Chapter 36 You Might as Well Just Hit Me
Paul was seething with rage, his voice trembling with anger. His eyes blazed with fury as he demanded, "What did you just say?"
Kayla recoiled, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. Distress etched her face as she stammered, "Sweetheart, I didn't mean it..."
Despite her attempt to explain, her words tumbled out uncontrollably, "I said you're useless! Only useless men lash out at their families. If you were capable, why didn't you stand up to that bitch? Because she is the daughter of the Sinclair family. You're too scared to cross the Sinclairs! However, Olivia can't stand you and wants you gone!"
"Mom!" David's voice cracked with disbelief. He couldn't help but think to himself, 'Since when does Mom talk to Dad like this? She's never questioned him before. What's gotten into her?'
Kayla felt like she was losing her mind. Ever since they arrived at the Sinclair Villa, she couldn't stop herself from speaking the truth, even the thoughts she'd kept hidden.
Watching Paul's face flush with anger, Kayla regretted her outburst. Little did they know, a dark shadow loomed over Nicole earlier, emanating sinister black smoke that silently seeped into Paul.
"You! You..." Paul jabbed a trembling finger at Kayla, unable to articulate his rage. His heart seethed with a desire to unleash his fury.
His eyes flickered to the golf clubs by the door, and in a fit of rage, he seized one.
Fear gripped David as he watched his father's actions, while Kayla and Nicole paled.
Before David could intervene, Paul swung the club with force, shattering decorations at the entrance, sending Kayla into a panic.
"Help!" Nicole pleaded, "Dad, we're sorry... Please, calm down!"
Chaos erupted as Paul continued to swing the club, wreaking havoc on the living room.
Heartbroken, Kayla watched as priceless antiques shattered before her. "Hit me instead! Spare the vases! Ah..."
David was speechless, feeling as though his family had descended into madness.
Two days after the Sinclair family's banquet, Olivia arranged to meet Jennifer.
As Olivia descended the stairs, she spotted Tom, Owen, and Quinn doing push-ups in the garden under Alexander's watchful eye, who lounged nearby, enjoying snacks and coffee.
Raising an eyebrow, Olivia inquired, "What's happening here?"
"Grandpa thought they needed more exercise during summer break," Alexander explained, gesturing towards the trio. "Your car's ready, by the way."
Olivia nodded, growing accustomed to Alexander's attentiveness in just a few days.
Ignoring the struggling trio, Olivia bid farewell to Alexander and departed.
Watching her leave, Alexander turned his attention back to the three, a softer smile appeared on his face. "Keep it up. You each owe me a hundred push-ups today. If anyone collapses to the ground, all three of you will start over and do another one hundred push-ups together."
Panicked, the trio pleaded, acknowledging their wrongdoings and begging for leniency.
"Alexander, we really know we were wrong."
"We haven't bullied Olivia these past two days. We've been behaving!"
"Alexander, you can't abandon us for Olivia. We are your family."
Alexander maintained his composure. "Only those who complete a hundred push-ups are my family. Otherwise, I'll confiscate your games and action figures."
The trio wailed in dismay.
---
Since the last banquet, the members of the Sinclair family had cherished Olivia.
Zachary and Jennifer later specifically thanked Percival at the banquet because Olivia had saved their daughter for him.
Zachary sighed and said, "Olivia is capable. We are really grateful to her. Despite her young age, she has the ability to make money and repay the Parker family for having raised her! She's really amazing."
The members of the Sinclair family also realized at this time that the members of the Parker family had treated Olivia badly.
The Parker family members couldn't have given Olivia so much pocket money, so the origin of the one million dollars puzzled her.
Upon hearing Zachary's reminder, they finally knew the truth: Olivia had earned one million dollars! However, instead of being impressed by Olivia's abilities, the members of the Sinclair family felt ashamed.
Tom, in particular, had mixed feelings. He used to feel ashamed because Olivia was involved in these strange things, but Olivia was only trying to make money. At the same time, Tom didn't understand why Olivia would work so hard to earn money when she had already returned to the Sinclair Villa.
Tom thought to himself, 'Olivia could just ask Uncle Kenneth for one million dollars to repay the expenses the Parker family had spent raising her. Olivia actually earned money on her own.'
That evening, Kenneth handed Olivia two million dollars directly, with a clear purpose for each sum. One million was earmarked for repaying the Parker family, while the other million constituted Olivia's pocket money.
Speechless, Olivia couldn't believe her luck. The last time she had sent three hundred thousand dollars to someone, Alexander had promptly doubled it, offering her six hundred thousand dollars as pocket money. Now, having just settled her debt of one million dollars to the Parker family, Olivia found herself receiving an unexpected windfall of two million dollars from Kenneth.
It was the first time Olivia had experienced the feeling of never lacking money. But Olivia would never feign returning the money that had entered her pocket. With this sum of money, Olivia could finally buy the thing she had wanted before.
As Olivia pulled out her phone to look for news about an auction, the car had already stopped at the entrance of the Edwards Villa.
Zachary and Jennifer had been waiting for Olivia early on. As soon as Olivia got out of the car, they came out to greet her directly. "Master Sinclair, you're here."
When Jennifer was at the Sinclair Villa, she called Olivia by her name to signify their closeness. However, when they were alone, Jennifer insisted on addressing her as Master Sinclair. While calling Olivia by her name was an act of support, referring to her as Master Sinclair demonstrated Jennifer's deep respect for Olivia.
Last night, Jennifer couldn't sleep, her excitement soaring at the prospect of Cynthia finally returning to normal today. Alongside her, Zachary and Henry, equally restless, hadn't slept a wink. They deliberately cleared their schedules for the day, eagerly anticipating the moment when Cynthia would recover.
Olivia smiled but did not exchange pleasantries as she looked at the eager eyes of the members of the Edwards family. She took out a paper package from her backpack without hesitation.
The members of the Edwards family saw that the package contained several strands of hair wrapped in magic cards.
Those were the hair of the person who had taken away Cynthia's intelligence!
The members of the Edwards family instantly became angry.
As Olivia gazed at the members of the Edwards family, she paused, collecting her thoughts for a moment. Then, with a measured tone, she spoke up, "Before we begin, there's something I need to confess."