Julianna had a sly, sideways smile as she greeted her nephew. “I knew you’d get into trouble sooner or later…” she muttered under her breath.

Abel caught every word despite her whispering and turned around to give her a sharp look. However, Julianna was still an elder of the family and a woman too, so anything he said back to her would be considered disrespectful. Abel swallowed his words and gave her an unpleasant frown instead.

Rosaline, who had also heard what Julianna said, walked up to her in a huff. “Julianna, don’t think I didn’t hear you. Was that really necessary?”

“Well, I was only speaking the truth,” Julianna countered. “Always remember, what goes up must come back down eventually. Just look at the state of your family! Emmeline is dead, and now Abel’s gay! Levan Mansion is in disarray, and you won’t even let me talk about it? What a joke!”

“There’s nothing wrong with Levan Mansion,” Rosaline fumed. “We’re doing great! You’re just jealous of us, Julianna.”

“Tsk tsk tsk,” Julianna pursed her lips. “You’re getting ahead of yourself now. You were doing great when Emmeline was still around, but now? I’m sure you know where you stand.”

Rosaline was so furious she could barely speak. To a certain extent, Julianna was not wrong. Nothing had gone well for the family ever since Emmeline’s incident, and now they had to deal with the repercussions of Abel’s gay scandal. How could she not be worried?

“That’s enough!” Oscar Ryker bellowed as he made his entrance into the room. “The lot of you better listen up!”

Rosaline and Julianna eyed each other fiercely before taking their respective seats. Abel sat next to his parents with an unreadable expression on his face. Still angry from their previous argument, Lewis ignored Abel’s presence, while Rosaline tried to minimize interaction with her son too. Why would a proper adult man take a liking to another man and embarrass his parents like that? What was wrong with a nice girl like Evelyn Murphy?

“Mom,” Abel whispered to Rosaline. “It’s not what you think…”

“Hmph!” Rosaline made her disapproval clear as day. “It’s too late for you to say anything now. The whole of Struyria have already made their judgment. Tell me, how are you going to live out your future days? I’ve already warned you about Emmett, but you refused to listen to me when I told you to stop hanging out with him. Are you happy now?”

“Firstly, that’s my prerogative…” Abel insisted. “…and it’s not as complicated as it sounds.”

“Just get rid of Emmett and publicly announce that you’re dating Evelyn! That’s the only way to salvage whatever’s left of your reputation!” Rosaline hissed.

“I told you I’m not doing that,” Abel asserted. “I’ll handle this myself. The both of you don’t need to worry.”

Beside him, Lewis only grew more furious with his son. Rosaline quickly calmed him down by soothing his chest, helping his breathing.

“Abel Ryker!” Oscar boomed. “You know why we’re gathered here today, don’t you?”

“Mhmm,” Abel nodded. “Crystal clear.”

“And that’s all you have to say? Anything else you would like to add?” Oscar’s croaky voice was surprisingly clear and loud.

“What else is there for him to say?” Julianna rolled her eyes haughtily. “Abel singlehandedly dragged our family name into the mud.”

“Our reputation is one thing, but more importantly, we are losing business because of this scandal,” Adam added.

“Exactly, how is our family going to survive if we don’t make any money?” Julianna dramatized.

“Mom,” Adrien cut in. “It’s not like what you guys are thinking. Why don’t you guys just talk less?”

“Adrien Ryker!” Julianna scolded her second son. “Are you siding with them instead of us?”

“Well, you’re deliberately twisting the truth! Just be careful that it comes back to bite you one day…” Adrien said.

“Oh, you horrible son! How could you say that about your own mother?!” Julianna looked aghast.

“Adrien, everyone knows the truth about Abel. What is there to argue about?” Adam chided his brother as well.

“Fine, fine. Whatever you say, then!” Adrien waved his hands.

“How dare you talk back!” Julianna stared at her son angrily. “Are you going to turn gay and end up like him too?”