Chapter 60: Return to the Lockwood Family
"Natasha, stop it!"
John's face instantly turned cold as he looked at Natasha. "Move aside now."
"Over my dead body!"
Hearing Natasha's words, John couldn't hold back anymore and called out to the servants watching nearby, "Get her out of the way, now!"
The servants rushed forward together. Seeing someone about to make a move, Willow screamed and lunged over.
"Don't touch my daughter!"
Seeing this, John frowned. "Take both Willow and Natasha to their rooms."
"What are you doing? What are you doing? John, you bastard! I'll kill you, kill you!" Willow shrieked like crazy.
A group of servants swarmed forward, dragging and pulling. The scene instantly turned chaotic.
After all, Willow and Natasha were no match for so many servants. They were quickly taken away and locked in their rooms.
Once the room quieted down, John turned to Serenity. "Serenity, don't be afraid. From now on, this is your home. As long as I'm here, I won't allow anyone to bully you. And if one day I'm gone, I'll make sure you're well taken care of."
Serenity didn't look scared at all—I could see she was actually excited!
Seeing my gaze, Serenity quickly lowered her head to hide the look in her eyes, pretending to be embarrassed as she looked at John. "Dad, I'm sorry. It's my fault that Willow and Natasha are angry."
"You're too sweet!"
John let out a long sigh and said to Serenity, "Alright, go upstairs with Parker. Check out your room, and if you need anything, just tell Parker."
"Okay, Dad."
Serenity obediently followed Parker upstairs.
After everyone had disappeared, John said apologetically to Henry, "Henry, sorry you had to see that."
He walked over and sat down on the sofa. Henry took a seat across from him and asked, "John, so what are you planning to do next?"
Henry took a puff of his cigar, leaned back, and exhaled a series of smoke rings before speaking. "I owe Serenity and her mother too much. Now that Serenity's mother is gone, I want to take good care of Serenity."
"Just like I said earlier, I want to throw a grand welcome party for Serenity, so everyone knows that Serenity is my daughter."
"But John, if you do this, Willow won't agree," Henry frowned, clearly disapproving.
"This isn't up to Willow."
John continued, his brow furrowed. "I've already wronged Serenity's mother. I can't wrong Serenity now."
Seeing John's determination, Henry could only ask, "When are you planning to hold this welcome party?"
John glanced at me. "Helena's wedding is coming up soon. We can't clash with that. How about the day after tomorrow? We'll prepare tomorrow and have it the next day."
"Isn't that too rushed? Maybe you should discuss this with Mom," Henry said hesitantly.
John shook his head. "No, I can't let Mom know. I'm doing this while she's in the hospital. Otherwise, if Mom finds out, it'll just cause trouble."
Henry frowned disapprovingly. "But what about Willow?"
"It's fine. I'll have people watch them tomorrow. If Willow is smart, she'll agree. Serenity is just a girl—she won't threaten Ivan's position. Willow will come around."
Seeing John's insistence, Henry could only nod. "Alright, I'll go along with you then."
On the way back, Henry sighed. "John's household is going to be quite lively from now on."
The livelier the better—only when they're busy with their own drama will they leave our family alone.
But facing Henry, I still pretended to be concerned. "Then why didn't you try to stop him, Dad?"
"An outsider can't really say anything about this. When John was young, he was madly in love with his first love. It's just that your grandmother looked down on that woman's background and strongly opposed them, which is why they were torn apart."
"John's first love was quite something too—raising the child on her own all these years without a word. It wasn't until she was seriously ill that she sent Serenity to him. How could John possibly refuse in that situation?"
"It's good that he's acknowledging her. After all, she's a Lockwood family child. We can't leave her out there."
I nodded in agreement. "I agree with you, Dad. I think this Serenity seems nice—well-mannered and pretty too."
Hearing me say this, Henry's face showed a hint of a smile. "Then spend more time with her from now on. She just came back to the Lockwood family, so she must feel out of place."
I nodded. "Okay."
When we got back, Maria was surprised to hear about this and asked, "With something this big, will Natasha and Willow just let it go?"
I shook my head. "Of course, they won't let it go. But this time Uncle John seems determined to bring Serenity back."
Maria shook her head disapprovingly. "Well, their household will never have peace now."
I nodded. "I have a feeling Aunt Willow is going to bring Ivan back soon."
"That makes sense."
Maria nodded. "No matter what, Ivan is John's only son. With him around, John will definitely be more restrained."
"John said he's holding a welcome party for Serenity the day after tomorrow. You should get ready too, Mom."
Maria was quite surprised. "That soon?"
I nodded. "Yes, Uncle John said so himself."
Maria sighed helplessly. "Alright then."
Three days later, at Starwave City's largest hotel, decorated with lights and festive decorations, our whole family went to attend the welcome party John was throwing for Serenity.
As soon as we arrived at the hotel, we ran into the Knox family dressed up at the hotel entrance.
The moment she saw me, Arabella, wearing a lake-blue dress, came over with a big smile.
"Helena, I haven't seen you in days, and I've really missed you. Last time I asked Knox to bring you to our house—why didn't you come?"
I replied coolly, "Mrs. Pemberton, there was a problem at the company, and I was busy solving it. I'm sorry, Mrs. Pemberton. That was my fault. I was thinking that Knox and I are getting married soon anyway, so there'll be plenty of time to see you after the wedding."
I glanced shyly at Knox. Seeing this, Arabella put on her elder's manner again. "It's good that Helena can help your father, but girls should still focus on family."
"Mrs. Pemberton is right. I plan to focus on being a wife and mother after marriage and won't work anymore. I'll have to trouble Knox to help with the Lockwood family business then."
As soon as I said this, the smiles on the three Pemberton family members' faces grew even wider.
"It's good that Helena thinks this way. We, women, should focus on family."
Arabella looked at Maria with satisfaction. "Maria, you've raised such a good daughter. Knox is lucky to marry Helena."
"Arabella, don't say that. Knox is excellent, too."
Maria also praised Knox a few times.
I glanced inside the hotel. "We should go in. Most people are already here."