CHAPTER 175: CHAPTER 175: SOBER YOU UP

"You’re full of shit! Dirty old man!" Joel Sutton couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted to make a move, but I held him back. He couldn’t offend Leonard Lane; the consequences would be severe.

"What did you just say, kid?" Leonard Lane flared up upon hearing this. "Say that again? Is this how you ask someone for a favor?!"

I stood between them, feeling somewhat irritated. "Mr. Lane, you’ve had too much to drink. I’ll take him back now, and we can talk next time."

Something I thought wouldn’t be difficult was messed up because of Leonard Lane’s drunken misconduct. I felt terrible and decided not to rely on people to make connections next time.

"Drink this bottle of wine and apologize for your brother, or come over and give me a French kiss, and I’ll let it go. Otherwise, we... we’re not done here!" Leonard Lane reeked of alcohol, revealing an unreasonable and sleazy side.

Before I could respond, Henry Preston had already grabbed that bottle of wine and poured it over Leonard Lane’s head. The wine gurgled down, giving him a head and face wash.

Leonard Lane seemed to sober up instantly, looking dazed at the terrifyingly angry Henry Preston. "Mr. Preston, what are you doing?"

After emptying the wine, Henry Preston slammed the bottle hard on Leonard Lane’s head. "To sober you up."

Blood immediately appeared on Leonard Lane’s head. He started to act drunkenly, trying to retaliate, but quickly passed out.

My shock was no less than Leonard Lane’s, completely not expecting Henry Preston to stand up for me.

"Miss Hathaway, this..." Joel Sutton was dumbfounded, looking at Leonard Lane, who was motionless on the chair, unable to speak.

"I hit him; it has nothing to do with you. No need to be nervous." Henry Preston took a few napkins, wiped the wine off his hands, his voice void of the earlier anger, and showed no sign of panic from knocking out someone.

Jason Forrest was bewildered by the scene but quickly reacted and went out to call a waiter to handle the situation in the private room.

Soon, Leonard Lane was helped out, presumably sent to the hospital.

"Thank you. If Leonard Lane needs medical expenses, I’ll be responsible." Having sorted things out here, I was about to leave with Joel Sutton. Before leaving, I said to Henry Preston out of conscience.

"Are you with him now?" Henry Preston simply looked at me and Joel Sutton with indifference and asked.

Joel Sutton turned his head to look at me, his expression somewhat complicated.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to discuss emotional matters with Henry Preston at all.

"Sutton, shall we go?" I said to Joel Sutton.

"Mm." Joel Sutton, of course, listened to me, following behind me without looking back as we left.

On the way, Joel Sutton looked worried. "Miss Hathaway, I’m sorry. I dragged you into this."

"What are you talking about? You didn’t drag me down. I wanted to help you, and Leonard Lane deserved a beating." I even had to comfort Joel Sutton a bit. He probably hadn’t encountered such a thing before and felt awkward.

More than Leonard Lane getting hit, I was more worried about Henry Preston. Why did he help me?

If he asks me to take responsibility later, that’ll be trouble.

After dropping Joel Sutton off at his destination, I returned home with anxiety. Before I could sit on the sofa, my mom had already started chattering, "Zoe, come with me tomorrow to get an amulet. I heard there’s a very spiritual place!"

"Amulet?" I was extremely surprised. Why did my mom start getting into superstition?

"Yes, haven’t I been feeling unwell lately? I’ll make a wish, and get an amulet for you. You’ll go with me." My mom’s tone wasn’t asking for my opinion; she had already decided. So, I didn’t see the need to spoil her mood and simply nodded in agreement. Then I lay on the sofa and started playing on my phone.

Suddenly, I came across a piece of news that made me sit up instantly.

Big scoop! The Preston Group’s chairman rumored to have an illegitimate son scandal!?

I clicked into it immediately, but before the page even loaded, it prompted that the news was already gone.

My heart was pounding, a sense of foreboding creeping in. Although such bizarre rumors were endless, I’ve never seen news concerning Henry Preston’s dad in this regard. In my impression, Mr. Preston and Mrs. Preston always had a great relationship, with only Henry as their son.

But what does this have to do with me? Once this thought popped into my mind, I quickly calmed down.

Even if there’s something going on, it’s not up to me to worry about. That’s Henry Preston’s business.

—

The next morning, my mom woke me up. Today we were going to drive out of the city to The Temple of Serendipity.

I thought we were really going there to get me an amulet, but when we arrived, I found out it was actually a temple specializing in matchmaking. Watching the couples coming in and going out, I was somewhat speechless.

While my mom was interpreting her fortune with the monk in the temple, I sneaked out for a walk, counting matchmaking sticks under a ginkgo tree by myself.

"Miss Hathaway, are you here to draw lots too?" Just as I was engrossed in counting, Azure Vaughn’s voice came from behind me. I frowned and looked back to see her standing there with Fern Tate, both wearing matching sister outfits.

These two have truly become good sisters, inseparable. I’m really curious about how they managed it.

"Zoe Hathaway, don’t you know a broken mirror can’t be mended? When the fate is over, it’s hard to force it. Stop wasting your efforts." Fern Tate’s voice followed closely, annoyingly grating.

"Yardley, don’t say that. Everyone has their own obsession," Azure Vaughn sensibly stopped Fern, sounding like I was a jilted woman hopelessly in love with Henry Preston, and she was his new flame.

If I remember correctly, Henry Preston didn’t exactly give her a warm reception in the last two or three encounters.

I treated them like two lunatics following me, breathing the same air a bit closer made me feel the air was toxic, so I simply turned around to find my mom.

My mom’s face didn’t look good. When she saw me coming back, she was ready to leave.

When she saw Azure Vaughn following closely behind, she stopped in her tracks.

"Hello, Auntie." Azure Vaughn was dressed rather simply today, exuding a bit of her former innocence. She greeted my mom politely on her own initiative.

My mom knew about Azure Vaughn but had never seen her in person. She looked Azure up and down and finally gave a faint, cold smile, "A young girl looks clean and neat, but why do you act so dirty?"

These words instantly drained Azure Vaughn’s pale face of blood, making her look very embarrassed.

The other people nearby couldn’t help but take furtive glances at her, eager to see what would happen.

Fern Tate played the role of a protective older sister, shielding Azure behind her, "Auntie, there’s no need to intentionally humiliate my sister. Didn’t your daughter brazenly marry someone who didn’t love her? If you insist on comparing, at least Henry Preston truly cared for my sister, while your daughter couldn’t make him love her in five years."

I thought my mom would explode in anger, but she surprisingly burst into laughter after hearing this, "Getting a sense of honor from being a mistress? All this talk of love, knowing no shame is just knowing no shame. Young girls these days really don’t love themselves!"

With that, she took me and left.

I glanced back at Azure Vaughn, who was glaring at me with teary eyes, her expression both aggrieved and embarrassed, a look all too familiar.