"Let me rub it for you, honey."
Adam Jones was holding her hand, massaging it, while rebuking her:
"Next time you encounter someone with such thick skin, hit them with a slipper, but don’t use too much force and hurt your own hand. It’s not worth it."
The face of Melody Baker, which had already been swollen from Elly Campbell’s slapping, twisted instantly upon hearing Adam’s words.
So, not only did she get slapped for nothing, but she also had to endure their verbal contempt?
She gnashed her teeth menacingly as she glared at Elly Campbell, wanting to rush forward and tear her to pieces, but she lacked the courage to do so.
After Elly Campbell had finished hitting her, she stopped looking at Melody Baker. She enjoyed the service of her own "island master" while turning towards the equally upset James Campbell and said:
"This idiot has always been jealous of my mother, so I can understand why she would say such vile things to disgust people. After all, it’s normal to feel unbalanced when you always pick up what others have left behind. But, Grandpa is your dad, after all. It’s not enough for this woman to use such lowly words to humiliate my mother, she even dragged Grandpa into it. Aren’t you going to discipline this blabbermouth, or would you rather she dishonors you further?"
When Elly Campbell said this, there wasn’t the slightest iota of regard for James Campbell as a father in the depth of her eyes, no filial affection whatsoever.
She had long since passed that age.
When she looked at James Campbell, all that surged from the depths of her heart was scorn and disgust.
James Campbell was also angered by Melody Baker’s reckless words. If she talked about Jenna Clark, he could understand that as jealousy and imbalance.
But didn’t she think before speaking that she even brought the old man into her tirade?
Even though the old man had been harsh to him, he was still his biological father. How could she use such lowly language to defile the old man?
James Campbell frowned and looked disapprovingly at Melody Baker as he said:
"What are you babbling about? Who talks like that?"
James Campbell was genuinely kind to Melody Baker, even if she had on several occasions spoken or acted in ways that most people couldn’t comprehend. He could dismiss it all and choose to forgive her lightly.
So even if he greatly disapproved of what Melody Baker said, his tone in reprimanding her wasn’t too harsh.
Elly Campbell had already expected this, and she hadn’t held out much hope to begin with. Now, she was merely more disappointed and looked down on him even more.
It was at that moment that the nonchalant voice of Adam Jones suddenly rang out, sending a wave of unease through James Campbell’s heart.
He looked towards Adam Jones, seeing that Adam’s gaze also casually drifted towards him. Yet beneath that calm surface, there were turbulent undercurrents.
James Campbell was fundamentally afraid of Adam Jones, even if the man was his son-in-law. He had never dared to put on any father-in-law airs, especially because Elly Campbell, that contemptible person, didn’t even acknowledge him as a father.
Facing Adam’s dark pupils, he felt somewhat anxious and then heard Adam say:
"It seems I haven’t kept you busy enough lately. You still have time to parade around with this vexatious woman, stirring up trouble and disgusting others. Go back to your work afterwards and settle down. I’ll make sure you’re so busy you won’t even have time to breathe."
Adam Jones spoke in a very calm tone, but he always maintained a demeaning air of superiority.
The warning in his words was already crystal clear—as good as telling James Campbell outright:
I’m not pleased with you, and I’m going to make things difficult for you.
As James Campbell thought of the series of irritating incidents that had befallen him recently, his pupils constricted sharply.