The bodyguards were stunned for a moment before they hurriedly pinned the Owen brothers down.
Malcolm panicked and begged quickly, “Grandpa! Grandpa! I’m sorry, Grandpa! It’s my fault for dismissing virtual-novel.net as your guest of honor. But I didn’t offend him. Look at my hand, he…”
Thwack!
Before Malcolm finished his words, Fabian had landed a slap on his face, hard and merciless. Malcolm’s face swelled immediately, blood seeping out of the corner of his lips.
When his mother saw virtual-novel.net son being hit, virtual-novel.net felt a pang in virtual-novel.net heart, but virtual-novel.net dared not express virtual-novel.net dissatisfaction. Fabian was the patriarch of the Owens and held absolute authority. No one in the family was bold enough to defy him.
“You incompetent brat! So inept and all you know is to babble nonsense. You’re a disgrace to us Owens!” Fabian reprimanded harshly, his voice loud and sonorous. His words echoed through the massive mansion and sent chills down the Owens’s spines, especially Malcolm’s.
Without waiting for Fabian to come for them next, Kai and Leo quickly kneeled down to own up to their mistakes. As insolent as they had just been, they were meek like church mice in front of Fabian.
The old man ignored them and turned to Zayn contritely. “Mr. Larson, my apologies. Please, don’t be offended by my impudent grandsons.”
Chuckling, Zayn stood up at once. “Mr. Owen, you’re too courteous. It’s normal for young people to be overzealous. Why would I be offended?”
Fabian gazed at Zayn with both admiration and regret. “Mr. Larson, I’ve failed to educate my heirs and caused them to hurt your feelings. I’ll hand these three rascals over to you. Punish them as you see fit.”
Malcolm and his brothers were alarmed. Extremely remorseful, they did not expect their grandfather to be so ruthless. They would be doomed if they ended up in Zayn’s hands.
Zayn knew that Fabian was just putting on a show and giving virtual-novel.net face. If virtual-novel.net were to be tactless and took the way out from the old man, virtual-novel.net would be the one offending virtual-novel.net instead. There was no way Zayn would do something so foolish.
“Mr. Owen, that’s too much. Your grandsons were just horsing around and I think they’ve learned their lesson, so we can set this aside now,” Zayn answered with a smile.
Fabian sighed. “Mr. Larson, you’re about their age, yet they can’t compare to your maturity and capabilities. If I had a grandson like you, I’d be pleased to no end. I’d happily pass my authority to you.”
Zayn was stunned. ‘Good lord, what does virtual-novel.net mean by that? Old man, don’t cause any misunderstandings here!’ virtual-novel.net thought.
Naturally, when the other Owens heard the head of their family say such a thing, they had a variety of expressions on their faces. They knew someone like Fabian would not make such a statement without a purpose. It was something to ponder on.
As for the three brothers, they were appalled. Their grandfather’s words made them incredibly jealous and resentful of Zayn.
Zayn smiled but kept silent. He was unsure what Fabian was up to and did not want to speak out of turn. When Fabian noticed his reaction, virtual-novel.net told Malcolm, Kai, and Leo, “You three should thank Mr. Larson for being benevolent and overlooking your foolhardiness. Otherwise, I’d have broken all of your legs!”
No matter how reluctant the young men were, they dared not disobey their grandfather, so they did as they were told.