010 -

“Um, Sir!” Nancy comes to Oliver, trying to handle the situation. “Please, let me talk to him for a moment. I’ll come to you soon.”

“No, you don’t have to,” Laura interferes. “We know that man well. There’s no need to talk to him. Just kick him out of this place.”

“But…” Nancy looks so unsure with that idea.

“Believe me! He is not one of your customers,” Laura continues. “One look is enough to tell that he is just a cheap country bumpkin. We just kicked him out of our house yesterday. And I am sure he is just looking for a place to rest by coming here pretending to be a customer.”

Despite what Laura said, Nancy still approaches Thomas and treats him kindly.

“Excuse me, sir! Did you know this house belongs to Saunders Property Trust?” she asks.

“I know,” replies Thomas shortly.

“We are holding an open house for business purposes. Although the house is open to the public, we expect only those who have serious interest in buying this house,” Nancy explains.

Thomas glances back at Oliver, and also at Laura and her husband. As for Sylvia, the girl is still looking away.

Although Erica has previously said that her boss expected Thomas to stay there, Thomas still feels unsure about waiting for the arrival of the girl named Naomi.

He knows quite well the stature of the Gregory and Morris families. Of course he is not sure that the girl named Naomi would want to fight with them just to defend his position.

Besides, he is still not sure who the girl named Naomi that Erica mentioned exactly is. He then turns to Nancy and gives her a weak nod.

“Please tell the girl named Erica, thank you for the food!”

Thomas tries his best to get up from his seat. Right at that moment, Sylvia glances sharply at him, although she is still directing her face away. She observes intently how Thomas is struggling to use his weak legs.

Again she witnesses that Thomas can really use both of his legs, even better than when he left her house yesterday.

Truth to be told, she has feelings for Thomas after the incident at Boslow Hill. But lately, she was hesitant to accept him who seemed unable to walk.

But now, after she finds out that Thomas is actually able to stand on his two feet, no longer with the help of a stick, she is starting to feel a little regret in rejecting Thomas.

She glances at Oliver, and finds the guy looks a little unhappy with her. Oliver hides his displeasure and then shows an amused grinning at Thomas. Soon, he comes to Thomas by deliberately puts on an irritated face, and then grabs Thomas’ rag suit.

“You are taking too long, you stinky, weak puppy!” he grumbles.

“I don’t need your help,” Thomas pushes him away.

Thomas loses his balance after the push, and stumbles because of the momentum.

Oliver grabs him again, intending to force him to get up harshly. “Who said I was going to help you? I just want to kick you out of this house!”

Unbeknownst to Oliver, Thomas’ arms are not that weak to begin with. He also grabs Oliver by the collar, and pulls him down until their faces are so close to each other.

He grabs the man’s neck, and threatens him with a restrained hoarse voice. “You better not take me too lightly! Don’t think your rich father can protect you all the time!”

Oliver shoves Thomas’ hand and then chuckles. He looks so amused, taking Thomas’ warning as a silly joke.

“What are you going to do? You can’t even stand on your own two feet! Here, why don’t you let me help you to get up?”

He forces Thomas to stand on his two feet. But instead of trying to help, he deliberately shakes Thomas' body back and forth, without releasing his grip on Thomas' rag suit, toying Thomas like a helpless doll.

“Sir! Please! That’s enough!” Nancy tries to restrain Oliver.

Oliver ignores the girl, laughing with so much excitement. “I know you hate me for taking Sylvia away from you. After the sacrifices you made, you thought that you could win her heart and then marry her. But no, she chose me!”

He then pushes Thomas towards the dining table, making some of the chairs fall apart.

The commotion has attracted the attention of the people on the second floor. Erica is forced to leave her clients, rushing to check on the situation, until she sees Oliver toying with Thomas.

“Oh, no!” she mumbles in awry.

But then, as she is about to go down the stairs, she realizes the presence of her boss, Naomi Saunders, currently standing by herself near the front door.

Oddly enough, Naomi gives a gesture by bringing her index finger to her closed lips, as if telling Erica not to say or to do anything.

She then takes a seat in the family room, crossing her legs by putting her chin on her hand, following the drama in silence.

“Wake up, you country bumpkin!” Laura starts heating up the mood. “Do you think we are stupid, letting a country bumpkin like you seizing Donovan’s wealth by approaching his granddaughter?”

“It was Donovan who wanted to match me with Sylvia,” Thomas denies.

“Thomas! That’s enough!” Sylvia joins the argument. “I know you are upset because of…”

“You shut up!” Thomas denies her immediately. “You're just as bad as them. From the start, I had no feelings for you at all. It was only because you insisted on taking care of me that I decided to accept Donovan's request. You might be happy now to have this guy as your fiancé. But let’s see how he is going to protect you after this? Regarding the incident at Boslow Hill, who do you think they wanted to kill, and who sent those hitmen?”