Chapter 3

Over the past week or so, it seemed that his first love, Luna, had been taking good care of him. Otherwise, Kevin wouldn't have just remembered about the company then.

As soon as I picked up the phone, my dad's furious voice roared through the receiver, "Lyla, why can't I get through to your mom? Her husband has been in the hospital for nearly a week, and there's no sign of her. Where on earth is she?"

Oh, he remembered my mom then. Funny how he didn't think of her when he was wrapped up with Luna.

I had respected you as my father and had put up with things as much as I could, but then, who did you think you were?

Still wanted to hurl vulgar insults at my mom?

I had no tolerance for Kevin's rudeness, so I coldly retorted, "Didn't anyone teach you any manners? You've been out of the countryside for years, yet you can't shake off your crudeness."

Kevin has always hated when people bring up his background, and this time, I hit him where it hurts.

"Damn it! You bastard! What are you so smug about? Without me, you wouldn't even be here! Let me tell you..."

I had no patience for Kevin's filthy language, so I hung up the phone and blocked and deleted his number in one go.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last even three minutes before an unknown number called in.

As soon as I picked up the call, I heard the voice that I least wanted to hear in my life. It was Luna. "Lyla, dear, it's Luna. How could you talk to your father like that? He's your dad, your dad!"

Luna's affected voice grated on my ears as if I had committed some heinous crime.

Not wanting to beat around the bush with her, I got straight to the point and said, "Luna, is that you? What do you want?"

She seemed taken aback by my directness. After a pause, she laughed and said, "Oh, nothing much really. Your dad is eager to find your mom but can't get in touch with her, so he asked me to call you. And also, your dad wants me to ask you why the person in charge of the company has been changed. Why wasn't he notified? It's his company after all. Even though they're married, isn't it a bit too disrespectful of your mom to treat her husband like this?"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but sneer.

But Luna seemed completely oblivious to my sarcasm and went on, "Lyla, I'm just saying that we women should focus on being good wives and mothers. Business matters should be left to men. Otherwise, an overly assertive woman like your mom, even if she's a wealthy heiress, won't be liked by anyone."

Her last sentence was said in a low voice, clearly intended for my ears only.

I thought she'd keep up the act a bit longer, but she couldn't hold it together after just a few sentences.

I simply replied with a smile, "Luna, don't you know that our family's company is under the Davy Family's name? Your first love lying in the hospital bed is spending our family's money for his treatment right now. Guess what happens if I cut off his funds? But since you're not after money, it probably won't matter much to you, right?"

In an instant, I heard the sound of a glass smashing on the other end of the line, along with Kevin's angry shouts and curses.

I hung up the phone without a care and immediately called to have all of Kevin's cards canceled.

You saw, Kevin was staying in a high-end private hospital where a single night's stay cost more than ten thousand dollars.

Over the years, Kevin had become accustomed to a life of luxury and insisted on having only the best in terms of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

Now that I'd cut off his funds, his relatives back home were a bunch of freeloaders who only took and never gave. The only person who could pay for him was Luna by his side.

After all, Luna claimed that she was only in it for love and not for money. I was just creating the right conditions for their true love to thrive!

They should have been grateful to me. True love wasn't just empty talk.

After taking care of all this, I made my way to the nursing home to visit my mom.

Ever since she decided to divorce my dad, she had been looking a lot better.

I originally wanted to send her abroad for treatment, but she thought that I was at a crucial moment in my college entrance examination. She had missed it once in her previous life, and this time, she was determined to be by my side.

However, learning from past lessons, my mom hired bodyguards at a high salary, fearing that Kevin might resort to underhanded means. And indeed, the bodyguards came in handy.

When my mom and I got back home, we found a group of uninvited guests. A bunch of men, their faces flushed red from drinking, were sitting on our leather sofa, and the woolen carpet that my mom had carefully chosen was smeared with stains from their feet. Amid the smoky room, these men spoke without any scruples, "Kevin, you're the pillar of the Smith family How can you let a woman be in charge of the company?"

"Exactly, we're relatives bound by blood. Who does Linda think she is, daring to kick us out of the company? She needs to be taught a lesson!"

My little uncle even patted my dad's shoulder and comforted him with an air of someone who's been through it all, "Kevin, women are meant to be kept in line. If they don't listen, just give them a beating. The same goes for your wife."

These words seemed to strike a chord with my dad, who nodded repeatedly with a grin.

Seeing their hideous faces, I realized more than ever how my mom and I had indulged them over the years, allowing their greed to grow out of control. They had become so swollen with pride that they couldn't recognize who the real master of this family was.

No wonder in my previous life, Kevin and Luna dared to have the idea of "taking over everything."

Turned out, they weren't the only ones with such thoughts.

I picked up a glass of water nearby and quickly splashed it onto my dad's face. Watching his shocked and angry expression, I calmly asked, "Are you awake now? Do you know whose house you're standing in? Do you know how much the wine you're drinking costs per bottle?"

I looked around the room. It was mostly filled with relatives from my dad's hometown.

It was obvious that, apart from in front of those relatives who had something to ask of him, my dad had to bear the title of the Lin family's son-in-law everywhere else.

I used to hold back for the sake of my dad's dignity, but today, I decided to break all pretense. "Do you remember that you're a live-in son-in-law of the Davy family? Kevin, none of this belongs to you."