Chapter 18
Summit Villa, located at the Cloud Top Mountain in Rosewood City, at an altitude of 560 miles, with excellent location..
It once had the opportunity to become the top affluent neighborhood in Rosewood City.
Many years ago, Charles was one of the developers of this villa complex, but unfortunately, an unforeseen event caused the project to lose its funding and construction to halt.
Summit Villa ultimately became an unfinished building.
Although the Smith family might never be able to restart Summit Villa in their lifetime, they always talked about it.
It was their chance to join the ranks of Rosewood City's first-class families.
It also became a thorn in the Smith family's side.
That's why Mary used it to strike at James.
After Mary set the condition, the Smith family dispersed, leaving with mocking smiles on their faces.
The dream that Charles and his family could never realize in their lifetime, what could James, their son-in-law, possibly fulfill?
James made himself a bowl of salad, and after eating, he went to the rooftop garden to clear his mind.
Mary was fed up with living with him, so James took the initiative to propose a divorce.
It wasn't a defense of his dignity but rather his attempt to preserve the Smith family's reputation.
No matter how much Mary disliked him and looked down on him, James didn't want her to be criticized for being ungrateful. But he didn't expect that the Smith family would not appreciate his good intentions and instead kept making harsh demands because of their pride.
In the past, the words' Summit Villa' would have driven James to despair, but now they couldn't make his emotions fluctuate in the slightest.
James thought, 'Just wait, I will definitely build Summit Villa.'
A glint of determination flickered in his eyes.
He stayed on the rooftop for an hour, then composed himself and went downstairs.
When James, fresh from a shower, walked into the living room, Mary suddenly raised her voice from the inside room. "Madelyn Moore, Ava Miller, we're going to the Sunshine Club gathering tomorrow, right?"
"No problem, I'll definitely make time to go."
"But you guys need to bring a few more handsome guys over; I've been working like a dog these past few months."
"I need to feast my eyes on some handsome men."
Mary's indulgent laughter while joking with her girlfriends was clear and deliberate, stimulating James's nerves, whether intentionally or not.
When Mary saw James enter the room, she slammed the wooden door.
The two were separated.
James narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling an inexplicable irritation, but suppressed it quickly.
That night, they seemed to be at peace, but neither slept soundly.
So when Addison's shouting came early in the morning, the couple almost climbed out of bed simultaneously.
James and Mary went to the door just in time to see Addison and Charles examining the Rolex that James had brought back, clicking their tongues in appreciation.
"Whose Rolex is this? Why is it just lying around in the entryway?" Charles asked.
Addison eyed the Rolex, saying, "It looks so new. It was clearly just purchased. Whose watch is it?"
Although the Smith family had an annual income of several million dollars, Charles and Addison had always been reluctant to spend money on consumables.
Apart from buying houses and antiques, saving money, and expanding the scale of the CF Clinic, they had hardly spent any significant amount on entertainment.
Thus, the four cars in the garage were all not too expensive, and Mary's BMW was just about 10,000 dollars.
So when they saw a Rolex worth several ten thousand dollars lying in the entryway, Addison's expression inexplicably showed a hint of excitement.
James hesitated and forced out a sentence. "Mrs. Smith, this watch..."
Addison's gaze heatedly turned towards Mary. She said, "Mary, did you buy this watch for your dad?"
Mary gave a wry smile and replied, "Mom, this watch is obviously worth several ten thousand dollars, and my salary card is with you. You would know if there was any large transaction, right?"
"That's true; apart from giving that ingrate several thousand dollars every month, you haven't had any major expenses."
Addison withdrew her gaze, then her eyes lit up again. She said, "If you didn't buy it, and neither did your dad and I, then it must be Christopher's."
"If Christopher bought it for himself, he would have worn it directly. There's no need to keep it so well-packaged in its box, especially not in the entryway."
"Christopher must have bought it for your dad."
"Christopher is such a good kid."
Her expression brightened.
Charles's eyes also lit up. He put the watch on his wrist and laughed heartily. "It fits me perfectly; it really was bought for me."
James's scalp tingled, wanting to say something yet not knowing how to start.
"Christopher!" At this moment, Addison shouted upstairs, "Did you buy this Rolex for Charles?"
Christopher and Abigail yawned, pushed open their room door, and came out.
They had drunk quite a bit last night and stayed over at the Smith family's house.
Abigail rubbed her eyes, asking, "Mom, what watch?"
"What do you mean?" Addison put on a stern face deliberately and said, "Are you trying to give your dad a surprise, aren't you?"
"A Rolex." Charles showed off his wrist, his tone flickering. "You're too generous, buying so many supplements, and now a Rolex."
"Several ten thousand dollars, it's a bit extravagant."
He seemed to be complaining but was actually delighted, saying, "Don't do this next time."
James opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent.
Mary glanced at James, her pretty face a bit sad. She thought, 'When would James be able to afford that luxury watch for my parents?'
"Rolex?" Christopher was startled, exchanged a glance with Abigail, and then rushed over to see the Rolex on Charles's wrist, stunned.
He didn't buy this watch.
After spending much on supplements yesterday, where would he give away an expensive watch?
"Christopher, are you playing dumb again? You could win an Oscar for this," Addison said. Her smile was radiant.
She added, "There's no need to pretend anymore. We didn't buy this watch, nor by you, so did it fall from the sky?"
"We guessed you wanted to surprise Charles."
"You always like to play these fanciful games."
Her tone was indescribably indulgent, in stark contrast to her harsh attitude towards James, as if the difference was between heaven and earth.
Mary looked at James again, sighing to herself how great it would have been if James had bought the watch.
Unfortunately, James even had to ask her for medical expenses.
These two days, he had even proactively proposed a divorce to defend his pitiful dignity.
"You are wise."
Hearing Addison's words, Christopher's eyes spun around, and then he burst into laughter. "I knew it; I couldn't fool you."
"I was planning to tell you later to give you a proper surprise, but you found out so quickly."
"Mr. Smith, I was wrong at the birthday banquet, so I'm using this Rolex to express a bit of my apology."
Christopher gave Abigail a signal and said, "I hope you like it, Mr. Smith."
Abigail echoed with a smile immediately and said, "Yes, after the banquet, Christopher has been feeling guilty. Dad, please accept it; otherwise, Christopher won't feel good."
"We've never blamed Christopher; he was deceived by others too," Addison patted Charles's shoulder and said, "Charles, Christopher has a heart of filial piety; accept it."
"Okay," Charles laughed heartily, shaking his wrist to show off the gleaming gold and saying, "Christopher, you're good."
James was prepared to turn and leave to avoid embarrassment for everyone.
"Of course, Christopher is good," Addison glanced at James and said, "Compared to that ingrate who's gotten too big for his boots, Christopher's a hundred times better."
"Both are sons-in-law, but why is there such a big gap?"
"One has never shown any filial piety to his parents, getting smug over a little success, while the other is full of filial piety, genuinely making his parents happy with the real thing."
"Where are you going? See how Christopher does it."
"When will you also buy a watch for us?"
Addison stopped James and said, "Even if you can't afford tens of thousands of dollars, a few thousand dollars will do."
"Mom, where does James have that much money?" Mary frowned slightly and said, "Besides, James has recovered the debt and signed a one-million-dollar contract..."
"That's what he should be doing anyway. Otherwise, would the Smith family be feeding someone for nothing?" Addison didn't give James any face, saying, "As for filial piety, what has he bought for us?"
"It was hard enough to come across a ginseng fruit by luck, but he ended up keeping it all for himself."
"If he has any filial piety, he would buy a watch worth ten thousand dollars for me; no need for any other nonsense."
She looked at James with disdain, saying, "James, can you afford it?"
Mary wanted to say something more, but seeing James's silent face, she was angry again.
Wasn't he all high and mighty about divorcing last night? Why did he keep silent now? He didn't dare to promise a table of 10,000 dollars, right?
"Let's not talk about him; it's pointless," Charles lifted the Rolex and said, "Come on, take a look at this watch."
Addison and the others left James behind, crowding around with smiles to admire the watch.
"Why doesn't the watch hand move?" Charles suddenly discovered that the watch hands were stuck at a little past seven the previous night, around the time James had returned home.
He asked, "Isn't it wound up?"
Christopher frowned and said, "It shouldn't be."
They fiddled with the Rolex, but it remained motionless.
Addison frowned and said, "Is it bad?"
Charles shook his head and said, "How is it possible? This is a Rolex, the latest model worth tens of thousands of dollars. How could it break so easily?"
The four of them tried to figure out the Rolex, and Christopher even brought out the foreign instruction manual to see how to start it.
However, no matter how they fiddled with it, the Rolex remained motionless.
Charles blew his beard and glared. He had wanted to show off the watch today, but the Rolex had gone on strike.
Christopher was even angrier. "I'm going to complain about it; how dare they sell me a broken watch?"
James couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to pick up the Rolex.
Addison and the others were startled.
"James, put it down; that's your Christopher's watch."
"Let go. Can you afford to compensate for a watch worth tens of thousands of dollars?"
Mary also prepared to pull James away, as her parents were on edge, and it would be easy for them to vent their anger at him.
James said nothing. He just picked up the Rolex and lightly pressed his thumb on the fingerprint sensor at the base.
The Rolex began to move.
Charles was shocked, asking, "How can you start it?"
"This watch is mine," James said.
The air fell silent.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
