Chapter 745: Chapter 747

Stella was in disbelief. “How could Xavier be willing to kneel here obediently?”

“Because of someone that he cannot disobey, of course,” Weston said plainly.

“Are you referring to Old Mr. Ford?”

Weston pinched her cheeks. “Do you feel better now?”

Stella remained silent as she looked at the man in the hall.

Xavier knelt in the middle of the hall, looking utterly displeased. But, despite his clear reluctance, he didn’t dare to disobey and knelt with his torso stock straight.

Old Mr. Ford sat right opposite him, glancing at him once in a while as he sipped on his tea to check if he was kneeling properly.

Occasionally, he would put his teacup down and pick on Xavier’s posture in a nasty and incisive tone.

Elders like him were excellent at insulting others without the use of profanity.

It must feel pretty good to be able to do so, Stella thought.

She was curious, “How did you manage this? I remember that Old Mr. Ford dotes on Xavier very much.”

Even when he broke off his engagement with Zeta, a major issue that incurred the wrath of the Taylor family and made them the butt of a joke in the industry, Old Mr. Ford couldn’t bear to punish him.

Why did he make him kneel this time?

It was indeed unbelievable.

Weston said, “It isn’t that difficult controlling someone’s heart. As long as you grasp a person’s needs, you’ll be able to figure out what makes him tick and how to make him do things the way you want them to. It’s that easy.”

Stella suddenly found him very frightening. “Since you’re able to control another person’s heart… is there something you really want for yourself?”

“Yes.”

Weston said without any hesitation, “You can guess my innermost desire.”

He looked at Stella with a brazen stare.

Stella avoided his gaze.

She knew, but she didn’t want to give it to him.

In the ancestral hall.

Xavier had been kneeling for almost two hours.

Old Mr. Ford finally decided to relent. “Do you admit your mistake now?”

It was undeniable that he had been anxious to seek success at work.

Xavier lowered his head and gritted his teeth. “I was wrong, Dad…”

“How were you wrong?”

“I shouldn’t have trusted that merchant and placed all the export pressure on the company. The economy’s been looking bad, and I shouldn’t have killed the goose that lays the golden egg.”

“Very good. That’s a very fundamental reason. What else?”

“What else is there?”

Xavier looked up, slightly confused.

The old man said leisurely, “You’ve done nothing decent recently.”

Realization dawned upon Xavier. His father was calculating old debts along with recent ones.

He paused for a moment before saying reluctantly, “As well as the thing with Zeta and Daisy…”

He admitted to every one of his mistakes, which pleased Old Mr. Ford.

When Xavier was done, Old Mr. Ford asked again, “Is that it?”

Xavier asked doubtfully, “What else could there be?”

“There’s one more—you shouldn’t have interfered with other people’s business.”

“Since when did I do that?”

Old Mr. Ford picked up his teacup and sipped on it. “No matter what goes on between Guinevere and Weston, they’ve already broken off their engagement. You, as Weston’s uncle, are in no position to seek any of that so-called justice and stand up for her!”

Xavier finally understood what Old Mr. Ford was implying all the while. “Are you trying to speak up for Ella Steele?”

He was so agitated he stood up halfway. He just couldn’t understand.

“What’s so great about that woman? What makes her so worthy that all of you speak up for her, time and time again?”