Chapter 1331 Complete Rupture
Carl grinned and shook Ralph's hand. "Man, when we first met, your little Marigold was still in grade school. Time flies, huh? Over a decade just zipped by."
"Totally," Ralph said, eyeing Derek behind Carl. "Back then, your boy Derek was just a kid too. Now he's all grown up and even helping you out."
Derek stepped up, all polite-like. "You're my dad's right-hand man. It's your big 5-0 today, and my dad got you something special. Check it out."
He popped open the box, showing off some rare, fancy collectible.
"Haha, thanks," Ralph said, but he just had someone else take the gift and stash it away without even peeking at it.
Carl just smirked, acting like he didn't notice a thing.
The nearby bigwigs and nobles exchanged curious looks.
Ralph smirked back. "Michael, why didn't your old man show up today? Is my little birthday bash not good enough for him?"
"My dad's swamped today, so he sent me," Michael, rocking a pink shirt, said, looking clueless. "Besides, Carl's the President and he came himself. What more do you want?"
"Of course, I'm happy. But I've known your dad for ages. I even sent him an invite a few days ago. Didn't think he'd snub me like this."
Ralph pointed to David behind him. "Funny enough, David's here today. He was just saying how much he looks up to your dad and wants to meet him. I even promised to introduce them."
Carl glanced at David, unimpressed. "This is David from Wit Group, right? He's been making waves lately. Heard he ranked high on the latest richest people list. Pretty impressive for a young guy."
"David's not that young," Michael said lazily. "He's two years older than me."
David's lips curled into a slight smile. "Heard you didn't even make the list this time. Better step up your game."
Michael's face darkened. "David, a little humility goes a long way. Don't get too full of yourself."
"Michael, David's my buddy. What you said is pretty disrespectful to me," Ralph said seriously, with a hint of warning in his voice.
Michael sneered, about to retort, but Carl gently pressed his shoulder. "Michael, that was rude. Apologize to David and Ralph."
"Uncle!" Michael looked pissed.
"Do it, now!" Carl warned softly.
Michael gritted his teeth and muttered, "I'm sorry."
"It's cool. Young folks get jealous sometimes. But Michael, don't always lean on your family. You gotta hustle on your own," Ralph smiled. "By the way, aren't you tight with Joseph? He's here today too. He’s dead set on joining our Dixon family, and no matter how I tried to talk him out of it, he wouldn't budge. Nothing I can do."
The crowd around them was stunned.
"No way," a guy exclaimed. "Mr. Hernandez was the top dog in Madison. Why would he lower himself to join the Dixon family?"
"Yeah, no way the Hernandez family’s sunk that low, right?"
"Look, Joseph's just standing there behind Marigold, not saying a word. That tells you everything."
"But didn't we hear he was chasing after Marigold a few days ago?"
"Come on, like Marigold would be into him. She's probably just messing with him."
The crowd buzzed with gossip.
Joseph kept his head down, while Marigold shot him a look that was half contempt, half smugness.
Michael's jaw tightened in anger.
"Shut up! All of you!" Michael snapped at the gossiping crowd. "Joseph's my friend. Show some respect."
"That's not cool," David chuckled. "If he's gonna be a lapdog, and you're his buddy, then..."
"Enough!" Carl cut in coldly, his presence making everyone shiver.
But David and Ralph didn't seem fazed at all.
"Carl, David's my friend. Yelling at him like that isn't very nice," Ralph said with a smirk, his tone carrying a hint of warning.
The crowd looked at Ralph in shock, but with the recent chaos in Whisperlyn City, the smart ones kept their mouths shut.
"Ralph, he's just a businessman. Do I not even have the right to call him out?" Carl said, his face expressionless.
David grinned. "I wasn't trying to diss Michael. He himself said Joseph's his friend."
"Exactly. If Michael doesn't respect himself, who can he blame?" Ralph beckoned to Joseph. "My shoes are dirty. Come, lick them clean."
Everyone looked at Joseph with a mix of pity and amusement.
Joseph's body tensed, but he didn't move.
"Hurry up," Marigold whispered.
Joseph finally turned to look at Marigold, his gaze like a wolf's, making her shiver.
But thinking she was about to become a princess, Marigold slapped Joseph. "Didn't you hear what I said?"
After hitting Joseph, Marigold felt a strange satisfaction.
Joseph used to look down on her, always acting superior.
Now, being able to humiliate him felt even better than the thought of marrying him.
"Stop it!" Michael roared. "Marigold, how dare you hit my friend? What right do you have?"
"My daughter can't even hit a dog?" Ralph said coldly.
"Ralph, what do you mean?" Michael stepped closer. "Joseph is my friend, and my uncle is the President. Are you completely disregarding our Jude family now?"
Michael's words made the entire banquet hall fall silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone looked at Carl nervously.
"Ralph, you're not just trying to humiliate Joseph. You're trying to humiliate me, aren't you?" Carl looked at Ralph with a heavy gaze.
At this point, Ralph couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore. After exchanging a glance with David, he sniggered. "Carl, you're being dramatic. I've been loyal to the Jude family for years. Today is my birthday, and Michael yelled at me over a dog. I think it's you who wants to humiliate me. If Michael gets on his knees and apologizes to me, I won't push this any further."
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