Chapter 347
Chapter 347
Upon hearing this, Arnav and Gloria’s expressions darkened.
Gloria narrowed her eyes, her tone laced with reproach and resignation. “Derek, we can tolerate your usual fooling around–after all, we’re young, it’s a big deal.
“But your Grandma is already in her eighties. How could you have the heart to drag her through all this trouble?”
Derek sneered, “I already warned him the room was booked, but he chose not to believe me.”
Lennox took the blame and said, “This is my fault. I only told Derek after I was already on my way. Honestly, I didn’t think it’d be such a coincidence. “
Arnav looked at his son with an inscrutable gaze. “If you’d been more dependable, Lennox wouldn’t have doubted you.”
Derek scoffed, “Oh, so now it’s my fault he didn’t believe me?”
“Since you failed to handle things properly and ended up shouldering all the blame yourself, whose fault could it be if not yours?” Arnav retorted.
‘That sounds a bit off, Lennox thought.
Lennox’s heart skipped a beat as he shot a quick glance at Arnav.
Seeing the tension, Alice quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “We’re all family. Why don’t we just share this room?”
Suppressing the unease in his heart, Lennox forced a polite smile and asked, “Derek, you wouldn’t mind, would you?”
Aria turned her face aside and said, “I booked the room. Why are you asking him if he minds? If he says yes, he’ll offend you guys; if he says no, he’ll offend me. What’s your game, Mr. Fletcher?”
Lennox hurriedly waved his hands in denial and said, “Aria, you’ve got me all wrong. I really thought the room was booked in Derek’s name.”
He paused, his smile growing more fervent. “Aria, since we’re all here, how about we get together? Let’s celebrate Derek getting into Mandino University’s Pharmaceutical Analysis program.”
He made a point of stressing the words ‘getting into,‘ his tone unmistakably pointed.
Aria smirked. “Celebrating together isn’t out of the question, but…”
She leveled her gaze at Lennox. “They can stay. You can’t.”
Lennox’s polite smile almost slipped off his face as his expression darkened. “Aria, why are you targeting me? Is it because…”
He cast a meaningful glance at Derek, trying to sound tactful. “Could there be some misunderstanding?”
Aria said bluntly, “You’re so fake. I don’t like you.”
At these words, the private room fell into an awkward silence.
Lennox and Alice’s faces darkened.
Lexie glanced at Derek, noticing the faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. A flicker of amusement flashed in her eyes.
‘Looks like this rascal finally has someone standing up for him,‘ she thought.
Lexie was well aware of the discord between her two grandsons, Derek and Lennox, but she knew better than to step in.
When Lennox was young, Lexie noticed, he had a bit of a scheming nature and tactfully mentioned it to her second daughter–in–law. Unfortunately,
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Chapter 347
Lennox overheard the conversation.
From that moment on, an estrangement grew between Lennox and his grandmother.
Lexie was the most respected figure in the family. Even though Lennox harbored resentment, there was nothing he could do about it
Since Lexie favored Defek, Lennox took out his frustration on him, constantly comparing himself to Derek and picking on him at every turn.
Lexie witnessed all this and personally mentored Lennox for two years, to little avail.
Lennox was practically flawless in everything–except when it came to Derek, his sole target.
Derek was straightforward, completely clueless about mind games–no match for Lennox’s scheming ways.
The more Lexie tried to shield Derek, the more relentless Lennox became in targeting him.
In the end, Lexie had no choice but to step back and let her two grandsons, Derek and Lennox, work out their issues between themselves.
At this thought, Lexie sighed inwardly.
Arnav never imagined someone could be so blunt, putting people on the spot like that.
Arnav looked utterly astonished, leaned closer to his wife, and whispered, “Is she always like this?”
Gloria, long accustomed to this, gave a calm nod. “Yeah, that’s just how she is.”
