Brooke Osborne isn't naive. In this day and age, how could a man and a woman who aren't family become sworn siblings without any ulterior motives?
Grace Day smiled and took Gregory Quinn's hand affectionately, saying, "You must be Brooke, right? I've heard Greg talk about you many times. He says you're virtuous and kind. You wouldn't mind me being with Greg, would you?"
Brooke was taken aback and frowned, "...What do you mean by 'being with'? What are you implying?"
"Spending the New Year together... What were you thinking..." Grace giggled, covering her mouth, and gave a coquettish wink to Gregory.
Gregory affectionately patted her shoulder and laughed, "Mischievous." He conveniently rested his hand on her shoulder.
Grace, being petite, seemed to be nestled in Gregory's arms, stamping her feet and coyly pouting, "...I want to, I want to!"
Brooke felt her skin crawl instantly.
Despite her gentle nature and her accustomed deference to Gregory, she couldn't tolerate this. She clenched her fists and nervously asked, "Greg, where is Miss Day from? How did you two meet?"
Before Gregory could respond, Grace said airily, "We met online; we're online buddies, part of the same guild. Greg is really impressive!"
Brooke hesitated: "..."
She wanted to ask more, but Gregory's expression had already changed.
"Brooke Osborne, what do you mean by this? Are you interrogating me just because I made a friend online?" Gregory was well-versed in controlling Brooke.
Brooke bit her lip and said unwillingly, "I called you this afternoon to ask if you were free tonight to come with me to pick up my brother.
"You said you were busy and had to work overtime..." She glanced at Grace, her voice growing quieter, "This is your overtime?"
Gregory was put on the spot, especially in front of Grace, and couldn't afford to lose face.
"How dare you meddle in my affairs?! How dare you follow me! Looks like if you don't get disciplined regularly, you'll turn the house upside down! You don't respect me as your man!" Gregory said, raising his voice, and with practiced ease, he slapped her.
Brooke, already very thin and not particularly strong, was knocked off balance by his slap and fell straight to the ground.
The people around them were startled, and someone shouted, "He's hitting someone! He's hitting someone!"
"Call the police! Call the police!"
Hearing this, Gregory's face turned red, and he shouted at the bystanders, "She's my wife! Even if I beat her to death, it's none of your business!"
Initially thinking it was criminal violence, hearing it was a husband hitting his wife, people lost interest instantly.
To the locals in River City, a husband hitting his wife is a domestic issue; who's going to intervene?
As for domestic violence, it's nonexistent; even the local police and courts won't interfere in marital disputes without a formal complaint.
But while bystanders might not involve themselves, family certainly can't stand by.
In the car, Kenneth Osborne and Lawrence Winters couldn't sit still any longer and both hurried to get out.
Nick Zeller also couldn't take it, turned off the engine, and followed Lawrence out of the car.
Kenneth was the first to rush over, grabbing Gregory's arm as he was about to strike again, sneering, "Gregory Quinn, who do you think is your wife? Touch my sister again, and see if I won't break your arm!"
He stood tall, at least six feet one, wearing boots, towering over five-foot-nine Gregory by a full head.
Gregory was startled by him; while he dared to hit Brooke, he wouldn't dare touch others.
Especially Kenneth; word has it he's practiced Taekwondo since childhood and is formidable in a fight.
Effortlessly restraining his arm, Kenneth applied a bit of pressure with his fingers, causing Gregory's face to contort in pain.
He managed a smile through the sweat streaming down his face, stammering, "So it's you, Kenneth... I was just joking with your sister... just joking..."
Then he turned to Brooke, who was just helped up by Lawrence, and ordered, "Brooke, tell your brother-in-law to let me go. We're all family, no need to make a scene."
Brooke, accustomed to listening to him, instinctively went along, saying, "Okay," and reaching out to Kenneth, she said cautiously, "Kenneth, maybe let's just let this go, it's all a misunderstanding..."
"Yeah, yeah, it's all a misunderstanding!" Gregory quickly picked up the cue, smiling ingratiatingly at Kenneth, "Your sister was just careless while driving earlier and almost hit someone. I was helping her clean up the mess. You know how it is with these things; if someone were to falsely accuse her..."
Behind him, Grace sensed the bad turn, her heart sinking, pondering if Gregory had changed his mind again?
She felt a pang of bitterness, and as she stepped out from behind Gregory, she caught sight of Kenneth's frowning face, instantly taken aback.
How could there be such a handsome man in the world? – Even more attractive than those young male stars she's seen on TV!
Though Gregory was considered one of the handsome men in River City, standing next to Kenneth, he was no more than dirt under Kenneth's shoes, there to be trampled.
Grace marveled internally but was also self-aware.
Even Gregory would waver in front of her; how could she possibly get with someone like Kenneth?
So she only sneaked a couple of glances at Kenneth before refocusing on Gregory and Brooke.
Seeing Brooke's evasive eyes, Grace felt a surge of anger.
This timid, pitiful woman; how did she get such a great man?!
Suppressing her anger, she gently coughed, placed her hands on her stomach, and timidly said to Gregory, "Greg, my stomach feels a bit uncomfortable... I wonder if something happened to the baby..."
Gregory's face changed at once, even his voice softened, "...Could it be that you were somehow agitated just now?"
Then, as if remembering something, he subconsciously glanced at Brooke.
Sure enough, Brooke looked as if struck by lightning, covering the reddened side of her face from the slap, staring at him dumbfounded.