CHAPTER 476: CHAPTER 476: MISUNDERSTOOD

Byron Jennings believed his youngest daughter wasn’t very bright nor talented, didn’t want to study, and had no friends. She stayed home with Mrs. Jennings all the time, bound to cause trouble sooner or later, so he took her out, hoping she’d meet some friends.

His daughter was only sixteen; he never thought she might be involved with Aidan Sinclair, so he paid no attention to what his elder daughter hinted at.

However, Mrs. Jennings immediately understood her daughter’s words.

Aidan Sinclair might not have the best reputation, but among the eligible bachelors in Ariston, he ranked near the top. If such a man were involved with Hannah Jennings, naturally Mrs. Jennings would be pleased, but if he had an unusual relationship with Stella Jennings, it would be a different story.

She instantly frowned and questioned Stella Jennings, "What’s this supposed to mean?"

Stella Jennings glared at Hannah, "I’m friends with Aidan Sinclair and have signed a contract with the entertainment company under Stellaron Group."

Seeing joy spread across Byron Jennings’s face, Mrs. Jennings suddenly stood up and slapped Stella, "Shameless girl! You’re so young yet already relying on men to climb up. The entertainment industry is a place watched by thousands; if your scandals ever come out, where would that leave the reputation of The Jennings Family?"

This wasn’t the first time she had hit Stella, so aside from venting, she didn’t feel anything was amiss. She turned to the somewhat shocked Byron and said, "You know Aidan Sinclair’s reputation; which actress in his company hasn’t had some flirtation with him? Stella must be sent abroad immediately. At sixteen, she’s doing such disgraceful things. If others found out, we couldn’t show our faces!"

Upon hearing this, Byron felt a sharp pang of worry. There were so many women at the banquet flocking to Aidan, yet he had never seen Aidan actively approach anyone, except he often found Aidan initiating conversations with Stella.

With this realization, his expression turned extremely grim, glaring at Stella and demanding, "Explain what’s really going on."

Stella was thrown off balance by the slap, her long hair falling and covering half of her face. Hearing her father speak like that, she felt both aggrieved and amused; this was her so-called family, yet in her heart of confusion and pain, they couldn’t even compare to how genuine her friends were!

She sorted out her hair and laughed coldly, "I have nothing to say. Think whatever you want. Aidan and I have already signed the contract; if you send me abroad forcefully, you can go ahead. The penalty is a billion; take the hit and note it."

After saying this, she stood up, unwilling to waste more time with them.

These years, Stella lived like a turtle in The Jennings Family, retreating into her shell whenever misjudged, knowing that explaining was futile as those who deliberately demonized her wouldn’t believe her. But today she felt particularly upset, as her friend was also implicated, forcing her to utter such threats.

Mrs. Jennings, with fury, pointed at her departing back, "Look at her, the daughter you’ve raised, doing such things at such a young age! How can she survive in the entertainment industry in the future?"

Instantly, Byron’s pride turned into despair, sharing his wife’s feelings. If his daughter started off on the wrong path, she would only stray further from the right one.

He sighed, "I’ll go talk to Aidan Sinclair." With that, he took out his phone to call Aidan, but the line was busy.

At that moment, Stella was crying to Aidan about what had just happened, feeling extremely wronged.

Initially, she hadn’t wanted to cry, but upon entering the room, she felt as if her stomach was stuffed with cotton, unable to take a breath. She badly wanted to leave immediately. She then thought of asking Aidan where he was, hoping he hadn’t gone too far and could come back for her.

Yet she hadn’t expected that hearing Aidan’s voice would tear down the solid wall of her reason like a raging flood.

"I’ll be there in five minutes." Aidan said calmly, turning the steering wheel to make a sharp U-turn, flooring the gas pedal heading straight to The Jennings Family.

Over the years, The Sinclair Group had been prospering smoothly; he hadn’t faced such infuriating occurrences for a long time. His face was as ominous as the King of Hell himself, ready to drag a few to hell for a day trip.

Meanwhile, unable to reach Aidan on the phone, Byron Jennings was equally worried; if his young daughter truly had an affair with Aidan, calling to negotiate the contract termination would be laughable.

Forget about future collaborations,

even meeting face-to-face would place him at a disadvantage.

The more Byron thought about it, the angrier and more upset he became, quickly heading to the second floor to find his youngest daughter and clarify just what contract had such a hefty penalty.

Stella’s contract didn’t have any penalty clause; she just made it up. She didn’t know how much money The Jenningses had or what amount would truly scare them, so she randomly mentioned a billion; a billion seemed like a lot of money.

Hearing the knock on her door, Stella wiped her tears and croaked, "Who is it?"

"It’s me."

Upon hearing her father’s voice, she intended to open the door but stopped, remembering his earlier expression that left her deeply aggrieved.

Previously, when misunderstood, her father would somewhat intervene or say a word or two for her, which didn’t change anything, but it made her feel better. But this time, her father obviously believed their words, deeming her shameless!

She furrowed her brows immediately, "What do you want?"

Byron sighed, "Open the door; dad wants to talk to you."

Stella thought she had only this relative left, and after a moment’s standoff, she decided to open the door.

Byron walked in and directly asked, "Show me your contract."

"What do you want to see that for?"

Byron’s face instantly turned especially stern, "To see what kind of contract requires a billion penalty, to see if my old face can save the situation!"

"No. If you want to send me abroad, go directly to the company." Stella’s stance was firm.

"Are you trying to anger me to death?" Byron pointed angrily at his daughter’s face, "By doing such things, where can I hold my head up? Your sister isn’t married yet; what’s going to happen? Tell me, other than sending you away, how else can I fix this?"

Joy Jennings watched his pained expression, more heartbroken than him, "Do you also believe I used unspoken rules to get the signing opportunity?"

Byron remained silent, tacitly acknowledging it.

At this point, Hannah saw Aidan Sinclair’s face on the security monitor and immediately welcomed him with an entertained expression.

Mrs. Jennings was suspicious, "Who’s that?"

"The adulterer." Hannah laughed smugly, "Let’s see how dad still favors her now."

Upon hearing that, Mrs. Jennings also revealed a triumphant smile.

The next moment, Aidan entered the house, coldly asking, "Where’s Stella?"

The Jennings mother and daughter looked at his formidable face, their hearts slightly unsettled.

Hannah instinctively stuttered, "Se-second floor."