Realizing what she had just said, Ines looked a bit embarrassed, but she still remembered that Ethan hadn't eaten. So she asked, "Grandpa, do you have anything else to say to Ethan? If not, Ethan and I are going to grab something to eat."
"Who said I'm gonna feed him? I didn't prepare his meal tonight," Phillip said.
Ines gave Phillip a somewhat dissatisfied look. "No meal? Ethan's stomach is weak. We can't let him starve."
Phillip firmly said, "How can a man be so fragile? Starving once in a while won't hurt him."
Ethan knew Phillip was upset, so he quietly squeezed Ines' hand. Ines understood his intention, so she didn't say anything more.
At this moment, Erica brought over a bottle of medicine and handed it to Ines, smiling and saying, "Izzy, don't worry about whether he eats or not. Just go upstairs and apply some medicine on him, or he'll be in pain tomorrow."
Only then did Ines realize that Ethan had just been hit. Although Phillip was old, he had been a soldier, and he hit hard. Ethan must have been hurt.
Thinking of this, Ines couldn't help but push Ethan a bit, urging him, "Hurry up, let's go upstairs, I'll help you with the medicine."
Ethan stretched out a hand and walked upstairs with Ines.
Seeing this, Erica couldn't help saying to Phillip, "Dad, it seems we were overthinking. Does Izzy look mad to you? She's protecting Ethan like a mother would protect her child."
Phillip nodded. "All I can say is Ethan has some decent emotional intelligence, we don't need to worry."
Erica said, "Actually, we can't blame Ethan entirely for this. Who knew Silvia would do something like this, having a crush on Ethan and not saying it earlier, but waiting until Ethan got married to stir things up. We had no protection against her, so she found an opportunity. Thinking about it, maybe Izzy and Ashley knew about her feelings earlier, otherwise, they wouldn't have asked us to introduce a man to her, nor would they say things we didn't understand. Izzy is really calm, she never said anything."
Phillip sighed, leaning back on the sofa, looking tired. "I really don't understand what Izzy is thinking. If she had said something earlier and Ethan agreed, we wouldn't have opposed, but now it's too late. You find some time to talk to Izzy, tell her that we will support her no matter what, she shouldn't have any pressure."
Erica smiled. "Don't worry, Dad, I'll talk to Izzy."
In the bedroom, Ines looked at the red marks on Ethan's back, tears inevitably fell, landing on Ethan's back. Ethan was slightly stunned and then laughed. "Don't cry, I'm fine. Grandpa's right, as a man, I should be tough. I'm thick-skinned and tough, I won't feel the pain. Grandpa's temper has improved a lot. It wasn't like this when we were young, we're used to it, I'll recover after a few days' rest."
Ines glared at Ethan. Since she had never been hit as a child, she didn't understand this way of educating. She always felt that any problem could be solved with words, there was no need to use force. She said, "Don't talk, I don't want to hear it."
Ethan obediently shut up. "Your back is red and swollen. How can grandpa be so ruthless? What if he broke your bones? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Ines said as she sprayed medicine on Ethan's wounds, blowing on them from time to time. She hated Silvia to the core. If not for her, Ethan wouldn't have suffered this.
Ethan was deep in thought and didn't respond for a moment. Ines, feeling a bit angry, pushed his shoulder and said discontentedly, "Ethan, I'm talking to you, why don't you answer? Did you get beaten dumb?"
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