Secret Scion

A table was filled to the brim with delectable cuisines in a high-class hotel. However, almost every dish remained untouched. The two white wine bottles, on the other hand, were already empty.

"Eat up, Sis! Just let the waiter know whatever you're craving for. This meal is my treat!" Having downed two bottles of white wine, Griffin was already in a drunken state. He looked at Noelle, who was sitting next to Asher, before a silly grin spread across his face. "Boss, you're pretty amazing! The women hanging around you are all bombastic beauties who are prettier than the ones before!"

Asher lifted an eyebrow. "Do I have that many women hanging around me?"

"Oh! Haha! I misspoke! As punishment, I'll finish this glass! Then again, I seriously feel that Sis- in-Law is a nice fit for you. She's at least a lot better than that Phoebe chick. I've never liked that woman anyway." As Griffin spoke, he lifted his glass and was about to down the contents as a

form of punishment.

Asher quickly stopped Griffin. "You've had too much to drink today. That's enough."

"Boss, I'm not drunk! Don't you know my alcohol tolerance?" Griffin grinned in response. Just as he was about to drain the glass, his phone that was placed on the table suddenly rang. However, he just ignored the blaring phone till he was done drinking.

Asher grabbed the phone to look at the screen. A frown appeared between his brows instantly. "Fatty, your grandfather is calling you." If Harlow was the one calling Griffin at this time, nothing good could come out of it.

When Griffin heard that Harlow was the caller, he quickly snatched his phone and picked up the call. "Grandpa!"

"Griffin, come home this instant."

The voice coming from the speaker was very loud. Hence, Asher, Noelle, and Layla could detect the trace of rage within Harlow's tone.

Griffin shot a look in Asher's direction. "Grandpa, I'm out drinking with Boss right now..." "Oh, Asher's with you as well? Good. Tell him to drop by too," Harlow replied.

"Grandpa, what I mean is if it's nothing serious, can I go home later?" Even though Griffin was arrogant in nature, he still showed a great amount of respect and admiration for his grandfather. Harlow was silent for a few seconds. Then, he finally said, "The representatives of the Macquoids are here. Come back now." After that, he hung up on Griffin immediately.

Asher's guess was correct. The Macquoids were finally taking action. He patted Griffin's shoulder with a faint smile etched on his lips. "Don't worry. I'll go back with you later."

Griffin did not dare to waste any time. After receiving the phone call, he got ready to go home. When they exited the hotel, Noelle found herself worrying about Asher and Griffin. She asked, "Asher, you won't be in trouble, will you?"

"Well, we're definitely in trouble, but it's not something that we can't solve. Don't worry. Everything will be all right." Then, Asher continued apologetically, "I intended to take you on a spin in this city, but I didn't expect that a situation like this would appear out of nowhere. If you're not in a hurry to return to Rollinsford, I'll take you out on a sightseeing trip in the future." Noelle nodded happily in a child-like manner. "Okay! I'm not in a hurry to go back anyway!" After that, Asher and Griffin drove back to the Quinn residence. Seeing as Noelle was still staring in the direction where the men had disappeared into with a worried look on her face, Layla could not help but giggle and comment, "Don't worry about that guy. It'll be fine. Back then, the Schmidts tried to cause trouble for Asher, but he's still fine now, isn't he? Besides, they only thrashed Jeremiah's car today. With Old Mr. Quinn and Grandpa's combined status serving as the shield, even the Macquoids have to be respectful to them."

Noelle finally peeled her gaze away. A faint smile appeared on her face as she replied, "If that's the case, then I'm relieved."

"Well, the night's still young. Since I have nothing to do, I might as well send you back. Where are you staying?" Layla asked.

"Hillon Hotel."

"Oh... It's not that far away from here. Let's go on a walk, shall we?" Layla studied Noelle from the corner of her eye while she walked. In the past, Asher was definitely a wild stallion. She was very curious as to what kind of woman would be able to inspire him to go through such a massive transformation.

"I hear that the Stewards are quite famous in Rollinsford. When Asher married into your family,

he must have suffered a lot, right?" Layla started rearranging her hairstyle that the wind had messed up earlier.

A flash of guilt and remorse streaked past Noelle's face at that moment. "It's all my fault. I wasn't able to protect him in the past."

Layla was stunned to hear the confession. For some reason, when she saw the guilt in Noelle's eyes, her heart suddenly ached for her.

The former could only reply with a light smile curled on her lips, "Please don't take it any other way. I'm two years older than Asher, so I guess we pretty much grew up together. I suppose I understand him better than the others. He's been Grandpa's favorite child since young, which has shaped his personality into one of extreme arrogance and narcissism. Of course, I'm referring to the Asher that existed two years ago. Now, it seems that he has transformed into a completely brand-new person. Had he not experienced two years of living with the Stewards, I don't think he would've matured at all. Now that I think about it, the Crawfords should be thanking you instead."

"You're being too polite here, Ms. Knight. Back when I got to know him, he wasn't the sort of guy that you described him to be. He was a man of very few words. There was a point where he wouldn't say anything at all for one whole day. He wouldn't reveal his emotions as well. Back then, I thought that he was that sort of person from day one, but after that, I realized that he must have gone through something that had completely changed his personality." Noelle remembered the time when she first got married to Asher and had moved into a new house with him. Back then, she was worried that Asher would take advantage of her. Unexpectedly, he was even more reserved than her, making him resemble a prude, old woman. She could not help but smile faintly when she recalled the memories.

Layla had to admit that Noelle looked gorgeous whenever she smiled. It was no wonder that Asher, the notorious playboy, would succumb to her charms as well.

"Noelle, I'm Asher's older cousin. If you don't mind, you can refer to me as Layla. Ms. Knight sounds way too polite."

"Okay then, Layla." Noelle could not help but wonder if Layla acknowledged her as her cousin- in-law now that she had requested her to call her by her name.

Meanwhile, Griffin hurried back to the Quinn residence. Despite Asher's efforts to convince him to keep his cool when he laid his eyes on the Macquoid representatives, he still failed to control his emotions. Hence, Griffin looked like a general who had returned from a bloody battlefield as he emitted a murderous aura.

Harlow sat on the couch in the living room. Even though his hair had turned silvery-white and his face was all wrinkled, he still looked very energetic and healthy. His sitting posture, especially, did not lose to the youth of the current generation.

"Old Mr. Quinn, you and my father have been friends for so many years. Typically speaking, we shouldn't be disturbing your peace and quiet here, but I don't believe Jeremiah's side of the story. He claims that Griffin thrashed his car and beat up his underlings for no reason, so I'd like to ask Griffin for his side of the story. I want to know what exactly happened. I don't want to see a small matter like this affecting the long-lasting relationship that our families share," Hal explained politely.

Jeremiah huffed from the side. "Dad, what do you mean by 'my side of the story'? I speak only the truth!"

A girl who was his age nodded from the spot next to him. She added, "Uncle, I heard from my friends that Jeremiah isn't the one at fault here. Griffin was the one who bullied him from the start."

Coincidentally, the aforementioned man stepped into the living room at that moment. He glanced at the girl before saying, "Breanna, if you weren't present at the scene, then you should keep your mouth shut! The fact that I didn't beat Jeremiah to the point of hospitalization speaks lengths about my regard to our families' long-term relationship. If anyone else were in his position, I'd have admitted him to the hospital for as long as three months!" Other than Hal and the other members of the Macquoid family, there were a few of the Quinn elders present in the living room, including Griffin's father, Cornelius Quinn.

When he noticed how Griffin refused to admit his mistakes, Cornelius could feel rage flooding through his veins. His tone was dark as he spoke. "Griffin, is this how you own up to your mistakes? How dare you continue to be so arrogant after thrashing someone else's car! Apologize to Jeremiah this instant!"

"Dad, you don't understand what happened back then. I think I'm not wrong here. Even if I have

to take the blame, Jeremiah was the one at fault for instigating the whole incident!" Griffin replied with a proud harrumph.

Cornelius rose to his feet furiously. "Do you seriously think I'm incapable of teaching you a lesson as your father? I'll beat you up!"

The reason why Cornelius was so furious was because he wanted the Macquoids to use this opportunity to let go of the incident entirely. After all, it was wrong to beat someone up, much less the crime of thrashing one's car. Furthermore, the Macquoids were involved in this incident this time.

He originally thought that Griffin would own up to his mistakes. With Harlow serving as the mediator, all the Quinns had to do was to buy Jeremiah a new car as a way to apologize for the incident. Then, everything would be water under the bridge. Unexpectedly, Griffin did not get the hint and refused to go along with the plan.

"Calm down, Uncle Cornelius. Even if you want to punish Griffin, you still have to get to know the ins and outs of the entire incident." At that moment, Asher entered the living room. Then, he gazed at Harlow before greeting him in a neutral tone. "It's been two years since we last met, Old Mr. Quinn. How have you been?"

"Asher?" Delight sparked in Harlow's eyes before a wide smile was plastered across his face. "I've been fine. What about you? You've suffered a lot over the past two years, haven't you? Hurry up and come sit next to me so that I can take a good look at you."

Asher and Griffin were known to be as close as brothers. Naturally, both of them were equally favored by Harlow.