Maxwell Peary faintly sensed something was off with Butler Goldsmith and involuntarily halted, his brow slightly knitted. Maxwell felt somewhat discontented, his cold voice as chilling as a winter drizzle. "The Madam just left. She said she’s meeting a friend and won’t be back for dinner." Frederick Goldsmith, deciding to throw caution to the wind, blurted this out. However, he didn’t tell the CEO that Nia Mitchell had mentioned she would call him before she left. He was worried Young Master Peary would see it as deception and think Nia Mitchell wasn’t true to her word. Maxwell’s face darkened instantly. That damned Rabina Mitchell! She’d had a fever in the early hours, wearing him out after he’d rushed back in the middle of the night. He’d barely slept a few hours before having to head straight to work. And this Rabina Mitchell, instead of resting at home while sick, still had the energy to go gallivanting about. "Did she say who she was meeting?" Could she have gone to hang out with Fiona Sutton? Or maybe Mellisa Moreland? Maxwell nodded and went straight upstairs. Just as he entered his bedroom, his phone started ringing. Nia Mitchell sat in the taxi, watching the scenery fly past the window. She quickly called Maxwell to let him know. Maxwell was not in a good mood, not even inclined to say more than necessary. "Uncle, are you home?" Nia couldn’t decipher Maxwell’s mood. After all, even when they were face to face, she usually found it hard to detect subtle changes in his expression. Nia stuck out her little tongue. She hadn’t expected him to be home so soon. He must already know she’d left then. "Charles Northwood is back. I’m rushing to the airport to pick him up. You’ll have to have dinner alone tonight. I’ll be back as soon as I can." Maxwell had to admit that, despite usually being confident and in control of everything, he couldn’t seem to process what Nia was saying right now. All he could focus on were her first few words: Charles Northwood was back. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽 Why would Charles Northwood return? He was doing perfectly fine in the USA. "Uncle, I’ll come home early, so don’t nag me." Nia quickly cut Maxwell off. He nagged her all day long; he was definitely going to tell her to come home early again. Maxwell paused, taken aback, his frown deepening. "Charles Northwood is your friend. Shouldn’t I go with you to pick him up? I can head out now, you..." "No need. Uh... he doesn’t know about ’us’ yet." Sitting in the taxi, Nia felt a little awkward. After saying that, she held her breath, waiting for Maxwell’s reaction. But... there was no reaction. No anger, no questions, not even a single word. Just silence. Utter silence from the other end of the line. Nia swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly. Damn it! He must be furious—absolutely livid. "Uncle, I... I... I didn’t mean to. And from the time we got married until now, today was the only time I’ve spoken to Charles Northwood on the phone." Nia explained hurriedly, afraid Maxwell might really be angry. Maxwell sighed deeply, his brow still furrowed, yet his words contained no hint of blame. He had to learn to take things in stride. This Rabina Mitchell was now his to keep. If anyone else dared to covet her, he would simply eliminate them, one by one.