CHAPTER 398: CHAPTER 398: HITTING PEOPLE

She simply sat down and said, "Your mother just came home, and you’re already rushing over to accuse her. It seems you really like that girl from the Sterling Family, to the point where you have no basic respect for your mother."

Old Master Hawthorne was taken aback, then suddenly understood, "You’ve been to see Paige?"

And seeing Julian Hawthorne so angry, Mrs. Hawthorne’s tactics couldn’t have been good.

Mrs. Hawthorne nodded, "I did go to see her. I heard my son married her, so I sent someone to bring her to meet me. What’s wrong with a mother-in-law wanting to meet her daughter-in-law?"

Mrs. Hawthorne’s question was sharp, and Julian Hawthorne couldn’t find an outlet for the frustration in his chest.

"If you wanted to see her, you could have told me, and I would have brought her. What are you trying to do by holding someone at knifepoint in the street?"

Hoping a mishap would occur during the kidnapping, maybe even hoping Paige Sterling would be stabbed to death?

It’s not that he wanted to think this way about his mother, but Mrs. Hawthorne is someone who would do such things.

"I’m your mother, and you think of me like this?"

Mrs. Hawthorne was a bit agitated, "Is it that girl from the Sterling Family who said something to you?"

Even though she wasn’t close to this son, she wouldn’t allow him to question her over another woman.

Mrs. Hawthorne let out a mocking laugh, "Before, that girl from the Hale Family came to me, saying that girl from the Sterling Family was ruthless enough to ruin her face and cripple her leg. With such a woman marrying my son, how could I not be worried? I wanted to see her just to find out if she was that kind of person. The means I used were merely to test her. Do you really think I’d commit murder in broad daylight?"

Test? But the knife used for the test was real; anything could have gone wrong.

Julian Hawthorne’s gaze remained cold, unwilling to argue further with his mother, "If you want to know what kind of person she is, I can tell you..."

He paused, "She is."

Old Master Hawthorne, "...?!!", looked at Julian Hawthorne in shock.

Even Mrs. Hawthorne was a bit surprised, and Julian Hawthorne said coldly, "She’s more dangerous than you think, so Mother, don’t provoke her. I can’t protect you."

Old Master Hawthorne, "..."

It turned out he was trying to scare Mrs. Hawthorne away.

Indeed, considering Mrs. Hawthorne’s nature, if Paige Sterling were a pushover, she’d occasionally pinch her.

But if Paige Sterling were a ruthless woman who could easily destroy faces and cripple legs, Mrs. Hawthorne would need to think about how many lives she had for Paige to play with.

Old Master Hawthorne looked at Julian Hawthorne with appreciation. He didn’t want to get involved in the mother-son conflict either, pretending to seriously play Go with the robot beside him.

Mrs. Hawthorne took a deep breath, "Since she is such a woman, why did you bring her home to the Hawthorne Family? Are you deliberately trying to anger me to death?"

Julian Hawthorne, "I just like that type."

Mrs. Hawthorne, "...", for a moment doubting if Julian Hawthorne was mentally unstable.

Could her long-term neglect have caused Julian Hawthorne to develop Stockholm syndrome?

Having just returned, Mrs. Hawthorne didn’t want her relationship with her son to turn too ugly, and she had other means to achieve her goals, not in such haste.

This son was not someone easy to provoke, so if she wanted to do something, she’d try not to tear their relationship apart.

Thus, Mrs. Hawthorne took a deep breath.

"What happened before was my mistake. I’ll go to apologize to her another day."

Mrs. Hawthorne’s sudden softening surprised both Old Master Hawthorne and Julian Hawthorne.

Then Mrs. Hawthorne continued with great empathy, "Although there are past grudges between me and the Sterling Family, what is past is past. Now that you are married, for the sake of your marriage, I won’t do anything against the Sterling Family. You don’t have to be so wary of me."

Then she suddenly brought over a girl of about 15 or 16, "This is your cousin Dora, do you remember her?"

Only then did Julian Hawthorne shift his gaze to the girl he had been ignoring and nodded.

Mrs. Hawthorne said, "Dora will be staying with us for a while. You should take her out often..."

Julian Hawthorne replied, "I’ll arrange for someone."

He didn’t say he’d personally take Dora Upton out; he didn’t have the time.

But Dora Upton seemed to like this cousin very much and went to link arms with Julian Hawthorne, "Julian..."

Julian Hawthorne didn’t have time to dodge, so when Dora Upton linked arms and touched the back of his hand, his expression turned strange, and he immediately shook Dora off, striding towards the restroom.

Afterward, Dora Upton heard Julian Hawthorne retching.

Dora Upton, "...", was about to cry. Was she really that disgusting?

When Julian Hawthorne came out, looking calm, Dora Upton looked at him resentfully and tried to reach for him again, "Julian, in your heart, am I really..."

Before she finished speaking, he flung her off as if he were shaking off a plague.

Dora Upton’s expression cracked again.

Julian Hawthorne checked his watch and said, "I still have work at the company, I’ll be leaving now."

And he really left without another word.

Mrs. Hawthorne’s face immediately darkened, and Dora Upton also looked disappointed, "Julian doesn’t seem to like me anymore..."

In fact, Julian Hawthorne never liked her. Every time they met from childhood to now, he always had this cold demeanor, refusing to let her touch him.

This time when she touched his hand, he threw her off like this.

But back then he didn’t vomit.

Now he was so disgusted he needed to vomit; was she really that unlikable?

Dora Upton wanted to cry.

Mrs. Hawthorne said, "That’s not true. Your cousin is just not used to you. Spend more time with him, and it’ll be fine."

Dora Upton was barely comforted.

Mrs. Hawthorne said to Old Master Hawthorne again, "Julian has changed a lot."

Old Master Hawthorne said, "He’s your son; he’s always been like this. You know that."

He added, "His illness hasn’t fully recovered. Don’t touch him randomly; he might hit."

Mrs. Hawthorne, "..."

Julian Hawthorne returned to Silverstream Bay and found that Paige Sterling was...cooking again.

Julian Hawthorne, "...", thought maybe he shouldn’t have come back?

Julian Hawthorne sighed and entered the kitchen, "Let me do it."

Paige Sterling looked at him, "Why do you look so upset? Did someone touch you again?"

Julian Hawthorne hummed softly, embracing Paige Sterling from behind, holding her hand that was cutting tomatoes, "The person I met at the mall today was sent by my mother. She’s back."

Paige Sterling responded with a simple "oh," though surprised, she still found it within an acceptable range.

Julian Hawthorne asked her, "Don’t you have anything to say?"

"Say what?", Paige Sterling raised an eyebrow at him, "Your mother is your mother, and you are you. Do you think I’d hold what your mother did against you?"

Julian Hawthorne, "...", was indeed a bit uneasy, fearing Paige Sterling would be upset with him about this.

He was also aware that Paige Sterling could tolerate once or twice, but if it happened often, she might not.

The consequence of her intolerance might not be harming his mother but possibly deciding to leave.

He knew he should think of a proper solution, but since the other party was his biological mother and hadn’t physically acted, there was nothing suitable for him to do at the moment.

He remained silent for a moment, then said, "Do you want to know the grudges between my mother and the Sterling Family?"

Paige Sterling said, "Go ahead and tell me."