Chapter 21
Chapter 21
The Woods family was a group of individuals whom the people in San Joto would stay away from, as messing with them was inviting trouble. Norah saw this and said boldly, “Grandpa… I didn’t mean it. She had just arrived at school and did not know who Austin was.”
It sounded like she was defending Nicole, but it actually was to say that Nicole was the one who first used violence.
Nicole was not too happy. Just when she was about to rebut, Daniel spoke. “Dad, Nicole is not to blame. I have looked into the ins and outs of the matter. Austin openly tried to grab Nicole. Do we still have to put up with that?”
Seeing the righteous indignation of Daniel and Nicole, Karen said sarcastically, “Daniel, Austin is Mr. Woods Sr.’s grandson. We are in trouble by offending him. I heard Snow say that Austin threatened to get Nicole expelled from the school.” Karen threw a bombshell.
“Expulsion?” Mr. Riddle Sr. frowned immediately. It was only last night that Mr. Ellison invited Nicole into the school, and he would expel her because she had offended Austin?
“What do you think? Austin’s dad was a school trustee, and the students who offended Austin before did not seem to have a good ending.” Karen was kicking Nicole when she was down, as if Nicole’s expulsion was a foregone conclusion. Norah immediately looked at Nicole expectantly.
“If that is the case, no one can help you, Nicole.”
“I am not asking anyone for help.” Nicole frowned. Karen thought Nicole was unrepentant and immediately said, “Dad, see this girl? She still doesn’t admit her fault.”
“What wrong have I done?” Nicole frowned.
“Do you mean I should let him grab me just because the Woods family is powerful? Will it not look bad on the Riddle family?”
Nicole’s voice was sonorous and powerful. For a moment, there was silence in the living room.Mr. Riddle Sr’s eyes brightened up.
“Absolutely. As nasty as the Woods family is, we, the Riddles, aren’t someone who can be easily bullied. Nicole did the right thing.”
Norah was exasperated, not expecting Mr. Riddle Sr. to be so supportive of Nicole.
Karen became anxious and said, “Dad, you should know how to distinguish between right and wrong. What good is it for us to mess with the Woods family?”
Seeing his wife so fiery, Dillon coughed gently to remind her.
“The situation is not that bad, Karen. The expulsion is no big deal. Austin doesn’t know that Nicole is our family, and the Woods family will not bother us.”
Daniel could not take it anymore at seeing the husband and wife echoing each other’s words.” I wonder why you two are so opinionated. Is it because you are afraid that Nicole’s matter will implicate you two?”
The faces of both Dillon and Karen turned red, and Dillon snarled, “Why say so? We don’t just worry about ourselves, but the Riddle family. The Woods family is such a scoundrel that people try to keep away from them. What good is it for us to mess with them?”
“Do you mean that for the Riddle family staying out of trouble, we should do nothing when our children are bullied, even if they are Snow and Raine?” Nicole shot a frosty glance at Karen and Dillon.
Mr. Riddle Sr. became even more clearheaded this time. “You guys just want to stay away from this problem and care about yourselves. If Snow is the one who gets bullied, will you still shift the blame like now?”
“I…” Karen tried to say something but was discouraged by Mr. Riddle Sr.’s reprimand.
Seeing that no one could counter Nicole, Norah stared at her with indignation. She realized she had seriously underestimated Nicole.
It did not take long for Mr. Riddle Sr. to express his final thoughts.
”Nicole did the right thing. If she is expelled, I will find her a better school tomorrow. It is no big deal. I can even send Nicole to study abroad. No matter what, I want to give her the best education.”
The kid from the Johnston family was so outstanding. He was not going to let his granddaughter fall behind.
Knowing that Mr. Riddle Sr. genuinely cared about her, Nicole looked at him with a relieved smile.
“Don’t worry about it, Grandpa. I will not be expelled.”
Her voice was calm and determined, inexplicably persuasive.
“Mr. Ellison has contacted you?” Seeing that her granddaughter was so assured of herself, Mr. Riddle Sr. thought she might have gotten some news.
“Not yet, but he will call me back as soon as he is free.” Nicole sounded as if it was a matter of course. It was as though Mr. Ellison was her subordinate.
This strange feeling made everyone look doubtful. Norah’s eyes were almost on fire. Did Nicole really think Mr. Ellison was subservient to her?
While she was thinking so, the family butler suddenly came up and whispered to Mr. Riddle Sr. “Mr. Ellison calls.” Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
“Mr. Ellison?” Not expecting that Mr. Ellison would call him, he took the call immediately.
Everyone looked in Mr. Riddle Sr.’s direction. As Mr. Riddle Sr. had poor hearing, he put the call on the phone speaker. “Mr. Ellison, I didn’t expect you to call.” Mr. Riddle Sr. answered politely. On the other end of the phone, Mr. Ellison was letting out a kind smile. “Mr. Riddle Sr., today I heard that the kid from the Woods family offended your granddaughter, Nicole. Is she all right?”
Everyone heard that and was all wide-eyed.
In terms of importance, it should be Nicole who offended Austin, but Mr. Ellison said that it was Austin who offended Nicole. How high was Nicole’s importance in the eye of Mr. Ellison?