Your Relatives Came

I knew this shrill voice well. It belonged to my grandma in Phoenix Village, Mrs. Laura.  Frowning, I intended to hang up. Mrs. Laura, who foretold my next move, shouted over the phone, "You don't care about me, but what about your uncle?" "Uncle? What's wrong with him?" I asked. Mrs. Laura sneered. "Humph, your uncle? If you don't buy a car for your cousin, your aunt will divorce your uncle!" "Great! I will find one young and beautiful woman for my uncle after the divorce! My aunt is almost fifty years old. She is old and fierce, so Uncle will have nothing to lose." I didn't understand why Mrs. Laura considered the divorce of her son as a threat to me.  My speech seemed to take Mrs. Laura by surprise because she said after a short silence, "Ungrateful thing! You want to abandon your family after marrying a rich man, don't you?" Click! I hung up the phone.  I wasn't in the mood to listen to that nonsense. Mrs. Lauran kept calling me ungrateful things and then demanded some benefits.  Tracy sensibly left when I answered the call. I was not in the mood for class, so I enjoyed the scenery on the balcony with one glass of juice.  Carroll came over with a cup of coffee. His strong chest loomed behind his imperfectly buttoned shirt. He seemed sexy and tempting.  After one sip of coffee, Carroll asked, "Did your grandma stir up trouble again?" "Yes," I said softly and shifted my gaze from Carroll to the scenery far away.  Costsley was great. It looked like a paradise in comparison with the messy Phoenix Village I enjoyed myself in this paradise and almost forgot those awful old acquaintances.  Carroll turned around, leaned against the railing, and said slowly, "Do you remember what I said?" "You sound like Ms. Tracy. Do you remember the key points I said yesterday? This is the question she asks most frequently today." I couldn't help laughing. It surprised me that Carroll shared the same mantra as Tracy.  Carroll became serious. "I'm serious. Didn't you hear me?" Rubbing my chin, I thought for a moment. "You said a lot, such as fight back and let Wolfie do the job. All is about violence anyway. Do you want me to use violence against them?" Carroll squinted at me for a long time, looked me up and down, and then slowly said, "I changed my mind. I feel like handling this problem personally." "Do you?" I was confused.  "Yes. I've raised you for so long. I don't want you to get hurt." It seemed Carroll was up to something bad because the smile on his face became cunning. "Do you..." I looked at Carroll with wide-open eyes and made a gesture of cutting my neck. "I can do that if that is your wish." Carroll expressed his approval. I was so frightened that my hair stood on end. "Don't! Don't! Don't! They're bad to me. However, they didn't starve me to death. Given my embarrassing status as an illegitimate child, people wouldn't point a finger at them if they left me to the wolves in the mountain. I don't like them, but I don't want to kill them. What's more, murder is illegal!" The last sentence was my key point.  Carroll heard me out patiently, and the smile on his face became bright. "Do you know why everyone calls me Mr. Carroll?" I shook my head. "Because I, in the gray zone, can manipulate people, and many are putty in my hands. As for you, Mrs. Brown, if people offend you, it will be an offense to me." I didn't fully understand. That part about the gray zone confused me. I knew that it was a piece of cake for Carroll to make one disappear from Costsley City.  I didn't want to be dependent on Carroll all my life. Looking at him, I asked, "May I handle this matter myself?" "Don't you want my help?" Carroll grabbed my ear and threw me onto the lounge chair. I rubbed my ear for the pain and complained, "You're busy, so I want to save the trouble." Carroll silently looked at me with his arms crossed. No, that was a glare. I swallowed and then argued, "You say that I am stupid and noisy. If I can't handle this trifle, how can I be Mrs. Brown?" "Go on!" I forced a smile and then told Carroll the truth. "They aren't worth the trouble." Carroll seemed like a pushover today. He pondered for a moment and then said, "The condition is that you must come back safe and sound. I will wipe out Phoenix Village if you get a scratch." "Look, this is why I don't want you to deal with it." I spread out my hands with the pleasure of turning the tables. "My grandma's unreasonable, but the others in Phoenix Village do nothing wrong." "Because I'm not reasonable." Right then, my cell phone rang again. It was a call from Opal. I raised my phone and showed it to Carroll. "Look, that old lady complained to my guardians." Carroll immediately turned the speaker on. Opal said impatiently, "Kelly, your relatives came. They are at the Smith's place now." "And then?" I asked. "And then? You should come right away and take these... gentle and virtuous relatives away!" After that, Opal hung up the phone. I spread out my hands. "Looks like I can't learn today. I will have to go entertain my relatives now." Then, I got up for the trip to the Smith family. However, Carroll grabbed my wrist with his big and warm hand and pulled me into his embrace the moment I got up. "Let's make an agreement first, or you stay at home." "Hmm?" "First, take the bodyguards and the driver with you. Second, I don't want you to suffer losses. Third, call me if you are in trouble." His fingers were so beautiful that I lost in their charm.   I nodded in the end and swore an oath. After that, Carroll watched me leave the balcony. I deliberately put on a bright yellow dress for the coming meeting with my old acquaintances. I tied my messy hair up to show my face, which annoyed those old acquaintances. In short, I did whatever they hated to annoy them. When I was ready to go out, Harris came to visit Carroll. After a long stare at me, Harris asked in surprise, "Are you that bumpkin, my cousin-in-law?" "Cousin who had borrowed my yacht, is there any problem with your eyes?" I retorted.