Ned looked at his father with resolute eyes. "No matter how this turns out, I will never marry Lara. She's so young, yet her mind is already this vicious." His face twisted into an expression close to disgust. "She used such despicable means against someone whose life was hanging by a thread. Even if she didn't do it directly, she indirectly pushed a person to the brink of death. That's unforgivable."
"Your mother won't be so easily persuaded. You'd better brace yourself," Jonathan said, clapping his hands once before rising from the sofa. "Alright, that's how things stand. From now on, we each do what we have to do. Son, are you ready to step right into the eye of the storm?"
