Lance braced himself for a beating from Manley, absorbing a couple of punches and defensively hugging his head. "Manley, I was wrong, I admit it," he whimpered. "I won't dare again, I swear. Please, just let me off this once. I'll follow your lead from now on!"
It was clear to him: cross Jonathan, and his whole family paid the price; cross Manley, and he got roughed up.
Manley, having vented his anger and delivered one last kick to Lance, growled, "Get lost, and make sure I don't see your face again!"
Disoriented from the beating, Lance scrambled away as soon as Manley loosened his grip.
Leaning against the wall, Manley lit a cigarette, drawing in a deep breath. A sly smile cracked his lips. He didn't care what others thought of him, but knowing this got under Jonathan's skin made it all worthwhile.
As Manley left, the banquet hall erupted in whispers. Mr. Scott, dismayed by the "incident," lamented the misfortune that had befallen his family. Realizing the marriage arrangement with the Bradshaw family was now a pipe dream, he retreated upstairs.
In the shadow of a grand Corinthian column, Estelle and Jonathan had also witnessed the spectacle.
Jonathan was somewhat pleased with Lance's performance. It wasn't as heartfelt as Charlie had described, but it was effective nonetheless.
Estelle shot him a look. "Don't tell me you put Lance up to this?"
Jonathan's eyes glinted. "He had it coming, messing with me. And if he dares to bother you again, I'll send him to Antarctica to feed the penguins!"
Estelle sighed. "Alright, he's probably fuming by now. Let's just leave it at that."
Jonathan's lips curved into a thin smile. "Defending him?"
"Jonathan!" Estelle frowned.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
please update more regularly. Thanks...
Hey Admin, please ,can you update the novel regularly?...
It’s really annoying to have these times of no updates. Is it because you’re giving us 6 updates at a time, when the site states 2 updates/daily…therefore 3 days of no updates. Hope all is well with you and your family and thank you for writing a great story....
Thank you for the updates. Please continue to deliver them on a daily basis....
Admin, please update the novel...
Please give us updates, I really look forward to seeing them and it’s so disappointing to wait days for them. Thank you for responding to our comments....
Please continue with your updates, we’re looking forward to them....
Thank you for the updates....
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the updates....
Please let us know why we’re having these breaks from you not being consistent with the updates. We hope all is well with you and your family....