Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Fiona rushed over upon seeing this and pushed Oliver away, using her body to protect the little puppy. âMaster, I beg you to spare it! Itâs only three months old!â
Oliver scoffed coldly, âFiona, I respect you for taking care of Grandma, but donât get ahead of yourself! Youâre just a servant in this house. Move aside or Iâll beat you as well!â
The little puppy seemed to sense Fiona was in danger, so it ran out of her protection. It was barely able to stand on its tiny legs, one of which was lame. It wobbled there, barking at Oliver again.
âIt really is a beast!â
Oliver muttered under his breath, and with that, his stick savagely smashed down!
Of course, he wasnât truly angry at a little puppy, but the dog belonged to Keira.
Thinking about how she had hit him the day before, and his face was still stinging now, even the house servants and bodyguards were snickering at himâ¦
A trace of hatred appeared in Oliverâs eyes, and he put more force into his grip; if this blow landed on the little puppy, it would surely be killed⦠and that would infuriate that little slut Keira to death!
Just at this moment, a furious shout came from the doorway. âStop!!â
Lewis, who had gotten up early to check the surveillance and immediately hurried over when he sensed danger to the puppy, now had a dark expression on his face.
He rushed to Oliver, reaching to snatch the stick from his hand!
Oliverâs eyes were ruthless.
He often bullied Lewis when they were children. Later, as Lewis grew taller than him, the two never came to blows.
Now he took a step back, winding up the stick, ready to hit Lewis or to seize the opportunity to kill that little beast and disgust themâ¦
But to his surprise, the stick was now firmly in Lewisâs grasp, rendering him completely immobile!
A hint of disbelief shone in Oliverâs eyes.
He had always thought of Lewis as a younger brother, someone he could always dominate and bullyâ¦
But unexpectedly, Lewis had grown into a mountain, while he himself was increasingly frailâ¦
Panic set in Oliverâs heart, and the stick in his hand was already taken away by Lewis.
Keira, who had followed behind Lewis, was the first to rush toward Fiona and the little puppy.
Fiona was unharmed.
But the little puppy, upon seeing Keira, whimpered and then collapsed on the ground. Keira immediately picked it up and carefully checked over it, finding multiple fractures on its body!
Although it wasnât fatal, the injury could take a long time to heal!
Her eyes reddening with distress, she called out, âKitty!â
Hearing her voice, the puppy, not understanding why she was sad but wanting to comfort her, tenderly licked the back of her hand with its tongue, before dropping down again.
Keiraâs anger surged!
The puppy was the dog she had been raising for a month, and she had grown emotionally attached!
At the hospital, it had accompanied her on walks every day.
When the weather was nice, the little puppy always nestled at her feet to sleep.
Whenever she felt sad or upset, it would always lick the back of her hand to comfort herâ¦
Keira suddenly looked up, clenching her fists tightly, and furiously yelled at Oliver, âHow could you hit a little puppy so hard!!â
Oliver sneered. âItâs just a beast that bites its owner. I hit it, and what of it? As a sister-in-law, are you going to hit me, your elder brother? The family from the old residence is coming to visit soon. If you dare show me disrespect, they can immediately call a meeting in the ancestral hall and expel you, the poisonous woman, on the spot!â
Keira was infuriated by his words.
Lewis snatched the stick away, originally planning to throw it down, but at those words, his pupils narrowed. He flipped his wrist, swung the stick, and fiercely struck Oliver!
âBang!â
Oliver took a solid hit to the back, so shocked that he staggered, and he felt as if his ribs were about to break!!
He staggered a couple of steps, angrily looking at Lewis. âYouâ¦â
âLewis! You bastard, what are you doing? How dare you lay your hands on your older brother?!â
At the doorway, the furious roar of Nathan suddenly erupted.
Keira, cradling the little puppy, looked over to see Nathan standing there with an eighty-year-old man, followed by a throng of people, likely the ones Nathan had mentioned from the old Horton family estate.
These people were indeed from the old estate.
They had heard that old Mrs. Horton was gravely ill and had rushed over from their hometown to visit her.
In a huge family like the Horton Group, with a thriving population, aside from the main Horton family branch, the eighty-year-old man was Nathanâs second uncle.
The group behind him were the descendants of the second branch of the family.
After old Mrs. Horton established the Horton Group, she built a house back in her hometown for the second branch to watch over the ancestral hallâ¦
The second branch also owned shares in the Horton Group, and this second uncle was in charge of the Horton familyâs ritual affairs; even Nathan had to respect him as an elder.
As a child, Lewis was bullied by Oliver, nearly to the point of death.
Old Mrs. Horton then sent Lewis to be raised in the second branch to escape the persecution from Oliver and Nathan.
Therefore, Lewis had great respect for this second grandfather.
Old Mr. Horton asked, âLewis, whatâs going on here?â
Before Lewis could speak, Oliver broke into tears, âSecond grandpa, youâve come at the right time! Just look at Lewisâs shameless behavior, without respect for his father or brother! His dog bit Selena, and I was only trying to make sure it didnât bite its owner again, but he attacked me for no reasonâ¦â
Before Lewis could speak, Keira sneered. âThe little puppy wouldnât bite someone for no reason, so someone must have provoked it. And you, you almost beat it to death. Is this what you call teaching a lesson?â
Oliver was taken aback, then wiped his tears again. âSecond grandpa, see? He doesnât respect his elder brother, and his wife has no manners either. In their eyes, I, as the elder brother, am probably worse than a dog!â
Keira scoffed. âDonât compare yourself to my dog; youâd only insult it!â
Oliver was infuriated, âYou!â
Nathan simply said, âSecond uncle, we always say he is arrogant and overbearing, you never believed us. Now that youâve seen it with your own eyes, can you believe it?!â
The elder from the second branch understood the situation, and he said fairly, âItâs not right to say that. Iâm old but I understand. Nowadays, some people treat their dogs like children, and their affection for their pets runs deep. Likewise, back in my hometown, weâve raised a dog as a guard dog since it was a puppy. Iâm very attached to it. If someone were to hit it with a stick, surely I would be up in arms⦠Oliver, you shouldnât have hit Lewisâs dog!â
Oliver was speechless and wanted to argue, but Selena interjected, âEnough, Dad, itâs just a dog after all.â
She signaled Oliver with her eyes.
Oliver realized that todayâs goal wasnât about the incident.
He snorted coldly, rubbing his back, feeling like his bones were surely fractured, but now wasnât the time to go to the hospital. With the elder relatives here, he had to accomplish todayâs purpose.
Enduring the pain, he said, âForget it, second grandpa, please come inside.â
The second branchâs elder smiled kindly and proceeded indoors, gesturing to Lewis and Keira, âLewis, arenât you going to introduce your wife to meâ¦â
With an elderâs arrival, and especially one who was rather favorable toward Lewis, Keira, of course, couldnât just leave right away.
She carefully handed the little puppy over to Fiona, instructing her to immediately take the dog for treatment before following the others into the room.
Lewis introduced her to the second grandfather, then said to her, âKeira, go see if Grandma is awake. If she is, then we can go see her.â
The second grandfather and old Mrs. Horton were of the same generation. Although both were advanced in age, if his sister-in-law was sleeping, it wouldnât be proper to disturb her.
Keira just nodded.
Selena wanted to object but knew it was not the time and could only give a slight shake of the head to Logan Lee, the researcher, indicating he need not intervene.
Keira smoothly entered old Mrs. Hortonâs room.
Perhaps having heard the sound of the door, old Mrs. Horton slowly opened her eyes.
Upon seeing Keira, the confusion in her eyes gradually cleared, and before Keira could speak, she exclaimed excitedly, âMy granddaughter-in-law, I remember now!â
Keira was taken aback, âRemember what?â
âI remember how you and that brat got your marriage license!!â