Chapter 160
After listening to Ryder’s story about his marriage, Mackenzie broke into a
disdainful smirk.
It was clearly a clichéd story of an honest man marrying a woman pregnant
with another man’s child. She was just surprised that it happened to one of
her relatives.
“Men of the Lowe family are truly idiots!”
Her words indirectly insulted Emmanuel again, yet he didn’t utter a word of
protest.
The truth was that he wasn’t in a much better situation than Ryder. To a
certain extent, he might actually be worse off.
After all, he and Mackenzie had a blitz marriage after meeting each other
only once. The interaction they shared was lesser than that of Ryder and
Abellyn. This material belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.
At the very least, Ryder and Abellyn were intimate before getting hitched. In
contrast to them, he had still not held Mackenzie’s hand.
With that in mind, Emmanuel burst into sudden laughter. “That’s right. I don’t
deny that we’re idiots. That said, I think I’m a lot luckier than Ryder is!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
When Mackenzie gave him an abrupt stare, Emmanuel explained with a
blissful smile, “You’re not only more beautiful than Abellyn, but your character
is also so much better than hers. When I first married you for the sake of
placating my mother, I admit I was taking a huge risk. But thank God we’re
relatively happy now, aren’t we?”
Mackenzie pouted on purpose. “Hmph, you’re the one who’s happy, not me!”
“Did I do anything to upset you, Ms. Quillen?” Emmanuel inquired
immediately.
“Isn’t it obvious? You’re still being attacked online. If the matter escalates, I’m
afraid I–as your wife–will be dragged into it sooner or later!”
“Ah! I–I’m so sorry. I’ll deal with it immediately,” Emmanuel apologized.
Back when he declared that he would face it alone, he neglected the fact
that he had a lawfully wedded wife. If the online bullying continued,
Mackenzie would inadvertently be embroiled in it.
“That’s why you’re an idiot. Anyway, what do you plan to do?”
“Roselynn and I will reply to every accusation to demonstrate our innocence
and prove that our accusers have twisted the facts. That’s how we’re going to
execute our counterattack. However, we do face one problem–the
ghostwriters hired by our accusers. We don’t have enough funds to hire our
own ghostwriters to fight them and also to boost our post.”
“That’s not a problem at all!” The issue that was frustrating Emmanuel was no
more than a trivial one to Mackenzie. “I’ve plenty of friends in the media who
can publish your clarification. As for hiring ghostwriters and boosting your
post, I have plenty of money to do so.”
“Thank you, Ms. Quillen!”
After expressing his gratitude, Emmanuel added confidently, “Actually, there’s
no need to pay for boosting the post. As long as a member of the press
publishes our clarification online and showcases the evidence we have, I’m
sure the public would take our side out of a sense of justice.”
From the conviction Emmanuel showed, Mackenzie had no doubt that he had
made the necessary preparations.
On top of having full faith in his character, she was also certain that whoever
attempted to throw false accusations at him would definitely be made to
pay a heavy price.
Emmanuel continued, “I refuse to believe that Granddad and Jamison are
powerful enough to do this. I’m sure someone else is helping them behind
the scenes, and I’ll definitely get to the bottom of this!”
Mackenzie nodded in agreement.
If Emmanuel’s granddad and his family were that capable, they wouldn’t
have to go all out just to cheat tens of thousands. It seems there’s more to
the matter than meets the eye!
“In that case, we should let the matter fester a while more. The bigger the
issue becomes, the more powerful our reprisal will be.” Mackenzie offered,
“For now, I’ll help you find out who in the world is behind this!”
“Thank you, Ms. Quillen!” Emmanuel expressed his gratitude again, as the
woman’s assistance had simplified the matter significantly.
She responded with a haughty smile, “Don’t thank me. I just don’t want to be
plagued by your problems.”
Emmanuel’s heart warmed in spite of her words.
Upon returning to her room, Mackenzie put Lexi to work. She ordered the latter
to investigate who was behind the malicious article and was spending
money to boost the topic.
As for Emmanuel, he went off to prepare lunch instead of joining Mackenzie in
her room.
Once lunch was served, he received a call from Terence.
“What is it, Grandpa?”
“Manny, I’ve just learned that you’re a victim of online bullying. How are you
coping?”
Even though Terence was the chairman of Terence Group, the daily
operations of the company were left to the younger members of the family.
Given that the female members of the Quillen family ran the government
and private sectors of Yeringham, there was little left for him to do.
His greatest concern now was when Emmanuel and his eldest
granddaughter would bear him a great–grandchild. Therefore, he was calling
to find out more about the situation so that he can crush whoever that was
causing his grandson–in–law trouble.
“Grandpa, I’m fine. Something as trivial as this won’t destroy me, so don’t
worry. Mackenzie has returned to help me deal with it,” Emmanuel quickly
replied, touched by Terence’s concern.
He was filled with gratitude especially when he thought of how Ryder and his
own mother treated him. I can’t believe how nice Mackenzie’s family is!
“Oh, Mackenzie?”
The reply triggered a rush of excitement in Terence.
All this while, he was worried that Mackenzie was just too cold, making any
intimacy with Emmanuel difficult. If the situation continued, Terence’s dreams
for a great–grandchild might never come to fruition.
The fact that Mackenzie had gone home to assist Emmanuel in resolving the
issue was a testament to her feelings for him. It was a sign that elevated the
old man’s hopes for a great–grandchild significantly.
“All right then. I’ll let both of you take care of it. Let me know if it becomes too
much for you.”
Terence subsequently hung up with a gleeful smile, for he clearly wasn’t a
fool.
Despite his desire to help Emmanuel resolve the crisis, it wasn’t lost upon him
that this was a wonderful opportunity for the married couple to bond.
As someone who had gotten wiser with age, he knew better than anyone
else that time was needed for any couple to strengthen their relationship.
Even those who had no feelings for each other would grow so attached with
time that they wouldn’t be able to leave their partner.
I just can’t wait… Haha…
“Who was it?”
Mackenzie saw Emmanuel put down the phone when she emerged from the
room.
“Um, your grandpa.”
“What? Grandpa?”
Mackenzie sounded surprised. Grandpa doesn’t go on the internet, let alone
keep up with the trending topics. How did he find out about the matter?
The fact that Terence had called Emmanuel immediately showed how much
he cared about his grandson–in–law.
The thought triggered another bout of jealousy in Mackenzie, who wondered
if Terence had mixed up their genders. Since when do elders care more
about their grandsons–in–law than their own granddaughters?
“Mmm–hmm, Grandpa said that we should inform him if we can’t manage
this by ourselves.”
After Emmanuel relayed Terence’s words to Mackenzie, the latter snorted in
response.
There’s no problem too difficult for me, let alone something as trivial as this.
Terence’s words were not just an insult to her but an indication of his favor
over Emmanuel. She was naturally outraged and jealous over it.
“Let’s just eat first, Ms. Quillen. Only by having regular meals can you maintain
a healthy stomach.”
Emmanuel’s statement washed over Mackenzie, dissolving her sour emotions
and replacing them with a comforting warmth. Since Grandpa doesn’t spoil
me, I’m glad my husband does.