Stella couldn't be blamed for jumping to conclusions. Skye and Yvonne had been fighting since they were kids. At first, the adults had tried to intervene, but they eventually gave up when it became clear neither of them would ever back down.

Stella looked up at Ronald. "Do you think Finley will actually manage to win Tegan over?"

"If he doesn't, someone is going to lose their mind," Ronald replied smoothly.

Skye had been desperate to get married for years, but her prospects were always terrible, so the Yoder family elders used Finley's bachelor status as a convenient excuse to hold her back. Skye had set Finley up on countless dates, and none of them had worked out. Now that there was finally a woman she liked, if Finley messed it up, Skye would never forgive him. Forget the elders—Skye alone would make his life a living hell.

Stella chuckled. "Skye is actually a great person. Having her as family would be a million times better than dealing with someone like Leslie."

Even though Finley's sharp tongue could be incredibly annoying at times, he was a genuinely good guy. He owned a massive medical empire and was vastly superior to someone like Uriah. More importantly, he didn't cater to a lunatic sibling's whims. The entire Yoder family was principled and highly educated. They weren't the type to make life unnecessarily difficult for anyone.

Meanwhile, Skye finally dialed the right number and called Yvonne.

Yvonne was currently sitting in a private dining room with Xander, Shawn, Lott, and Ashley.

The three men were groveling, acting like a bunch of well-trained golden retrievers.

Lott carefully poured Yvonne a cup of tea. "Here, Yvonne. Drink up. I'll pour you more when you're done."

Ashley eagerly pointed at a dish. "Try this, Yvonne. It's amazing. Super delicious." Shawn chimed in, practically begging. "Yvonne, I bought you a gift. See if you like it. If you don't, just tell me what you want, and I'll buy it. I'll buy you anything!" Yvonne crossed her arms, watching their pathetic performance with a cold gaze. They were being completely subservient, their pride nowhere to be found, especially Shawn, who had already faced punishment. After walking dozens of miles through treacherous mountain roads, his legs were still shaking. He was normally a guy who loved gossip, but with all the chaos surrounding the Schultz family recently, he hadn't dared to even peek at the drama.

"Please stop being mad at us, Yvonne," Lott pleaded. "I really know I messed up."

Ashley nodded vigorously. "Yeah, me too. I know I was wrong."

"I was wrong too," Shawn echoed.

Their apologies were dripping with

absolute sincerity. They were

terrified she wouldn't believe their

remorse

g like a flock o

frightened birds.

FindNovel.net

"Oh, so now you know you were wrong?" Yvonne sneered. "Where was this energy

before? You absolute cowards."

Shawn, Lott, and Ashley fell dead silent.

Now that Yvonne had started her lecture, they didn't dare breathe out of line. They sat obediently, ready to take whatever verbal abuse she hurled at them. She could scream at then all she wanted even in the to shreds verbally, and they wouldn't dare utter a single word of protest.

"When you dragged Xander away that night, did it ever cross your minds that I would skin you alive?" Yvonne demanded.

"If we didn't drag him away, we were terrified you'd skin all of us alive," Ashley blurted out honestly.

It was the truth. When they walked in on that scene, they had completely forgotten who had sent Xander to the room in the first place. They had nearly died of fright. Their minds had gone completely blank, and their only instinct was to grab Xander and run for their lives.

Yvonne's lips curled into a dangerous smirk. "So you admit you were self-aware?"

Seeing that smile, Ashley shivered violently. "Not self-aware. Just terrified out of our minds."

There was no logic involved. The moment they pictured Yvonne's explosive wrath, they only had one thought: survival.

Lott nodded emphatically. "Yeah. When we realized Xander had slept with you, we were genuinely scared to death."