Chapter 252


    "Young Master, Madam wishes to see you." Seeing that the door was shut tightly, Larry rang the


    doorbell.


    Jenna was already asleep at that moment. Despite being in slumber, her eyebrows were scrunched


    up in fear.


    Hansen held onto Jenna''s hand and sat on her bedside. With a lump in his throat, he looked at her


    slowly falling asleep. He only stood up when Larry''s voice pulled him back to his senses. With the


    key in his hand, he stepped outside.


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    Changing the door was a hasty decision he made. He kept a key without telling her about it as he


    was worried that she might be angry about it. Unexpectedly, it was put to use so soon.


    "Mom, what''s the matter?" As Hansen walked to the living room, Marissa was sitting on the sofa


    with a sorrowful expression.


    "Hansen, what are your ns?" Marissa asked solemnly as she lifted her chin and looked at


    Hansen''s calm face.


    "What?" Hansen furrowed his eyebrows slightly and pretended to not understand.


    "Hansen," Marissa harshened her tone, "Things have escted to such an extent, yet you are still


    pretending to be oblivious to the issue. Of course, you can procrastinate all you like but Earl would


    not wait anymore. He has already given an ultimatum today and the date of marriage must be


    decided within three days. Please consider it properly and stop being foolish."


    "Impossible! He is trying to threaten u, and I will not conform to him," Hansen denied adamantly as


    his gaze was filled with rage.


    "Hansen, now that something like this has happened, it became an excuse for them to do so, and


    Earl is very determined this time around. Besides, Aria''s pregnant bump will be showing soon and


    there''s really no way to hide it anymore," she persuaded sincerely. When Marissa heard Hansen''s


    refusal, her heart sank.


    "Mom, this is nder. I know Jenna well enough to know that she would never push Aria. She has


    never been an audacious woman and would not bother about such trivial matters as well. If we


    compromised on this matter, it would be very unfair to her as it is tantamount to an admission of


    guilt, which ispletely absurd. I will never let her suffer from any harm," Hansen said angrily and


    firmly.


    "Hansen, are you really that dumb, or are you acting like it? I do know that Jenna can''t be med


    for this as well because I witnessed it. At that time, Georgia and I came in almost at the same time, I


    even stepped into the ce a second earlier. Moreover, the position I was standing on gave me a


    better view of the entire situation but even if we know that this was nder, does it matter?" Marissa


    said helplessly.


    "Mom, why didn''t you say that when you were in the ward this afternoon? What''s the purpose of


    saying this right now? This is so unfair to Jenna! How could you be so senseless?" Hansen became


    furious as he stood up abruptly and replied with a loud voice.


    Marissa couldn''t help but let out a gasp when she sensed Hansen''s anger. She sighed and said


    gravely, "Hansen, only Georgia and I witnessed the entire situation. Could I evene clean about


    it? If I did tell the truth to them just now, it would only make them angrier and they may even think


    that I''m covering up the truth for Jenna. By backing them into a corner, the consequences would


    only be more serious. But now, I''ve left us with an alternative. As long as you agree to their request,


    they will not continue clinging on this matter for my sake and all of the problems would be resolved


    as well. This is the best solution for everyone."


    Hansen waspletely speechless. What kind of logic was this? It was a in set-up to frame


    them.


    "Mom, you are too mindless. It had nothing to do with Jenna in the first ce, why should we


    compromise? If we did, we are affirming that we did something wrong and it would be much harder


    for us to clear things up." Hansen felt unpleasant as he massaged his temples in hopes to relieve


    his throbbing headache. He didn''t understand why Marissa was so afraid of them.


    "Oh Hansen, are you really that dense, or are you faking it? Anyone with a straight mind could see


    that they are just trying to drive Jenna away so that you could marry Aria. This is their ultimate goal.


    Even if Jenna did not push her or that such things had never even happened at all, they would


    obviously still find some other excuse and force another misdeed on her until we drive her away.


    You must figure out the roots of the matter and fathom out their true intentions in order to resolve


    the problem ordingly. It''s useless to question what is right and what is wrong at this moment,"


    Marissa reasoned with him as she exined patiently. Her day was full of fright and shock; it was


    tiring her out. Her chest felt stuffy as she held onto it tiredly.


    Hansen scoffed coldly as the corners of his lips curled up to a sneer. "Could they get what they want


    just by driving Jenna away? It is impossible. I''ve never thought about marrying Aria. Heck, I don''t


    love her at all, how could I marry her? The only person I love is Jenna. No matter what, I will fight


    for our happiness and will not sumb to evil. It is not my character to do so."


    Hansen responded adamantly and heaved a sigh of exasperation. With eyes full of determination,


    he turned around to leave.


    "Stand right there." Obviously, Marissa did not allow him to leave so easily. She shouted angrily,


    "Hansen, you can be naive, you can be selfish, but have you ever thought of the Richards Group?


    Have you thought about how hard we''ve worked for it for so many years? Have you ever thought of


    how your father and I established this business back then and how much effort we''ve put into it?"


    Upon saying this, Marissa''s voice was choked with emotion as tears welled up in her eyes. "My son,


    you have grown up, and being naive is no longer what you should do at this age. Do you not know


    Earl? He is as sly as a fox. Could you even escape his carefullyid out scheme so easily?"


    Hansen stood there tensely as his eyes stared deep into the darkness outside the door.


    "Hansen, I''ve heard that Earl is now investigating the information about a piece ofnd you bought


    in Camphor Tree Vi a few years ago. ording to them, there was an error in the procedure but it


    was actually not rted to Richards Group. It was the negligence of the government officials such


    that a particr procedure was notpleted. In fact, we adhered to all of the procedures and


    terms, and it was a problem with their internal management. This had nothing to do with us.


    However, Earl is holding on to this now, saying that thend was bought uwfully and that the


    government has to take it back. He even fired some of the officials. If this is true, I''m sure you


    understand what it meant," Marissa’s face became pale as she exined seriously.


    Hansen clenched his fists tightly. His knuckles cracked and his expression scrunched up in distaste.


    What a despicable man!


    He gritted his teeth in anger.


    "Also Hansen, Richards Group''s property in A city upies most of thepany''s shares. Except


    for the newly developed luxury car business and some new projects globally as well as the small


    number of products that are sold worldwide without needing control from the local government,


    everything else is inseparable from the jurisdiction of A city. Have you ever thought of the


    consequences that everything we do brings? Earl holds great power and has wide connections. If


    he wanted to do anything, Richards Group would definitely be affected deeply regardless of how


    wealthy we are. Richards Group and the industries established under it are the roots of the


    Richards family''s sess. As humans, we must have flexible thinking and determination to


    complete our duties thoroughly. Also, as citizens, we do not have the authority to argue with


    officials. You must learn to protect yourself and avoid the wicked. In a wealthy family, marriage is


    never something that is fully based on your own decision and it does not matter whether there''s


    love. Unless you have the ability to dominate everything, you should still lower your dignity when


    needed. For the sake of the Richards family''s legacy, please sacrifice yourself this once. As for


    Jenna, I will give her enoughpensation and would not let her suffer from any mistreatment,


    okay?" Marissa said sternly.


    Although Hansen did not fully agree with her verbose speech, it did reveal truths that he understood


    very well. Suddenly, his body felt weak and his feet were too heavy for him to move.


    Compensate Jenna? How could theypensate her? No matter what they did, the Richards


    family owed her too much. He felt so indebted to her that even by saying such words, they were


    humiliating her!


    "Hansen, Aria is just asking for a legitimate status and it''s for the sake of Earl''s reputation as well.


    She told me that as long as you marry her, she will not have a problem with you being with Jenna.


    Even if you choose to set up a family outside, or if Jenna stayed in Richards Manor, she would not


    be against it. Why are you being so stubborn? If it were to be someone else, they would probably


    be thrilled to not offend both parties. Besides, you could get the best of both worlds, why can''t you


    compromise?" Marissa sighed as she tried her best to persuade him.


    "Mom." Hansen turned around abruptly. With a sharp gaze, he asked unhurriedly, "If you were


    Jenna, would you be willing to do so?"


    "Well..." Marissa''s face paled as she stuttered. However, she kept her cool and continued, "My


    child, this is her fate. You could not imagine how much money and what benefits my mother''s family


    gave your grandfather back when I married your father just to convince him to agree for your father


    to not marry a concubine. However, Jenna does not have such an ability, which makes it impossible


    for her."


    Hansen sneered and said harshly, "Mom, to put it bluntly, you look down on her family and that''s


    why you do not fully support her. Back when she married me, you had never taken her seriously


    and undervalued her. If you could''ve treated her fairly, Aria would have never openly moved into


    Richards Manor on our wedding night and those following things would never have happened. It


    would be impossible for her to force this marriage upon us now as well. To think about it, are you


    not responsible for all of this? Simply put, it’s a result of your discrimination towards the poor and


    unconditional admiration towards the rich."


    "What?" Marissa nearly tripped over as she was shocked by Hansen''s words. Her mouth went


    agape as her face turned pale. It was only after a long moment that she came back to her senses


    and yelled furiously, "You br*t, do you even have the right to tell me off? Did I instruct you to


    impregnate Aria? Four years ago, when your grandmother paired you up with her and you rejected


    her out of dislike, was I the one who forced the pain and grief on you? Are you not responsible for


    any of this?"