"Speak of the devil! The simpleton
is here!" Florence had barely finished her sentence when a group of three
came in through the doors of Saffron Restaurant. It was none other than
Dustin, Dahlia, and Julie.
"Terrence Stone!" Julie's eyes swept the place once she entered. She quic
kly spotted Terrence in the private room and stormed over angrily.
"Julie, hear me out!" Terrence was just about to explain himself with an
awkward smile on his face when, without any prior warning, Julie slapped
him across the face. Caught
off guard, he cupped his cheek with his hand, unable to react.
"Why are you being so aggressive, Julie?" Victoria reprimanded her immedi
ately.
"Why are you defending him, Mom? Did he not deserve that?" Beside herself
with anger, Julie saw nothing wrong with her actions. He deserved that s
lap very much for cheating her money and taking advantage of her feelings
for him.
"You're mistaken! Terrence isn't a swindler!" Victoria swiftly pulled Jul
ie aside.
"He's not a swindler? Well, if he isn't a swindler, are you implying that
I'm the liar? Has something gotten into you, Mom? Why are you defending
him? Julie's fury was unabated.
"Don't jump to conclusions. Listen to me, I'll tell you everything…" With
out any room for hesitation, Victoria explained to Julie in detail everyt
hing that Terrence had told them earlier. She made the whole thing sound
so reasonable and made Terrence out
to be the most considerate person, convincing Julie with her genuine
and sincere words. When paired with Terrence's miserable expression, Juli
e could not help but be convinced.
"What? So Terrence is innocent? I was wrong in hitting him, then?" Julie
was convinced by the story that Victoria told her and quickly realized th
at she was wrong.
"Exactly! You acted too impulsively. Quick, apologize to Terrence!" Victo
ria instructed her.
"I'm
sorry, Terrence; I didn't mean to do that. Does it still hurt? Here, I'll
rub the pain away." Julie's attitude took a 180–
degree turn, and she apologized gently.
"Don't worry about it. I was the one who did not tell you the full story,
that's why you thought I
was a swindler." Terrence forced a smile.
"You should have told me earlier how things were We can always face probl
ems together. It hurts
me to see you in such turmoil," Julie said emotionally as she clasped Ter
rence's hand in her own.
Dustin was left speechless when he saw how lovey–
dovey they were acting. Were these people dimwits? How could they be fool
ed by Terrence with just a few words? Too ashamed to meet them? Went arou
nd borrowing money from others just to pay them back? How could anyone bu
y such garbage?
Dustin thought, "No wonder they were swindled."
How else would Terrence be able to trick them if it weren't for them bein
g such foolish people? At the thought of that, Dustin took a
glance at Dahlia beside him and noticed that she had a doubtful and wary
expression. It seemed like she did not believe a single word Terrence sai
d.
"Alright, alright. Now that we have got everything straight, we're all st
ill family," Victoria said. Joyfully. She was pleased with Terrence as a
person. He was a promising young man who was very considerate. She deemed
him a good catch for her daughter.
"Ah, right. Terrence suddenly turned to Dustin. "Dustin, I heard from Vic
toria that they sold the abandoned construction site to you. Is that true
?"
"It is What about it?" Dustin did nothing to hide the fact that he'd boug
ht the land.
"That's great." Terrence heaved a sigh of relief. Then, with a smile on h
is face, he said, "I don't like taking advantage of others. Since I was t
he one who brought this problem upon all of you, I can't continue to let
you bear the loss. I'll purchase the piece of land from you at the origin
al price that you bought it for."
"You'll purchase it?" Julie's face fell when she heard that. In a hushed
tone, she whispered, " Terrence, have you lost your mind? It wasn't easy
selling off that trashy piece of land! Why are you even buying it back? W
hy would you bring such loss upon yourself?"
"You shouldn't say that, Julie!" Terrence put on a righteous facade.
"Dustin is my friend. Since something as bad as this has happened, we can
not take advantage of him! We must be righteous and hold fast to our prin
ciples!"
"But-" Julie was about to retort, but Terrence
waved her off. "Say no more. A real man must stand up for his actions. We
should not lose our principles just for a little benefit!"
With Terrence's little righteous speech, almost everyone looked at him wi
th admiration. Especially Julie, who looked at him like he had a halo ove
r his head.