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Chapter 30
As soon as Jason answered the call, his grandpa’s stern voice came through, “Jason, are you with Estrella right now? Both of you need to come back to the family estate.”
Jason remained silent, ended the call, and casually tossed the cell phone aside.
Estrella inquired, “That was Grandpa, wasn’t it? He wants us to head back to the family estate?”
Tonight’s incident was bound to reach the ears of their family, and the Lamonts were sure to make a fuss about it.
“It was,” Jason confirmed. Jesse, worried, asked, “Estrella, do you think there will be trouble?”
Estrella chuckled and reassured, “If nothing happened at the Lamonts’, then what’s there to worry about at our own place?” She then glanced at Jason, who was driving, “Right, Jason?”
“Mhm.” Jason’s simple agreement was oddly comforting.
After dropping Jesse off, they drove straight to the family estate. No sooner had they stepped into the yard than they saw that all the senior family members had gathered. Even her parents had been invited over, and Bryce’s folks were there, too.
The moment Jason led Estrella inside, his grandpa, Keith, slapped the table with a loud smack, “You went to someone else’s house to start a fight. Have you no respect for the law?”
Keith was clearly agitated, yet he didn’t call Estrella out by name.
Jason, calm as ever, retorted, “What’s done is done.”
Estrella shot Jason a glance. Tonight, he had really stood by her, as if their past friction and the silent treatment of the last two years had never happened.
The reason for Estrella’s confrontation at the Lamonts’ had been explained by Drew to Kristin a little earlier. Before Jason and Estrella’s arrival, Kristin had also cleared the air with Keith. So, when Jason spoke up like that, Keith found himself struggling to reprimand Estrella.
Seeing the stalemate, Kristin stepped in to defend, “Estrella has always been a righteous kid. Isn’t that what you admire about her? Plus, Paula’s just a bully who targets the weak. She resented Estrella being with Jason, and when she couldn’t get to Estrella, she took it out on Jesse. You can’t blame Estrella for losing her temper. If I were in her shoes, I’d be just as mad.”
Keith retorted, “I’m not saying she can’t stand up for what’s right, but taking matters into her own hands at the Lamonts’ is still not acceptable.”
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Kristin wouldn’t have it, “Acceptable or not, it has to be acceptable now. Unless you really want Paula to hit back, which I doubt you do. And even if you did, Paula wouldn’t dare. She can’t beat Estrella.”
Kristin was actually quite proud of Estrella’s fighting prowess. Besides, Paula should have seen the consequences coming the moment she hit Jesse.
With Kristin stirring the pot, Keith was out of moves. He looked to Jason, “Jason, your wife was the one who threw the punches. It’s your place to say something.”
What Keith implied was for Jason to admonish Estrella, if only for show, so he could give the Lamonts a more palatable response.
Jason, however, turned to Estrella and asked, “Does your hand hurt? Should we get it checked out at the hospital?”
Silence fell upon the room.
Keith was utterly speechless. One person playing favorites was one thing, but two? How was he supposed to discipline anyone now?
In the end, out of options, Keith stood up in frustration, “I’m too old for this. I can’t deal with you kids anymore, and I won’t. You sort it out yourselves.”
With that, he turned to Cole and Autumn, “Cole Autumn, Estrella is your daughter. You take care of this.”
Cole and Autumn quickly agreed, “Don’t worry, sir. We’ll certainly teach Estrella a lesson and prevent any future misbehavior.”
But as soon as Keith left, the Nelson elders began to comfort her, “Estrella, don’t take this to heart. It’s not a big deal.”
“Exactly, what’s done is done. They started it, after all.”
“Were you okay at the Lamonts’? They didn’t give you a hard time, did they?”
Cole and Autumn gave up. They might as well take their daughter home for a ‘talk’, or else who knows what bad habits she’d pick up from this bunch.
On the way back, Jason drove while Cole and Autumn sandwiched Estrella in the back seat for a lecture. Autumn scolded, “We sent you to law school so you’d abide by the law, not break it by barging into someone’s house and starting a fight.”
Estrella bristled at the criticism, “Really? As if Paula doesn’t know that hitting people is illegal? Why should I play by the rules if she doesn’t?”
“You could have taken legal action,” Autumn suggested. “You could sue her.”
Estrella scoffed, “Yeah, right. So I can go through all that hassle for a mere apology and some medical bills?”
15:24
“And what if the Lamonts sue you?” Autumn countered. “You love being a lawyer. What will you do if you can’t practice because of a record?”
Estrella was nonchalant, “Let them sue. I’d like to see who dares take the case. Besides, if I can’t be a lawyer, you and Dad will be thrilled. I can always go work at the company.”
“You and your ways,” Autumn sighed, unable to argue further with her daughter.
Cole frowned, “They won’t sue. It’s the business competition that’ll get fiercer from here on Belongs © to NôvelDrama.Org.
out.”
Before Autumn could worry, Cole continued, “But let’s not fret over spilled milk. The Lamonts probably provoked this on purpose, looking for a reason to openly compete with us. We saw signs of their impatience during the last few projects. And let’s not rule out the Manning family’s involvement either.”
After years in business, Cole had a knack for seeing through such schemes.
The Lamonts had their hearts set on marrying Paula off to Jason, but Jason wasn’t having any of it. It was actually the Nelsons who approached the Dorvolds with a marriage proposal, saying if Estrella
didn’t tie the knot with Jason, he’d end up a lifelong bachelor.
And the kicker? Jason was totally on board with it.”
And let’s backtrack a bit. This feud had been brewing for a while, and it was high time for a showdown.
Autumn was freaking out. “The Lamonts and the Mannings teaming up? What are we gonna do?”
Cole was the picture of calm. “Chill, Autumn. I’m here, aren’t I? If I’m not sweating it, why are you? I’m not about to shy away from them. Just keep living your life. Estrella should keep going to work as usual, and hey, if she ever gets a clue, she can come help out at the office.”
When Cole brought up coming back to the office, Estrella didn’t bite. She was quite content with her current lifestyle, enjoying her freedom.
Before long, they dropped Cole and Autumn back at the Dorvold residence, and the young couple headed back to their Sandalwood Oasis.
Estrella’s actions that evening caused quite the stir in their social circles. Everyone, young and old, had something to say.
“Estrella is fierce. She’s my
hero
“Paula had it coming, always picking on the easy targets. I’d set off fireworks in celebration if she got what’s coming to her.”
“The Lamonts really embarrassed themselves this time, but Paula really deserved it.”
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“Doesn’t Estrella fear anything? Making enemies left and right, she won’t even see it coming when her time is up.”
While everyone had their two cents, Estrella couldn’t care less. She was more preoccupied with the fact that Melinda and Damita were still at large, which was a thorn in her side.
Moments later, Jason emerged from the bathroom, fresh from his shower. Estrella put aside her frustrations, flashed him a teasing smile, and joked, “You’ve been so protective today. Should I repay you with my hand in marriage?”