Chapter 228 Just Take Him Down
That night, Luca and Aaron pleaded with Steven.
Firstly, they felt sympathetic toward Andrew and were afraid that he would hurt his knees and be unable to participate in the show. Secondly, they wanted to test Jodie.
However, their pleas were rejected, and Steven scolded them. Furthermore, Steven. instructed them to go out and kneel with Andrew. Luca and Aaron felt like crying.
They were pleading for someone else, but they ended up being punished. Both of them looked at Jodie. Jodie hadn’t expected Steven to be so angry this time. Even the ones who pleaded were being punished together.
She had always been afraid of Steven, and now she didn’t dare to speak up and plead. She was afraid of being blamed and disliked by Steven. After all, he was the head of the family, so she still had to please him.
She could only give Luca and Aaron an expression of helplessness and apology. Luca and Aaron were completely defeated this time. Titus was right. Besides making empty promises, Jodie was insincere in everything else.
Under the supervision of the butler, the two of them went to kneel at the door together. Andrew had already been kneeling, and his legs didn’t feel like his own anymore. Seeing the two of them being punished together, he couldn’t help but feel schadenfreude. He uttered, “You’re being punished too? You deserve it.”
Seeing his response, Luca couldn’t help but say angrily, “We’re punished because of you. We pleaded with Dad for your sake, but not only were we scolded, we’re also getting the punishment.” Aaron added, “That’s right. You even have the nerve to laugh. We’re punished because of you.”
Andrew was surprised. He didn’t expect them to suddenly show brotherly affection. It was rare. He uttered, “Then, kneel with me. I can’t stand it anymore by myself.”
Luca and Aaron were speechless. They shouldn’t have sympathized with him in the first place. The three of them talked while kneeling. Although Luca and Aaron didn’t mention anything about Jodie having a problem, they guided Andrew to think that she was just making empty promises.
But Andrew was stubborn and didn’t understand at all. Luca couldn’t help but point it out. Andrew retorted, saying that if there was any resentment, it should be directed at him and not Jodie. How could she, a girl with broken hands and legs, accompany them? Instead, he lectured Luca and Aaron. He thought the two of them were cold-hearted and ruthless, not caring about sibling affection.
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This made Luca and Aaron completely give up on trying to communicate with Andrew. They had done their part in reminding him anyway. If he didn’t listen and suffered losses in the future, he couldn’t blame them.
None of the three of them had dinner. They were hungry, and kneeling made their legs feel like they were about to break. Because there were several bodyguards guarding them, if they stood up and moved around, they would be taken back. Luca and Aaron regretted it even
more.
When it was almost midnight, Jodie came over with a tray of food. Once again, Andrew was touched. However, as soon as she approached the three of them, she was stopped by a burly bodyguard. “Mr. Gray doesn’t allow any food for them.”
Jodie tried to persuade the bodyguard with some soft words, hoping to get him to relent. But he remained unmoved. Jodie could only look helpless and full of pity as she looked at the three of them. “Luca, Andrew, Aaron, I wanted to help you. But Dad doesn’t allow it, and I can’t do anything about it.”
She didn’t care whether they could eat the food she brought. It was just a show, letting them know that she cared and worried about them. She continued, “I’ll stay with you guys.”
With her brothers’ concern and care for her, they definitely wouldn’t want her to endure this alone. Especially since she deliberately wore a very thin silk nightgown. It was cold with the wind blowing. Sure enough, Andrew uttered with concern, “It’s okay. It’s all because of Dad. He is too heartless. It’s too cold, and you’re still sick. Go back to your room and rest.”
Jodie shook her head. “No, I want to stay here with you.”
Luca witnessed this and uttered, “Since Jodie has this intention, how can you refuse her, Andrew?” Aaron said, “Yeah, Jodie wants to accompany us, so just let her. She can feel more at ease this way. Andrew, why are you so unreasonable? You can’t even fulfill her simple
request.
Their words made Jodie’s smile freeze. Did they take the wrong medicine? They took her words seriously, which made them look foolish.
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Jodie put on a gentle and considerate smile. “Yes, I just want to be with you guys.” She looked at Andrew and even pretended to be cold. “Andrew, I’m not cold. You don’t have to worry about me.”
She appeared strong and resilient. She had been playing this trick for over ten years, and it came naturally to her. It used to make her brothers love and care for her even more. After all. she was cold and injured, yet she wanted to stay with them. How thoughtful. Sure enough. Andrew saw how thinly she was dressed. He reached out and touched her hand, which was very cold
He sternly said. “Nonsense If you get sick while staying with us, what are we going to do? We
have to take care of you in return. Be a good girl and listen to me. Go back to your room now. We’ll be fine.”
Jodie expressed in a gentle manner that she wanted to stay with them no matter how cold it was. But Andrew forced her to go back. Jodie could only helplessly return to her room.
Seeing their interactions, Luca and Aaron remained silent. After Jodie finished her performance and was pushed back to her room by the servant, both of them showed a look of confirmation. If they didn’t know her true intentions, based on the situation just now, they wouldn’t have thought that she was simply acting.
If she wanted to accompany them, how could she intentionally dress so lightly? And she even emphasized that she wasn’t cold, just to make them feel sorry for her and let her go back to her room quickly. Therefore, upon seeing the pitiful and touched expression on Andrew’s face, they found it slightly irritating. However, they chose not to remain silent and didn’t bother to remind him.
After kneeling all night, their legs were no longer under their control. At dawn, the butler had them carried back to their rooms and called the family doctor to treat them. Later, Jodie hypocritically visited them and even offered to massage their legs. All three of them declined.
Andrew couldn’t bear to see Jodie exhausted, while Luca and Aaron were afraid to let her massage their legs. Several more days passed before they were able to go downstairs to eat. On that day, Salma accompanied Steven to an important business banquet, and Reuben, as the heir, also joined them. Only the four brothers and Jodie remained at home.
After finishing their meal, Jodie suggested to have tea together. They sat and chatted for a while. Jodie stood up, limping on one leg, and poured tea for all four of them. Suddenly, she lost her balance and fell toward the couch. Andrew was the only one who immediately stepped forward and caught Jodie, while the other three reacted by avoiding her.
Andrew supported Jodie and prevented her from falling, saying, “Jodie, you don’t need to do anything for us. Please sit down.” Jodie sat down and apologized, “It’s all my fault.” She felt a strong resentment toward Luca, Aaron, and Titus, who didn’t come to support her but instead avoided her.
Since they were unkind, they shouldn’t blame her for being unfair. So, she began to complain sadly, saying that she didn’t know what had been happening recently, but she had been unlucky. Andrew comforted her by her side, and Titus felt that Jodie was saying so much as if she was setting something up. Therefore, he also offered a few words of comfort, suggesting that things would get better after a while. Just as he finished comforting her. Jodie looked at him and jokingly said, “I’ve been so unlucky recently. How about you, Titus? Can you share some of your good luck with me?”
Recently, Titus had been the coldest and most distant toward her, so she decided to target
him
