Ethan's yelling and the pain in his wrist brought Charles to his senses as he shrieked.
When Anastasia recovered from her amazement and saw her father's agonized expression, she couldn't help but shout, "Ethan, he's my father! Don't hurt him please. Let him go!"
Ethan only wanted to stop Charles from hitting Anastasia, and now that Charles was sober, he wouldn't do anything to him.
He was ready to let go when Claudia abruptly exclaimed, "No! Ethan, could you hurry up and throw him out? I do not want him here! He's a useless bastard." She pointed at the door.
Anastasia experienced another headache. "Forget it, Mom. It's already too late. Where can you dump Dad? "What if something happens to him? Let him stay here, mom."
"I do not care! Even if he dies out there, I do not want to see him in this house again!" Claudia screamed with frustration.
Ethan was speechless. Naturally, he wouldn't throw Charles outside. Instead, he just let go of the latter's wrist.
"Damn it! You punk, remember this!" Charles yelled angrily after breaking free and sobering up. However, he was enraged by Ethan's behavior of clamping down on his wrist.
After saying that, he stumbled back into his room and lay down.
Claudia was also furious because Ethan did not throw Charles out as she had requested. "Fine, you're also disobeying me, huh? If you're not going to toss him out, get lost yourself! Get lost! You are no longer welcome to remain at this residence! Scram!" She pointed to the door.
Ethan was utterly speechless.
Being sandwiched between them made him exceedingly irritated, but he had to deal with it because they were Anastasia's parents.
"Mom, what are you trying to do now?" Why must you unleash your rage on Ethan after arguing with Dad? Anastasia questioned, trying to be patient.
"Hah, Anastasia, don't be so biased towards this man. Men are all jerks. Ethan Knight, like your father, is a slacker! He has no work or income and lives like a loser daily! He still dares to drink every day and blames me when he gets drunk. I've got enough of this." Claudia cried aloud.
"I am doing this for your good. Quickly find a wealthy man and marry him. Stop spending time with this useless person. Life is misery if you keep living that way! Look at me. You will be like me in the future if you choose to stay with your loser husband."
Claudia sobbed and whined as she sniffled. She instantly pointed to Ethan and said, "Look at you. What did you get out of marrying this useless person? Has he done anything for you? Did he give you anything? You were alone during your pregnancy. And you painstakingly delivered, cared for, and reared Sophia. Where has he been these years? He does not deserve you or deserve to be a father! You should have leave him this instant!"
Ethan laughed cruelly in his mind. He owed Anastasia for failing to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband and parent. He couldn't counter her. What Claudia says is the truth.
Anastasia wanted to tell Claudia that Ethan had done a lot for her and helped her a lot recently. He even made her General Manager. He was not a slacker.
But she couldn't say anything. Ethan's identity must remained hidden.
After crying and throwing a massive rage, Claudia became exhausted and retreated to her room.
Ethan clearly wouldn't get lost like she had told him.
After going upstairs and comforting his worried daughter, he immediately thought of taking Sophia away from this house.
The atmosphere here could have been better.
Charles was prone to drunken outbursts, while Claudia was known for profane language. They were also prone to violent altercations.
Sophia became scared on a few occasions tonight. He cannot allow these kind of surroundings for her daughter.
If she continued to live in a situation where she was terrified every day, it would be detrimental to her upbringing.
However, this was only Ethan's thought. Anastasia loved Sophia as if she were her life, and she would not let him take her away quickly. Also, if Anastasia left with him, she would be worried about her parents, and he couldn't bring them along.
It was the weekend the next day.
After a night of drinking, Charles was still lying on his bed, dozing.
When Claudia saw Ethan, she remembered how he had disobeyed her the night before and made a long face, treating him with disdain—without talking to him as if Ethan did not exist.
Claudia only stopped sulking after Anastasia promised to take them all out for a feast in the afternoon, and Charlotte said some lovely things in between. Claudia was at peace due to her daughters promises.
Soon, it was midday. Anastasia had long reserved a private room at the Shangrila Hotel. They were all dressed to the nines and prepared to go. But they quickly realized that Charles had left the house again, and they had no idea where he had gone.
"Uh, I'll call Dad," Anastasia said.
Claudia exclaimed angrily, "What for? Allow him to go out and wander because he enjoys it. Don't ask him to join us!"
Anastasia thought for a bit before agreeing. Ethan drove them to the entrance of the Shangrila Hotel.
It was the midday peak hour, making parking difficult. Anastasia ordered the eager Claudia to accompany Charlotte and Sophia while she and Ethan looked for a parking location.
"Okay, then we'll go in first and order some food." Charlotte consented and entered the hotel beside Claudia and Sophia.
Ethan and Anastasia nearly took seven or eight minutes to find a good parking spot and park their automobile.
Just as they were about to enter the hotel, they heard a familiar voice from behind. "Hey, isn't that Anastasia?"
Ethan and Anastasia turned to see Ferry Mason and Luisa Thorn walking over.
Ethan frowned slightly, and Anastasia nodded with scarcely any expression.
Luisa had previously spoken harshly to Anastasia at the Reed Corporation. Therefore, Anastasia detested her even though she was her cousin.
"Luisa, are they your friends?" Ferry's eyes lit up when he spotted Anastasia, but he pretended not to know who she was.
Luisa is clearly thrilled because Ferry appears to have forgotten about meeting Anastasia. She laughed. "She is my cousin, Anastasia Reed. She has recently been appointed the General Manager of Spark Enterprises. The person next to her is her live-in husband."
Ferry's eyes glinted. Is she now the General Manager of Spark Enterprises? That is even better! This is good news to him, then.