Chapter 21 The Wife Behaves Strangely Around Us

• The Woods family was a group of individuals whom the people in San Joto would stay away from, as messing with them was inviting trouble. Norah saw this and said boldly, “Grandpa... I didn’t mean it. She had just arrived at school and did not know who Austin was.” It sounded like she was defending Nicole, but it was actually to say that Nicole was the one who first used violence. Nicole was not too happy. Just when she was about to rebut, Daniel spoke. “Dad, Nicole is not to blame. I have looked into the ins and outs of the matter. Austin openly tried to grab Nicole. Do we still have to put up with that?” Seeing the righteous indignation of Daniel and Nicole, Karen said sarcastically, “Daniel, Austin is Mr. Woods Sr.’s grandson. We are in trouble by offending him. I heard Snow say that Austin threatened to get Nicole expelled from the school.” Karen threw a bombshell. “Expulsion?” Mr. Riddle Sr. frowned immediately. It was only last night that Mr. Ellison invited Nicole into the school, and he would expel her because she had offended Austin?
• “What do you think? Austin’s dad was a school trustee, and the students who offended Austin before did not seem to have a good ending.” Karen was kicking Nicole when she was down, as if Nicole’s expulsion was a foregone conclusion. Norah immediately looked at Nicole expectantly. “If that is the case, no one can help you, Nicole.” “I am not asking anyone for help.” Nicole frowned. Karen thought Nicole was unrepentant and immediately said, “Dad, see this girl? She still doesn’t admit her fault.” “What wrong have I done?” Nicole frowned. “Do you mean I should let him grab me just because the Woods family is powerful? Will it not look bad on the Riddle family?” Nicole’s voice was sonorous and powerful. For a moment, there was silence in the living room. Mr. Riddle Sr.’s eyes brightened up. “Absolutely. As nasty as the Woods family is, we, the Riddles, aren’t people who can be easily bullied. Nicole did the right thing.” Norah was exasperated, not expecting Mr. Riddle Sr. to be so supportive of Nicole. Karen became anxious and said, “Dad, you should know how to distinguish between right and wrong. What good is it for us to mess with the Woods family?” Seeing his wife so fiery, Dillon coughed gently to remind her.
• “The situation is not that bad, Karen. The expulsion is no big deal. Austin doesn’t know that Nicole is our family, and the Woods family will not bother us.” Daniel could not take it anymore to see the husband and wife echoing each other’s words. ”I wonder why you two are so opinionated. Is it because you are afraid that Nicole’s matter will implicate you two?” The faces of both Dillon and Karen turned red, and Dillon snarled, “Why say so? We don’t just worry about ourselves, but about the Riddle family. The Woods family is such a scoundrel that people try to keep away from them. What good is it for us to mess with them?” “Do you mean that for the Riddle family to stay out of trouble, we should do nothing when our children are bullied, even if they are Snow and Raine?” Nicole shot a frosty glance at Karen and Dillon. Mr. Riddle Sr. became even more clearheaded this time. “You guys just want to stay away from this problem and care about yourselves. If Snow is the one who gets bullied, will you still shift the blame like now?”