Chapter 2

As if to prove the credibility of her claims, Iris even pulled her phone out and swiped through photographs of Howard cuddling with various elderly women.

She shot Howard a disdainful glance, saying, "You have no idea how filthy he is. While you went overseas to recuperate, he brought all kinds of old women back home. No one would ever take him in if it weren't for Ms. Holloway, who doesn't mind him."

The moment she said that, I felt Howard begin to tremble like a leaf.

I had always known that Iris was Howard's favorite person out of the three ladies. Now that he'd just heard such hurtful words coming from her, he must be extremely heartbroken.

William looked at these photographs with a smirk on his face. Yet, he pretended to be troubled by saying, "This was all my fault. I shouldn't have left Howard to indulge himself."

Upon hearing that, Eleanor, Shakira, and Iris rushed to comfort William. "Howard was the one who couldn't keep it in his pants. He was the one who didn't take good care of himself. What does that have to do with you?

"Don't blame yourself for it. He was the one who asked for it!"

As Howard listened to all that, he lowered his head nervously and gripped my sleeve tightly. He looked as white as a sheet as he stammered, "D-Dad, I didn't do any of that."

Upon seeing that, I put my arms around him. My heart was aching for him. I glared at those standing before me as I comforted him, saying, "You are my one and only child. Why would I believe the words of a bunch of outsiders instead of yours?"

I stared coldly at the ingrates before my eyes, already secretly deciding on my next move.

Before they could actually process what I just said, I led Howard out of the front door. However, we ended up bumping into the sleazy-looking Monica Holloway.

She looked at Howard with a playful gleam in her eyes. Thereafter, she turned toward me with a smile. "Mr. Miller, I'm here to take Howie to have our wedding outfits fitted."

Contempt filled my heart as I observed that trampy face of hers. "You are even older than I am. How dare you dream of marrying my son? Are you out of your damn mind?"

Silence filled the air for a few seconds before Eleanor hurried up to us, explaining, "Howard was the one who wanted to marry her! Moreover, given his wild lifestyle all these years and how much Ms. Holloway has to offer, Howard has really punched above his weight."

I couldn't hold myself back any longer. Before she even finished speaking, I slapped her in the face. "Was I even talking to you? Who do you think you are to negotiate my son's marriage before me?"

Eleanor didn't seem to expect me to yell at her, let alone hit her. After all, I had always put a lot of effort into raising her, believing that she was the most promising of the three.

She froze in place. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and she was at a loss for words. "I—"

Upon seeing that, William threw his arms around her, stroking her face in sympathy. Then, he choked out, "Dad, Ellie has been taking care of Howard on your behalf while you were away these few years.

"If not for her, Howard would probably have already let himself go and resorted to becoming a male escort! Being able to marry into the Holloway family is considered the best outcome for him. How could you hit Ellie over this?"

Monica snapped back to her senses, chiming in furiously, "Mr. Miller, I did not even utter a single word of dissatisfaction about him being unclean. How dare you be displeased about my age?"

Then, she turned toward Eleanor and the others and said in a sarcastic tone, "Everyone knows Howard is unable to have children. Mr. Ethan claims he has been recuperating overseas in recent years, but I reckon he's actually secretly trying to have a son of his own.

"It's just such a pity that he's also an old man himself, no longer capable of having any more children. That was probably why he thought of adopting William from the orphanage to inherit the Miller family.

"That reminds me—I am expecting a billion dollars as the wedding gift for having this useless and promiscuous son of yours to marry into my family. Otherwise, did you actually think I'd genuinely want to take this useless piece of trash in?"

At this point, I came to a clear understanding of why they had the guts to treat my son like this.

Nevertheless, Monica was mistaken. Other than spending my time recuperating overseas in recent years, I had also made significant progress in expanding my business overseas. One of those businesses involved an important project with Monica's company.

Well, well. I'd love to see how pathetic she'd look when weeping and begging me for mercy in the days to come.