Chapter 256: Chapter 256

The bodyguards twitched their mouths. Rose Payne’s attitude made it seem as though they were hired by her.

When leaving, Rose was still uneasy, remembering that she and Austin Xavier hadn’t exchanged phone numbers. She quickly wrote her number on a sticky note and handed it to the bodyguards.

"I have to go to work now, I’ll come to see Young Master Xavier tomorrow. If he mentions me, give him my number. No matter how late it is, if he calls, I’ll rush to his side immediately."

She reiterated with a serious face, as if fearing the bodyguards would do something funny, "Remember, make sure to give my number to Young Master Xavier, okay? Don’t make him worry because he can’t reach me. Don’t pull any tricks; I’ll verify with Young Master Xavier later."

The bodyguards thought, "Which part makes you think that Young Master Xavier would worry if he couldn’t contact you? And which part makes you think you’re worth any tricks from us?"

But to dismiss Rose, the bodyguards took the sticky note anyway.

Only then did Rose leave at ease.

However, once she was gone, the bodyguard immediately threw the sticky note into the trash can.

This woman seems a bit clueless; they wondered how Young Master Xavier got entangled with such a woman.

Paige Sterling entered Austin Xavier’s hospital room. Seeing her, his face was icy, and he snorted coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Paige coming at this time, clearly meant it was because of Julian Hawthorne and she came to confront him.

Ha! He dared to openly deal with Julian Hawthorne, so what?

If Paige could protect him for a lifetime.

Austin knew his behavior was childish, but he’d been provoked by Paige to the point of irrationality.

Paige once loved him, moving on to someone else was still better than never having loved him at all, he had always told himself that.

However, Paige shattered his illusion at the banquet, telling him she never loved him and that it was all wishful thinking on his part.

Seeing the varied expressions on Austin’s face, Paige smiled, "Of course, I’m here to apologize to you."

Would Austin believe such words? Who in their right mind would carry a hammer into someone’s hospital room with a murderous look to apologize?

He let out a cold laugh, "Paige, drop the act. I know why you’re here. If you want to take action, go ahead. But, I’ll tell you, you might be able to protect Julian Hawthorne once or twice, but not for a lifetime. I want to see if Mr. Hawthorne has fed his pride to the dogs, always having the courage to call a woman to stand up for him each time he’s wronged."

Of course, Mr. Hawthorne’s pride is very strong.

However, confiding grievances to his wife and having her stand up for him is, in Mr. Hawthorne’s view, completely unrelated to pride. It was more about publicly showing affection and publicly torturing singles.

Paige saw that Austin didn’t believe her and shrugged.

"Since you won’t believe me, I have no choice but to beat you up a bit to prove my sincerity."

Hearing Paige’s words, Austin immediately jumped off the bed, but the drastic movement pulled at his wound, and he was left wracked with pain.

By then, Paige had already taken a few steps forward, raising her knee towards Austin’s stomach.

A move so familiar it was shocking.

Austin looked horrified, "Paige! Stop! I believe you, I accept your apology!"

But it was too late to regret now. Knowing how she would retaliate if provoked, yet still provoking her—it left her with no need to be polite.

"Your doubts have hurt my feelings. I’m very angry right now, and beating you up won’t be enough to calm that anger. Are you ready, Mr. Xavier?"

Paige was straightforward when it came to beating someone up. She didn’t even want to hear Austin’s cries, so she covered his head directly.

Burt Chambers and the bodyguards outside heard the noises coming from inside and couldn’t help but shiver, not daring to look.

Burt feared the scene would be too brutal.

And the bodyguards, under Austin’s orders, doubted that with this pace, Austin wouldn’t actually be beaten to death by Paige.

Burt and a few bodyguards exchanged looks.

Honestly, the bodyguards were also afraid of Paige, hence they didn’t dare to go in.

So the bodyguards tentatively said to Burt, "Why don’t you, Young Master Chambers, go in and take a look?"

Burt replied, "...Alright."

Burt couldn’t resist his curiosity, wanting to know just how Paige had hammered the person. So he opened a slit in the door, peeking inside.

At that moment, Paige was grabbing Austin by the collar, "Austin Xavier, I’m warning you. If you dare to harm Julian Hawthorne again, it won’t be as simple as beating you up."

Austin’s mouth was bruised, "He’s a man, getting a woman like you to stand up for him when he’s wronged, what kind of man is that?"

Paige replied, "Whether he’s a man or not is not for you to know. You just need to know, provoke me again, and soon you won’t be a man anymore."

Having beaten someone, Paige lightly clapped her hands and left.

Burt quickly opened the door for her, then glanced back at Austin, only to find him with a bizarre smile.

Having been beaten up like that by Paige, yet still able to smile, is this a natural masochist disposition?

In any case, Burt couldn’t understand.

Meanwhile, the bodyguards stood as still as statues, afraid Paige might recall they were Austin’s bodyguards and give them a beating too.

Only when Paige was out of sight did they go in to check on Austin.

Austin now was suffering from new injuries added to old ones, it was... truly unbearable to look at.

The bodyguards wanted to advise him. Already , why not just stay low? Why provoke that female demon again?

The world of the rich is truly beyond their understanding.

Burt, having witnessed how Paige had beaten someone just now, followed behind Paige without daring to make a sound.

After a while, he cautiously asked Paige, "So, why did you beat up Austin Xavier just now?"

In the past, Paige and Austin would fight, but back then, Austin would always yield to Paige.

But now, it was a real beating.

Paige nodded her chin forward, "Do you see that pig? Isn’t it about to die?"

Burt looked carefully but saw nothing, "Where’s the pig, there’s nothing there?"

Paige said, "Do you know how the pig died?"

Burt said, "How would I know?"

Paige said, "The pig didn’t know either."

Upon closer inspection, Burt saw only his own reflection in the glass window.

Burt, "...", so he was the dumb pig, wasn’t he?

When Paige returned home, Julian Hawthorne was awake. He seemed back to normal except for tired eyes but had already prepared dinner.

Seeing Paige’s return, he was all about hugs and kisses.

Because today Paige indulged him a lot, even Sonny and Burt found it unbearable, covered in goosebumps.

They had occasionally seen Julian being aloof and reticent, but now... they couldn’t reconcile this with the previously cold Julian at all...

Indeed, a man in love gradually becomes a fool.

Especially this man in love with Paige, it was simply toxic.

The next day, Julian and Paige went to visit The Hawthorne Family, and had a meal with Old Master Hawthorne and Simon. The rıghtful source is 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩

Old Master Hawthorne now favored Paige the most, making both Julian and Simon take a backseat.

When Paige arrived, he even brought out many of his prized antiques, insisting on giving them to her.