Chapter 152
At that moment, Keen’s mind was a chaotic mess.
Marvin’s actions caught him off guard, and he was completely unprepared. He had never dealt with anything like this before. Marvin’s words mixed truth and lies, leaving Keen, who had always been taught to be honest, unsure of how to handle such ambiguity.
Keen’s hesitance and uncertainty were written all over his face, impossible for anyone to ignore.
Stella knew Keen too well; she could tell in an instant that Marvin wasn’t making things up.
Unable to keep her emotions in check any longer, Stella slapped Rachel hard across the face.
The sound of the slap echoed in the room.
Rachel stumbled backward, her pale cheek instantly swelling with the impact. She clutched her face, a scream escaping her lips. “How dare you hit me?!” Stella’s eyes glinted with an icy sharpness. “You’re damn right I hit you! Just try laying a hand on a kid again.”
In Stella’s view, if a man was unfaithful, the blame lay with him; the mistress was just a trigger. While she detested Rachel, Stella hadn’t planned on taking any extreme actions.
Rachel had already been poisoning Keen’s mind, which was troubling enough. But now, by targeting an innocent child, she had gone too far.
Did Rachel really think Stella was someone who could be easily pushed around?
Rachel, having been sheltered by Haynes and Jasper since returning home, had never faced such humiliation. Now, she was fuming, charging at Stella with claws out. “Stella, I’ll kill you!”
Stella scoffed, catching Rachel’s wrist as if to deliver another slap. But suddenly, her own wrist was caught in a tight grip.
“Stella, that’s enough,” came Haynes’s deep, cold voice.
With Haynes’ intervention, Rachel broke free from Stella’s hold and retaliated with
a slap of her own. Stella, with her hand restrained by Haynes, couldn’t dodge and took the hit.
Haynes’ expression shifted slightly, “Rachel, stop it.”
But Rachel, lost in her fury, paid no heed. She lunged at Stella, clawing wildly.
Stella stood her ground, waiting for the right moment. Then she seized Rachel’s long hair in a firm grip.
“Ahhh!!!” Rachel’s scream was piercing as she scratched at Stella’s hand, but Stella didn’t flinch or let go. With one hand caught by Haynes, she couldn’t strike back, but she managed to drive her knee into Rachel’s.
Another scream echoed as Rachel crumpled to the floor, unable to maintain her balance.
The fight was clearly one-sided; without Haynes’ help, Rachel was no match for Stella.
Seeing this, Haynes’ eyes darkened. Just as he was about to restrain Stella’s other hand, another hand intervened, stopping him.
A smooth, lazy voice echoed through the room, dripping with nonchalance. “Mr. O’Brien, stepping into a catfight isn’t very gentleman-like. Taking sides with an outsider over your wife-do you think that’s the proper move?”
Marvin’s eyes lit up and he shouted, “Dad, you’re here!”
Neville cast a fleeting glance at the teachers and Rachel. “If I didn’t show up, it seems anyone could step on my son.”