Angry shouts and curses came from the front gate. Evelyn Ford’s brow furrowed. She got up and glanced outside. ’These hot-headed young men never think about the consequences,’ she thought. ’They don’t care about the truth. Once they get worked up, they’re probably stupid enough to actually burn the house down.’
"Everyone, stay calm. Ronan and I will go check it out."
Evelyn told them to put down their weapons, then pulled Ronan toward the gate.
"Still not coming out? You really are a coward! You’ve got the guts to do it but not to face the music, huh? Then don’t blame us for what happens next! Boys, pour the gasoline!"
"Is that enough gasoline? If not, I’ve got two cans for you, free of charge."
The young men, who had been about to pour the gasoline, heard the voice and all looked toward the iron gate. Evelyn had Miles Vaughn and Peter Owens open it, then she placed two cans of gasoline on the ground.
"And who are you?"
The young man pointed a wooden club menacingly at Evelyn. But in the next second, his eyes fell on Ronan standing beside her. His expression changed, and he charged forward to attack. Before he could even raise his hand, Ronan kicked him, sending him flying several meters.
"Mr. Seth!" Seeing him sent flying, his cronies were so startled they dropped their gasoline bottles and rushed over to him.
Two others tried to avenge him, raising steel rebars to strike Ronan. But in the next instant, Ronan caught one of the rebars. The men’s arms went numb, their grips loosened, and they dropped the weapon. Ronan gave the rebar an elegant, sword-like twirl before throwing it at them. It struck both of them in the chest, sending them stumbling back several steps before they collapsed in a heap on the ground.
"Aargh..."
The two men lay on the ground, wailing in agony. Waves of intense pain radiated from their ribs and chests. The rebar was still lying on top of them; it weighed several pounds, and the pressure on their chests made it difficult to breathe.
Seeing their friends taken down, the others wanted to charge forward but were too afraid. Watching them hesitate, their faces a mixture of anger and fear, Evelyn couldn’t help but smile.
"Well, gentlemen? Get on with it, burn the house down. I brought two extra cans. After you finish with our place, we can go burn yours. I’m sure there’s enough to go around."
The young men all stared at Evelyn as if she were a lunatic. The one Ronan had kicked clutched his stomach as he staggered back to his feet. He glared at Ronan with vicious hatred in his eyes.
"So you’re the pretty boy?"
The commotion had been so loud that neighbors from both sides came out of their houses again to watch the spectacle.
Evelyn stepped in front of Ronan. She was dressed in a form-fitting black jumpsuit that made her look both cool and formidable. A faint, unreadable smile played on her lips as she glanced toward the neighboring villa.
"You’ve been making a scene at our gate for half an hour. Why don’t you invite the other party involved over so we can get our stories straight? You stormed over here without any regard for the truth, accused my man of being a homewrecker, and tried to burn my house down. We’re not letting this go until we clear things up."
"Your man? This pretty boy is your man?"
Evelyn ignored him and looked toward the neighboring villa. "Miss Miller, you’ve been watching for a while now. Don’t you plan on coming out?"
Hearing Evelyn’s words, the young man immediately looked over at the neighboring villa. It was over a hundred meters away, so he couldn’t see very clearly.
"This has nothing to do with Winnie! I did this on my own to get justice for her. It’s clearly this scumbag’s fault, so don’t you dare try to drag her into it."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "Scumbag? Ronan and Miss Miller have never even met. How exactly did he become a scumbag?"
"He..."
"Seth Scott, stop talking! You’ve misunderstood!"
Winnie Miller came running over from the next villa. She kept her head down, not daring to look at Evelyn or Ronan, and pleaded in a low voice for Seth Scott to leave at once.
"Winnie, I’ll get justice for you. I heard everything from your best friend. She said you liked this pretty boy, but he was just playing with your feelings and made you cry. Winnie, I won’t let him get away with it."
Winnie Miller shook her head. "It’s not like that, Seth Scott. You’ve misunderstood. I... I did like him before, but he’s already married. I’ve already given up on it. He doesn’t even know who I am. From start to finish, it was just a one-sided crush. It has nothing to do with him."
Seth Scott was stunned.
"I’m so sorry." Winnie turned and gave Evelyn and Ronan a deep, ninety-degree bow.
"I didn’t know he was married at first. I mentioned to Nana York that I was going to confess my feelings to him. But then I found out he was married, and I felt so embarrassed and a little sad... so I ended up crying in front of Nana."
Winnie kept her head bowed, her face and neck flushing red with shame and mortification. As she spoke, she started to cry again.
"This is all my fault. Seth, I’m begging you, please stop. This is just too humiliating."
Seth still wasn’t convinced. "Nana York said you were heartbroken. That a scumbag had played with your feelings. She even said... you were pregnant."
Winnie Miller froze, completely dumbstruck. She stared blankly at Seth. "She said that? I was just rambling that day... I mean, I did say I was heartbroken, but... why would she say I’m pregnant?"
’It’s over,’ Winnie thought, panicked and ashamed. ’There’s no explaining this now.’ She felt as though she could jump into the Xylos River and never wash herself clean.
She couldn’t believe her best friend had taken her ramblings, exaggerated them, and convinced Seth to come looking for trouble with Ronan.
She felt like she’d never be able to show her face in public again.
But Nana York was her best friend. Why would she misinterpret her words and even encourage Seth to cause all this trouble?
She couldn’t understand it.
"Seth, you’ve really misunderstood. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been spouting nonsense, none of this would have happened."
Seth took a deep breath. "It has nothing to do with you."
Seth looked at Evelyn and Ronan, his current humiliation as intense as his earlier arrogance.
"I’ll pay for the gate."
Evelyn sneered. "Just pay for it? And all that vile filth you were spouting earlier? We’re just supposed to let that slide?"
"Miss Ford, I’m sorry," Winnie pleaded. "This is all my fault. I’ll take full responsibility. Seth was only so impulsive because he was worried about me. It’s all because I was running my mouth. I’ll pay for the damages, and I apologize."
"Of course you’re at fault," Evelyn said, her gaze shifting to Seth’s legs. "But we’ll handle this one at a time. I never said I wasn’t going to hold you accountable."
"Since my Ronan didn’t do any of those things, and you said you were going to break his legs... does that mean I can break yours now? After all, showing up at someone’s door to cause trouble comes with a price."
"Hey! Do you have any idea who Mr. Seth is?" one of the cronies shouted. "Mr. Scott is a high-ranking official in Flumen! With a single word, he could have you all kicked out of Kestrel Villa! I suggest you know what’s good for you and back off now!"
Evelyn just clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Everyone has connections. An official? Raising a piece of trash like you who tries to burn people’s houses down—and burn them alive inside? What kind of ’good person’ could that official possibly be?"
The gawking neighbors and Seth’s cronies were all stunned by Evelyn’s brazen words.
"You’re fucking asking for it!" Enraged, Seth glared at Evelyn, his eyes wide with fury, looking like he wanted to lunge forward and tear her apart.
Evelyn clenched her fist and punched him squarely in the face.
"I’ve been wanting to do that for a while," she said. "Now I’ll show you who’s really asking for it."
When Evelyn started a fight, everyone else instinctively took a step back to give her room.
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