Chapter 667: Beating Up the Scumbag

Brian Chapman and his son approached from a distance. The two of them were empty-handed, their hair disheveled and their clothes messy and dirty. It was obvious there wasn’t a woman at home to take care of things. Brian Chapman, in particular, had lost his former swagger. His back was stooped, and he looked a good ten years older.

Tang Xiaonan knew in her bones that Brian Chapman, showing up now with his son, must be there to beg Phoebe Thorne to take him back.

’Hmph. So *now* he realizes how good my aunt is. What took him so long?’

Tang Xiaonan was worried. She was afraid that thoughts of Gentry Chapman would make Phoebe Thorne actually take the scumbag back. In her past life, she’d seen on the news that many women chose to remarry their scumbag husbands because they couldn’t bear to be apart from their children. But a scumbag was always a scumbag; they never changed. She couldn’t let her aunt jump back into the fiery pit that was the Chapman family.

Seeing Brian Chapman and his son drawing near, Tang Xiaonan spun around and took off. She had to go sound the alarm.

Tang Xiaonan clutched the straps of her carrier and trotted back to the Hawthorne family’s house. As she burst through the door, she yelled, "Auntie, Uncle... wait, no, my cousin’s dad is here! And my cousin, too!"

The whirring of the machine came to an abrupt halt. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Tang Xiaonan in surprise.

"Who’s here? That bastard Brian Chapman?" Phoebe Huxley demanded.

Tang Xiaonan nodded vigorously, pointing outside. "I just saw them. They didn’t see Allister and me. I was too fast."

Phoebe Huxley’s face darkened. She went outside to look. Brian Chapman and his son had already come down the slope and were heading toward the village. Their backs were still visible. Phoebe Huxley’s expression soured even more. She rolled up her sleeves, ready for a fight.

’I’ve been bottling up my anger for almost half a year. This time, I’ll beat that bastard to a pulp.’

’Looking that pathetic and he still dared to find a mistress? That motherfucker is just asking for a beating!’

"Sister-in-law, I’m going to go see."

Phoebe Thorne put down her work and hurried toward home. She had missed her eldest son so much these past few days she even dreamed of him. Right now, she just wanted to see if Gentry had lost weight and how he was doing.

"I’ll go with you."

Phoebe Huxley stopped working, too. The two sisters-in-law stormed toward home. Tang Xiaonan wanted to follow, but she couldn’t run fast while carrying Allister. Luckily, Raina rushed over, took Allister from her, and headed back, walking quickly. She wanted to give that beast a beating, too.

Juliana Rhodes and the other women exchanged glances, then all put down their work, ready to go watch the commotion.

Rosalind Green, of course, went with them. But she turned back at the door, returning a moment later with a ruler. It was the kind of ruler that would really hurt if you hit someone with it. Rosalind figured it would probably come in handy.

On the way over, Brian Chapman had carefully rehearsed his speech: how he would play the victim, spin a sob story, and beg for forgiveness. He had even rehearsed lines with his eldest son. He was sure that if they both put on a pitiful act, Phoebe Thorne would surely agree to come home.

But when they arrived at the Thorne family’s house, they couldn’t see a single person. The main gate was shut tight, so the father and son had no choice but to wait outside.

Phoebe Thorne and Phoebe Huxley were running in the lead and saw the father and son from a distance. Phoebe Huxley strode forward, roaring, "Chapman! You’ve got some nerve showing your face here? I ought to hack you to pieces!"

Brian Chapman jumped, his first instinct to flee. He was no match for Phoebe Huxley; anyone from the Thorne family could easily take him down. He suddenly regretted coming. A beating seemed inevitable today.

"Mom..."

Gentry Chapman’s face lit up when he saw Phoebe Thorne, and he ran toward her. He missed his mom, too, but he never dared to say so. Whenever he brought it up, his grandmother would scold him for being ungrateful. He missed his little sister and brother, too. His dad had told him today that as long as he cooperated, his mom would come home, and their family would be like it was before.

’He really missed the old days, when the whole family would eat and talk together. It wasn’t cold and lonely like it was now, and he never had to go hungry.’