CHAPTER 14: CHAPTER 14: WHO DARES DRIVE MY GRANDDAUGHTER-IN-LAW OUT!

"That brat actually dared not to come home all night!"

Early morning, a thunderous roar shattered the calm of The Hawthorne Family.

"Old Mrs. Hawthorne, please calm down, perhaps the young master has something important to attend to," Aunt Rivers advised.

"Is anything more important than his wife?" Elias Hawthorne didn’t come home all night, which infuriated Old Mrs. Hawthorne, "Not showing up for the wedding, not returning home every night on his honeymoon; does he want to rely on his skills to regain his single status?"

Aunt Rivers: "...Old Mrs. Hawthorne, please don’t be upset. The Young Madam is still here?"

Aunt Rivers gestured for Old Mrs. Hawthorne to look towards the dining room.

At that moment, Raina North, who according to them had endured great grievances and humiliation, was nonchalantly enjoying breakfast with Bobby; as for the husband, well, what’s that—Raina North claimed she didn’t know.

Old Mrs. Hawthorne frowned, immediately suppressing her anger, and gently comforted, "Raina, it’s Elias’s fault for letting you suffer. Don’t worry, when he comes back, I’ll definitely give him a good beating and make him apologize to you."

"Grandma, I’m okay, not aggrieved." Honestly, she’s not aggrieved; not having to face The Demon King directly, constantly worrying about revealing herself, and getting to be with her precious baby—that’s plenty of joy.

Nonetheless, her appearance seemed to Old Mrs. Hawthorne and others to be forcibly brave.

"What a sensible girl, how can Elias not appreciate her?" Old Mrs. Hawthorne, holding onto Raina’s hand, was utterly melted, "Raina, don’t worry, Grandma has your back."

The little one swallowed the egg down and solemnly added, "Mommy, Baby has your back too!"

Raina: "???"

Really don’t need it.

But what’s this inexplicable sense of warmth?

In the music room, the melodious piano sound slowly ceased.

Raina kissed the little one who was progressing rapidly, "Baby, that was truly amazing."

A fleeting shyness showed on the little one’s face.

"Thirsty? Take a break for a bit, mommy will get juice for you."

Raina got up and left the music room, heading to the kitchen.

The servants had already prepared the juice and were about to bring it up.

"Let me."

Raina took the juice upstairs, engrossed in chatting with Casper North on the phone, didn’t notice, and suddenly bumped into someone.

"Ah! Sorry."

"Aren’t you tired of playing the same trick twice?"

Startled by the sudden scare, juice spilled quite a bit as Raina was guiltily wiping off the other person, a chilling voice came from above.

Upon looking up, she was met with a face full of mockery.

"Oh, it’s you." Seeing The Hell King Hawthorne’s hostile expression, Raina instinctively stepped back.

"I recall I’ve already had someone notify you that you’re fired, why are you still here?" Elias Hawthorne’s eyes squinted with a chilling glint, aware of the woman’s ulterior motives, he immediately had her fired, yet here she was.

Looks like it’s time for a shake-up at The Hawthorne Family.

Raina raised an eyebrow, fired? He’s still thinking of her as the piano teacher.

Elias Hawthorne immediately called in security.

"Young Master, any orders?"

Elias Hawthorne pointed at Raina, "Kick her out. If any random person comes in again, you won’t need to work."

The security personnel looked at Raina, utterly shocked, "Kick her out?!"

Elias Hawthorne’s tone was displeased, "Is there a problem?"

Of course, there is.

This is the Young Madam.

The security personnel, sweating profusely, wondered what was going on: a quarrel between spouses affecting the little one?

As the security personnel were in a predicament, Old Mrs. Hawthorne appeared just in time.

"I want to see who dares to kick my granddaughter-in-law out!"

Old Mrs. Hawthorne, leaning on a cane, stormed in furiously, and upon seeing her eldest grandson, her gaze was far from warm or loving.

"That brat, not showing up for the wedding, not coming home on honeymoon nights, coming home only to try to kick out Raina; are you trying to overturn the sky?" Old Mrs. Hawthorne struck but not Elias, instead hitting his brother, Jasper Hawthorne, who was watching the drama unfold.

"Ow! Grandma, why are you hitting me?" Innocently struck, Jasper Hawthorne was full of grievances.

Old Mrs. Hawthorne: "Just don’t like the look of your brother."

Jasper Hawthorne: "If you don’t like him, then hit him."

Old Mrs. Hawthorne shot a murderous glare, and Second Young Master Hawthorne instantly fell silent.

"Can’t even speak? Is there any human rights left in this family?"

"And single dogs get to talk about human rights?"

Second Young Master Hawthorne clutched his heart, "That hurts, Grandma; hitting is fine, but don’t make personal attacks."

The response was his grandmother’s fiesty snort.

After disciplining the disobedient grandson, Old Mrs. Hawthorne turned to comfort Raina North, with utmost gentleness.

"Raina, don’t be scared, Grandma’s here."

The little one ran out from the music room and boldly shielded Raina, glaring angrily at his dad, "Bad daddy, don’t bully mommy."

Looking at Raina being guarded by both old and young, Elias Hawthorne was speechless: "..."

If he didn’t realize he’d been set up now, he might as well have lived in vain.

"You’re... doing just fine!"

Elias Hawthorne ground out these words from his teeth, turned, and headed back to his room.

Elias Hawthorne’s abrupt departure left the atmosphere awkwardly tense.

"Why is Elias acting like this?" Old Mrs. Hawthorne was quite troubled by her grandson’s lack of sense, "Raina, don’t be upset. If you’re displeased, you can vent on Elias’s brother."

Second Young Master Hawthorne, innocently caught in the crossfire: "!!!"

Who did he provoke?

After coaxing the little one to sleep, Raina quietly exited the room.

"Young Madam, the Young Master is waiting for you in the study."

What must come cannot be avoided.

Raina exhaled deeply and followed the maid to the study.

Raina sat on the leather sofa, legs crossed gracefully, his well-fitting shirt and suit accentuated the broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs of a mature man.

He sat quietly, like a king in a castle tower.

Elias Hawthorne’s face, as usual, was expressionless, resembling the eternal ice plains of the Arctic, the chill he exuded directly rivaling the indoor central air conditioning.

Danger!

Raina instinctively wanted to flee.

"Isn’t it too late to run now?" The cool voice resounded in the silent space.

"Who’s running? I was just checking if the door was locked properly." Unwilling to admit defeat, Raina braced herself amidst Elias’s domineering presence, deliberately adopting a defiantly casual posture to conceal her unease.

Being classically educated since childhood, Elias Hawthorne frowned, "The North Family is after all a prominent family in Southgate, as their eldest daughter, where’s your decorum?"

"Fed to the dogs." Raina North, once striving to meet her family’s expectations, being a proper eldest daughter of The North Family, her conduct was textbook; yet in the end.

Claire North returned, and she became a mere laughingstock of The North Family.

Her attire couldn’t surpass Claire North’s, her exams couldn’t excel beyond Claire North’s, she can’t be better than Claire North.

She needed to live as a joke to highlight Claire North’s excellence.

For family, for love, she hid her edges to fit the mold of The North Family’s eldest daughter, the future Young Madam of The Shelby Family.

But what did she gain in the end?

A life full of disgrace, separated from her kin.

Elias Hawthorne frowned deeper, "I don’t care what you were before, now remember you’re Young Madam of The Hawthorne Family, Baby’s mother."

With that, he pushed a check towards Raina North.