Ex Cried as I Wed a Tycoon

Chapter 196

"Fidelia is young, easily swayed by others. She was clearly in the wrong this time, and I'll make sure to have a serious word with her."

Before Fidelia could even react, Fowler was already reaching for her arm, ready to whisk her away.

"Stop right there."

Suddenly, Bancroft appeared, leaning heavily on his cane as he approached them.

The moment Bancroft showed up, the entire Fowler family felt as if the sky had fallen.

He might have been old, but in the Etheridge family, Bancroft's word was absolute.

And everyone knew-whether they admitted it or not-that for years now, Bancroft had favored Lyman. It was understandable, really. In all these generations, Lyman was the first true genius to emerge from the Etheridge line, and Bancroft naturally paid him special attention.

"I know exactly what happened. And you think you can just brush it off by saying you were misled?"

Bancroft let out a cold huff and tapped his cane sharply against the floor.

Whenever Bancroft tapped his cane, the whole Etheridge family seemed to tremble.

was clear-Bancroft

mouth, wanting to defend his daughter, but the moment he met Bancroft's piercing gaze, all the

meanwhile, shrank back, barely daring to breathe, looking as fragile as a blade of

said,

in humiliation. She bit her lip and stubbornly stayed

are you still being stubborn now

Fidelia's sleeve and whispered,

didn't matter who was right or wrong—when the old man gave an order, you didn't

a scowl, Fidelia shot Effie a resentful look, her jaw clenched so tightly it seemed her teeth might crack. Forcing the words

truly held power in this household. Since Bancroft had already made his position clear,

the wrong person, that's all. Still, you're not a child anymore. You need to be more careful about

here was clever

but there was nothing she could do except

stern features softening noticeably. If not for his recent outburst, you'd almost

ever treated unfairly, don't keep it to yourself. Come straight to me. I

enough to truly believe Bancroft would always take her side. As the head of the family, his real job

since he was offering her a way out of this awkward situation,