Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 591

Miles stared at Arthur in utter disbelief, clearly entirely unprepared for his father to slap him across the face.

The strike had been brutal. Miles's head whipped to the side, five bright red finger marks immediately swelling on his cheek, a thin trail of blood slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The living room fell into a dead silence, save for Miles's heavy, ragged breathing.

"Apologize!" Arthur's voice was dark and commanding. "Apologize to Hudson right now!"

"Why the hell should I apologize to him?"

Arthur's expression turned thunderous, and he spat out every word with venomous clarity. "I said, apologize."

"Miles, don't fight your father on this..."

The woman hurried forward, grabbing Miles's arm, her eyes rimmed with tears. "Your father told you to apologize, so just do it..."

Miles took a deep, shuddering breath, his Adam's apple bobbing sharply. Finally, he forced the words out through gritted teeth. "...I'm sorry."

Only then did Arthur release his grip. He turned back to Hudson, instantly plastering an apologetic, accommodating smile back onto his face. "Hudson, Miles didn't grow up in the Lancaster household. He doesn't know the rules. Please excuse his behavior and don't hold it against him."

Hudson leaned lazily against the back of the sofa, casually tossing the uncut sapphire in his hand. His voice was utterly unhurried. "I would never hold a grudge against an outsider. I only recognize you as my elder, Arthur..."

"Yes, yes, of course..." Arthur nodded eagerly, keeping his smile plastered on. "We're the true blood relatives here..."

Hudson let out a noncommittal chuckle. His gaze swept over Miles and the pale-faced woman beside him, his tone turning a degree colder. "It's fine if you forgot the rules after being away for so long. But the next time you visit, don't bring irrelevant outsiders to upset Grandmother."

Miles snapped his head up, his eyes—so disturbingly similar to Arthur's—blazing with barely contained fury.

"Who the hell are you calling an outsider..."

"Miles!" Arthur slammed a heavy hand down on his son's shoulder, cutting the rest of the sentence off in his throat.

He turned his head, forcing another tight smile at Hudson. "You're absolutely right, Hudson. I didn't think this through. We won't intrude any longer today. I will... return on another day to formally apologize to my mother and Eleanor."

Those last few words were clearly difficult to swallow, but he forced them through gritted teeth anyway.

Grabbing Miles and shooting a sharp look at the woman, Arthur marched the three of them toward the door.

Before leaving, Miles shot Hudson one last murderous glare before being yanked away by his mother. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, her expression unreadable, but her white-knuckled grip betrayed her silent fury.

The three figures disappeared beyond the courtyard gates, their footsteps fading into the distance.

The living room returned to a heavy silence.

Nora gently squeezed Hudson's hand. "Your uncle... is there something off about him?"

Hudson turned to look at her, an eyebrow slightly arched. "What makes you say that?"

Hudson frowned slightly and barked a single command. "Bane."

Hearing his voice, Bane immediately trotted over, his tail wagging so hard it looked like a helicopter rotor.

"Back to the kennels."

Bane flattened his ears, let out a sharp bark, and spun around to face the pack of snarling hounds.

The vicious dogs instantly fell silent. They pinned their ears back, tucked their tails between their legs, and obediently followed Bane back toward their enclosures.

The courtyard was finally quiet again.

"What's gotten into them?"

"I have no idea." Hudson smiled and shook his head, wrapping an arm around Nora as he pushed the front door open.

But the moment they stepped inside, they froze.

Dr. Vane was sitting perfectly still on the living room sofa. A massive tear ran down the leg of his old gray cotton pants, exposing the fluffy white stuffing inside.

But the most ridiculous part was the tiny, palm-sized turtle clamped firmly onto that exposed cotton fluff. Its four little legs were thrashing wildly in the air, but it flatly refused to let go, looking absolutely comical.