Chapter 533: Face the Family Punishment
Logan’s expression darkened, his gaze sharp and ruthless. He didn’t even use much strength—just shifted his body lightly—and with a bang, Paula crashed into the table behind her. "Ah!"
The scent of her heavy perfume drifted past his nose, and in that instant, Logan understood exactly what Amelia and Paula were scheming. Disgust churned in his stomach.
"Selina, we’re leaving."
Selina nodded and hurried to his side. Naturally, the man reached out and took her hand. Paula’s eyes blazed with fury.
That was her man—hers! She had already lowered herself by openly declaring her intentions. Selina, this so-called discarded wife, should’ve had the decency to step aside! How dare she!
Amelia, terrified of losing that two hundred billion, flustered and desperate, rushed to intervene. "Logan, what are you doing? Miss Paula is Duke William’s daughter! How could you not know her?"
"Is the daughter of Duke William someone capable of changing the fate of the world?" Logan asked coolly. "If not, why should I know her?"
"And another thing." His voice turned cutting, almost mocking. "Selina is not an outsider—she’s my wife. Mrs. Perry, this so-called ’mother,’ is truly... open-minded. Even though her son is married, she still encourages him to spend the night out with another woman."
His eyes lifted, cold and unyielding. "Is that from personal experience? Or is it just your shallow view of the world that makes you think it’s normal?"
Selina: "..."
Wow. Logan’s mouth was vicious.
Amelia’s face nearly twisted out of shape. "Logan, Miss Paula has come all this way—"
"I think Father has plenty of free time lately," Logan cut in. "The company doesn’t require his attention. Surely he’d be more than happy to accompany Miss Paula. He can even stay out overnight. Mrs. Perry certainly wouldn’t mind."
Selina thought to herself, compared to Logan, her own little barbs were child’s play. Just a couple of sentences from him, and Amelia’s eyes were already rolling back as though she might faint from rage.
"If not for Miss Paula’s long journey, I wouldn’t be standing here wasting so many words."
Logan’s gaze slid indifferently to Paula. "As for Miss Paula—everyone has their own sense of beauty. I respect yours. But if in your eyes someone like Selina qualifies as a ’old hag’s face,’ then what does that make you?"
—Because even those who disliked Selina couldn’t, in good conscience, deny her beauty.
Whereas Miss Paula’s looks were painfully plain. Among ordinary women, she wouldn’t even be considered a beauty. Everything she had came from makeup and fine clothes.
If Selina was a so-called "hag," then what did that make Paula? Something even worse?
...
...
Silence. Absolute, suffocating silence.
The Reid Family estate felt as though time itself had been paused.
Paula was the first to react. Her face flushed a furious shade of crimson, like pig’s liver. "You—you..."
"Miss Paula! Please don’t be angry! Logan didn’t mean it that way!" Amelia scrambled to smooth things over. "Logan, what are you saying? Miss Paula is young, she doesn’t fully understand Country M’s language. That’s not what she meant. How could you take it so seriously, arguing with a little girl?"
"And besides, how can you think so poorly of us? I only asked you to accompany Miss Paula shopping because you had free time. Anyone could have gone with her. You... you think your mother would deliberately ruin your marriage? How unfair of you!"
Amelia wailed and carried on, but Logan’s expression didn’t flicker in the slightest.
"Miss Paula only wants to go shopping, and anyone could accompany her?"
To push her own agenda, Paula nodded in agreement.
Amelia, looking for all the world like a madam peddling her girls, rushed to add, "Logan, you see? Miss Paula hardly knows anyone here. Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you..."
"Unfortunately for you, I don’t have the time," Logan said flatly, cutting her off.
Amelia was so furious her head felt like it would burst. She couldn’t think straight.
"What could you possibly be so busy with? I just asked you to accompany a guest, and you flat-out refuse! Do you even respect me as your mother anymore—"
"Mrs. Perry."
Selina cut in casually, as though by accident. "Logan still has two international conferences today, several documents awaiting his signature, and this afternoon he has to stop by the International Trade Center. He didn’t even have time to come to the Reid Group—it was only because you invoked Grandma Perry’s name that he spared half an hour."
"As a so-called ’mother,’ how can you not even know how busy your son is?"
The people around them began to look at Amelia with faint disdain.
Amelia’s throat tightened. "You..."
"But since Miss Paula only wants to shop, then all you need is someone with free time to go with her. Owen seems like a perfect choice."
Amelia’s scalp tingled. "What nonsense! Owen can’t possibly—"
"Why not?" Selina asked mildly.
Amelia opened her mouth—because Paula had her sights on Logan, of course!
But before she could say it, Selina asked with quiet mockery, "Does Young Master Owen have something terribly important to do? Strange, isn’t it? He doesn’t work, he doesn’t study. He spends his days lazing around the Reid estate or burning money on shopping and racing cars. What exactly keeps him so busy that he can’t even spare time to accompany an honored guest?"
Amelia nearly exploded. "Selina, shut up—"
"Mrs. Perry already said it herself. Miss Paula is a duke’s daughter, a distinguished guest who’s traveled far just to shop in City A. And yet Young Master Owen can’t even accompany her? Are you showing Miss Paula any respect at all?"
Selina’s voice was calm, almost airy, yet it cut the room into silence.
Amelia’s pupils shook. She never imagined Selina could be this brazen. These words—these accusations—
And just then, Selina added with feigned realization, "What’s wrong, Mrs. Perry? Did I say something untrue? Or perhaps..."
She let out a soft, knowing sigh. "Perhaps Miss Paula simply has her eye on Logan—a married man. And Mrs. Perry, for the sake of Paula’s influence, is willing to ignore the fact that Logan already has a wife, deliberately sowing discord between us. Tsk. Is this really what a mother would do?"
"You—you—!" Amelia nearly collapsed backward, her face twisting hideously.
Paula was just as furious. She hadn’t expected Amelia to be this incompetent, failing to deliver on what she promised. And Selina—what was she, anyway? Just Logan’s wife? They’d be divorced sooner or later!
She was a duke’s daughter. The man she wanted, Selina should have surrendered without hesitation. How shameless!
In the dead silence, Logan finally broke it with a cold voice. "Since Second Brother has nothing better to do, let him go take his family punishment."
Amelia heard the threat in his words and clenched her teeth so hard they nearly cracked. "...Owen, go accompany Miss Paula shopping first."
It was either face the family punishment or go shopping. In the end, Amelia couldn’t bear to see Owen suffer real pain.
Logan let out a derisive laugh, then turned and left with Selina.
Once outside, Selina clicked her tongue and suddenly quickened her pace, leaving Logan a step behind.