Chapter 6 Another One Hard of Hearing. Violet stood at the villa's gate, waiting for her Uber driver to accept the ride. The villa was far from downtown, and it took a full ten minutes before she got in the car. She didn't notice the Maybach blending into the night. Wayne glanced at his watch. "Just got home and heading out again?" Lying in her cozy 1000-square-foot apartment, Violet finally felt alive again. She checked her bank account balance-just a bit short of paying off the place in full. Since college, Violet had mostly lived alone, renting places. Sylas covered her tuition, but the moment she turned eighteen, she vowed to leave home for good. To her, the Miller family now felt like a stranger's world. And to Sylas, she was just a pawn to be played. To call off her engagement to Gavin, she'd have to face her father head-on. Lost in thought, Violet drifted into a deep sleep. At five, she left the courthouse, still in her sharp black suit, having just seen off a client when her father called. Violet, bring Gavin over for dinner tonight. Sienna made your favorite dish. Come back early." Violet hung up and let out a soft scoff. No way she'd call Gavin, so she might as well go home and set things straight. "Miss, you're back," said Agnes Franco, the family's long-time housekeeper. Only she called Violet "Miss," and every time, it earned a glare from Cora. "Agnes, I got you some cake from Southridge Road. You love this stuff," Thank you, Miss. You're always so good to me. If only your mom were still here." Violet smiled, patting her shoulder. "Hush, don't let them hear you, or they'll give you a hard time." She strode into the foyer in her professional suit, and Sylas's face darkened slightly. "Couldn't you change before coming?" He didn't like Violet's job-a woman arguing cases all day wasn't ladylike in his eyes. "Didn't you tell me to get here early?" "Go wash your hands. Gavin's already here." Violet's brow furrowed as she spotted the man on the couch. "Why are you here?" She hadn't called Gavin, so there was no reason for him to show up at her house. "I invited Gavin over," Sylas snapped, shooting his daughter a look before flashing a warm smile. "Gavin, don't mind her. She speaks without thinking, heartless as ever." Chapter 6 Another One Hard of Hearing. Gavin's lips quirked up. "Sylas, I like Violet just the way she is." "Ugh." Violet didn't mean to, but she genuinely felt queasy. Sylas's face darkened. "Where are your manners?" Violet tugged at her lip. "You guys eat. I'm still full from breakfast and can't stomach dinner." With that, Violet headed to her room. The moment she opened the door, a pile of boxes came crashing down. Her eyes darkened as she scanned the room-boxes, big and small, some opened, some not. Her bedroom in this house had become a storage closet. Oh. Violet, why'd you barge into my room without saying anything?" Molet's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your room?" Cora, you've got five minutes to explain why my room's filled with your junk." Cora tilted her chin, smirking smugly. Violet, your room's bigger than mine. You never stay here, so what's the big deal if I store some stuff?" Violet not living here was one thing, but she wouldn't let her space be cluttered with someone else's garbage. She gave a light smile, not caring about the mess, and started hauling the boxes straight to Cora's room. Violet: What are you doing? Are you nuts?" Violet smiled faintly. "Wasn't nuts before, but I'm about to go wild now." The commotion upstairs finally caught Sylas's attention. "Sienna, go check what they're arguing about." Sienna stood with a chuckle. "Sure thing. Violet's always picking fights with Cora the second she gets home." Gevin didn't often visit the Miller Villa. Despite dating Violet for five years, he could count his visits on one hand. "Syles, should I go take a look?" "No, sit. Sisters lacker. It's normal" Sienne reached the upstairs and saw her stepdaughter, like a woman possessed, tossing all the random boxes into Cora's room. "Violet, what are you doing?" Violet shot her a cold glance. "Cora's graduating this year, right? Not a kid anymore. But Sienna, you need to teach her some basic manners. Otherwise, she'll step into the world and get called out for being raised wrong." "You!" "Alright, alright, Cora's still young. I didn't think using your room would be such a big deal. Next year, I'll talk to Sylas about renovating this villa." Violet's gaze turned icy. This villa held her only childhood memories of her mother. She now wanted to tear even that apart! "Great idea, Sienna. Why bother renovating? Just have Dad buy Cora a new place as her wedding gift. Grandma might not even sign off on a renovation!" Chapter 6 Another One Hard of Hearing. Sienna's face stiffened. She gave her stepdaughter a long look. "Heh, we'll see about that." She's always dragging out that old hag to shut me down, Sienna thought. The room was covered in dust, so Violet asked Agnes to clean it up and planned to put a new lock on her bedroom door, keeping one key for herself and giving one to Agnes. Downstairs, Gavin finished chatting with Sylas. "Alright, it's getting late. Gavin just got back from a business trip and came straight here from the airport. Violet, head back with him and make sure he rests." Violet let out a soft scoff. "Don't worry, he's got plenty of people to look after him." Gavin didn't take the bait. Violet, let's go. We've got to get our marriage license tomorrow, right?" Cora. just coming downstairs, caught that line, a glint of malice flashing in her eyes. Gavin's seriously going to marry that shrew Violet? Sylas laughed heartily, nodding. "Tomorrow's a great day for it. Getting married is perfect!" Violet. I need a word with you. Gavin, mind waiting in the car for a bit?" Gavin gave the father and daughter a deep look and smiled faintly. "Sure thing, Sylas. I'll wait in the car." Once he was gone, Sylas closed the door and dropped his smile. "Violet watch how you talk to Gavin. What kind of wife speaks to her husband like that?" Violet shrugged. "Don't like my attitude? Good, because I'm not marrying him." "What did you say?" Sylas's voice shot up, pointing at his daughter, his tone sharp. "Say that again." Tak Another one hard of hearing. sand, dus wedding? I'm not doing it!" (0) (0)