Early the next morning, Amanda slept straight through until noon, exhausted by Quentin's "once-a-day" requirement.
Quentin, meanwhile, had been awake for hours. He sat in the living room, calmly sipping tea as he waited for the inevitable trouble to arrive. It had not been in vain that he "tormented" Amanda all night; it ensured she would sleep through the coming storm.
Sure enough, Tiffany and Dylan Harris arrived, rushing into the house in a fit of rage.
"Quentin Harris! What is the meaning of this?" Tiffany screamed before she had even fully entered the room. "Why did you attack Javier so brutally?"
Quentin raised his eyes, looking at her with chilling composure. "Have you bothered to ask your precious son why I beat him?"
"Ask him? You beat the boy nearly to death! What is there to ask?" Tiffany's heart ached just thinking of her son's condition in the hospital.
For once, Dylan stood firmly on his wife's side. He glared at Quentin and questioned, "Quentin, Javier is your nephew. Do you act this way because you don't care for him, or because you no longer respect me as your older brother?"
Quentin let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Then let me ask you: does he consider Amanda his aunt? Does he consider me his uncle?"
Usually calm and polite, Quentin finally snapped. His voice dropped to a deep, thunderous roar that left both Tiffany and Dylan speechless. "A child turns out bad because of the parents. If you can't teach him, I'll do it for you!"
"How can you say that?" Tiffany cried out. "Javier is your blood! You beat him like that over a woman? Are you even worthy of being called his uncle?"
Quentin's face darkened instantly. He slammed his teacup onto the table and stared directly into Tiffany's eyes. "Remember this well: Amanda is my wife."
Though Tiffany flinched at his gaze, her fury overrode her fear. "A woman who seduced the nephew and then moved on to the uncle... and you treat her like a treasure! To attack your own blood for her—what a virtuous family we've become! Our ancestors must be turning in their graves!"
Quentin's patience vanished. He grabbed the teacup and hurled it at Tiffany's feet. It shattered with a violent bang, causing her to scream in panic.
"If you don't shut your mouth, the next one won't land at your feet," Quentin hissed.
Dylan, seeing the murderous look in Quentin's eyes, quickly pulled Tiffany back two steps. "Quentin, your sister-in-law is just worried; she's talking nonsense. As for Javier... you said this involved Amanda. What exactly happened?"
But Tiffany was beyond reason. The fear had turned into a desperate, ugly malice. "You truly are cruel!" she shrieked. "From the moment you were born, you killed your mother and your brother, and now you want to kill your nephew. You're a jinx! A curse on this family!"
"Tiffany, shut up!" Dylan barked. He knew this was the ultimate taboo in their family—a wound even he didn't dare touch.
Quentin's entire body began to tremble. His breathing, once stable, became heavy and jagged. This was the deepest pain of his life, a grief he tried to bury every single day, and now this woman was using it to tear him apart.
Before the silence could stretch further, Amanda appeared out of nowhere. She rushed straight at Tiffany and delivered a stinging slap to her face.
Before Tiffany could even react, Amanda spun her around and slapped her again.
"A despicable creature like you? What right do you have to speak to him that way!" Amanda yelled.
"You slut! How dare you hit me!" Tiffany tried to lung at her, but Dylan held his wife back.
Amanda didn't hesitate; she stepped forward and slapped her a third time. "So what if I hit you? I'd like to tear your mouth open and fill it with ash!"
"I'll kill you! Dylan, let me go!" Tiffany screamed, struggling like a madwoman in her husband's arms.
"Have you had enough?" Amanda's eyes were ice-cold. She grabbed the teapot from the table and threw the contents straight onto Tiffany.
Tiffany let out a blood-curdling shriek. "Ah! It's hot! I'm burning!"
Amanda slammed the empty teapot onto the floor. "Let it burn, you vile woman! Get out of my house! Get out!"
Quentin looked on in a daze, watching the petite girl stand before him like a shield. He quickly regained his senses, pulled her into his arms, and checked her hands. "Mandy, did you get burned? Are you hurt?"
Amanda didn't even hear him. She was focused entirely on the intruders. "You're still here? Guards! Kick them out right now!"
The staff, who had been hiding in the kitchen, rushed out and physically dragged Dylan and the wailing Tiffany out of the villa.
The moment they were gone, the fire in Amanda died out, replaced by a violent tremor of rage and sadness. "Mandy..." Quentin whispered.
Amanda burst into tears. She grabbed his hands tightly, sobbing as if her heart would break. "They are evil people... don't listen to their lies. None of it is your fault! Please, don't be sad..."
She cried like a child, her heart breaking for the man whose strong shoulders were now trembling slightly. Quentin's eyes grew misty. He reached out and pulled her into a crushing embrace.
"I'm not sad," he whispered into her hair, his voice thick with emotion. "As long as I have you, I will always be happy."
Hearing that, Amanda cried even harder, wrapping her arms around him as if she could protect him from the world forever.