Chapter 757 - 745: I Want You to Marry Me (32)
Eleanor Bishop’s eyes were red with fury as she sobbed, "Archie Lockwood, you have no right to stop me from leaving!" ’I’m a person, not an object. Why should I have to just stay here meekly and wait for him to punish me...?’
"No right? Are you trying to challenge my authority, then?" Archie Lockwood laughed, furious. He tightened his grip around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder. His voice was low and husky, each word dripping with menace.
Hearing Archie Lockwood’s threat, Eleanor Bishop’s heart sank. Anxious and unsettled, she choked out, "Give me my phone. I want to call my dad and have him come get me."
"Hah. Mayor Bishop?" Archie Lockwood sneered. "Eleanor Bishop, do you think I can’t do what Jason Lockwood could?" ’This woman is underestimating me far too much. Does she think I’m inferior to Jason Lockwood?’
That had to be why, no matter how he threatened her, she didn’t take it to heart or pay him any mind.
"I... I wasn’t thinking that..." At the thought of Jason Lockwood, all the color drained from Eleanor Bishop’s face, leaving it deathly pale.
"If that’s not what you were thinking, then you’ll just stay put!" With that, Archie Lockwood lifted her off his lap and set her down on the sofa to his side.
"..." Terrified, Eleanor Bishop didn’t know what to do.
For a fleeting moment, she had the disquieting illusion that she could see a shadow of Jason Lockwood in Archie.
Just as Eleanor Bishop was sobbing quietly, afraid to make a sound, and just as Archie Lockwood, irritated by her crying, was about to lose his temper—
Shirley Lockwood came downstairs, rubbing her eyes. "Dad," she mumbled, disgruntled, "what are you two fighting about?!"
Hearing the voice, Eleanor Bishop stopped crying and looked at Archie Lockwood in astonishment.
Archie Lockwood reined in his temper, turning to glare at Eleanor Bishop. "Had enough of crying?"
"Rory... she... she’s here too?" Eleanor Bishop raised a hand to wipe her tears, asking in a small, choked voice.
Archie Lockwood replied coolly, his displeasure evident. "This is our home. Why wouldn’t she be here?"
"—" Eleanor didn’t say anything else, instead turning to look at the person who had just arrived.
As Shirley Lockwood reached the bottom of the stairs, she realized something extraordinary was happening...
’Dad... he actually brought a woman home?!?!? ’
’And it looked like it was the same woman Dad had been so worked up about before???? If it were any other woman, I wouldn’t care at all, because they’re never anyone special!’
’But this woman... Dad obviously cares a lot about her. She’s very different...’
This realization instantly banished all of Shirley Lockwood’s sleepiness. She hurriedly trotted over to Archie Lockwood and Eleanor.
She stopped in front of the sofa, planted her hands on her hips, and stared with wide eyes, carefully scrutinizing the pair sitting there. She was trying to get all the dirt on their affair!!!
’I specifically warned Dad when I got here today that he was forbidden from finding me a stepmom!’
’And just like that, he went and brought a stepmom home to me.’
’Although, from the looks of it, it seemed like Dad was the one bullying her, and pretty badly, too...’
"Rory, what’s with that look!" Archie Lockwood had clearly noticed his own daughter’s contemptuous gaze, and he reached out to give her a light tap on the head.
Shirley Lockwood grumpily smoothed her now-messy hair, took a step back, and huffed, "Dad, are you bullying some poor girl again?"
"What nonsense is that? Don’t be ridiculous!" Archie Lockwood’s expression darkened as he glared at Shirley Lockwood.