Chapter 457 Slapping Caroline
James stepped out and immediately witnessed a scene downstairs that ignited his fury!
He saw Caroline pointing at Erin's nose and yelling at her, giving her no respect at all. Erin, being gentle by nature, looked helpless and terrified in the face of Caroline's aggression. The fear on her face was genuine, indicating that she had been bullied by Caroline for some time, which made her instinctively afraid, like a mouse seeing a cat.
With this, James felt not only anger but also heartache.
Erin, with her gentle and kind demeanor, was always amicable toward everyone, even during James's most insolent days in the City of Mysteries. Such a benevolent woman, being bullied by that vixen Caroline today, left James with every reason to be incensed.
To be honest, although James harbored no affection for Caroline, he had never disrespected her, for she was, after all, an elder. However, witnessing her bullying Erin, and doing so right before his eyes, was beyond his tolerance, even for someone with the best temper. Besides, he was not a man of good temper to begin with; he merely possessed a great deal of composure and restraint.
Caroline knew he was back and still dared to bully Erin, clearly showing no respect for him and trying to humiliate him. Since that was the case, he didn't need to show Caroline any respect, either.
He let out a mighty bellow, a sound so thunderous it reverberated through the room, capturing everyone's attention. Then, with one hand gripping the railing, he vaulted down from the upper floor, landing beside Erin and in front of Caroline.
With a slap, he hit Caroline's face, making her spin twice and fall heavily to the ground. "Who gave you the guts to bully my mom?"
James's tone was icy, like a frost descending on the world. Everyone in the house shivered involuntarily upon hearing his words.
The air fell into silence.
Besides Caroline and Erin, there were seven or eight servants in the house. They all widened their eyes, not expecting James to be so domineering, slapping Caroline as soon as he returned. They knew that Caroline's status in the Smith family had been exceptionally high in the past two years, even Mrs. Peterson had to listen to her. As for the servants, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly in front of Caroline.
But now, they all felt very happy. Caroline, relying on Wylie, had been extremely arrogant. Almost everyone had been scolded by her. They had long harbored a dislike for her..
Zaiden, who was still upstairs, covered his forehead and sighed helplessly. His earlier advice to James had been in vain. In less than two minutes, James had already slapped Caroline. If Wylie found out about this, he would undoubtedly fly into a furious rage.
It seemed James remained the same as ever, his temperament just as volatile. When Wylie returned, a confrontation seemed inevitable.
As for Erin, she was in a daze, staring at James with wide eyes. Her eyes reddened visibly, soon filled with tears, as she trembled uncontrollably.
"James, am I dreaming? Are you back?" Saying this, Erin was already in tears. She reached out her trembling hand to touch James's face.
Seeing Erin's tears, James's eyes also reddened.
"Mom, I'm back. Your son is back." James grabbed Erin's hand that was touching his face. He noticed that Erin's hand had calluses. What was going on? James remembered clearly that Erin had always lived a life of luxury and had no calluses on her hands. These calluses were obviously from doing work, and for a long time at that.
"Mom, how did you get these calluses on your hands?" James asked in a deep voice.
Erin's gaze lingered on Caroline for a second, then she quickly looked away, shook her head, and smiled, "I got them from doing housework. It's ok. James, it's so good that you're back. I've missed you so much all these years."
Saying this, Erin's tears flowed again.
At this moment, Caroline's angry roar came from behind, sharp and piercing, "James! You bastard! How dare you hit me! When Wylie comes back, you're doomed!"
Caroline, clutching her swollen cheek, gazed at James with eyes brimming with fury and hatred, wishing she could mercilessly end his life right then and there.
"What are you all standing there for? Get him! Grab this ungrateful bastard! Do you hear me? Grab him!" Caroline shouted angrily at the servants.
The servants naturally didn't dare to intervene; they lowered their heads, pretending not to hear, and went about their chores with a façade of diligence.
Caroline, upon witnessing this scene, let out a bitter laugh laced with rage, "Very well, very well! Your precious James has returned, and now you dare to show me no respect! Brace yourselves for the consequences!!"
Then she glared at Erin, "Erin, you think that with James back, your status in the family is higher than mine? I'm telling you, that's impossible! You better kneel down and apologize to me now, or I'll make you..."
Before she could finish, James slapped her again. This time on the other side of her face, making her fall to the ground again. Now, both sides of her face were symmetrical, looking like a pig's head.
"One more word, and it won't be just a slap next time." James glared at her, his tone icy and filled with killing intent.
Immediately, Caroline trembled violently under James's pressure. The color drained from her face, turning extremely pale. She didn't dare to curse again, her pupils contracted in fear and panic, not even daring to meet James's gaze.
James's strength had more than doubled compared to five years ago, and the aura he exuded was several times more intense. He was not even using his full power; otherwise, Caroline would have been utterly terrified.
"Bitch," James said coldly. After five years as a son-in-law, his character had indeed been tempered a lot, and his sharp edges had been smoothed out. But that didn't mean he had lost his spirit or principles. He had just kept his violent nature in check, no longer displaying it all the time.
Now, when he got angry, it was like a thunderstorm, capable of destroying everything.
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