Stuart visibly winced at Mr. Bayer’s words. He always thought Mr. Bayer cared too much for his mother. "How do you know what she’s doing now?" Stuart asked. He only felt resentnt when he looked at Mr. Bayer. He had been with Mada Yates for fifteen years, and Stuart saw how he looked at her. It was the sa way Stuart looked at Edie.
Mr. Bayer remained silent and wanted to tell Stuart how he felt about his mother, but how could he? ’I’ve loved her for so long, and there’s nothing I would like more than to marry her. But how can I marry a woman when her heart belongs to another?’
Stuart took a step forward and stood in front of Mr. Bayer. Stuart glowered at him, the lines of his face looking like caverns. Stuart’s sharp eyes landed on his face, and he said in a frigid tone, "As my mother’s secretary! Don’t you think your relationship is too close to the boss?"
"Are you worried about your mother?" Mr. Bayer asked, a faint smile wrinkling his cheeks.
Stuart was completely aware of the sarcasm in his voice and said, "Mr. Bayer, you’re a wise man. I believe you know what you’re doing, but do you really want to go to hell with her to fulfill her ambition? It’s none of my business, just know which line you should cross."
Stuart walked away and knocked on Mada Yates’s door. "Mother, it’s Stuart," he said.
"Co in!" Mada said calmly.
Stuart walked across her room and sat on the sofa. "Did you co to et my wife, Edie Lara?" he quickly asked.
"Yes," she said as she nodded her head.
For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. They looked at each other like they were business partners. Mada knew her son and knew his frigid personality. Not once over the past twenty years had Stuart ever co to see her about anyone, not even Marina Daisy. ’He truly loves Edie,’ she thought.
"Why are you here? Are you going to ask to take it easy on her?" Mada asked in the sa tone as her sons. A very cold one.
"No! I have only one thing to discuss with you! She’s my wife, and I will protect her for as long as I’m alive. I will never let anyone hurt her, and that includes my family. Do you understand?" Stuart said, stressing every word. He looked at her with his stern, cold eyes.
The fire was surging in their eyes. The tension between the two of them was combustible enough to burst into fla at any mont. Mada Yates curved her mouth into a smile and sneered, "My dear son! Are you threatening ?"
Stuart remained frigid and arrogant in front of his mother. "I’m not threatening you. I’m only warning you, but if you plan on harming Edie, then yes, you can consider it a threat."
Mada Yates’s expression on her face changed, and anger was exploding in her eyes. "You were injured last ti because of a woman and feuding with your brother. I have investigated her identity, and it will only bring sha to our family. If the board mbers find out, they’ll make you step down. For a woman to be accepted into the Yates family, she needs to have a clean background. Not one full of sha and lies."
"Clean? How dare you of all people say such a thing. Were you not a woman who was not faithful to her husband?" Stuart asked, mocking her.
Mada Yates’s heart began to pound, and her face turned pale. The quick way her breathing ca suggested a kind of desperation. "Your father is dead, and how dare you say I was not faithful to him! I’m not dead, and if she wants to be my daughter-in-law, I’m the one who makes the final decision!"
"Really! You’re the one who makes the final decision? I don’t think so!" Stuart’s mouth curved into a smile, and there was a touch of madness in his eyes. Mada’s heart missed a beat from his sharp gaze. It was the first ti she realized how grown-up, Stuart was.
Mada Yates winced in disgust and looked at Stuart coldly. "What do you an?"
Stuart glared into his mother’s eyes. "You have your ways, and I have mine. I can’t believe you’re naive enough to think that since I’ve been in charge of the company for so long, I don’t have an influence of my own?" He took one step forward and continued. "I’m not only informing you as your son but as the CEO of L. N. Group! Edie Lara is my wife, Mrs. Yates, and no one will ever change that, not even you! I couldn’t care less if you accept it or not because it doesn’t matter to ." Stuart spoke with hostility as if she ant nothing to him.
"I am your mother! How dare you speak to like that!" Mada Yates shouted.
Mada Yates jumped up from the sofa as if she’d been sitting in smoldering ashes. She stood in front of Stuart, her eye blinking, her lips quivering. "If anyone were to find out about Edie, your inheritance would be in jeopardy. If you don’t have any money, how will you protect her?" She pointed the finger at him, dangerously close to pushing it against his chest. "Your love for one another will only bring you both endless troubles?"
"I’ve already told you! It’s none of your business. I only ca today to tell you I will never give up Edie or the L. N. Group!" he said, Mada Yates could tell from his tone of voice that he ant business. Stuart adjusted his suit, turned around, and never looked back.
Mada Yates stared at Stuart fiercely, and his behavior infuriated her. When he was out of her sight, the anger in her face slowly disappeared. The perpetual scowl and downcast look were replaced by a relaxed, almost pleasant deanor. Her smile looked witty as though she had accomplished sothing.
"How did it go? Did it turn out the way you expected?" Ca a cheerful voice from outside the closed door.
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