Chapter 459 Wylie is Back
"Mother, I am deeply sorry for my filial failing. I left without a word and disappeared for five long years, causing you immense worry," James said, overcome with remorse.
Erin's eyes reddened, and tears threatened to spill out again, but she held them back, shook her head, and grasped James's hand. "It's good that you're back. I'm just happy to see you return."
With Erin's kindness and love, James felt even more guilty and regretful. Over the past few years, even if he didn't come home, he should have at least called to let her know he was safe, so she wouldn't worry so much.
"James, where have you been all these years? Is exerything ok? Look at you, you've lost so much weight," Erin said with concern, pinching here and there on James's body. Seeing him in such plain clothes made her heart ache, thinking he must have had a hard time.
In fact, he really did have a tough time. He spent five years as a live-in son-in-law, and in the first two or three years, he was hardly stuffed. Life was incredibly hard.
It was only in the past six months that things got a bit better. Speaking of which, he had recently survived a devastating fire that almost took his life.
Actually, James wouldn't tell Erin about these things to avoid worrying her further. He smiled and said, "I'm fine. You know me, who in this world can bully me? But Mom, you've lost a lot of weight."
Erin wiped her tears and said, "I've lost weight because I exercise every day. At my age, it's better to be a bit thinner to avoid illnesses."
James took Erin's hand, gently stroking the calluses, and took a deep breath. "Mom, the so-called exercise you're talking about is doing housework every day, right? Tell me, how has Caroline been bullying you? Now that I'm back, she will pay for all the grievances you've suffered!"
Erin pulled her hand back and quickly shook her head. "It's ok. Caroline hasn't bullied me. I do the housework voluntarily. Doing housework has made me healthier than before."
Unexpectedly, James placed his fingers on her pulse and immediately diagnosed that Erin was clearly overworked and her health was worse than before.
All of this was because of Caroline, who targeted Erin every day.
James knew that within the family, there was no real affection. The so-called family members were more about scheming against each other. On the surface, they seemed harmonious, but behind the scenes, they were cold-blooded with no genuine feelings.
But Caroline's blatant bullying of Erin had completely crossed James's line of tolerance.
Erin knew her son well. At the sight of his expression, she realized that James was genuinely upset and determined to settle the score. She hurriedly said, "James, listen to me. I genuinely don’t mind. Whether or not you do the chores doesn’t matter to me. As long as you come back safely, that’s the greatest joy for me."
James remained silent, having resolved that the grievances Erin had endured over the past few years must be put right.
If Wylie dared to stand in his way, he would deal with Wylie.
To be honest, he didn't take Wylie seriously.
Five years ago, Wylie was his subordinate, scared to even speak in front of him. Now, after five years of arrogance, did he really think he was a genius?
James's strength now was far greater than it was five years ago. Dealing with Wylie would be a piece of cake.
The mother and son chatted for a long time, and during that time, James gave Erin acupuncture to relieve her fatigue.
The news of James's return quickly spread to most members of the Smith family. This news was like a bomb, a thunderclap out of nowhere, leaving many people stunned.
The Smith family was a century-old family, incredibly large, with over three hundred members of all ages and varying degrees of kinship. It was quite prosperous.
For the entire Smith family, there were dozens of young people, but someone as outstanding as James was rare. Even now, Wylie and Usher were still a bit inferior.
James's mysterious disappearance five years ago was a huge shock to the entire Smith family. Now, five years later, just when almost everyone thought he was dead and had started to forget him, he suddenly returned without any warning.
Suddenly, the entire Smith Manor became lively.
Moreover, rumors spread among the servants that James had a conflict with Caroline as soon as he returned and even slapped her twice. Everyone who heard this news was stunned and then excited. James had declared war on Wylie as soon as he came back. This was going to be interesting.
Some people favored James, while others favored Wylie. Overall, more people favored Wylie.
The reason was that James had been gone too long. His original power had been completely taken over by Wylie and Usher, and Wylie had been very impressive and domineering in recent years, leaving everyone in the Smith family with an impression of his iron-fisted methods.
Five years ago, James was the strongest among them. But now, five years later, the situation in the Smith family had changed dramatically.
James returned to his room, changed into clean clothes, and went downstairs to find that some relatives had already come back.
They had heard the news of James's return and were quite surprised to see him in person. However, they didn't dare to be too enthusiastic. After greeting James, they went about their own business, deliberately keeping their distance from him.
It was clear they were afraid of offending Wylie.
With this, James smiled slightly, feeling no emotional waves in his heart.
In the evening, his father Saxon returned first. Seeing James, he directly asked, "Did you hit Caroline?"
"Yes," James nodded, not denying it.
Saxon sighed and said, "You are too impulsive. No matter what, she is your aunt. You shouldn't have hit her."
James smiled indifferently and said, "She provoked me first. Knowing I was back, she still bullied Erin."
In this manner, he seemed to have returned to his former arrogant and domineering self.
Saxon said, "Caroline is not the issue. The key is Wylie. He is not the same as before."
"Does Alistair value him a lot?" James asked.
Saxon nodded and said, "After you left, Wylie and Usher became the main managers of the family."
Suddenly, James's ears twitched, and a smile spread across his face as he said, "Wylie has returned."
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