Book 2 : She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement

Chapter 9

Chapter 633: The Truth: Ruth Is Not Xander’s Mother!!

Nora was taken aback.

To be honest, as early as Trueman had released Xander, she had wondered if Caleb knew anything. However, she hadn’t taken the initiative to ask him.

Caleb had returned to the mysterious organization with the sacred mission of the special department on his shoulders. She mustn’t bother him with her personal affairs, lest Caleb’s identity was exposed while investigating them.

Thus, she had never asked him about it, planning to look into it herself.

Besides, Lily was already comparing their DNA and would succeed sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.

But unexpectedly, Caleb had taken the initiative to call her?

A touch of gratitude rose from the bottom of Nora’s heart, and she asked, “What is the truth?”

Caleb’s voice was very low-obviously, he was making the call in secret. “According to my investigations, that child has been hidden by Trueman in the headquarters all this time, so I have never seen him before. But when Trueman was talking with him on the phone, he accidentally let something slip. He told Xander to try his best to save his Aunt Ruth, but the child instead said, ‘Why? She didn’t give birth to me nor has she ever taken care of me. Am I supposed to save her just because she is your sister?’ Trueman then said, ‘Then at least make sure that she doesn’t die.’ Xander agreed and then he said, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t give it away. At the very least, in my biological father’s eyes, Aunt Ruth is my mother.’

Therefore, based on this, I would think that Ruth is not his mother.”

Nora cast her eyes down.

To be honest, she had already guessed as much. Ruth and Xander’s DNA match was only 20%. Even though Xander might have been injected with the gene serum, modifying his genes, it was still impossible for his DNA to change so drastically.

Therefore, at the very least, it was impossible for Ruth to be his mother.

Now that Caleb had confirmed it, they could get rid of Ruth first!

Trueman didn’t seem to really care about whether his sister lived or not anyway.

With that in mind, Nora thanked Caleb over the phone. “Thanks. I’ll treat you to dinner when you return.”

“Okay.” Caleb’s voice became a lot more relaxed. After a brief silence, he suddenly said, “Nora… Ms. Smith, can I call you that?”

“Yes, you can.”

He had already done so anyway. Could she even say no?

The corners of her lips spasmed a little. Then, she heard Caleb speak again. He said, “Nora, I’m very sorry that I didn’t keep Anthony in check back then, and ended up allowing him to humiliate you and annul the engagement.”

“You have already apologized for that.”

Caleb chuckled, his voice gentle and mellow. “I’d like to apologize for it again.”

"Alright, then.”

Nora yawned. She sounded relaxed as she said, “I’ve already forgiven the Gray's.”

To be honest, she had never once hated the Gray's.

Although Anthony had looked down on her, ridiculed her, and mocked her all the time when she was fat, at that time, the only thing on her mind had been sleeping, so why would she take it to heart?

She said into the phone, “It sounds like your cough has become a little better. I made more medicine and wanted to give it to you, but I didn’t expect you to leave early.”

Caleb laughed. A while later, he suggested, “Why don’t you send it to me via international express mail, then?”

Nora raised her eyebrows and replied, “Sure.”

After hanging up the phone, Caleb, who was sitting alone in a luxuriously decorated room overseas, stared straight ahead of him.

He suddenly murmured, “I wonder if she’ll visit me since I have given her the address?” After all, he didn’t have long to live anymore. He really wanted Nora to visit him before he died.

Unfortunately, he was completely unaware that such indirect methods were totally ineffective on an insensitive lout like Nora.

In the States, Nora didn’t even take a look at the address. She forwarded it straight to Sheril and told her to mail the medicine out. Then, she gave the Stewarts a heads-up that she was leaving, and went back to the Smith's.

As soon as she arrived at the Smiths’, she received a text message from Justin: ‘I heard about the incident with the Livingstones. Do you want me to give them a warning?’

A single word from Justin could scare the crap out of Thomas and his mother.

When Nora saw his message, she called him right away. She asked, “Have you already given them a warning?”

The man’s voice was very low. He chuckled and replied, “No, not yet. Didn’t I ask for your instructions just now?”

Nora liked that he didn’t take the liberty to act on his own in everything he did. At the very least, if Justin had given the Livingstones a warning, Helen might not even be able to divorce him anymore.

She smiled and said, “Nah, you don’t have to warn them about it. We already have a plan. But if I cause the Livingstones to be utterly disgraced, will you be put in a spot, Mr. Hunt?”

To be honest, he would indeed be very much put in a spot.

After all, Mrs. Hunt would come crying to him.

But since Nora had asked, then the answer could only be: “No, it won’t.”

Thomas was Mrs. Hunt’s grandnephew. By right, now that Mrs. Hunt’s immediate family members were gone, the people from Mrs. Livingstone’s generation should be the only ones staying in contact with her. And once Mrs. Hunt was gone as well, the two families would no longer have any relations with each other. However, Mrs. Hunt cared for her maiden family, and on top of that, Thomas was always visiting. That was how he had forcibly made it look as if the two families shared a close relationship with each other.

For Mrs. Hunt’s sake, Justin was also willing to take care of the Livingstones a little. However, that was all just charity on his part.

Since the Livingstones were blind enough to offend Nora, then he didn’t need to care about such things anymore. Justin was very clear about who mattered and who he should keep dear.

Nevertheless, he should still ask for credit where it was due.

Justin said straightforwardly, “Even if Grandma hits me with a bat, I still won’t be put in a spot.”

Nora: “…”

Come to think about it, it seemed like Justin also had it pretty tough being caught in between her and Mrs. Hunt. Fortunately, he still chose to stand firmly on her side.

Satisfied, Nora uttered, “Yeah.”

Justin took the opportunity to make a request. He said, “Then are you still coming over to the Hunt's tomorrow? You were in such a hurry today that I didn’t even have time to show you around, especially I intend to turn my villa into our home after marriage. Do you want to give your opinion on the renovations?”

Nora thought for a while and replied, “I only have one request.”

“What?”

“The bed has to be comfortable.”

Justin also knew that that was the only thing she would ask for. He chuckled and said, “Of course, it has to be comfortable. After all, if the bed is not sturdy enough, I’m afraid it won’t be able to support the two of us when we...”

Nora: “?”

Weren’t they chatting? Why was the man suddenly making innuendos? She rolled her eyes. “While we do what?”

“Don’t think too much, I was talking about us fighting on it. Didn’t you say it yourself, Big Sister? You’ll beat me up every time you see me.”

Nora: “!”

She suddenly felt like her fists were itching. “Tsk, Big Brother, I suddenly feel like married life won’t be that boring anymore. We can spar every day. This way, we can even exercise a little.”

Justin: “…”

That wasn’t the kind of exercise he wanted!

He said, “Why don’t you come over tomorrow and we make a pick for the master bedroom? Cherry and Pete haven’t been to the Hunt's for really long too.”

“Alright.”

Nora agreed. She wondered what kind of sparks would fly among the three little fellows once Cherry and Pete met Xander?!

She raised her eyebrows and tried for a while to imagine the three of them together, but she simply couldn’t. At last, she shook her head and said, “By the way, Ruth is not Xander’s mother.”

When Justin heard this, his pupils shrank. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Nora answered.

The two chatted a little more before they hung up.

Justin sat in the study and thought about what Nora had said just now. Suddenly, he got up and walked to the basement.

He emitted bloodthirsty murderous intent all over.

He had been worried that Ruth could really be Xander’s mother, so he hadn’t gotten rid of her. But now that he knew the truth… Heh.

He went downstairs. When he arrived at the basement, he found the butler standing guard at the door.

When Justin walked over, he realized that Xander was also there.

He was squatting on the ground and chatting with Ruth while facing her.

Rather than saying that they were chatting, though, it was more like Xander was making fun of Ruth. The little fellow’s chin was resting on his hands as he looked at Ruth and prattled away.

However, what he said stunned Justin!!

Chapter 634: Are You? Are You Worthy of It?

The butler noticed Justin. When he was about to speak, Justin stopped him. He went up to the door and looked inside quietly.

He narrowed his eyes, a look of scrutiny forming within.

To be honest, fathers didn’t have any resistance towards their children.

This was especially in the case of people who’d had children before. Thus, even if Xander was a little devil who had been raised by Trueman, and even if he had thrown the whole Hunt manor into a tizzy after his arrival, Justin nevertheless still gradually went from finding the boy a stranger to feeling a bit softhearted towards him.

But when he saw him sitting opposite Ruth, he still couldn’t help but frown.

The child did not understand the difference between good and evil, let alone what was right and what wasn’t. In addition, what he did after he returned to the Hunt's had indeed angered him.

Yet when he thought of how he might be the third child he had with Nora, he would relent again.

In fact, he was actually worried about something. Should the child really be beyond hope, and should he be determined to take Trueman and Ruth’s side, then even if he must imprison him for a lifetime, he still mustn’t allow him to hurt his loved ones!

While he was contemplating, he saw Xander hand Ruth a carrot. He was telling her about the benefits of eating carrots.

“Carrots contain a lot of nutrition. They also contain carotene and anthocyanins. Eating three a day can lower one’s cholesterol levels by 10 to 20%. It can also effectively prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which is very important to the human body.”

He prattled on and on about the benefits of eating carrots, but Ruth became angry instead. She said, “I told you, I want bread! I want rice! I want carbohydrates! Xander, I have already gone hungry for six days! If you continue like this, I will die!”

“No, you won’t. Carrots have nutrients, they will keep you alive, so don’t worry about it. Also, even if you really are dying, I will find someone to save you.”

Xander spoke with a lot of confidence.

Ruth: “…”

She was furious. She said, “Xander, tell me, are you doing this just to take revenge on me?! Because I made you eat carrots when you were younger?! The opportunity has come to you now, hasn’t it? But don’t forget this— I will go back sooner or later! When I do, I will tell your father what you did! As for you, there will eventually come a day where you’ll fall into my clutches again!”

A touch of contemplation flashed across Xander’s eyes, but his expression remained amicable. He held his chin with his hands and said, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“How can you not?! You did it on purpose! When you were four years old, my brother entrusted you to me and told me to take care of you for a week. During that one week, all I fed you were carrots every day. You must be holding a grudge against me because of that! You little brat, I didn’t expect you to still remember all that even though so much time has already gone by. How dare you do this to me! You must be sick of living!”

As Ruth spoke, she went forward to hit him.

However, because she hadn’t eaten for a long time, she was weak all over. The moment she moved a little, she fell straight onto the ground.

Xander stood up in front of her and rubbed his nose.

This subconscious action of his was actually exactly the same as Justin’s!

At the door, Justin froze when he heard their conversation and saw Xander’s subconscious action.

He had always been a little wary towards Xander. Thus, he had never liked this son of his since his return.

Even if he did faintly feel a bit of fondness for him, he suppressed it at the bottom of his heart and kept it hidden.

He’d thought that Trueman must have treated Xander very well, which led to the development of his anarchical character, but never had he ever imagined that Xander had actually gone through all that?

Giving a child nothing but carrots for seven days—just how exactly did Ruth have the heart to do something like that?!

He suddenly clenched his fists and stared fixedly into the interrogation room.

Xander was standing there, staring at Ruth. After a while, he said, “Yeah, if my father hadn’t returned in time, I might really have starved to death!”

Ruth yelled furiously, “What nonsense are you talking about? You have everything in your room! There is fire, there are pots, and there are also rabbits! All you had to do was just eat those rabbits! Who told you to be so pretentious and say ridiculous things like the rabbits are your friends? You even gave the carrots to the rabbits! What a joke. Those rabbits are delicacies to humans! I really don’t know who you’re putting on that pretentious act for! My brother may pamper you and let you play with the rabbits, but I won’t! You love your rabbits so much, don’t you? Then let’s see whether you can hold back from eating them when you’re starved for weeks!”

Xander lowered his head. “They are not food or animals. They are my friends.”

Ruth sneered and said in a low voice, “So what even if they are? Didn’t they get eaten anyway after they died?! Hahaha! When my brother came back, he took you out and gave you a pot of meat, right? That was a pot of rabbit meat! And also your favorite No. 6’s meat!”

Xander trembled a little. The thin little boy seemed to emanate a sense of loneliness and confusion.

He stared at Ruth. “Yeah, Dad scolded you after that. I thought you would change, but unexpectedly, you instead killed No. 6 the very next moment and even tricked me into eating it.”

Ruth smirked. “Aren’t rabbits delicious? I remember asking you how it tasted at the time, you said it was delicious. And then? What happened later on? Whenever your rabbits died, you would always choose to eat them. Heh, so is there anything wrong with what I did?”

Xander stared at her.

Indeed, ever since that incident, he would eat his rabbits after they died.

Because… if he didn’t, then the rabbits would be taken away and used as specimens for more research. His friends wouldn’t be able to rest in peace even after their deaths.

If he ate them instead, then the rabbits would be safe.

While Xander was thinking about it, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open. Justin strode in, his deep-set eyes staring straight at Ruth.

There was murderous intent in his eyes.

Ruth was shocked and intimidated by the look in his eyes. But right after that, she asked, “Mr. Hunt, are you here to let me out?”

Justin’s gaze became even colder. “Yeah, I’ll send you home.”

Ruth’s eyes lit up. But the next moment, she instead heard Justin add, “After all, one must eventually return to their roots.”

Ruth suddenly understood what he meant. Her eyes widened in fright and she shouted, “Y-you’re thinking of killing me? No, you can’t do this to me! I’m Xander’s mother!”

Xander had promised Trueman that he would not expose her identity. This was the only thing that could protect her now!

Unexpectedly, as soon as she said that, Justin said, “Oh, are you? Are you… Worthy of being his mother?”

Chapter 635: A Family of Five

Even an ordinary unrelated person wouldn’t have been able to starve a four-year-old for a whole week!

Even he, Justin, had never abused Xander after meeting the child, despite how much he hated Trueman.

Ruth was badly frightened when she heard Justin’s words. She swallowed. “W-what are you saying? I am his mother. If you don’t believe me, then ask Xander!” Xander was standing at the side and looking at Justin in confusion. He didn’t understand why Justin had suddenly come in, or why he was suddenly so angry.

But he still thought of the instructions Trueman had given him before he came to the States.

He had told him to cooperate with Ruth. It would do as long as it didn’t expose her identity.

Therefore, after he came to the States, he had never once called Ruth “Aunt Ruth”. Ruth’s question at this moment was putting him in a spot, though. He didn’t want to speak lies like Ruth was his mother.

The little fellow in an internal struggle said, “She…”

“Shut up!” Justin suddenly barked in a low voice. The man had a very powerful aura around him and he gave off a very oppressive feeling. In this small and dark basement, he was clearly the king of this world, dominating one’s life and death!

Those two words of his frightened Xander.

Then, the man said in a low voice, “Where’s the butler?”

“Here, sir.”

“Take Xander upstairs and put him to bed.”

“Yes, sir.”

Without another word, the butler picked up Xander in his arms and walked out of the basement at once.

For the first time, Xander became scared. Puzzled, he turned his head to the back and looked at Justin’s back. The figure was obviously getting further and further away from him, but in his eyes, it was as if it was instead becoming bigger and bigger… This continued until the butler went out the door with him in his arms and then went upstairs.

When he was sure that Xander had entered his room, Justin finally looked at Ruth.

Then, he turned and shut the door to the basement.

Ruth looked at him, a touch of despair suddenly welling up in her.

She asked in trepidation, “M-Mr. Hunt, what… what are you doing?”

“Sending you home.”

The terrible screams from the basement were all blocked by the soundproofed walls.

In the guest room upstairs, Xander lay on the bed with his eyes closed. However, he pressed his ears hard against the bed and carefully tried to listen to the sounds downstairs, but he simply could not hear anything.

The little fellow couldn’t help but rollover.

Then, he opened his eyes.

Had the tyrant suddenly become angry just now because of him?

Surely not?

The tyrant obviously didn’t like him. Trueman had also said that the tyrant was in love with a woman. He would not like him for the sake of that woman too.

Therefore, the tyrant disliked him very much.

But if that was the case, then why was the tyrant punishing Aunt Ruth?

Xander couldn’t figure it out, so he decided not to think about it anymore.

That night, Xander had another nightmare.

In the nightmare, a big tiger kept chasing him and said that it wanted to eat him and his rabbits. He ran and ran, but he simply couldn’t keep running anymore.

Just when he thought he was going to be eaten, a big and tall figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

He couldn’t see the tall figure’s face because his back was to him, but for some strange reason, in the dream, he found the figure very reliable, and he gave him a strong sense of security.

Early the next morning, Nora brought Pete and Cherry to the Hunts’ manor.

As soon as they entered, Cherry dived into Justin’s arms like a butterfly. In her young and tender voice, she shouted, “Daddy, Daddy! Did you miss me?”

Justin caught the little girl and picked her up. Then, he replied, “Yes, I did.”

Cherry immediately gave him a kiss on the forehead. “I missed you too! I even dreamed of you!”

“Really?”

Justin sounded pleasantly surprised. “What did you dream?”

Cherry started to talk about her dream. Pete followed beside the two of them with a disdainful look, his expression as though he had nothing to live for anymore. At this moment, Justin’s large hand suddenly landed on his head and ruffled his hair.

Pete immediately lowered his head and avoided his hand. He said, “Ty… Daddy, you mustn’t touch a child’s head. Otherwise, they will become stupid.”

But Justin instead replied, “Well, you have a high IQ anyway, so it’s okay even if you become a little stupid.”

Justin then looked at the back.

Nora dragged her feet and yawned as she walked behind the three of them. Obviously, she hadn’t slept enough yet. He asked, “What time did you sleep last night?”

Nora rolled her eyes. “It’s because I got up too early today.”

Had she woken up early so that she could come over to meet him?

Justin smiled.

He suddenly paused for half a step. When Nora walked up to him, he said, “I’ve taken care of Ruth.”

Taken care of her?

Nora was a little surprised. “What did you do to her? The special department still has their eyes on Ruth and is planning to look for clues through her.”

Justin asked, “If Ruth really knew anything integral to the organization, do you think someone like Trueman would have allowed her to come to the States?”

Nora also felt that Trueman didn’t care about Ruth at all.

Hearing this, she uttered an “oh” and didn’t bother any further with the topic. She said, “Just don’t give the special department anything to use against you.”

“Of course not. I don’t do anything illegal.”

Justin said, “I only sent her home.”

Ruth’s home was located abroad. It had nothing to do with him if she was killed in a gun robbery outside the country.

Nora: “…”

She understood now. She raised her head and glanced upstairs. Then, she looked at Cherry and Pete and asked, “Where is Xander?”

She wondered what kind of scene the three little fellows would make?