Kevin exhaled roughly. He certainly remembered what "disease" Quina was suffering from. How could he forget that? It was the disease that made him lose control and throw Joe out of the house and cross his favorite grandson's name off the honorable Bouguler family register. "I wish you knew that the illness your mother always told you about was a lie, Jonathan." Kevin looked at Jonathan with concern, knowing that he couldn't possibly tell Jonathan everything he knew truthfully. "Yes, I remember, Jonathan. I remember your mother's illness very well," Kevin said. "Since Grandpa already knows, I don't need to tell him anymore, right? If I'm being honest, I'd love to live on my own and be as independent as I've always dreamed. Spending time in a remote village, while enjoying the scenery and painting some scenes that are sure to bewitch the eyes of anyone who sees them," said Jonathan. Seeing the frustration of a grandson who had been ignored by him, Kevin immediately asked Jonathan to
"Why are you staying there? Don't you miss your cousin?" asked Joe while stretching out his arms. Jonathan smiled, and immediately approached Joe and gave a hug to the cousin with whom he had not interacted for a long time. "I miss you so much, Joe. How long has it been since we met?" Jonathan released the hug, and immediately sat down on the sofa after being invited by Joe. "More than 3 years since the incident," Joe replied casually. As Joe spoke and answered the questions he asked, Jonathan's body unconsciously stiffened. He was deeply traumatized by the incident, and he wanted to forget everything. But all of that was impossible, unless he had amnesia and of course he had to be willing to forget the people who were very important to him. Of course, she didn't want that to happen. "Why, do... do you still remember those events, Jonathan?" Joe looked at Jonathan with concern, knowing that it had been a very hard blow for his cousin. "Yes, it can't be erased from your memory.
The happy, calm and joyful feelings that Quina felt did not last long, because Joe who was very much after likening Kevin to a "parasite" made the man choose to remain silent in the Bouguler family mansion, even though he received insinuation after insinuation every day. For example like today, where Quina was too sick of seeing Joe still not packing up even though he had been evicted two days ago, making him even bolder to pressure his nephew. "Joe, why are you still here? Didn't Dad ask you to leave yesterday?" Quina asked in a casual tone, but the look in her eyes clearly showed that she was very unhappy with her nephew's presence in the mansion any longer. "I apologized to Grandpa, Aunty. I know I was wrong and although I haven't received any reply from Grandpa so far, I'm sure that Grandpa will forgive me," Joe replied with a wry smile. "Gosh, you're right. I'd forgotten the fact that you're my father's favorite grandchild, so he'll definitely forgive you without a second tho
"Don't be presumptuous, Joe. Your words might provoke speculation from those who hear them," Quina fended off. "Who would dare to speculate in this mansion, Aunty? As you've said before, if someone dares to make a mistake in this mansion, then they won't be able to defend themselves because they'll be kicked out of here first, right?" said Joe with a cynical smile on his lips. Quina gave Joe a sharp look. She wanted to throw a slap at her nephew's face, but she had to refrain from making trouble at times like this so that her position wouldn't be jeopardized. "How dare you reverse the words I've said to you, Joe. Have you lost respect for me after getting to know that bitch?" Quina retorted fiercely. "Bitch?!" Joe's teeth chattered as he held back his emotions. "Watch your language, Aunty! Jesslyn is not a bitch! She's a good girl who comes from a good family."Quina snorted, then chuckled as if mocking Joe who insisted on maintaining Jesslyn's image in her eyes, even though she d
"Aunty?" Joe stared intently right at Quina who was standing sipping her juice with a relaxed expression, it was obvious that she was not bothered at all by her nephew's glare. "What?" replied Quina while raising one eyebrow. She really wasn't scared at all by the warning given by Joe earlier. "Why are you looking at me like that, Joe? Isn't what I'm saying the truth? You're deliberately preparing trivial things like this to attract Dad's attention." Seeing Joe who was getting cornered and only able to glare at her, Quina became more and more. She approached Kevin who hadn't reacted since earlier, then stood beside the man as she said, "Do you consider this forgiveness from my father to be equivalent to those few snacks, Joe? So, the value of the dignity of a leader of the Bouguler family is that low in your eyes?" Hearing the provocative sentence spoken by Quina, Joe shook his head quickly. He looked panicked, especially when his eyes intersected with Kevin's eyes which had been f
"So, you and Jesslyn have been in a relationship for a long time?" asked Kevin with a surprised look in his eyes. It was only natural that he felt that way, because after several years of college, Joe had never once told him about the woman he was close to, let alone having a close relationship. "Yes, Grandpa. I'm sorry for never being honest with you, because Jesslyn and I also have a commitment where our relationship does not need to be exposed, we only focus on learning during college until we succeed later. And now is the right time for me to tell you everything, because I really want to marry her as a proof that I love her, Grandpa." Joe explained with a shy expression. Kevin wandered his gaze in the other direction. He felt a little amused when he saw his grandson looking shy like that. The Joe he knew was a clear picture of a firm man, not like this. It felt like he was starting to doubt whether the person in front of him was really his grandson or not. "Didn't you say that
Kevin and Joe's relationship is getting better, while on the other hand there is Quina who is preparing her cunning plan to remove Joe forever from this world. "Do you understand? I want you to disconnect the brake cable of Joe's car, and make it look so natural that the police won't be able to find any irregularities in the accident," Quina ordered to someone on the other side of the phone. "Yes, ma'am," the caller replied. "I'll pay you more if your efforts to get rid of Joe end in success. But if it fails and the police later become suspicious of this plan, then don't ever mention my name in case you get caught, understand?" Quina gave an ultimatum. "I understand, Madam. I've been working for a long time in a field like this, so you don't need to worry like that. This plan will not fail, nor will the police get suspicious and arrest me, because I will never let that happen later," the caller replied while affirming that she was not someone new to this kind of dark business. "T
Joe rubbed his nose which was not itchy, an activity he usually did when he felt uncomfortable with a situation. "You're just mishearing, Jonathan. None of the conversations your mother and I had were about your father, let alone saying that he wasn't your biological father," Joe snapped. "But-" Jonathan wanted to interrupt and ask another question, but Joe quickly gave the code that he didn't want to discuss anything more on this matter. "You seem to need a vacation, Jonathan. Have your painting activities had any problems these past few days? You look tired, so you've misunderstood the topic of conversation between me and your mother," Joe suggested as he patted Jonathan on the shoulder a few times. Although he looked relaxed, he was trying hard not to look suspicious at all in Jonathan's eyes. "Maybe what you said earlier is true. My hearing has deteriorated to the point that I've misunderstood the topic of your conversation," Jonathan responded half-heartedly. It was obvious t