DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 23
Chapter 23 Ten Villas
The next morning, Lucian was woken up by the sound of people arguing in the living hall. He lay in his makeshift bed on the floor, trying to catch bits and pieces of the ongoing conversation outside. It seemed that Tammy Lynn’s parents, Patrick and Carol, heard from their neighbors that Freya’s family had moved
into their place. They dragged Tammy along with them to get to the bottom of this incident first thing in the morning, assuming their innocent daughter had been tricked or forced by Freya into letting them stay at the apartment.
After listening in on the conversation for a while, Lucian decided he had to do something. “Fay, what’s going on?” Lucian asked as he opened the bedroom door, eyeing Patrick and Carol who were seated on the sofa.
him a
Patrick Lynn was a pudgy man who worked as an officer at the Land Office, which gave huge power trip and superiority complex. The husband and wife had always been patronizing to Freya’s family, and even more so when the family fell out of favor with Dax Harrison and became poor. Tammy sat beside her parents on the sofa, her eyes stained red from crying after being scolded by her parents. She was also overwhelmed with guilt as she would probably have to ask Freya to leave the place that she had just offered to them yesterday.
“Why is there another one?” Carol exclaimed in shock. “Annie! It’s bad enough that the four of you stayed here without my permission, but now you even have the audacity to bring a stranger
be?!” into my house? How shameless could you
“Aunt Carol, this was entirely my fault. It had nothing to do with my mom,” Freya tried to explain. “If you need to blame someone, blame me. I was the one who contacted Tammy.”
“Hmph, like mother, like daughter!” Carol mocked. “You’re dreaming if you think you can take advantage of my family and live here while paying only a thousand dollars as rent! Go back to the streets if you don’t have money instead of freeloading off me!”
Annie was practically trembling from anger at her sister’s mean insults. When she first married into the Harrisons, Carol had always treated her with respect, but her attitude completely changed when Annie’s family had gotten into trouble. “Let’s pack up! We’re leaving now!” Annie bit out, refusing to be humiliated for one second longer.
“Hold on, Annie,” Lucian grabbed Annie by the arm before turning to face Carol. “Is it necessary to be so calculative among relatives? Yes, we only paid a thousand dollars, but we’ll be paying more once we get our money back. We’ll leave then too…” Lucian tried to mediate.
“And who exactly are you?” Patrick’s tone was snarky. “Who are you to interfere in our family’s business?”
“Hmm, Patrick. He looks so familiar…” Annie said as she stared at Lucian’s face intently. “Oh my goodness! It’s Lucian Gray, the guy who got kicked out of the Gray family seven years ago! Didn’t he end up in the army? Why is he back now?” Annie asked as she pointed at Lucian.
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Chapter 23 Ten Villas
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Back then, everyone in town knew about Lucian and Freya’s love story. They also heard about how Lucian had mysteriously disappeared and left Freya all alone in Sioux. Many thought of Lucian as a heartless, irresponsible man and Freya as a poor victim who had ended up disabled because of Lucian.
“Yes, it’s him!” Patrick confirmed, his expression turning severe. He turned to Freya who was seated on her wheelchair. “Freya, how could you take him back after everything that he did to you? Are you really that desperate for a man? You’re really something, aren’t you?”
“Dad, you shouldn’t say things like that!” Tammy admonished her father angrily. She could not believe how rude and ill-mannered her parents were. It was truly a horrid spectacle.
Freya was visibly upset too. If only she could stand up, she would have given her uncle and aunty a tight slap each.
“Oh please, your father didn’t say anything wrong, did he? It’s true that Freya is in this state because of this man, and yet she still took him back. You’re the only silly m oron who trusts these guys. Thankfully our neighbors told us about them, or we might just be swindled out of a home!” Annie sniggered.
“Mom, Freya’s not like that!” Tammy insisted.
“Oh, shush it, you!” Carol snapped at her daughter before turning to Freya. “Freya, I know how you must feel. You’re a pretty girl, but I’m sure you must feel insecure because of your… situation.” Carol eyed Freya’s cri ppled legs as she spoke. “That’s why you’re willing to stay with a man who has no money and no achievements…”
“Who says I have no money?” Lucian frowned. “I have enough money to buy a villa and still live comfortably.”
Patrick and Carol cackled until their bellies hurt upon hearing Lucian’s words. If Lucian had to money to buy a villa, why would they even need to rent this tiny apartment?
Carol folded her arms across her chest haughtily. “Alright then, since your dutiful son-in-law can buy a villa, why don’t the lot of you get out of my apartment and move into your villa?! I’d like to see it for myself.”
Freya and her parents eyed Lucian crossly before they started to pack up their belongings. They knew well enough that Lucian was no longer a respectable member of the Gray family. He was just an ordinary war veteran with not much to his name. Where would he even find the money to buy a villa?
“Lucian, Freya wouldn’t be in this situation if only you had been a good husband and stepped up!” Tammy was furious with the man who could not provide for her dear cousin sister. “You disappeared for seven long years, and even then, you still can’t afford to buy a small place for her!”
Just then, a young man dressed in a dark suit knocked on the door and entered the apartment. “My apologies for being late, Mr. Gray,” the man spoke.
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13:28 Fri, 18 Aug
Chapter 23 Ten Villas
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Patrick and Carol immediately stood up from the sofa, looking at the newcomer in shock. It was Jeff Froll, a well-known property developer and the largest shareholder of Maple Garden, a luxury development where prices for a single villa started at $20million. It was an exclusive address catered for Sioux’s wealthiest residents.
Patrick walked toward Jeff and greeted him with a polite bow. “Mr. Froll, what brings you here? Were you looking for me?” Patrick figured no one else here would be worth Jeff Froll’s precious time.
Jeff narrowed his eyes at Patrick. “Who do you think you are? Why should I be looking for you?” Jeff raised an eyebrow. “I’m here to offer Mr. Gray one of my villas. Please get out of my way.” As he spoke, Jeff fished out a bundle of sales and purchase agreements from his leather briefcase.
“Mr. Gray, I’ve prepared ten agreements and title transfers for ten of my best villas right here. Please accept this as a little gift from me,” Jeff announced as he handed Lucian the agreements. “These ten villas range from $25 million to $180 million, with sizes ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 square feet. You can have whichever villa you desire!”
13:28 Fri, 18 Aug 0.
The Resurgence of a Warrio…