Chapter 9.

Three years ago, Mrs Paxton used to treat him like her own son.

She would go to the extreme of preparing some traditional decoction for him if he had the slightest fever or cold.

Is this her true nature? How could she be so cruel to him? Does this mean that she is also in support of the wedding?

"Come to your senses, Pauper! Do you really think that my only daughter will marry an ex-convict?! Wake up, or do you want Matthew to slap you back into reality?! Do you want to ruin the life of my beautiful daughter? "

Mrs. Paxton had lost all the remaining cool she was keeping.

"Linda! Linda!" A masculine voice was heard.

Everyone looked to see a middle-aged man dressed in a pair of Thompson suits and shiny shoes. He looked very well tailored and classy. Mr Paxton.

"I've been looking for you. Where did you go? The groom is being presented. The bride, our lovely daughter, will be presented soon. You should be in the church." Mr Paxton said before he looked.

When he saw Slade, he recognized Slade at once.

"You're out?" Mr. Paxton sounded disappointed as he asked the question.

Slade had wanted to greet the man, but hearing what the man had just said about the wedding and how excited he was, then it means that the whole family was in support of it. Slade heart became bitter.

All these people used to love him. What changed?

"What are you doing here -" Before Mr. Paxton could complete the question. He noticed the ring in Slade's finger.

When he saw Slade's ring, he was shocked, and his eyes almost popped out of his head. He moved closer to his wife and whispered into her ears.

Slade was wondering what the matter could be.

"That can't be!" Mrs. Paxton gasped and exclaimed as she looked at the ring again.

She walked to Slade and grabbed his hand roughly. She held his palm up to inspect the ring closely. She was in utter disbelief as she shook her head ruthlessly.

"How is this possible? How did he get this ring?! This ring belongs to the most powerful family in the whole country! How dare you stole this!" Mrs. Paxton accused him.

She didn't see how Slade in any way could lay his wretched hands on something so valuable.

"Don't patronize him, honey." Mr Paxton scoffed. "How can a lowly ex-convict like him steal something like this? This ring is the only ring of its kind in the whole of Pinnacle County! I heard not even the only daughter of Jendall Kurtis has access to this ring! How can a lowly person like Slade get close to the old man, let alone steal from him? His head would have been barbecued by now." Mr Paxton chuckled.

"I think he faked it! He went to a black market and had someone make a fake ring that looked like the JK signature ring!" Mr Paxton accused.

"Oh! This sly bastard!" Mrs. Paxton exclaimed. "He must have done this in order to impress us and change the mind of Mariana! He wanted to fool us. He probably believed that if we saw the ring, we would believe him and respect him! He deserved to be locked in jail again!!!" Mrs. Paxton exclaimed.

"Poor, boy. You had barely gotten out of prison. Isn't it too early to go back?" There was a big smirk in Mr. Paxton's face as he said this.

"I'll call the police right away." Matthew unstrapped his walkie-talkie at once and put it to his mouth.

"Don't! Don't call the police!" Mrs. Paxton exclaimed. "I want a perfect wedding for my only daughter. Calling the ploci will only raise concerns." She seemed to be changing her mind.

"Beat him up. Beat this bastard until he is unable to move an arm! Then we can send him to the office by ourselves." She flashed a shark-like grin.

Matthew approached Slade with a murderous intent. Death flashed in his eyes.

When Matthew got to Slade, he reached his arm out to grab Slade by the chest and pull him away. He fisted a handful of Slade's faded cloth in his palm and was trying to pull Slade away.

"Come here!" Matthew tried to pull Slade, but he could hardly do it.

Matthew, for a moment, thought that perhaps because his feet were not firm on the ground, that was why he was unable to achieve his goal. He was very much stronger than Slade, so why was he having difficulty pulling Slade?

He tried again with more strength to pull Slade away, but Slade didn't even waver, let alone budge. It was just like seven strong body builders, trying to pull a rope that is caught in between the jaws of a male adult lion.

Suddenly, Slade held the hand of Matthew, which was still on his cloth, and took it off gently.

"I'm not here to cause trouble, please." Slade's tone was soft and very accommodating.

Matthew didn't want to believe that he was unable to pull Slade away, but what Slade was saying quickly took his mind off the matter.

"I just want to meet with Mariana and clarify something with her. This is all I wish for. I promise that I won't cause trouble." Slade didn't want to cause drama here also.

He believed that none of this was her true intention. She must have been coerced!

Sometimes, parents would use their daughters as a bargaining leverage to get a slot in a business world. Perhaps this is what is happening in the case of Mariana.

"Are you dumb or stupid?" Matthew snapped at Slade. "I have been very lenient with you. I can't afford to spill your blood on the driveway of this beautiful area. It will only affect the wedding."

When he noticed that Slade would not go, he started to get physical with Slade.

Slade didn't want to hurt an innocent person. The security guard was just doing to his job. If he fails to do as told by Linda, he probably would be sacked and even ostracized for it!

The security man was trying so hard to throw slaps and punches at Slade, but somehow, Slade didn't have a hard time either stopping or dodging the attacks. This was getting to the point of frustration for the concerned.

"What's going on here?" A sudden feminine voice was heard.

Both Slade and Matthew stopped struggling. They both turned to see a very beautiful lady.

She had blonde hair. Her face was perfect, and her skin felt like a mirror. She was quite tall with ethereal curves. She was dressed in a cute gown, and every perfect shape of her body was spoken for.

When Slade saw this lady, his eyes widened.It was the girl he saved from the river. 

He was surprised, really surprised to see her there.