Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 143 Grandfather and Grandson Alone in an Empty House? Uncles Are All For Your Sake (2 more updates)

Chapter 143: 143 Grandfather and Grandson Alone in an Empty House? Uncles Are All For Your Sake (2 more updates)

Zoe Bell turned her head to look out the window. Her aunt was elegant and gentle, with a good character. It was incomprehensible how, with such a wife at home, some men still fooled around outside.

Could it be,

that they only behaved when they were hung up on the wall?

Even Logan Hale knew about it, so it was likely that her aunt and cousin had also heard the rumors.

When her cousin talked to him, her words were barbed and biting, not giving any quarter. There must have been a reason for that.

No wonder William Hale said that a confrontation was inevitable,

it seemed that everyone had been tolerating this uncle for a long time.

When they arrived at the old house and entered, Old Lady Hale immediately took her hand and frowned, "How come you look thinner after only a few days? Has William not been taking good care of you?"

"Thinner? It might be because my leg hurts and I haven’t been able to eat much."

"You really shouldn’t try to lose weight. You’re already slim enough."

"I’m not, after the competition ended, I didn’t control my diet deliberately."

"That’s good, then."

Though Old Lady Hale’s eyesight was a bit poor, they were close enough for her to naturally catch a glimpse of the love bite on Zoe’s neck that wasn’t properly covered.

She couldn’t help but grumble inwardly:

Youth really is something, lacking restraint when the elders are not around.

That rascal William, even with such a delicate little girl, he really went for it.

"I’ve missed you these past few days," Old Lady Hale said, worried about Zoe standing too long and hurting her leg, so she pulled her to sit down.

Zoe Bell smiled, "Then I’ll stay at the old house for a few days to keep you company."

"That would be lovely."

Old Lady Hale didn’t want to intrude on their time as a couple. She had initially only wanted to invite Zoe over for a meal, but since Zoe offered to stay, she was naturally happy.

When William Hale heard about this, he began to ponder:

She...

She couldn’t be avoiding me on purpose, could she?

He had just gotten a taste of something different, and now he was sent back to the old house to be a monk.

William Hale massaged his temples as his cellphone vibrated – a message from Liam Hugh:

[Tomorrow night at Gold Joy Hotel, Room 6018, I’ll wait for you to come over. We, uncle and nephew, should have a good drink.]

William Hale replied with an "Okay."

He was afraid, however, that tomorrow night’s drink wouldn’t be pleasant.

Since he hadn’t gone to work yesterday, although the emergencies were handled, there was still a backlog of work. He couldn’t make it back to the old house for dinner and only arrived at 10 p.m.

Just as he entered the front hall, he heard the housekeeper say, "It’s quite late. You should persuade Old Sir Hale to rest."

"What’s wrong with Grandpa?"

"Well..."

William Hale then found out that, in the dead of night, Old Sir Hale had been turning over soil in the vegetable garden.

"Grandpa, why aren’t you sleeping at this hour?" William Hale frowned, "Grandma is a light sleeper. If you go back to the room too late and wake her up, she’ll quarrel with you."

"Not tonight."

"You’ve already argued?"

"Your grandma has been abducted by your wife!"

"..."

"So, you’ll have to sleep by yourself tonight. If you can’t sleep, come and help me turn the soil."

Zoe Bell was planning to open a store; she had been pondering over many new fragrances these last two days. But when it came to naming the shop and the incense sticks, she was stuck. Old Lady Hale eagerly volunteered to help her brainstorm.

The two of them chatted from the tea room all the way to the bedroom.

Eventually,

Old Lady Hale simply declared that she would sleep with her tonight.

Old Sir Hale was used to sleeping with his wife by his side.

Suddenly, emptiness enveloped him, and his heart felt just as empty.

Unable to sleep, he thought about getting up to do some work.

If he exhausted himself with busyness, he’d surely fall asleep right away.

William Hale hadn’t expected that tonight, the issue wouldn’t be about eating vegetarian, but that he wouldn’t even be able to touch his wife’s hand.

The household staff were anxious, having wanted William to urge Old Sir Hale to go to bed early. After all, Old Sir Hale was advanced in age, and at this time of night, the concern was that he might bump into something accidentally, so someone had to keep watch.

If he didn’t sleep, they didn’t dare to either.

As a result, the grandfather and grandson ended up not leaving, moping around the vegetable garden.

**

The next day, before William Hale went to work, he didn’t see Zoe Bell either. They probably talked too late with Old Lady Hale last night and neither of them got up. Old Sir Hale let out a long sigh, not having waited for his old companion.

"Right, when Zoe wakes up, could you pass a message to her for me? Tell her I won’t be coming home for dinner tonight," William looked toward his grandfather.

"You’ve got business engagement?"

William shook his head, "I made plans with my uncle."

Upon hearing it was Liam Hugh, Old Sir Hale’s brows furrowed slightly.

Over the years, he had set up many matches for his grandson. While some of the girls were good, there were indeed some ladies who simply didn’t make the cut, not because of their background or education, but due to their character.

And yet, this was his own uncle!

He guessed that his uncle must have grown anxious upon seeing that William had found a partner.

Nevertheless, Old Sir Hale didn’t say much, only reminding him to come home early.

Fearing that William might cancel the appointment at the last minute, Zac Cruz, when it was close to quitting time, informed him in a low voice, "Sir, Mr. Hugh has arrived."

"Hmm?"

William, who was engrossed in his work, first thought it was some business partner, given that "Hugh" wasn’t an uncommon surname.

"It’s your uncle, he’s here."

William’s eyebrows rose slightly, surprised that he had actually come all the way to the company.

When nephew and uncle met, Liam simply smiled, "I had a meeting with a client this afternoon. When it finished, I saw it was about time and happened to be passing your company, so I decided to wait for you here."

William smiled without saying a word.

He understood his uncle’s intentions.

It was nothing more than fear that he might cancel last minute and runaway, with this kind of behavior, it was difficult for William not to overthink.

That evening,

He feared that something was indeed going to happen.

"I’ll go get the car," Zac said.

"No need, he’ll ride in my car tonight," Liam didn’t want Zac to follow, "Once it’s over, I’ll have someone send him home."

The business circles of Capital City weren’t that large, and Zac had some understanding of Liam’s usual behavior and connections. He glanced at his boss and saw that he remained silent, so Zac didn’t say anything more.

When the two arrived at the hotel, in the vast private room, it was indeed just the two of them.

However, the food and drinks had been prepared in advance.

The red wine had been uncorked and poured into a decanter.

"Knowing your time is precious, I had someone prepare everything in advance, so you could eat as soon as you arrived," Liam seemed very considerate, "We’ll have some red wine tonight. It’s from a friend’s vineyard; it tastes quite good."

William nodded and took off his coat, hanging it to the side.

He was well aware of his uncle’s temperament and nature, who, relying on being an elder, always carried an air of superiority.

Yet tonight, he was actually willing to pour the wine himself.

"About the last time, I was foolish and didn’t consider things fully. Don’t blame your uncle," Liam said with a smile, "You know that ever since your mother passed away, I’ve always been afraid of you being bullied or being unhappy."

"You’re my sister’s only child. Sometimes I might be a bit too impulsive, but you must believe that your uncle would never harm you."

"Whatever I do, the ultimate goal is for your well-being."

"Tonight, it’s just the two of us, nephew and uncle, with no outsiders. We won’t go home until we’re drunk. If we drink too much, we’ll stay at the hotel; I’ve already booked a room for you."

As he spoke, he placed a room card in front of William.