Chapter 6: Calm Before the Storm

“Look what you’ve done! Is this how you repay your mother after everything she’s done for you?” Roger’s voice thundered as he pointed a finger at Shantal. Her casual, unbothered expression only fueled his anger.

Shantal lazily met his gaze, completely unfazed.

“I didn’t ask her or Regina to repay me for everything I’ve spent on them these past twelve years,” she replied coolly. “So, Dad… how exactly do you expect me to repay you?”

Her eyes drifted to Susan and Regina, a mocking smile curving her lips.

“Poor Regina looks so pitiful… Aren’t you afraid my ‘repayment’ might be exactly what she deserves?”

“Shantal Harver!” Roger roared, his fury boiling over. His hand shot back, ready to slap her across the face.

But just as his palm hovered mid-air, a deep, authoritative voice cut through the room.

“What’s going on here?”

The voice wasn’t loud, but the weight behind it was enough to freeze everyone in place.

Roger’s raised hand stopped immediately.

Ullysis was standing in the doorway, led in by the servants, dressed in a sharp gray suit. His expression unreadable, yet his quiet authority pressed down on the entire room.

Though his tone had been casual, the atmosphere shifted in an instant.

Roger, despite being head of the Harver family and Ullysis’s father-in-law, lowered his hand quickly, forcing a strained smile onto his face.

“Ullysis, what brings you here?”

Ullysis didn’t answer right away. He stepped further into the living room, his sharp eyes scanning the scene before settling on Shantal.

Two days apart, and somehow, she looked… different. Her expression colder. Her eyes sharper. Something had shifted, and it unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

It was also obvious now, the so-called ‘perfect family’ Shantal came from was nothing but a facade.

“I heard Shantal came home,” Ullysis finally replied, his voice calm but layered with quiet meaning.

He wasn’t here to mediate their little family drama. But seeing Shantal like this, cool, distant, untouchable, it scraped at something inside him.

Shantal arched a brow, a faint smirk touching her lips.

So you came to my house… willingly? The last time, you only came because Grandpa Ray Ford dragged you here. But now… you came on your own?

How interesting.

Ullysis ignored the amusement glinting in her eyes.

He turned to Roger, his tone deliberately casual.

“I just walked in and saw you were about to hit her. What exactly did she do to deserve that?”

Roger’s face darkened, his anger still simmering. But before he could speak, Susan quickly stepped in, her expression soft, her voice dripping with concern.

“Let it go, Roger,” she urged gently, placing a hand on his arm. “It’s nothing serious. Let’s not ruin the mood over a little argument.”

The more composed and understanding Susan acted, the more Roger adored her, and the more his resentment toward Shantal brewed beneath the surface.

But Ullysis wasn’t fooled.

Susan’s well-rehearsed performance only made his curiosity burn deeper.

His sharp gaze lingered on her, then slid back to Shantal, who stood silently, her eyes cool and distant, the familiar warmth gone entirely.

For the first time, Ullysis had to admit… maybe he didn’t know Shantal as well as he thought.

And that realization irritated him far more than it should.

If Ullysis had known earlier that Susan was nothing more than a vicious dog hiding behind a mask of gentleness, he would’ve despised her long ago.

But from the outside, she played the role well, the sacrificing stepmother with a delicate, obedient daughter like Regina. It was easy to fall for the act.

Susan’s game was simple: act pitiful, paint Shantal as spoiled, and slowly ease Regina into the Ray Ford family’s good graces.

“Sue, stop spoiling her. You give her an inch, she takes a mile,” Roger snapped, his voice sharp with frustration. “It’s bad enough she acts like this here… What if she embarrasses the family outside? She’s married into the Ray Ford family now. It reflects on all of us.”

“Ouch.”

Shantal’s lips curled into a cold smirk, her eyes full of mockery.

Blame her for ‘disgracing the family’ when their reputation was already rotten, just covered in expensive suits and fake smiles.

If only he knew… the divorce papers were practically signed. Would he still stand there, playing the loving father?

Over the years, Shantal realized Roger had missed his calling. With acting skills like that, he could’ve won awards by now.

She took a slow sip of coffee the servant handed her, completely unbothered.

Across from her, Ullysis watched in silence, his sharp eyes fixed on her. His expression unreadable, but the faint twitch at the corner of his lips betrayed his amusement. He made no effort to interrupt the performance.

“Let it go, Roger.” Susan chimed in sweetly, shooting Shantal an affectionate glance that barely masked her smugness. “We’re all family… Shantal’s still young.”

But the slip of her eyes toward Ullysis gave her away, the quiet arrogance there said it all. In her mind, Shantal’s days as Mrs. Ray Ford were already over. Without old Major Ray Ford to restrain him, Ullysis was free to throw Shantal away.

Susan's words dripped with double meaning.

Calling Shantal “young,” implying she was immature and unfit for marriage, while conveniently ignoring the fact her own daughter, Regina, was even younger, yet always praised as obedient and sensible.

Right on cue, Roger added with a grunt, “She’s twenty already. Regina’s younger, but look how much better behaved she is.”

Susan gave Shantal a helpless, apologetic look, as if saying, I tried to defend you, all while hiding her satisfaction beneath false concern.

Shantal didn’t even bother rolling her eyes. She stirred her coffee lazily, the soft clink of the spoon filling the silence.

Roger, oblivious to her disinterest, turned to Ullysis, exaggerated frustration in his voice.

“You saw it for yourself, Ullysis… this attitude of hers.”

“She said that?” Ullysis’s tone was calm, but a slight furrow of his brow betrayed a flicker of displeasure.

The room shifted instantly.

Susan’s eyes glittered with satisfaction. Roger straightened with self-righteous pride. Even Regina, playing the fragile flower, lowered her head, biting her lip in false grievance.

They thought they’d played the scene perfectly, turning Shantal into the villain.

But Shantal? She sat quietly, sipping her coffee, watching them stumble through their little show like bored audience at a bad play.

What they didn’t notice… was Ullysis’s gaze, lingering on Shantal longer than it should’ve, the faintest crease between his brows deepening, not at her, but at them.

Shantal coughed, nearly choking on her coffee as Ullysis’s words sank in. Her eyes widened, momentarily betraying her disbelief. Even she hadn’t expected him to side with her so directly, especially after the cold frown he’d been wearing just moments earlier.

Across the room, Roger’s face froze. His thunderous anger faltered, replaced by awkward confusion.

Susan’s practiced smile stiffened, a crack forming in her carefully built facade. And Regina, who had been seconds away from another pitiful outburst, looked as if someone had slapped her across the face. Her eyes darted between Ullysis and Shantal, wide with disbelief.

Ullysis leaned back in his chair, his posture deceptively casual, but his sharp gaze swept the room like a blade.

“Strict is good,” he added lightly, the corners of his mouth curling faintly. “But not when you’re punishing someone for telling the truth.”

Roger’s mouth opened, ready to argue, only to snap shut again. For once, words escaped him. In front of Ullysis, the head of the Ray Ford family, it was dangerous to push the issue.

Shantal set her cup down, regaining her composure. Her eyes drifted to Ullysis, both amused and suspicious. As always, he was impossible to read, frowning one minute, stepping in to defend her the next.

Across the table, Regina’s nails dug into her palm. That damned Shantal, how did she always manage to flip the situation in her favor?

Susan, ever the actress, let out a soft chuckle to ease the tension. “Ullysis, you misunderstood,” she said sweetly, her eyes full of concern. “Roger wasn’t being harsh. We’re just worried about Shantal. She’s been under a lot of stress… naturally, her temper’s been a little short. As parents, we only want what’s best for her.”

Ullysis’s gaze shifted to Susan. His expression gave nothing away, but a flicker of cold amusement passed through his eyes.

Shantal, hearing Susan’s sugary words, almost laughed. The fake gentleness… the well-practiced hypocrisy, it was exhausting.

“I don’t have a bad temper,” Shantal replied lightly, her voice calm but sharp. “I’m just good at knowing who deserves my respect… and who doesn’t.”

Her tone remained polite, but the meaning beneath was as sharp as a blade.

Roger’s face darkened again. Susan’s smile cracked.

Ullysis’s lips curved faintly, the barest hint of amusement flickering across his face.

“Well,” he drawled, standing up, straightening his jacket, “since Shantal’s lovely family reunion is going so well, I won’t interrupt.”

His eyes lingered on Shantal, unreadable, but heavy with meaning.

“We’ll talk later.”

With that, he turned and strode toward the door, leaving behind an icy, uncomfortable silence.

Shantal didn’t stop him. She simply crossed her legs, her posture relaxed, her eyes gleaming with cool defiance as the room sank into uneasy quiet.

The question stunned everyone in the room.

Roger opened his mouth, but no words came out. He hadn’t expected Ullysis to be so direct, so protective.

Shantal, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm. She lifted her cup again, her slender fingers tapping lightly against the porcelain, as if none of this had anything to do with her.

Roger forced a strained smile, struggling to maintain control. “Shantal… she…”

But he couldn’t finish the sentence. As much as Shantal’s words had angered him, she hadn’t actually done anything. She hadn’t yelled. She hadn’t insulted anyone outright. She’d simply… spoken the truth. And there was no way to twist that in his favor with Ullysis standing right there.

Ullysis’s gaze swept the room, sharp and suffocating. Without warning, his fingers brushed through Shantal’s hair, a gesture that looked casual, almost intimate, but the possessiveness behind it was impossible to miss.

“If she didn’t do anything,” Ullysis said coldly, “then I don’t see the problem.”

Susan’s composure cracked. Her forced smile vanished as her fingers clenched tightly at the hem of her sleeve.

Regina’s face flushed, her eyes reddening again. But this time, even her usual pitiful act couldn’t hide the sharp bitterness shining through.

Shantal slowly set her cup down and tilted her head toward Ullysis, her voice light but laced with warning. “Mr. Ray Ford…”

Ullysis didn’t look at her, but the hand in her hair paused ever so slightly.

“You don’t need to defend me,” Shantal continued, her tone cool, detached. “Our divorce is only a matter of time. It won’t look good if you upset my father over me.”

The air thickened with tension.

Roger’s expression darkened. Susan’s eyes flickered with hope. Regina’s lips curled faintly in satisfaction.

But Ullysis’s eyes narrowed, dangerously unreadable, as he finally turned to Shantal. His fingers slid lightly along her cheek, his touch deceptively gentle.

“You’re that eager to get rid of me?” His voice was low, almost amused, but the quiet threat beneath it was impossible to miss.

Shantal smiled faintly, unshaken. “Aren’t you?”

For a moment, the entire room held its breath.

Roger, Susan, and Regina exchanged nervous glances, suddenly unsure whether they should feel hopeful… or terrified.

Then Ullysis chuckled softly under his breath, the sound low and dangerous.

“Unfortunately for you, Shantal…” His gaze locked onto hers, sharp and unrelenting. “It’s not that simple.”

Shantal’s heart skipped, but her expression didn’t waver. She met his stare head-on, her eyes calm, cold, as the tension in the room simmered just beneath the surface.