Her thin and frail shoulders trembled violently, as if she was so angry that she didn’t know what to say. With a lift of her hand, she swept all the books off the desk.
Koa Jackson grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.
Mia Ginger began to wail, like a child who had suffered a great grievance.
This turn of events was completely unexpected.
Lilian Jackson didn’t expect her to be so justified, slapping herself and then crying into Koa Jackson’s arms. Her hand by her side clenched tightly in anger.
This commotion finally alerted others.
Uncle Lewis and Gideon Jackson were the first to rush in, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Koa Jackson had always loved cleanliness the most.
Books, papers, and pens were scattered on the floor. Mia Ginger was crying in his arms, and Lilian was also gripping the back of the sofa with one hand, crying in grievance.
"What’s going on here?"
Gideon Jackson hurried a few steps to Lilian’s side, noticing her flushed cheeks. He frowned deeply, "What’s with your face? Who hit you?"
He lifted his eyes to Koa, then looked at the person in his arms.
"There’s nothing to say." Koa gave him a glance and said coldly, "Please take her back, and don’t come here if there’s nothing important in the future."
"Koa, this..." Gideon Jackson’s expression changed slightly, "Is it because of Mia? This girl is doing it for your own good, she didn’t mean to investigate those things, don’t take it to heart."
"Enough." Koa glanced at him, "I know what I’m doing, there’s no need for any meddling. This matter ends here, I don’t want any gossip reaching Grandpa’s ears and upsetting him, understand?"
"But isn’t it still unclear what’s really going on?" Gideon forced a smile.
"I said this matter ends here." Koa looked up at him, his voice cold, "Ridge, do you understand what ’ends here’ means?"
Gideon looked at him and said nothing.
After a while, he nodded once.
Koa then turned to the aggrieved and tearful Lilian and spoke in a deep voice, "It was wrong for Mia to slap you. But you’re a few years older than her, and those words just now were too much. She’s impatient and impulsive, it’s understandable, please forgive her."
"Have you decided to just protect her?" Lilian suddenly lifted her head to look at him, "Do you not care about her past at all? You..."
"Uncle Lewis." Koa’s voice was icy, "Show her out."
Lilian wanted to say more, but Gideon quickly grabbed her arm and walked her out, saying as he went, "Enough, enough, don’t you think you’ve caused enough of a scene?"
The few people standing at the door hurriedly followed them out.
The room quieted down, leaving only Mia’s sobs.
Koa wrapped her in his arms and after a while, took a tissue from the desk, leaned down, and helped her wipe her tears.
Mia suddenly grasped his fingers tightly.
They looked at each other.
She looked into his eyes, seeing a clear, clean yet deep look, without a trace of disdain, rejection, or contempt.
Mia forgot her sobs, lowered her head, and said, "I’m not a tramp."
"Good girl." Koa gently ruffled her hair, the tissue in his hand covering her tear-filled, red eyes, tender yet silent.
Amelia Miller was carefully making a phone call.
"They had an argument?" Zuri Ginger asked with a cold laugh, "Do you know why?"
"By the time we got there, the fight was over," Amelia said as she thought, "Second Miss slapped the woman who came, both of them ended up crying."
"Did you hear anything at all?"
"Oh, right," Amelia quickly added, "That woman said something, like asking if he doesn’t care about Second Miss’s past? It seems they investigated something about Second Miss’s past."
"The past?" Zuri hung up the phone, lost in thought.
She had never heard Charlotte Chester or Aiden Jiang mention it at all.