Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 96

If he could, Arthur wished this scene had never happened.

But he was painfully aware that since it had, it had to be faced.

If Loretta hadn't deflected the blame during that phone call and had instead turned on Amber, the one kneeling right now would be his daughter.

And he knew perfectly well that even if he got down on his own knees to beg for mercy, Grace would have just told him, "Arthur, I don't want this either. But if Amber is already scheming behind our backs, what will she do next? Let this be a lesson for her."

Yes, he loved the woman, but he wasn't blind! She and her son only cared about themselves.

When Amber mentioned that her mother would never have taught her to center her life around Lucian, it hit him hard. Grace expected his daughter to act like a servant. It wasn't enough that he had worked like a mule for them; they expected his daughter to do the same. Did they think they were royalty?

He only had one child. So what if she was a girl? She was his flesh and blood.

Lucian wasn't even his son, yet for twelve years he had treated him as one. And how did the boy repay him? By hitting his daughter, bullying her, and trying to crush her spirit.

The boy was willing to blow thirty grand on Joanne, yet he had never spent a single dime on Amber. She was always the one sacrificing for him.

He was a man, but more importantly, he was a father!

His heart was breaking.

Watching the daughter he had painstakingly raised be treated like an animal and trampled on hurt him deeply.

"Just get on your knees. Enough talking. We have things to do, so stop wasting our time."

He had genuinely thought that Grace inviting them out to eat would smooth over their previous misunderstandings. Clearly, he had expected too much.

Lately, Arthur had been wondering where everything went wrong. For years, they had lived in peace, but now he couldn't pinpoint exactly when it had all unraveled.

His head was throbbing. He didn't want to think about it anymore.

"Arthur Newman!"

Grace wept hysterically, every sob accusing him. Are we not a family? You said you loved me! You waited twelve years for me, and you can't even let this one little thing go?

Arthur ignored her. Lucian held his breath. "Mom, stop begging. I'll do it!"

"No you won't! Doing that would take years off my life! Amber, does it really have to be like this? Arthur, twelve years... how did we end up like this? Tell me..."

"Stop talking. Grace, you share the blame in this too. Let me ask you: if Joanne hadn't been lying and Amber was the one forced to her knees, would you have stopped it?" They had demanded this punishment themselves.

From the very beginning, he had been trying to stop it!

"What are you standing around for? Get her to the hospital!"

Arthur hoisted her onto his back and sprinted toward the hospital.

Xanthe quickly called out, "Arthur!"

Amber stopped her. Given Grace's habit of faking a collapse whenever things got tough, if someone had told Amber that she and Joanne weren't cut from the same cloth, she wouldn't have believed it.

"Amber..."

Xanthe was frustrated. Arthur had finally started to see how toxic that mother-son duo was, but the moment Grace played dead, he fell for it all over again.

"Don't worry, Xanthe. The best part of the show is yet to come. They can run, but they can't hide." There was no rush. Didn't Lucian still owe that high-interest loan?

His mother was willing to debase herself for him today, but when it came time to pay up, that devotion might quickly vanish.

"Let's head back. You have to open the stall tomorrow, and it won't do to have a swollen face." Amber supported Xanthe's arm as they headed back to their respective apartments.

The neighbors who had been watching the drama unfold cursed loudly, "Arthur, Grace was right when she called you a pushover behind your back! You really are a pathetic pushover!"

They were absolutely furious on his behalf.