When Tina and her entourage left the scene, the
Nicholsons still felt like they were in a daze. They were still reeling
at the fact that the high and mighty young lady of the Hummer family had
not only pardoned their wrongdoings but was also the first to humble
herself and apologize to them in person after getting her ass whooped. It
was truly unfathomable! "What's wrong with the Hummers today? Who knew
that they could even be this humble?" "I know, right? If I hadn't pinched
mysell, I would have thought I was dreaming!" "Could it be that Ms.
Hummer genuinely realized her mistakes, and that's why she came over to
apologize in person?" "Nonsense! You overestimate how righteous the
Hummer family can be!" The Nicholsons erupted into a flurry of
discussion, and it seemed like it wasn't about to die down soon. "This
can't be Dustin's doing, right?" Julle asked herself with a suspicious
look; she felt uneasy on the inside. Ever since last night's beating
session, Dustin had displayed a kind of calm that was uncommon in most
people. As if he was confident that everything was going fine as planned.
So, either he was completely aware of the situation, or he was too good
at hiding his emotions. Then again, when she thought back to the fact
that he'd been married to his cousin for three years and hadn't
accomplished much over the years, she found it incredibly hard to believe
that he was the guy who brought the Hummers to their knees. Amid all the
confusion, Matt Laney, who was dressed to the nines, suddenly strolled
into the room. "Huh, so everyone's already here. Just in time, too. I
have good news for you all the ban by the Hummers has officially been
lifted!" Matt announced the news with a big grin. "I understand
everything now! So, everything that happened just now was because of you,
right Matt?" Florence probed, as she assumed she'd succeeded in
connecting all the dots. Her gaze instantly perked up too. "That's right!
How did I forget that we still have Matt here with us!" James exclaimed
after coming back to his senses. "No wonder the Hummers apologized to us!
So, after all, it was because Matt was secretly helping us behind the
scenes!" "Exactly! Who else could be this capable apart from Mr. Laney?"
At that moment, all of the Nicholsons had starstruck looks on their
faces. So the reason why the Hummer family decided to offer an apology
was that Matt had pressed them to do so. behind the scenes. – Chapter 14)
That's right! That must be the case! "What's wrong? What just happened?"
Matt asked around, confused. To think that they just bombarded him with
things he didn't understand. Even if he had sharp wits, he was still
unable to piece together everything that had happened yet. "You don't
have to hide anything from us anymore, Matt. We all saw what you did. If
not for you, how would Ms. Hummer even have apologized to us?" Florence
said with a relieved look on her face. "She apologized?" Matt repeated in
disbelief, and his heart rate started to increase. He knew exactly the
kind of person Tina was. To think that an obnoxious woman like her had
shown up at one's door to apologize in person? "Exactly, Matt! This time,
not only did you tide the Nicholsons through our storms, you even managed
to surprise our family. You are a great benefactor to our family!" James
praised enthusiastically. *Thank you, Mr. Laney! You saved our whole
family!" The Nicholsons shouted as they stretched out their hands to
thank him profusely. "Um—" Matt trailed off in confusion. Immediately
after reeling from his stupor, the ever–quick–witted Matt flashed a big
smile. "No need to be so polite, everyone. It was just something easy to
take care of, I didn't even do much." Although he had no idea what the
context behind this was, he felt like he should just accept the
Nicholsons" gratitude towards him. After all, who would think of turning
down another's kindness? "You're too modest, Matt! If it weren't for you,
I'm afraid the Nicholsons might have ended up in shambles!" James
continued boasting. "Please, please, this is nothing." Matt grinned and
shook his head. His modest and courteous appearance was worthy of nothing
but praise, after all. "You got lucky this time, Rhys! I didn't expect
you to get away with this! What are you still standing there for? Hurry
up and bow down to Matt and give him your thanks now!" Florence yelled as
she shifted her sharp gaze toward Dustin. "You want me to bow down to
thank him? On what grounds?" Dustin sneered out of the corners of his
eyes. "Hmph, you'd better not be ungrateful! You were the one who beat
someone up and caused such havoc in the first place, so if it weren't for
Matt, who saved your ass, do you think that you could even be standing
here right now?" Florence retorted with a glare. "That's right! If it
weren't for Matt, you would have died a hundred Ilmes over for beating
someone up by now!" James echoed in agreement. "You guys give Matt too
much credit. He's not even remotely as capable as you think he is,"
Dustin replied with a cold expression. He was even impressed at the
mental gymnastics they performed to get to this point. To think that they
dared to prop him up and hail him as if he were a savior without knowing
the full story yet. And worst of all, Matt was just standing by and
taking it all in. "Hmph! Are you telling us that you're more capable than
Matt? Why don't you look into the mirror and reflect on the kind of
person you really are?" "Yeah! People like you only know how to cause
trouble and nothing else!" "To think that there are people in this world
who could be so heartless! Not only did he not thank his savior, he even
talked shit about him! How disgusting!" The Nicholsons berated Dustin.
They despised people like him who were hellbent on repaying good with
evil from the bottom of their hearts. "Is it so hard for you just to
thank someone, Dustin? If it weren't for Matt, you might have been killed
by now!" Dahlia suddenly piped up. To her, Dustin was still being
ignorant until the bitter end. Compared to Matt saving his life, what was
a mere thank you? "I would have if he had actually helped me. But he
didn't. In fact, not only did he not help me, he was the one who started
this whole fiasco in the first place!" Dustin replied flatly. "What do
you mean?" Dahlia frowned. "Iran a background check and found out that
Matt and Tina are lovers. Tina deliberately targeted you out of jealousy,
thinking that you and he had some hanky panky going on behind the scenes.
So, that was what led to the assault! In a nutshell, he's the true
culprit all along!" Dustin declared firmly. "Bullshit! Rhys! Not to
insult you or anything, but Matt is an upright guy. He's not as bad as
you say he is!" Florence cursed and jumped to her feet without waiting
for Matt to respond. "That's right! I think you're just jealous! You
probably planted all kinds of evidence to frame him, knowing how much
better he is than you!" James scolded. "Oh, Dustin. Who knew you'd be so
despicable!" The Nicholsons scoffed. "Why do you always insist on causing
havoc, Dustin? Can't you be more mature and sensible for once?" Dahlia
spat with a scowl However, it was fairly obvious to her that he had done
all of that as a result of his jealous rage. "Don't believe me? Just ask
Julie. She was the one who saw it all last night!" Dustin defended
himself and pointed at something. Everyone's gazes immediately shifted to
see what he was pointing at.