely shameless!”
May’s eyes burned as she stared at John. She bit her lip and spat out her words, one at a time: “John! You dared to hit me? You-you won’t give me a good life, and now you hit me? You’re not even human!”
John roared back, “Why are you so relentless, May? Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you think I don’t know what’s going on? Changing your pants three times a day-do you think I haven’t noticed? Don’t make me say it all out loud. Our daughter is here. Don’t force me to humiliate you further!”
May froze. It felt like a bomb had gone off in her mind. Her thoughts were in chaos, her ears ringing.
After a long pause, her eyes filled with regret. She looked at John, her voice trembling. “I’m wrong, okay? I was wrong! Can’t you forgive me?”
She clung to his arm, shaking her head desperately. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pleaded.
“It was Finnian! He kept messaging me, saying all those inappropriate things. I only replied casually, I swear! I never meant for it to go this far. I thought of him as an older brother, nothing more. I didn’t realize he would talk to me like that. I wasn’t the one who started it!”
“But you listened to him, didn’t you?” John sneered. “When he told you what color to wear, you wore it. What does that mean, May? It means the next step was betrayal. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
“John, please! I know I was wrong. I’ll never do it again. Don’t make me leave. Where would I even go? I followed you all the way from Vernon to here. I have no one else. You’re my only support. If you kick me out, I’ll have nowhere to go!”
May’s tears finally spilled over as she clung to him.
Turning to their silent daughter, Emma, she pleaded, “Emma, please, talk to your father! Tell him not to send me away!”