Secret Scion

From the beginning till the end, Asher paid Phoebe and Seth no attention at all. It was like the two of them were not even there in the first place. However, being ignored like that made both Seth and Phoebe quite upset. Seth yelled, "Asher, what is there for you to be so arrogant about anyway? You have nothing now, just what makes you think that you can still be so arrogant in front of me?! Everyone in Alexandrius knows that you're just a pervert that wanted to rape your own cousin! Someone like you is even worse than an animal!"

Noelle could feel Asher's hand tighten around her hand to the point where it hurt her. Originally, she thought that Asher was going to explode, but he calmed down pretty quickly afterward. Seth's voice was quite loud, so all the shopping mall's customers came over to look at what was happening. Some of them were pointing at him, saying, "So that's Asher Crawford, huh? What a bastard, he even wanted to have his own cousin."

"Why didn't the victim call the cops? Someone like him should be locked up behind bars." "That's true. He makes us Alexandrians look bad."

The curses and yellings did not stop, and even the way out was being blocked. Asher then turned around together with Noelle. As soon as they turned around, Seth blocked his way and said with a smile, "Oh? You can actually feel embarrassed too? Well, let me share with you some good news. Phoebe and I are going to get engaged soon. I'll send you an invitation letter."

"Move." Asher only managed to blurt out one word after a moment of silence.

Instead, Seth laughed and said, "What did you say? I can't hear you."

"I told you to move!" Asher looked at Seth with icy-cold eyes as his murderous intent burst forth and instantly enveloped Seth.

Phoebe quickly stood next to Seth to stop Asher in case he suddenly attacked. She then said, "Asher, you're no longer the Crawfords' scion, and you're no longer the heir. The only advice I can give you is to stay out of trouble. The Harrisons' ire is not something you want to face right now." Noelle could no longer keep silent as she said, "Phoebe, both of you are crossing the line. Don't forget, you used to be his fiancée too!"

"Ha! I almost forgot. If I had known that he's someone like this, I would never have gotten engaged with him. Then I won't have to suffer this kind of humiliation," Phoebe said coldly.

"Oh, Phoebe. You think you're a saint?" A sneer came from the crowd.

A woman that was very sharply dressed walked out of the crowd. When Asher realized who she was, even he could not help but frown. It was Maggie from the Lane household.

Originally, Maggie did not want to be part of this. However, when she saw just how overbearing Phoebe and Seth were being, she could not stand it anymore. If it was not because of Asher ruining her engagement with Garrett, she would have already gotten into an unhappy marriage. Perhaps Asher had done that for himself, but Maggie did not forget what he had done. "What is the meaning of this, Maggie?" Phoebe eyed Maggie with anger.

Maggie simply responded with a cold smile, "You're telling me you don't know? If that's the case, should I remind you when you got together with Seth? Is it really after you broke off your engagement with Asher?"

As soon as she said that, both Phoebe and Seth were hit with nervousness. Both of them exchanged a glance, and they could see the anxiety in each other's eyes.

Only a fool would not be able to tell what Maggie was trying to say. Asher looked at Phoebe. She never thought that Phoebe would get together with Seth behind his back.

A spark appeared in his heart, but it quickly disappeared. He had no love for Phoebe anyway, so

it was not important to him who she wanted to be with.

"All I want to say is that you shouldn't cross the line. You were Asher's fiancee once. Now that

he's in trouble, even if you don't help him, you shouldn't harass him along with others," Maggie said.

Phoebe immediately said after a moment of silence, "Seth, let's go."

Phoebe was already walking away before Seth could say anything.

Very quickly, the mall returned to being peaceful. Maggie hesitated and then walked over to Asher and Noelle. She then said, "Asher, are you not going to thank me at all?"

Asher remained cold and distant.

Noelle then said with a smile, "Thank you for your help, Ms. Lane. However, he's not feeling well right now, so please forgive him."

"You are?" Maggie took a closer look at Noelle. The first impression she had for her was that Noelle was simply too beautiful. Both her physical beauty and her elegance were very captivating. Maggie was sure that she had never seen Noelle before, which meant that it was quite possible that she was not from Alexandrius. Maggie's eyes brightened up as she said, "Are you Noelle Steward from Rollinsford?"

"I am. Nice to meet you," Noelle said with a nod and a smile.

Maggie then asked, "You came all the way from Rollinsford?"

Noelle nodded again.

"Seeing that you came all the way from Rollinsford to accompany him, I can tell that you're not someone like Phoebe," Maggie said with a smile. She turned to Asher and asked, "Asher, I want to know if the rumors are true? I don't believe it though, since I've known you for quite some time."

"Is there a point talking about this?" Asher said as he turned around and left.

"Asher... You..." Maggie did not expect that Asher would be so brutish, and she was getting angry.

Noelle quickly said with a smile, "Ms. Lane, please don't get angry with him. As for your question, I believe that the truth will be revealed one day. See you around!" With that, Noelle quickly caught up with Asher.

Noelle woke up very early the next morning. She did not wake Asher up once she was out of the room. Instead, she went directly to Medea Recruitment Center. She overheard when they were having lunch yesterday that Layla was working here.

When Noelle reached the company, it was not yet eight. As such, she parked right outside the company. It was not long until she saw Layla's car slowly approaching. Noelle then exited the car and waved at her car.

"Noelle?!" Layla quickly stepped on the brakes. She then exited the car and asked, "When did you arrive at Alexandrius, Noelle?"

Noelle then told her the truth. She came over as soon as they ended the call.

After Layla heard that, she could feel Noelle's deep love for Asher. With a frown, she said, "You want to ask about what happened that day, right? I told you everything that I could. Asher is a beast wearing the skin of a man. I know his true self now. If you believe me, leave him at once. If you don't, you can do whatever you like. It's out of my hands."

"Layla, of course I believe what you told me. While we have only known each other for a short time, I can tell that you're someone honest." Noelle then intentionally paused for a moment before continuing, "However, Asher was married into the Stewards for two years. He hid his abilities to make everyone think that he was someone useless. However, no one has ever doubted his character. I believe in him very much. So... Is there some kind of misunderstanding in this? Asher is someone with a bottom line. He would never do something like this, right?" Layla was upset as she said, "What kind of misunderstanding could there be? When we were drinking, there were only the three of us. If Asher wasn't the one that drugged me, don't tell me it was Huxley? Noelle... I think you've completely been deceived by his disguise, and you believe everything that he's saying."

She looked at her watch and then said, "I have to go to work."

When Noelle realized that Layla wanted to leave, Noelle quickly ran after her and said, "Layla! Please, think about it again! Did you forget any details? I can bet my life that Asher is not someone like that."

"Noelle, you're a good girl. Unfortunately, you've met someone wicked. I'm getting late... We'll talk next time." With that, Layla then got back into her car and drove into the company's parking. Perhaps it was because of the short meeting with Noelle, Layla could not focus on her work when she was working. She kept on thinking about what happened that night. While she had mostly lost consciousness, Layla could still remember what had generally happened.

It was at this time when a knock on the door broke her train of thought. She sat up properly and said, "Come in."

The door opened up, and Dove walked in with a frown, as if she had something on her mind. Layla then asked, "Tell me what's on your mind."

After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally said, "Ms. Knight, I think I just saw Noelle. Why is she here in Alexandrius? Also, I'm not sure if I should ask but... I heard that Asher is in trouble?" Layla took a deep breath and then said in an annoyed tone, "Asher, Asher, Asher... All of you have been deceived by him!"

###Chapter 167 Realization

Dove did not expect that Layla would react so strongly, but she still firmly said, "Ms. Knight, was there a misunderstanding? Asher isn't someone capable of that..."

Before Dove could even finish her sentence, Layla immediately cut her off and said, "Get out! From now on, you can only talk about work during office hours."

After Dover had left the room, Layla leaned back against her chair as she closed her eyes, her thoughts falling into chaos.

Why were Noelle and Dove so certain that Asher had been framed? Could it be that she had made a mistake about him?

When Noelle returned to the hotel, Asher was smoking while squatting next to the door of their

room.

"Where did you go? You left so early." Asher stood up and greeted her as he extinguished the cigarette when he saw Noelle walk out of the elevator.

Asher could clearly see the nervousness in Noelle's eyes. He did not need to think to know that she had gone to look for Layla... And from that reaction of hers, she got nothing out of her. Both of them did not mention anything about this anymore; as if there was a tacit understanding between them.

For the next few days, Noelle stayed by Asher's side all the time. Her company would call her every once in a while to ask her to return, so Noelle decided to switch her work mobile off. Whenever he observed that happening, Asher would ask Noelle to return to Rollinsford. Noelle would then tell him that she would return the next day. However, when the next day came, she would say she would go home the day after.

Asher was not sure if he should be happy or upset about this.

Layla went home after work that evening. She had just reached the Knights' household when a familiar figure appeared in her sight. It was a young woman carrying a lot of things in her hand heading straight toward her home.

It was Mikaela.

Layla slowed the car down and then wound down the window. She then asked with a frown, "Mikaela? What are you doing here?"

"Ms. Knight, I came today wanting to thank Mr. Knight for saving me. Is he around?" Mikaela said with a smile.

Layla did not expect that Mikaela would have that kind of sincerity. As such, she said, "You're very welcome. However, if you want to thank someone, you should..."

Layla suddenly stopped when she reached that part. If it was not because of Asher bringing Mikaela here, Allen would never have treated her. That was why Layla was going to mention Asher's name. However, she did not want to say his name at all. That was why she stopped and then said, "You know what? Just come in. Grandpa should be at home."

After she went back to her room, she then changed into her casual outfit. Since it was quite boring, she then went over to Allen's courtyard.

"Mr. Knight, you must have been a very skillful doctor in the past. You have so many medical journals in your room," Mikaela asked with a smile.

Allen shook his head and then said, "I'm not that skilled, but I can at least diagnose and recommend treatments. You're interested in medicine?"

Mikaela then said, "I've never touched anything related to medicine in the past. I want to learn now, but unfortunately, it's too late for me. I heard that starting early is what matters. If not, it'll be quite hard to make anything out of it."

"Not exactly," Allen said with a smile. "Are you sure you want to learn medicine?"

"To be honest with you, Mr. Knight. After what happened last time, I realized how boring my life was. It was as if I had never done anything worthy in the past nineteen years of my life. I don't want to live a life like that anymore. I want to live it to the fullest. It'll be meaningful even if it's going to be a boring life."

Mikaela had seemingly become much more mature in just a few days' time.

That was how humans were. They might amount to nothing after living for a long time. However,

a single event or an incentive could make them turn their lives around, finding redemption.

That was the meaning behind the parable of the prodigal son.

Allen gave Mikaela a glance, clearly interested in her proposal. Then, he asked, "Do you really

want to learn medicine?"

Mikaela nodded in agreement. "Yes."

When Layla, who was standing right outside the courtyard, heard this, she quickly walked in and

said, "Grandpa, dinner is ready. We can chat over dinner, right? Mikaela, have you eaten? Do you want to join us?"

Mikaela waved her hand and said, "Thanks for the offer, Ms. Knight. I've already eaten. Mr. Knight, you should go have your dinner. Thank you for your time. Goodbye." With that, Mikaela left the courtyard.

Seeing Mikaela disappear from her sight, Layla suddenly asked, "Grandpa, don't tell me you want to teach Mikaela medicine?" Layla could guess what Allen was thinking. That was why she quickly came in to cut in on their conversation.

Allen then said with a smile, "Mikaela is very talented when it comes to medicine. I noticed that last time when I was making her medicine. She might be the most talented youth I've seen that's so talented in medicine over the past few years. If she's really interested in it, why not?" Layla then said with a frown, "But Grandpa, you don't know just what kind of a person Mikaela is. While learning medicine in itself is blameless, if the person that learns medicine is problematic, then not only would teaching that person medicine mean not saving any lives, it could even be used to kill."

Allen nodded and said, "That's why I have to test her first. People change. Some turn over a new leaf for the better, some change for the worse. However, there's nothing definite in this. For example, Asher... Well, let's not talk about this. When we came back from the Crawfords, I took the wine with us. I'd checked the wine, and it was indeed drugged, but the wine in the original bottle itself is fine. Which means that the drug was added into the bottle you drank, it's just that both Huxley and you didn't realize it."

When Layla heard that, she could not help but frown. Was it drugged when they were drinking? Layla could not help but recall what happened that night. Asher did not do anything out of the ordinary during that period.

However, Allen then said, "And all of us missed one important point. Aphrodisiacs have no cure. So, if the three of you did drink the wine in that bottle, then all of you should have been drugged. However, Asher was completely fine. There are two possibilities. One, Asher didn't drink it. Two, when he was drinking it, it hadn't been drugged. However, Asher's quite skilled. If he wanted to do something to the wine, I bet that both you and Huxley wouldn't even notice it." After hearing Allen's analysis, Layla was completely stunned. She remembered very clearly that she was only drugged after drinking on behalf of Asher. Before that, the bottle of wine had always been with Huxley...

In the morning.

The Macquoids were all busy. It was as if they were expecting something of great importance to

happen.

Those in the know knew that this was all to greet one single person.

Sebastian Macquoid.

Sebastian was the second eldest among the third generation of the Macquoids, so some of them called him the Second Young Master. However, most of them called him Young Master Sebastian

or Mr. Sebastian.

There was also a saying in Alexandrius-Male: Sebastian, Female: Rose. This referred to Sebastian Macquoids and Rose Schmidt.

Sebastian was 29 years old and had a very pretty face. He was so pretty that he looked even more feminine than some women. However, unlike his physical appearance, a man's genes had been imprinted deep into his bones. He loved martial arts to the point where the patriarch Alistair had purposely recruited several martial arts trainers for him. However, these skilled teachers all resigned when Sebastian was fifteen. The reason was quite simple they could no longer defeat Sebastian.

Afterward, Alistair searched far and wide and finally found an elite to personally train him. It was said that this elite was much more powerful than Jerome Webb, the current rank one of the Elite Ranking.

However, after training him for five years, the elite suddenly left. At this time, Sebastian already had the strength to challenge those on the Elite Ranking. There was rumor that Sebastian and Rodrick, ranked nine, had a private sparring match. Afterward, Rodrick did not show himself for one whole month.

Other than his talents in martial arts, he also had talents surpassing his peers when it came to business. When he was just twenty-five, he was already part of the household company's high- ranking managers. As he was extremely favored by Alistair, just when everyone thought that he would pass on the position of chairman to Sebastian, the latter suddenly left Alexandrius... It had already been a few years since then.

Today was the day that Sabastian was returning home. That was why everyone from the household began to work hard from early in the day so that they could properly welcome their household's favored son.

Jeremiah did not go to class, and he asked Juliette to apply for leave that day as well. It was also an opportunity for his family to meet Juliette.

Juliette was a very beautiful girl, and she was much more mature in her dealings compared to her peers. That was why she was quite favored by Hal and his wife. As for her university results... The Macquoids cared little for that. Studying well was useless for a household such as theirs,

right?