Chapter 192 Hitting Lydia

Lydia looked at me with disbelief, and a cold smirk tugged at her lips as she sneered. "Not a single cent from my daughter, huh? What a load of nonsense! With your pathetic background, I'm well aware of your situation. "Your father's barely keeping the lights on, constantly calling the Jenning family for help. And yet, here you are, at an auction, spending money and even bringing a mistress along! You must have gotten a divorce settlement from my daughter and are currently living it up! "I can't believe it! A family as prestigious as the Jenning family has ended up with a scoundrel like you attached to it! What exactly did my daughter give you when you divorced? "You'd better cough up every last cent of it today! You're a disloyal, ungrateful, disrespectful jerk who has no right to take anything from the Jenning family! Nothing at all…" Before she could finish her sentence, a loud slap echoed through the air, and a tense atmosphere spread like wildfire. Without hesitation, I slapped Lydia across the face. She instantly froze in shock, and disbelief was written all over her face. I smirked coldly and said, "It seems like you have a short memory. You must have forgotten how I dealt with you and your son the last time. For Alex's sake, I'll spare you this time. "But if you keep pressing me, don't say I didn't warn you. Yvette didn't give me any divorce settlement. If you don't believe it, go ask her. I can't stand being shouted at. If you keep going, you'll get another slap." Clover widened her eyes and gave me a thumb up in admiration. Lydia's face turned red with rage. "Y-You…" Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at me, clearly remembering our previous encounter. But the public humiliation of being slapped only made her angrier. She raised her hand to strike back but was immediately stopped by Clover, who grabbed her arm and pushed her away. Clover seemed to mean business now. "How dare you lay a hand on Owen, old lady? You're looking for trouble!" Touched by her defense, I felt warm inside. In this life and the previous one, I had always fought alone against Lydia's mistreatment and endured countless insults. But now, Clover was standing up for me, something no one had ever done before. No one had ever considered that a son-in-law being bullied by his mother-in-law was a big deal. Yet, here Clover was, defending me. It made my heart ache, and I found myself fighting back tears. We had only known each other for a short time, yet she already treated me like family. Lydia staggered back a few steps, almost losing her balance. The woman beside her hurried over to support her, glared at us, and scolded, "What are you doing? How can you treat your mother-in-law like this? And you bring another woman to bully her? How heartless can you be?" Lydia cried uncontrollably and pounded her chest. "I've really cursed my life. How did I end up with a son-in-law like this? He's even hitting his mother-in-law! And now, he brings his mistress along and attacks me in public! "What sins have I committed? Call my daughter now, and tell her to come quickly! She needs to see how her husband is treating her mother!" Before she could finish, a cold, calm voice interrupted. It was like a gust of winter wind that made everyone shiver. "What's going on here?" I turned around and there she was—Yvette, standing a few steps away. She walked through the crowd. Her face was as beautiful as ever but as cold as ice. Her gaze swept over us all, and then it fixed on me. Her eyes were sharp, like she could see right through me. I instinctively wanted to look away, but it was as if her gaze had pinned me down, leaving me frozen in place. I couldn't help but wonder if Yvette had been to this auction before. Why didn't I have any memory of it? We had been meeting more frequently since the divorce. Was she planning to see me more often? But considering how badly I had beaten Randall, she should have been busy comforting him instead. Yvette's gaze then flickered to Clover, and her eyes darkened with coldness. Behind her, Oliver looked nervous. He approached carefully and greeted, "Mrs. Jenning, Mr. Jenning." The wealthy woman saw her chance and quickly approached Yvette, launching into her complaint. "Ms. Jenning, you're finally here! Your mother's been bullied! If I hadn't helped her, she would have been in the hospital by now!" Lydia looked at Yvette and cried. Aggrieved, she spoke, "Yvette, I was just correcting your husband, and here he is, hitting me in front of everyone. Look at the slap mark on my face! There's no son-in-law in the world as crazy as this, and his mistress even pushed me! I could have fallen and died! "Yvette, you almost lost your mother. You can't let this go. There are so many people watching, even Aunt Lucy is watching. You have to help me get justice!" As I listened to Lydia's pitiful complaint, my face was as calm as ever. She had never liked me, but this wasn't something new. In the past, when I loved Yvette, I had tolerated her endless accusations, always choosing to avoid conflict. I never spoke up in front of Yvette, so she never made a scene in front of others. But now, things had changed. I was no longer putting up with it. I had no intention of letting her take the moral high ground, especially in front of so many people. I was curious to see how Yvette stood up for her. Before Yvette could respond, Clover pulled me behind her protectively. Despite being younger and smaller than me, she stood firm, and I felt an immense sense of security. "You're such an old lady with a bad attitude," Clover scolded mercilessly. "She's the one who kept provoking Owen and insulting him. Now she's turning the tables—she's getting worse with age." Lydia's face turned stiff with anger. She glared at Clover and shouted, "Y-You—" "Enough," Yvette finally spoke, cutting off Lydia's complaints.