Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 6

Grace stormed over and immediately violently pried Lucian's fingers away from Joanne's. Years of hard manual labor meant her grip was like iron.

Joanne lived in the same rough neighborhood as Amber and Lucian. Since they were kids, Grace had utterly despised the girl. Whenever Joanne came around the diner, Grace would scrub the table three times with disinfectant before letting anyone else sit there.

Joanne wasn't going to stand there and be humiliated. The moment Grace lunged at them, she had already let go of his hand. Before she could even play innocent and say, "Please don't misunderstand, he was just helping me cross the street," Grace yanked her son aside and began scolding him harshly.

"Didn't I tell you never to associate with her? Why are you holding hands?!"

"You are going to an elite overseas university! You are the top student in your grade! Don't you know what kind of person she is? If I ever catch you two together again, I'll break your legs." Mid-rant, Grace suddenly realized why Amber had been acting so hostile earlier. It turned out her idiot son really had crossed the line.

"Amber, didn't I ask you to keep an eye on his studies? Why did you let him get mixed up with this trashy bottom-feeder? Amber..."

"Mom, how can you talk to Joanne like that? Joanne, please don't be mad. My mom just has a bad temper. Don't worry, I'll handle everything." Lucian fiercely cut off his mother's insults.

Joanne looked incredibly awkward. "Lucian, it's fine. Um, I actually have somewhere to be, so I'll get going. I'll see you at night study."

She bolted faster than a ghost.

She wasn't stupid. She had seen Grace beat Lucian before.

Sure, the class president had suddenly lost his mind and wanted to date her—which she didn't mind—but that didn't mean she was going to throw herself into the line of fire with his crazy mother.

Shooting him a look that clearly said *we have plenty of time, just deal with your mom*, she made her escape.

Watching her retreat, looking so wronged and delicate, Lucian clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

He had let Joanne suffer another indignity.

Resentment, fury, and pure aggravation boiled over—and he directed every ounce of it straight at Amber.

"Mom..." He desperately wanted to lay it all out and declare his intentions to be with Joanne, but seeing the pure rage in his mother's eyes made him intensely frustrated.

Still, he refused to let her misunderstand the girl he loved.

"Mom, Joanne is a good girl. Stop looking at her through a biased lens."

"You're actually defending her? With a father who runs around collecting protection money and handing out predatory loans, you really think his daughter is some kind of saint? Don't try to change the subject! Tell me, how did you piss off Amber today? Did you cause that injury on her forehead?"

Grace shoved him hard.

Caught off guard, he stumbled backward a few steps.

Seeing this, Arthur hurried forward to stop Grace, but Amber quickly grabbed his arm. "Dad, Grace is just disciplining her own son. Why are you interfering in a stranger's business?"