Skip to content
Novel Catalog
Chapter 18
Bonnie stood frozen, staring at the woman dressed in a nun’s habit. Was this Ivor’s mother? The last thing she had expected was for the woman to be wearing such a dramatic outfit. Had she become a nun?
Maisie’s icy voice broke her thoughts. “I don’t care who you are, Bonnie, but you need to leave Ivor alone. You’d better leave town while you can and never set foot in Pyralis ever again!”
Bonnie stood her ground, unshaken. “I agree with you. This is absurd, and I don’t have feelings for Ivor. I don’t want to marry him. But I owe Sigmund, since he saved me and my foster parents. If you want to stop the engagement, you’ll have to talk to him. And if you want me to leave Pyralis, you’ll have to make me.”
Maisie’s glare intensified. “Hah! You say you don’t want to marry my son? Swear on your mother’s life, then!”
Bonnie’s patience thinned. “Not everyone wants to marry your son, okay?” she snapped, her voice rising slightly. “And why should I swear on my mother’s life?”
Her eyes flickered briefly to Ivor, who stood silently in the background, watching the exchange unfold.
Bonnie turned back to Maisie, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “If you need proof, I don’t mind kicking your son’s ass in front of you.”
Ivor’s eyes narrowed. The tension between him and Bonnie was thickening, but he stayed silent, unsure of how to react to the boldness of her words.
Maisie was not pleased. “Looks like you’re just as difficult as my investigations said you were. I’m definitely putting a stop to this marriage!” she shot back, her tone venomous.
“You can’t!” came a deep, unmistakable voice from behind. Sigmund appeared in the doorway, leaning heavily on his cane. “They’re getting engaged tomorrow.”
Maisie whirled around to face Sigmund, her fury boiling over. “Have you lost your mind, Sigmund? How could you ask my son to marry a woman like her?” She gave Bonnie another contemptuous look, her disdain palpable.
Sigmund, seemingly unaffected, turned his wrath toward his second son, Willard, who stood awkwardly at the sidelines. “Aren’t you going to tell your wife to behave?” Sigmund snapped.
Willard, looking terrified, replied meekly, “You know she doesn’t listen to a word I say, Dad. She wouldn’t have been gone for five years otherwise.”
Sigmund’s face flushed with irritation. “And you call yourself a man? Don’t be such a pussy!” he growled.
Willard opened his mouth to respond, but Sigmund cut him off, voice rising with frustration. “You can’t blame me for this, Dad! It runs in the family, doesn’t it? When Mom was still around, you used to grovel at her feet all the time!”
Sigmund paused, momentarily speechless. He was clearly stumped, but quickly regained his composure and tapped Willard with his cane. “Your elder brother has more guts than you!” he barked.
Willard’s eyes narrowed, the sharpness of his reply catching Sigmund off guard. “Come on. He got kicked out of the house by his wife and had to sleep in the office just two days ago. How is he better than me?”
Sigmund, now visibly exasperated, took a deep breath, his temper cooling somewhat. He looked at Maisie, who stood in seething silence. “I’ve made up my mind about the engagement, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Anyway, I haven’t been feeling well lately. I’d better go back to bed.”
Sigmund didn’t wait for any more protests. He quickly fled upstairs, leaving a trail of tension in his wake.
“Coward!” Maisie shouted after him, though it was more out of habit than expectation. She turned back to Bonnie, her eyes glowing with menace. “I’m warning you. You’ll be sorry if you show up tomorrow.”
Bonnie wasn’t intimidated. “It’s up to me whether I show up or not. I’m not afraid of you.”
Maisie narrowed her eyes, her lips curling into a bitter smile. “Oh, yeah?”
Bonnie raised an eyebrow, an edge of defiance in her gaze. “Whatever.”
Maisie’s eyes flashed with anger, but she said nothing more, her lips pressed tightly together. “Just you wait,” she muttered, before turning sharply on her heel and disappearing back inside the house.
Bonnie’s eyes followed her, her mind racing, but she didn’t let Maisie’s threats get to her. She wasn’t about to back down.
As she turned to leave, Ivor, who had been watching the exchange quietly, looked at Bonnie with an expression of uncertainty. He could feel the weight of his mother’s presence in the room and the tension that hung in the air, but he remained silent, unsure of how to respond to his mother’s anger or Bonnie’s boldness.
The next day, as Bonnie tried to leave her house, she was stopped by Maisie and her two bodyguards. They stood in her path, blocking the way, with stern expressions.
Bonnie’s eyes flickered to the guards, calculating the situation. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, her voice cool but with an edge of irritation.
Maisie’s voice was laced with venom. “You’re not going anywhere. You will stay here, and I will make sure you don’t ruin my son’s life.”
Bonnie stood tall, her posture unwavering. “I’m not the one ruining anyone’s life. But if you think you can stop me, we’ll see about that.”
The tension was thick, and for a moment, it seemed like everything could go south. The air crackled with unspoken hostility as Bonnie stared down Maisie and her bodyguards, ready for whatever came next.