Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 427

On the other end of the phone, Hayden paused before speaking, "Big Bro, Janice is back to her senses. You two can mend fences. Lucy's been found, and your family of four can have a reunion. As for Madeleine, well, she and I have been involved. I’d think you wouldn't want to marry her now."

"Since you're not keen on marrying her again, I'll take responsibility for Madeleine. Besides, it was your doing that got us together in the first place—if you hadn't asked me to take her home, none of this would've happened… Big Bro, I'm just trying to keep the Porter family from becoming our enemies."

Nathan let out a mocking laugh, "You’ve got a silver tongue, Hayden. Should I give you a medal for that? I asked you to escort Madeleine home, not to bed her. You had bad intentions from the start, and that's why you are up to no good."

"Madeleine's not entirely innocent, either. If the Porters want to start a feud with us, the Blues, then I say bring it on. As for your divorce, that's your business. I won't interfere; I need my midday rest."

With that said, Nathan hung up on his younger brother.

He placed the phone back on the nightstand and continued to flip through photos of his wife.

Despite appearing to be quite upset with Hayden on the call, as soon as the phone was down, Nathan was back to his usual self.

In the art of pretense, Nathan could be crowned king, with no contenders for the throne.

Hayden, having been denied help from his brother, muttered to himself after the call ended, "Fine, don't help. I don't need you to ditch Ashley."

His thoughts turned to his eldest son, Pete.

Hayden hesitated at the thought of him, who had made a mistake at work and gotten caught by Keith. Keith took the opportunity to push Pete out of the Blue Corporation's top spot. Though it was technically his brother who had reassigned Pete from headquarters, Hayden knew as long as Keith was around, his son had no chance of returning to the center of power.

Without proximity to power, what good were abilities?

This made Hayden even more determined to divorce and marry Madeleine. With the backing of the Porter family, he was confident he could seize control for himself.

There would come a day when his brother would regret it!

He would bide his time and eventually push Nathan and his son out of the Blue Corporation, claiming the empire they had built for himself.

As for Pete, once Hayden had power and influence, he wouldn't even need to make the first move. His son would come crawling back to him.

Money, status, power—they could easily corrupt a man's nature.

Hayden drove home immediately.

Parking in the open-air lot, he got out of the car and grabbed a passing servant, asking, "Where's Ashley?"

"Ashley's in the main house, talking with the old lady."

Hayden frowned, "The old lady hasn't taken her nap yet?"

"No, she just woke up from her nap. She summoned Kayla and Ashley to discuss some matters. It seems the young miss will soon return to reclaim her family ties."

At the mention of this, Hayden's heart tightened.

Was Lucinda coming back soon?

The thought of dealing with Lucinda's formidable husband, Stefan, made Hayden eager to marry Madeleine before Lucinda's return. He had been scheming behind the scenes for over two decades and had yet to defeat his brother. If Lucinda returned, especially with a tough cookie like Stefan by her side, Nathan would be even more powerful. Hayden's ambition to take power would be even harder to achieve.

He hurried toward the main house.

The old lady had indeed called her two daughters-in-law to discuss the matter.

With the return of her favorite granddaughter, she felt that, aside from a press conference to introduce Lucy to society, there should be a grand banquet—to quickly integrate her into Skywatch high society. Whether Lucy could handle it was not her concern.

The old lady feared that her granddaughter would hold a grudge against her, as she had maltreated Janice. Despite the years apart, she couldn't bear to dislike Lucinda, who bore a striking resemblance to her in her youth. If Lucy was coming back, they could spend their days together, potentially rekindling their bond.

The old lady hoped to recapture the grandmother-granddaughter bond.

"Mom, is my sister-in-law coming back with her this time?" Kayla asked.

Since Janice had come to her senses, Kayla had changed how she referred to her, knowing better than to call her a madwoman.

When Lucinda disappeared, Kayla had only been a fresh face in the Blue family. But as a born-and- bred elite from Skywatch, she was well aware of the affection between Nathan and his wife in their younger years.

She wasn't ashamed to admit that before she married into the Blues, she had harbored a crush on Nathan herself.

Nathan in his youth was not the mature and composed man he was now, but he was even more handsome.

There were few young women in Skywatch who could resist his charm after seeing him.

Madeleine herself had fallen for Nathan at first sight in her teens, and as soon as she was of age, she made her move—a testament to Nathan's allure.

Before the old lady could respond, Ashley chimed in with a fake smile, "With Lucy coming back, how could Janice not coming back?"

She glanced at Kayla, "Are you scared, sister-in-law?"

Kayla replied irritably, "Not in the least. I’m not the one who's done the worst."

Ashley fell silent.

"Enough, both of you. That madwoman—oh, I mean Janice—hasn't said if she's coming back, but since Lucy is returning in about ten days, I'd imagine Janice will accompany her. Her things with Nathan have to be resolved, one way or another."

The words of the old lady promptly quelled the brewing argument between her daughters-in-laws.

The two sisters-in-law exchanged glances. They had picked on Janice, the so-called "madwoman," mainly to stay in the good graces of this old lady. She had wanted to push Nathan to banish Janice to a distant farm, but when he refused, she covertly encouraged the them to torment and try to "fix" Janice.

Of course, they also harbored a secret jealousy and were quite eager to see Janice sent away.

Unfortunately, Nathan never agreed to it.

"Mom, speaking of resolutions, perhaps it's time for Hayden and Madeleine's matter to be resolved as well," Kayla dropped this comment with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel, aiming straight for Ashley's heart.

The sisters-in-law had a classic case of a facade of harmony masking underlying discord. The old lady had always favored her younger son, and by extension, showed a soft spot for his wife Ashley, leaving Kayla to simmer in her own resentment.

Now that Hayden had landed himself in hot water, Kayla couldn't resist the opportunity to twist the knife a bit more—it would be an injustice to herself.

No sooner had Kayla's words landed than the sound of footsteps approached.

Followed by Hayden's voice calling out, "Mom."

Ashley shot Kayla a venomous glare, while Kayla put on an innocent face as if she was just showing genuine concern.

"Mom."

Hayden strode in with purpose.

"Hayden, why have you come back at this time?" Ashley stood up to greet her husband.

Hayden gave her a glance, walked past her, and sat down opposite the old lady. He called out "Mom" once more, settling in for the conversation.