Herman pushed her away. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” Lauren persisted and said, “What kind of secret do you have with her that even I can’t know about? Dear, we are husband and wife, you know!”
“There are some things that even husband and wife can’t talk about!” Herman was firm. He pushed her hand away. “Alright, let’s go over to my mother’s earlier and have dinner with her!”
Lauren looked at him from the back, a sharp look flashing across her eyes.
Ha.
Did he really think that she wouldn’t know the truth if he didn’t tell her about it?
The only reason why she had asked him was just so she could see if Herman was still hiding anything from her even after spending twenty years together.
Unexpectedly, she still hadn’t completely entered the man’s heart.
Lauren took a deep breath, feeling the need to vent her pent-up emotions. When the two were about to walk over to Mrs. Hunt’s villa, the security guards suddenly stopped them. They said, “Sir, the two of you must move out today… You are not allowed to enter this place either.”
Herman and Lauren were stunned.
Lauren frowned. “Do you know who you are talking to?”
The security guard replied stiffly, “I do.”
“Yet you still have the audacity to say that? You’ve got a lot of gall! Who gave you the courage to say something like that?”
As soon as Lauren spoke, she heard a low voice: “I did.”
Lauren and Herman were both stunned. They turned around abruptly to see Justin striding over. He had a cold and sullen look on his face, and his deep-set eyes were as filled with aggressiveness as an eagle’s.
Herman frowned. “Justin! How dare you dishonor your parents just because you’ve become the successor to the Hunts!”
Justin strode up to the pair. With a fierce and piercing look in his eyes, he pointed at the exit and said firmly and loudly, “This is the Hunt Manor, and you are someone whom Grandpa has kicked out. I am just following Grandpa’s will. How would I possibly dare to be unfilial with my parents?”
“You
!”
Since Herman was using his seniority to pressure him, then he would bring out Grandpa Hunt. This shut Herman up at once.
Justin stared at the man in front of him and narrowed his eyes dangerously.
He had left the two of them here to provoke Iris on purpose.
That was why he’d instructed the bodyguards not to stop them when they went to visit Iris earlier in the day. Firstly, he wanted to hear their conversation and see if he could sound them out about the truth behind what had happened back then.
Secondly, he wanted to push Iris into a corner and give her a sense of crisis.
But in the end, he found that even though Herman obviously knew the truth, he refused to make any mention about what had happened. Iris also refused to say a single word about it.
It seemed that this method of his was useless.
Moreover, it had even brought his precious daughter trouble. Although he had deleted all the negative comments on the Internet, there would be some trouble for him to deal with in the aftermath.
In that case, why let the two of them stay any further?
Therefore, he couldn’t even be bothered to act anymore.
Justin said straightforwardly, “If you don’t leave by yourself with dignity, then I can only make you leave in an undignified manner.”
As soon as he said that, a few bodyguards swarmed up from behind him.
Herman and Lauren frowned, and both of them took a step back. Herman pointed at him and cursed, “You’re so cold-blooded! I’m your father, you know! How dare you treat me like this! … Don’t touch me, we will leave by ourselves!”
Justin couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath on them. The bodyguard next to him also took a step forward, so Herman and Lauren couldn’t say any more, either. The two of them could only leave.
“Herman and Lauren have moved out of the Hunt Manor?”
When Iris received the news the moment she woke up the next day, she became even happier. She was sitting in the greenhouse with a pair of scissors in her hand and trimming her plants.
After she was done, she smiled and put down the scissors. Then, she suddenly sighed.
A puzzled Mrs. Landis asked, “Ma’am, what’s the matter?”
Iris replied, “Justin has grown up.”
Mrs. Landis was taken aback. “Why do you say that?”
Iris glanced at her, her pale and slender fingers gently touching the orchid next to her. She asked, “Why didn’t he drive Herman and Lauren away when they first arrived at the Hunts’? Why didn’t anyone stop them when they came here? Yet he drove them away after they went back and the incident with Cherry’s live-stream broke out?”
Mrs. Landis shook her head. “Why is that?”
“Because… he was trying to push me into a corner. He wanted to force me to make a stand.” Iris’s words confused Mrs. Landis. She scratched her head and asked, “And then?”
“Then, I saw what happened in Cherry’s live-stream and realized the truth. He understood at once that these things wouldn’t be able to trigger any feelings in me anymore. In that case, wouldn’t having them around no longer be of any use?”
Although Mrs. Landis didn’t really understand, she still said happily, “Mr. Hunt has taken your side!”
“Of course.”
Iris said proudly, “That’s my son we’re talking about, after all!”
Then, she stared at the pot of flowers beside her that wasn’t blooming very well and heaved a quiet sigh. “Say, if I approach my daughter-in-law with this pot of flowers and ask her for advice, would she hate me?”
Mrs. Landis: “…”
“Forget it.” Iris seemed to have given up somewhat. She said, “Some things are meant to be yours, and some things aren’t. I’m already so old; how long can I live? In that case, I’d better not make any more trouble for the children! These orchids will accompany me for the rest of my life instead!”
Mrs. Landis glared at her. “Your remaining time in this world is pretty expensive, then. Who knows how many houses you can buy with just these plants!”
Iris smiled and replied, “These are nothing. The best is still that pot of Jade Orchid. It should have arrived in New York by now, right? Why hasn’t it been delivered yet?”
Almost as soon as she said that, her cell phone rang suddenly.
Iris was a little taken aback. When she answered the phone, a voice came from the other side: “Mdm. Iris, I’m really sorry!”
Iris was surprised. “Matthew, what’s wrong?”
Old Matthew, like Iris, was also an expert in cultivating orchids. Not only did he like orchids, but he was also rich. That was why he could cultivate so many orchids. The Jade Orchid in question was Matthew’s.
Iris had pestered him for very long before he finally relented and agreed to sell it to her at a high price.
Matthew heaved a huge sigh. “Originally, I’d already found a professional to deliver that pot of flowers to you in New York, but I must sell it to a lady named Lauren Hunt now!”
Lauren Hunt?
Lauren again?
Iris frowned. “That’s not how you do business, Matthew. I was the one who bought it first, you…”
“Let me finish.” Matthew said, “It’s not that I don’t want to sell it to you, but rather, something has gone wrong with my pot of Ghost Orchids. Lauren is an expert gardener, and she said that she can nurse it back to health for me. Mdm. Iris, you are also someone who loves flowers, so you should know what that pot of Ghost Orchids means to me, right? Lauren said that she will treat the orchids with alternative medicine…”
Iris said huffily, “She’s just imitating Orchidiance!”
Matthew nodded. “Yes, I know, but I don’t care. I just want my Ghost Orchids to be cured. Do you know this pot of orchids has been with me for three years? It bloomed during the year that my wife passed away… Not only is this pot of flowers expensive, but it is also of special significance to me. Mdm. Iris, unless you can find me Master Orchidiance, I really can’t sell that pot of flowers to you anymore… I must let you down this time!!”
Iris: “!”
How was she supposed to find Orchidiance at such short notice?
Next to her, Mrs. Landis was in a panic. “Ma’am, why don’t we consult Ms. Smith about this? She can also cure orchid diseases!”