Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 588

Chapter 588: The Louder the Opposition, the Better

Matt, the eldest present, sighed heavily. “Don’t be so harsh. Selina probably holds some resentment toward the Hill Family. This is my fault. Never mind—let’s just wait a little longer.”

Others rushed to flatter him.

“Old Mr. Hill, you truly have a kind heart.”

“Yes, to tolerate such disrespect from a junior… remarkable.”

Ava Hill, the adopted daughter of Matt’s son, stepped forward gently after hearing this. “Grandfather, please sit and wait. I’m sure my sister will arrive soon.”

“How considerate, Miss Ava…”

“Now this is what a daughter raised by the Hill Family looks like. Compared to that outsider, well—”

“If you ask me, bloodline shouldn’t matter so much. Old Mr. Hill and Miss Ava may be adoptive family, but… shouldn’t the capable be the ones to lead?”

“Exactly, exactly…”

Ava offered a shy smile. Catching Hannah’s gaze, her confidence only deepened.

…

Meanwhile, in the car.

Aaron answered Selina’s call, his face suddenly darkening. “Where are you hurt?! I’ll deal with that driver. You should go home and rest—the banquet is canceled.”

“No need.”

Selina’s tone was calm. “Cousin, I’m sure plenty of people at the banquet are just waiting to laugh at me. The more they expect that, the more I need to show up. Perfect chance to put a few people in their place, isn’t it?”

Aaron frowned. “But you’re injured. If you don’t take care of yourself, Father and Grandmother will have my head. After all, it was me who sent that driver.”

Selina shook her head. “It’s just a scratch, nothing serious. Still… I’ll have the doctor make it look more severe. Cousin, I’ll need you to calm Uncle and Grandmother for me. Keep them in the lounge for now. Once I arrive and expose the driver’s attempt on my life—that’s when they should appear.”

She wanted certain people to panic on their own. If the family head and heir showed up too soon, it would ruin the effect.

Aaron paused, oddly impressed. “…Alright.”

So this cousin wasn’t to be underestimated.

As for who wanted her dead? Ava didn’t have the guts. Matt’s son was useless. Which meant it was either Matt, Hannah, or both.

After hanging up, Aaron relayed everything to Helen and Jeff.

Jeff looked uneasy, but Helen slowly opened her eyes. “Let her go.”

“This child… her temperament is exactly like Victoria’s.”

Suddenly, she missed her daughter terribly.

Jeff fell silent, then only nodded. He turned to Aaron. “Keep an eye on her. Don’t let your cousin suffer any humiliation. Whatever she wants to do—let her.”

…

Half an hour later.

“How much longer?” Selina asked.

Logan glanced at the GPS. “Twenty minutes.”

Ethan, for once riding shotgun while Logan played chauffeur, sighed dramatically. “Mountain roads are rough, plus the rain… Honestly, what’s with this weather, raining nonstop lately—oh, never mind that. Selina, the banquet’s been going for over forty minutes already. Add another twenty, and that means you’ll be more than an hour late.”

Ethan’s tone carried weight. “You’re not even a little nervous? Aren’t you worried the Hill Family crowd will call you careless, say you’re rude? You know how these old families are—especially the ones who already can’t stand you. The tiniest slip becomes some unforgivable crime. To them, being late won’t just mean bad manners—it’ll sound like you’ve disrespected the heavens, the earth, and the entire world.”

But Selina showed not the slightest sense of crisis.

She studied the “injuries” Ethan had just given her.

Aside from the real gash on her hand, the rest were all fake.

Yet they looked frighteningly convincing.

Bloodied marks streaked her arms, legs, and ankles. Bruises circled her neck, and dried blood stained the corner of her mouth.

Selina looked very satisfied. She said lightly, “I’m only afraid they won’t ‘criticize’ me enough.”

Ethan fell silent.

Logan, calm as ever, murmured, “I’ll be with you.”

…

Twenty minutes later.

Impatience flickered across more than a few faces.

Truth be told, being invited to a Hill Family recognition banquet was an honor. None of them had the right to complain.

But the Hill Family’s future still hung in the balance. No one knew who would win in the end. Jeff was absent. Matt, however, was present. Which meant everyone with half a brain bent over backward to curry favor with Matt.

After all—whatever the future held, at this moment, Matt still wielded real influence. And no minor player dared cross him.

“Old Mr. Hill, forgive me for speaking plainly, but I don’t think there’s any point waiting any longer.”

Another man chimed in, his tone sugary with flattery. “She knew tonight was the recognition banquet, and still she doesn’t come? Clearly, she doesn’t take the Hill Family seriously.”

“Yes, sir, your health isn’t good. Why not return and rest?”

Matt leaned heavily on his cane, looking as if he might collapse any moment, yet he shook his head with firm resolve.

“Selina is still young, just coming home for the first time. If she arrives and no one is here to welcome her, how hurt she would be. I’ll wait a little longer.”

Another voice muttered, pretending sympathy but aiming to please. “But the Family Head and Young Master themselves didn’t come, leaving you standing here instead—isn’t that deliberate humiliation?”

“Who knows if Miss Clark is simply careless or deliberately stalling, just to make Old Mr. Hill stand here in the cold…”

And just like that, Selina’s tardiness was twisted into an insult from the entire Hill bloodline toward Matt and Hannah.

In the car, Ethan listened to his assistant’s report, then shrugged. “The Hill Family… a place that eats people alive and spits out bones. Selina, you’d better be careful in there.”

Before Selina could answer, he chuckled. “Though, something tells me Logan won’t let anything happen to you.”

Logan’s expression didn’t change. “We’re here. Time to get out.”

Outside the Hill Family gates, Matt coughed and rubbed his leg, swaying like the slightest breeze could knock him over.

The frailer he looked, the more it painted Jeff and Selina as cruel.

And people started whispering: why was Selina, a junior, showing up so late? Why would she dare? Unless it was by Jeff’s order. And if Jeff ordered it, wasn’t it simply to humiliate Matt?

With his failing health, Jeff had left the old man to stand in the damp night air for over an hour. Clearly intentional.

“I say there’s no point welcoming her. If this was the Family Head’s doing, then he’s gone too far. And if it was Miss Clark herself—some spoiled girl with no manners and no respect for her elders—then she’s not worthy of the Hill Family name at all!”

Hannah knew Selina was already dead, but she had no problem pouring another bucket of filth onto her name.

She bit her lip, feigning fragile innocence. “Please, don’t speak of her that way. Perhaps Selina had her own difficulties…”