Chapter 4

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around to stare at Jared in disbelief.

"You're making an elderly man take off his clothes?"

The manor's maids and bodyguards gathered around, looking on as though they were enjoying a show.

Jared's eyes darted away for a moment before he cleared his throat and said, "You were the one who asked for a divorce. And since we're divorcing, all assets must be accounted for, starting with this outfit that your grandfather is wearing."

The outfit Grandpa was wearing was a gift from Jared for his 80th birthday. It had cost him 30,000 dollars. And when Grandpa heard the price of the outfit, he immediately stored it away in the wardrobe and refused to wear it.

He had only put it on today for the rare occasion of coming to the Dickson manor to bring me home.

Grandpa got a shock and hid behind me. Although he didn't understand the Dickson family's so-called rules and regulations, he knew what Jared was trying to imply.

He asked timidly, "How about… How about I go and take it off in the room before returning it to you? Would that work?"

Selena blinked. "Sir, you can't just wander into the Dickson family's bedrooms. If anything were to go missing, you would never be able to clear your name—"

My eyes turned red as I yelled at her hoarsely, "Don't you dare slander my Grandpa like that!"

Jared immediately stepped in and held me back.

"Selena is right. Your grandparents are from the countryside, after all. It's best to avoid any behavior that might arouse suspicion."

With that, he signaled the bodyguards to pin Grandpa to the ground in a rough manner. Grandpa immediately turned white with fright.

I felt my head exploding. I pleaded with Jared, saying, "Jared! Grandpa's almost 90 years old! Please let him keep his dignity!" I'll have Grandpa take it off once we get home, and I'll bring it back here to return it to you myself."

Just as Jared hesitated, Selena said in a businesslike tone, "But Mrs. Dickson, what if the old man were to swap this out for a fake one? How would we settle the cost, then?

"It's better for everyone to settle the account right here, right now. Surely you're not planning to keep this asset for yourself, are you?"

I looked at Jared with tear-filled eyes. His eyes grew increasingly dark. He then yelled, "She's right. Strip this old man at once!"

At his command, the bodyguards began stripping the outfit off Grandpa's body in an extremely rough manner. First came the jacket, then the shirt, then the pants.

Grandpa struggled desperately, but it was to no avail. He could only gaze at me with a helpless expression in his eyes.

Just as they were about to yank his underwear off, I lunged forward and screamed, "Stop it!"

Another bodyguard immediately came up to me and grabbed me by my arms before pulling me away and pinning me to the ground so I couldn't move.

And then, Grandpa was left completely naked.

The jeering laughter of the onlookers was deafening.

"Look at that old man getting stripped naked at his age! How humiliating!"

"Who told him to wear the Dicksons' clothing items? Serves him right! Who the hell does he think he is to be worthy of wearing it?"

"Hahaha! What a monkey!"

Grandpa lay naked on the ground in complete despair, his body curled in a frail heap. Grandma immediately took off her coat to cover him, completely wrecked in sobs.

Tears streamed down my face as I glared at Jared. "Are you happy now?"

Jared's eyes were dark as thunder. His lips were pulled into a thin line.

"I was only punishing you. The Dickson household is not a place where you can just come and go as you wish. And I will absolutely not allow you to bring up divorce just because you're jealous of someone else."

I glared at him with my bloodshot eyes, unable to say another word.

Selena then wheeled her suitcase out behind us and grabbed Jared by his arm.

"Mr. Dickson, the flight for our round-trip tour is about to take off. We need to leave now, or we won't be able to make it."

"Alright."

Jared pulled the suitcase to the door. Then, he paused and said, "Take care of all the trash before I get home. And that includes your divorce agreement."

The moment the door slammed shut behind him, one of the maids, Frida Purell, suddenly screamed, "Shit! That old man just slit his wrist and died in the bathroom!"

When Grandma heard that, her breathing suddenly stopped, and she fell to the ground with her pale face.

"Grandma!"

A split second later, my vision turned black, and I collapsed to the ground. The last thing I heard was Frida screaming next to me, "Mrs. Dickson! You've miscarried!"

At that point, it finally dawned on me that I'd lost Grandpa, Grandma, and my daughter, all at once.

…

Three days later, Jared ended his vacation earlier than expected and bought the earliest flight home, carrying a box of my favorite dessert in his hands.

However, when he pushed the door open and saw what was happening, he dropped the box straight to the floor.