Xavier immediately smacked himself in the cheeks, feeling like he had misspoken.


    Jasper stared ahead, the manor''s lights reflecting in his eyes. He could faintly hearughtering from the building. At that, his heart sank into an icy pit of hopelessness.


    It seemed Alice was truly leaving an impression on Jonah Taylor''s family.


    Jasper had considered the Taylor family to be incredibly intricate. Winston Taylor had one wife before. But he had three wives now. None of them got registered at City Hall. They would surely make it tough for Alice to marry into the family. He''d thought she might give up then and there.


    However, it seemed like he had thought wrong. It sounded like Alice was truly getting along with the rest of the Taylor family. He could hear theirughter even from this distance!


    How close had they be...


    Jasper was getting more distraught by the second. He had never felt so tense, so desperate. Even his breaths were bing uneven.


    "Do you have any cigarettes on you? Give me one."


    "There you are, Winston!" Alyssa cried when the man walked downstairs, helped by Jonah.


    Winston eximed, "What took you so long? I''m starving here!"


    "Oh, wow! Look at you! Are you trying to set a new trend for the grandpas out there?" Alyssa teased, looking him up and down.


    Winston wore a waistcoat with a golden pocket watch at his breast. The outfit suited him well, giving him a ssy, refined look.


    "A new trend? Ohoho, I wouldn''t need to try hard to be the next trendsetter." Winston chuckled heartily. "I could throw on some cks and easily be the next celebrity superstar of the decade.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "If I were thirty years younger and ventured into the world of those tasteful nude calendars, women would be swooning over me..."


    "Ahem. Dad, it''s best not to ... uh, say it like that... Ss reminded gently from the side.


    "What are you talking about? No one would have made a big deal of it if you hadn''t mentioned it!" Winston red at his second son.


    Meanwhile, everyone else shared Ss'' sentiment.


    "You didn''t tell Miley, Cyrus, or Tatiana I''m home, right?" Alyssa asked kindly.


    "We wouldn''t dare disobey your orders." Mandy grinned. "Don''t worry. They don''t know you''re back."


    "So you kept those brats away on purpose?" Winston demanded. "How could you? They''ve missed you too!"


    With a sigh, the man continued saying, "You should have had theme join us too!"


    "Miley''s with her husband in Kontina overseas. Do you really want her to fly all the way back just for a couple of nights?


    "Cyrus is busy in the force with all his cases, and Tatiana''s upied with her exams right now, so let''s not go bothering them, hm? Aren''t we enough already?" Alyssa scowled.


    "What about Axel then? He doesn''t do anything. He''s always lounging around in Sna City. It''s just a two-hour drive, so why not have him over? Is he dead?" Winston fired back.


    "Axel''s-"


    "There''s that familiar yelling. Needed it for my grand entrance."


    Everyone looked back to see Axel standing at the entrance, pockets in his overcoat and a grin on his charming face.


    "Good evening, Mr. Taylor. I''m afraid I''ll have to disappoint you if you were hoping I was dead."


    The instant he appeared, both Mandy and Colene retreated to blend in with the background. Even their smiles faded somewhat. They knew Axel despised this family, and more so them. So, it was best to get out of his way. Alyssa heaved a silent sigh.


    Axel was always sneaking around and showing up at the most unexpected times, as if this family would jinx him or something.


    "Where''s dinner? Don''t tell me it isn''t ready yet. Hurry up already. I still need to go out and lounge around the cityter. I''m up to no good, after all," Axel drawled.


    His gaze fell onto Alyssa with a pointed look, as if saying, "Hey, I''ve done what you''ve told me to. Now stop being upset with me."


    Alyssa looked away immediately.


    The atmosphere in the living room suddenly grew tense.


    Just then, Winston walked up to Axel with a sullen face.


    "Send me a picture of you. A selfie," Winston grunted out. "What? Why?"


    "So if you do get your ass killed one day without any of us knowing, I''d at least be able to have a picture for your funeral! Now send it over!"