Chapter 542


    By the time Abel arrived, the rest of his family members were already gathered at the Ryker Mansion.


    He first bumped into his aunt, Julianna Campbell in the living hall.


    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 muste


    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 toote 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 asplicated 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.


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    "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 ites 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?"