Chapter 498
Tom pulled up a chair and sat beside Owen. He asked, “Mind if I join you? I haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“Dad, didn’t you already…” Anabel started, but caught her father’s stern look and immediately shut her mouth.
Owen didn’t harbor any deep grudge against Tom. He wouldn’t kick Tom out at a time like this. “Make yourself at home, Uncle Tom,” he said.
Tom didn’t immediately pick up his fork. Instead, he turned to Lily with a warm, kindly expression and said, “Lily, if you’re considering an internship during your school holidays, you’re welcome to join us at the Shaw Group,
“I heard you’re planning to major in physics. My wife is a well–known physicist. I’d be happy to introduce you to her. It could be tremendously helpful for your academic and career development.”
Lily looked up, her polite but distant smile never wavering. “Thank you, but I’ll have to pass.”
Tom was stunned by her blunt refusal. Looking puzzled, he asked, “Is there something you’re concerned about?”
Lily replied firmly, “My sister Aria is a shareholder at the Stars Group. If I were to intern anywhere, it would be the Stars Group, nowhere else.”
Tom thought, ‘Aria’s sister? But as far as I know, Aria doesn’t have a sister.”
Tom glanced at Aria, his mind clouded with confusion. ‘Did I miss something important?‘ he wondered.
After a brief pause, he conceded gracefully. “Very well then. Since you’ve decided, I won’t trouble you further,” he said. “Anabel, let’s go.”
Anabel didn’t even look up, her mouth full of food as she mumbled, “I’m already on break. I’m staying to hang out with Owen and the others.”
Tom said, “Anabel, you’re bothering them.”
Anabel looked up at Aria with puppy–dog eyes and asked, “Aria, am I bothering you guys?”
“No,” Aria replied gently.
Anabel turned to Owen. “Owen, am I bothering you guys?”
“No,” Owen said.
Anabel turned to her father with a smirk. “See, Dad? I’m not bothering them. You can go now. Bye.”
Tom was speechless.
He turned to Owen and said gently, “I heard your brother already has a daughter. And now that you’re with Aria, you should visit the family more often. After all, we’re all family. There’s no need for such hostility.”
Owen’s eyes turned cold. He put down his fork and said, “Uncle Tom, when Isaac used your name, he didn’t cross any lines. Yet you were so disappointe in him that you came here to apologize.
“When Isaac broke the law, you brushed it off as an accident. When he kidnapped someone, you made excuses for him. If he’d stolen someone else’s
identity instead of yours, you wouldn’t have lifted a finger, much less be standing here arguing with me.
“You’ll never know the pain until you feel the knife yourself. Accepting your apology doesn’t mean I’m coming back to Kanit City. I don’t want anything more to do with you people.
“Uncle Tom, don’t come looking for me or contact me again unless necessary.”
Perhaps Owen’s gentle demeanor had lulled Tom into a false sense of security, emboldening him to speak so presumptuously today. Now, confronted with Owen’s merciless and barefaced sarcasm, Tom’s expression shifted through a spectrum of emotions.
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Chapter 498
Tom had always been fiercely protective of his reputation, not only because he was the patriarch of the Shaw family, but also because he was the husband of Mabel, the renowned physicist.
He would never tolerate anyone tarnishing his reputation.
But on second thought, Tom admitted to himself, ‘Owen’s right. If Isaac had used someone else’s identity instead of mine, i might have thought it wasn’t a big deal and just let it slide.‘
Tom instinctively turned to his daughter, his expression conflicted as he asked, “Anabel… Do you think that way too?”
AD
