C244 Rare Behavior

As Ben stepped into the dining room, he immediately stopped. His expression stiffened. At the dining table sat Kelvin and Tracy, keeping company with two unexpected guests. Nicolas Heaps. Lindsey Heaps. They looked as though they had been waiting for someone. Before Ben could even greet anyone, the front door opened once again. Sarah and Samantha walked inside together.

The moment Samantha saw her parents sitting there, her footsteps halted. A complicated emotion flashed across her face before she lowered her head. Sarah, on the other hand, simply raised an eyebrow. She already knew why they had come. The two sisters walked toward the dining table. Ben silently took his seat. The atmosphere instantly became awkward. Everyone expected greetings. Instead... Silence. Not a single person greeted the Heaps couple.

Kelvin looked around the room before asking gently, "What happened?" Sarah folded her arms before replying calmly, "What could have happened other than my brother causing trouble again?" Ben immediately frowned. "How did I cause trouble?" Sarah looked at him without fear. "Oh?" "So you don't know?" Ben leaned back in his chair. "I've done nothing wrong." Sarah laughed sarcastically. "You always say that." "If a building collapsed today, you'd probably still say you did nothing."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Can you stop blaming everything on me?" Sarah smiled. "I'll stop when you stop creating problems." "You..." Ben pointed at her. "You've been attacking me since yesterday." Sarah shrugged. "And you've been giving me reasons since yesterday." The brother and sister stared at one another. Neither intended to back down. Watching them argue as though there were no guests present left Kelvin completely speechless. Kelvin sighed helplessly. "You two..." "Can you stop fighting?"

He looked at the two of them. "Tell me what is really going on here." Neither sibling answered. Instead, they continued glaring at one another. Realising no one intended to introduce the guests, Samantha finally broke the silence. She forced a small smile onto her face. "Dad..." "Mom..." "It's been a while." Lindsey immediately stood up. "My child..." She walked over and gently held Samantha's hands. "How are you?" "Are you feeling better?" "I've been worried sick about you."

Samantha smiled politely. "I'm fine." Before she could say anything else, Nicolas spoke. "We were worried after seeing those articles online." "We came immediately." The instant those words left his mouth... Sarah burst into laughter. Everyone turned toward her. Even Nicolas frowned. Sarah slowly picked up an apple from the fruit basket in the centre of the table. She casually rolled it across her palm while smiling. "Interesting..." "This table is truly full of white locusts."

Everyone froze. Nicolas narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?" Sarah looked at him calmly. "I said..." "This table is full of white locusts." "My brother causes trouble and refuses to admit his mistakes..." She pointed the apple toward Ben. "...and then..." Her gaze shifted toward Nicolas. "You claim you came because you were worried about your daughter." She chuckled softly. "How believable." The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Nicolas' face darkened. "Miss Wood..." Sarah immediately interrupted. "I'm sorry." She smiled sweetly. "I am Mrs. Chambers." Nicolas paused for a second before correcting himself. "Mrs. Chambers." "I would like to apologise for the misunderstanding earlier today." Sarah slowly continued rolling the apple across the table. Her smile never disappeared. "Mr. Heaps..." "I'm starting to get confused."

Nicolas frowned. "What do you mean?" Sarah tilted her head. "Just now you said you came because you were worried about your daughter." "But now you're saying you're here to apologise." She looked directly into his eyes. "So..." "Which one is the truth?" "Were you worried..." "Or are you simply here because you realised you offended the wrong person?" Silence. Even Lindsey looked confused. She herself had believed they came because Samantha was hurting. Now... Even she wasn't sure anymore.

Tracy sensed the uncomfortable atmosphere and quickly intervened. "Sarah..." "My child..." "Let's not speak to your elders like this." "They're your in-laws." She turned toward Samantha. "Sam..." "Please tell your sister to show your parents some respect." Samantha lowered her head. She remembered the plan she and Sarah had discussed earlier. She also remembered everything her father had said over the phone.

After a long silence, she smiled faintly. "Mother..." "I also don't fully understand what's happening." She looked toward Nicolas. "So..." "Why don't we allow my father to explain everything himself?" The entire dining room fell silent. Nicolas could literally feel everyone's eyes resting on him. His face slowly became red with embarrassment. Before he could gather his thoughts.

Ben suddenly spoke. He looked directly at Sarah. "Mrs. Chambers, you say?" Sarah looked at him. "Yes?" Ben crossed his arms. "What exactly do you want?" "You've been jumping around ever since you entered this house." "First you attacked me." "Now you're attacking my in-laws." "What's wrong with you today?" Sarah smiled calmly. "This..." She pointed toward him. "...is all because of you." Ben frowned. "What did I do now?"

Sarah laughed. "But I should thank you." "If you hadn't been so stupid..." "I would've never met Mr. Heaps properly." The word stupid instantly triggered Ben. He slammed his hand onto the table before standing up. "What did you just call me?" Sarah looked at him innocently. "Did I lie?" "You are stupid." Ben pointed at himself in disbelief. "I'm stupid?"

Sarah nodded seriously. "Yes." "If you weren't..." "None of us would be sitting here having this conversation." Kelvin quickly raised his hand. "Enough." He looked at Sarah. "My child..." "What exactly happened?" "I know you." "You wouldn't behave like this without a reason." Sarah's smile slowly disappeared. Instead of answering... She simply turned toward Nicolas once more.

A smile rose from her. "Mr. Heaps..." "If explaining everything is difficult for you..." "I can gladly explain it on your behalf." The room instantly became silent once again. Everyone waited. Especially Nicolas. His palms had already begun sweating. He knew... There was no hiding the truth anymore.