Chapter 13 Watch How You Speak to My Wife
Clara Bennett didn't process it right away.
On the other end, Ethan Young was bubbling with excitement, saying not only were the medical bills covered, but the Bennetts had upgraded their mom to a VIP room—complete with private care and cutting-edge imported drugs.
"Sis, looks like your dad still has a soft spot for Mom," Ethan Young said with an innocent laugh. "Anyway, I've gotta run to evening study hall!"
"Oh, and Sis—don't forget my textbook fees. I'm the only one in class who hasn't paid!"
"Oh..." Clara Bennett mumbled, still dazed as Ethan hung up, leaving her grasping at straws.
Evelyn Bennett had a change of heart?
Miles Bennett actually cared about her mom?
Those odds felt slimmer than a thread.
After the way the Bennetts treated her on her visit, she'd given up all hope for that thirty-thousand-dollar dowry.
And yet...
Clara Bennett darted into the bedroom, carefully tucking the bracelet back into its box.
Good thing she hadn't sold it!
A smile broke across her face as her slender fingers brushed over the gold pieces. "I'll take good care of you from now on—no way I'm letting anyone else have you," she murmured to herself.
Mason Reed stood just outside the door, peering in silently. The playful spark in her eyes and the curve of her smile warmed something in his chest. He smirked faintly.
Glancing at his phone, he saw Jasper White's message: Done.
"Not bad. You'll get a reward later," he typed back.
Mason Reed was a man of few words, replying only when the mood struck him. This was the longest response Jasper White had ever gotten.
It was the weekend. Clara Bennett tidied the house while Mason Reed pounded the sandbag in the yard.
She listened to the rhythmic thuds, a soft laugh escaping her. She didn't get why he was so obsessed with this brutal workout, hitting it every day, but she never stopped him—actually, she encouraged it.
Better he take it out on the bag than start fights outside.
Clara Bennett finished cleaning and was about to head to the kitchen when her phone rang. The moment she answered, Evelyn Bennett's shrill, furious voice blasted through.
"Well, little sister, you've really outdone yourself! Hooking up with the White family's young master—guess you inherited that from your trashy mom!"
"What are you ranting about this early in the morning?"
Clara Bennett bristled at the unprovoked attack, ready to hang up on the lunatic, when Evelyn's bitter laugh cut in.
"If it weren't for the Whites meddling, how would Dad have lost that land?
You know what their young master told him?
That a man who'd stiff his own daughter's dowry can't be trusted with business partners! "
"So the deal's gone—gone!"
"Do you have any idea how much Dad put into that project? It was worth ten billion! Months of work, down the drain! You little wretch, this is all your doing!"
"What..." Clara Bennett was utterly lost.
The Whites? Some land?
"Are you insane? You're the one who dropped off that diamond necklace at the hospital for Ethan, and now you're denying it and dragging some White family guy into this? I don't even know him!"
"Cut the act!" Evelyn Bennett snapped. "You little tramp, playing all innocent and pitiful while you're scheming underneath! How many men have you slept with behind the scenes? That Mason Reed must be blessed to land a used rag like you!"
"You—"
Clara Bennett trembled with rage, her face flaming. She might be soft-spoken, but she wasn't a doormat. She'd endured Evelyn's taunts and humiliation since childhood, evolving from quiet suffering to fighting back when pushed.
But this time, she didn't even know how to respond.
Evelyn's accusations were pure nonsense!
Before she could figure it out, her phone was snatched from behind. She turned, startled, to see Mason Reed's dark, menacing expression.
His voice was low and steely as he spoke into the receiver. "I don't care who you are—watch how you speak to my wife."
"If I hear that kind of filth out of you again, think hard about what I'll do."
The menace in his words bled through every syllable, chilling enough to freeze blood just by sound alone.
The line went dead silent—Evelyn, likely cowed by his aura, didn't dare reply.
Mason Reed ended the call, handed the phone back to Clara Bennett, and returned to the yard, resuming his sandbag routine without a flicker of emotion.
Clara Bennett stood there, dazed, a quiet swell of gratitude rising in her chest. No one had ever stood up for her like that growing up. Mason Reed was the first.
In the yard, Mason Reed landed a few more punches before yanking off his gloves and tossing them aside, his face shadowed as he caught his breath.
Moments later, Jasper White got his text: What did you say to Miles Bennett?
Jasper White typed back cautiously: Third Brother, just what you told me—put the pressure on, right?
The reply barely sent before Mason Reed's call came through, his voice icy as a blade.
"I told you to pressure him—did I tell you to bring up the dowry? Hm?"
"Third Brother, I—"
You wanted to stick up for your wife, didn't you? What else was I supposed to use?
"Jasper White!" Mason Reed bit out each word. "Brains are a good thing—too bad you still haven't grown one!"
The line cut off. Jasper White sat there, baffled, until Chase Ye, a strategist fresh from Central City, chimed in. Another childhood friend, Chase roared with laughter after hearing the rundown.
"Third Brother's right—you're half a brain short!"
Jasper White swung a mock punch at him.
"Think about it," Chase grinned. "You used the dowry to squeeze Miles Bennett and tanked his land deal. That screams you're backing Clara Bennett. Now even the Bennett heiress thinks you're tangled up with her—how's Third Brother supposed to feel about that?"