Repairing A Broken Home With My Patriarch System

Cassie turned to her friend, shocked. "Eve, what are you saying? I’m sure this guy is here again to extort you!"

Ethan said nothing, simply holding Nora’s hand and the extra takeaway as he stood.

Evelyn shook her head and slowly released Cassie. "It’s not what you’re thinking. Ethan isn’t here for that."

Cassie cast a look of disbelief towards Ethan, and only then did she notice him holding Nora’s hand and a plate of food.

’Did this guy change? No way. I was here four days ago when he came to collect money from her.’

She glared daggers at him, then pulled Evelyn to a corner.

Ethan glanced at them, shrugged, then handed the takeaway to Nora.

"Give it to your mom when she comes back."

With that, he turned to the approaching customer and began to attend to the man.

Meanwhile, after ensuring that they were out of Ethan’s sight, Cassie stopped.

"Eve, you better tell me what is going on right now. Why are you holding me back?"

Evelyn bit her lip and explained, "I don’t know either, Cass. But Ethan hasn’t been doing anything bad lately. He helped me sell all my fruits yesterday, and I made more profit than usual. He even prepared dinner yesterday—"

"Hold up, Eve," Cassie interrupted her. "Are you saying Ethan? THAT same Ethan?"

The white-haired lady nodded.

Cassie frowned, confused. "That’s impossible. It has to be someone else. Are you sure you aren’t lying to me just so I won’t attack him?"

Evelyn shook her head, sighing. "I’m not doing that, Cassie. I wouldn’t lie to you."

Her sincerity made Cassie even more perplexed.

"Heck, are you sure he doesn’t have a twin brother? Maybe they switched?"

Evelyn laughed lightly, shaking her head. "No, it’s nothing like that."

Cassie’s expression hardened, and she looked toward the shop.

"Then that guy is planning something. He’s probably in debt and is trying to help you make a lot of money so he can collect it and pay off the debt."

"Eh?" Evelyn blinked, caught off guard by the assumption. Although it seemed absurd, she couldn’t help but doubt.

What if Cassie was right? She already suspected Ethan’s kindness was merely a facade, anyway. What if his goal was to get a huge sum of money from her shop and use it to pay off his debt?

Perhaps his gambling had landed him into some serious debt.

As she thought about this, her heart dropped in fear and sadness. So... everything was fake?

She couldn’t be absolutely sure until he demanded for the money, but she was already believing it.

’Ethan... why?’

She turned to her friend who now had a sympathetic expression on her face.

"Evelyn, don’t worry. If he ever tries something like that, just let me know, okay?"

In the shop, Ethan smiled and waved goodbye to a customer, then froze.

His eyes widened, seeing the system message before him.

[Family Happiness: 6.61%]

’How?’

His expression changed in disbelief. A whole one percentage had dropped. What could have happened?

He looked around but couldn’t find Evelyn anywhere. Nora was inside the shop behind him, reading one of her favourite mermaid stories while holding the toy he bought her yesterday.

The decrease was obviously because of Evelyn.

’What did that damn woman even tell her? I’m just trying to repair a family and someone’s ruining it.’

He couldn’t help but feel indignant. He hadn’t even done anything wrong. Still, he quickly regained his composure and attended to the next customer.

A few minutes later, Evelyn returned with her friend, Cassie. The black-haired lady had a menacing look in her eyes as she looked at Ethan, but he didn’t even care.

Instead, his focus was on Evelyn who had a clouded expression.

He immediately turned to her. "Evelyn, is something wrong?"

She stared at him but didn’t reply immediately. Then, she shook her head.

"No... it’s nothing."

Ethan obviously wasn’t satisfied with her answer, but he didn’t press the issue.

Instead, he smiled and said, "Your food’s inside with Nora. You should go eat."

She nodded and went inside.

He noted that she didn’t thank him and filed the information away for later. It wasn’t that he needed her thanks, but it was a sign that she was withdrawing from him. He also noticed that Evelyn avoided his gaze several times and answered his questions more cautiously than usual.

He didn’t need to guess what caused it when she was right before him. He turned to Cassie, his expression indifferent.

"Do you need something?"

The young woman stared at him silently, then snorted. "Don’t ask me that. Focus on selling, will you?"

Ethan frowned at her attitude but didn’t retort. He didn’t want to have an argument with someone that young.

’She seems shady, though. What’s her business with Evelyn anyway? I don’t think they were schoolmates.’

Inside the shop, Evelyn sat beside her daughter, eating slowly with a distant look in her eyes.

Nora glanced at her, then said, "Mommy, why do you like Auntie Cassie?"

Evelyn was surprised by the question and turned to her. "Hm? Cassie?"

Nora nodded.

"Well, she’s my friend. We were friends back in college, and we’ve been close since then. Why do you ask?"

Nora shook her head and returned to her book. "Nothing. I was just curious about mommy’s friends and if they’re all good people."

Evelyn smiled. "Of course, dear. Cassie is a good person."

Nora nodded but said nothing else. Her expression was unusually dark, though. And so were her thoughts.

’That bitch...’

If she had said that aloud, her parents would have thought she was possessed. Fortunately, Evelyn was busy eating and thinking, so she didn’t notice anything wrong.

A few hours later, Cassie left after saying goodbye, and they closed the shop since all the fruits had been sold.

Ethan held Nora’s hand and smiled at Evelyn.

"You won’t faint again today, right? Or do you want me to carry you?"

The young lady blinked in surprise, then blushed. "No, I’m not fainting..."

Her blush was quickly erased, though, replaced by distant calmness.

Ethan noticed but didn’t say anything.

He carried Nora onto his back, then led the family back home. When they got back, they were surprised to see that they had visitors.

Three men—Richard and two others that Ethan couldn’t immediately recognize—stood in front of their door with folded arms.

As soon as they saw the Hale family, one of them spoke up.

"Oi, Ethan bastard! Why didn’t you show up yesterday or today? Trying to run with our money, you gotta pay up!"

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