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In the Collins family's villa on Sycamore Hills in Antpelle.
"What a stupid lazy ass!
You can't even do this simple task well. Tell me, what exactly are you good at?"
Clara Collins complained as she looked at a young man in front of her with disgust.
"Why are you still standing here? Clean it up and make lunch for us.
Gosh! If it weren't for your dead parents, I'd have kicked you out of this house a long time ago. Get out of my sight!"
Eyeing the young man from head to toe, Clara scolded him again.
Lyndon Brooks, who had an expressionless face, squatted and picked up the garbage on the floor. He threw it in the trash and went into the kitchen.
Lyndon was going to turn 18. Eleven years ago, his parents betrothed him to the first daughter of the Collins family. The betrothal had caused a huge sensation in Antpelle.
It was big news because the Brooks family was rich and powerful in the city. Lyndon's parents were a force to reckon with.
Things suddenly changed when Lyndon was nine years old. The Brooks family suddenly went bankrupt. Their business and properties were lost overnight. They didn't even have a roof over their head. This sad turning of events forced Lyndon's parents to entrust him to the Collins family. They both disappeared afterward.
From that day, Lyndon became the live-in future son-in-law of the Collins family.
But he wasn't treated right at all. His life in this household was never easy.
He was no different from a servant to them. They made him do all sorts of domestic work and spoke to him like he was a nobody.
"My parents are not dead. They are alive somewhere," Lyndon said to himself once he entered the kitchen.
He immediately swung into action. Shortly after, he served the delicious dishes on the dining table.
Adrien Collins and one of his daughters, Collins were already sitting at the table by this time. They completely ignored Lyndon as he served the dishes.
"Why isn't Elena back home yet?"
Adrien asked no one in particular as he folded a newspaper and put it down.
"I wonder why she's late today. Why does she have to keep us waiting? I'm famished," Lilian complained, yawning lazily.
"It's unlike her to be this late. I guess she's busy with work today. Since you are hungry, you don't have to wait for her. You can eat first," Clara said as she walked into the dining room. Once she sat at the table, she glanced at Lyndon, who had just put down the last bowl of soup. A deep frown appeared on her face almost immediately.
"Your work is done here. Don't just stand here doing nothing. Go to the company and see what's keeping Elena," she ordered, snapping her fingers.
She then urged Adrien and Lilian to start eating.
"What's Elena doing? Why didn't she answer any of my calls?"
Lyndon sighed after turning around to leave.
"Hmmm. I guess this loser isn't a good-for-nothing. At least, he can cook well. This food is so delicious," Adrien commented between mouthfuls.
"Come on, Adrien. Why bring that disgusting boy up after I already sent him away? Don't you think it will affect our appetite?"
Lyndon was still within earshot. However, the couple's insults didn't get to him at all. He just walked out of the villa.
Insults were a daily dose for him ever since he came into this household. He was already used to it now.
Outside, Lyndon glanced at a shiny BMW that was parked in the garage. He walked to his old electric bicycle and mounted it carefully.
"Can you see that boy? He's the future son-in-law of the Collins family. I remember when he was brought to live here, he was just a small boy. Time passed so fast and now he's a young adult. From afar, one would think that he has some sense. But he's actually a useless boy."
"Gosh, I couldn't agree any less. Look at the battered electric bicycle he's riding. My maid won't even ride something like that."
"Don't let that surprise you, my dear friend. That guy has a handsome face, but he's so shameless. He doesn't care what people say about him. Many times, people have laughed at him because of his bicycle, but he has refused to stop riding it. I wonder why he still hasn't left. If I were him, I would have run away a long time ago."
The residents' gossip wafted into Lyndon's ears as he rode away. But he didn't care.
It was a common occurrence. Clara had painted him in a bad light. As a result, most of the residents talked bad about him at any given opportunity.
"All this will end in three days..." Lyndon said to himself.
His eighteenth birthday was in three days. On that day, he planned to officially discuss his marriage to Elena with the Collins family.
As Lyndon rode his bicycle in the street, a Rolls-Royce Phantom appeared from a corner and slowly halted in front of him. The door opened and an old man in his fifties got out.
"Hey, Mr. Brooks, we meet again. Are you willing to come back now?" Jax Graham asked in an expectant tone after bowing respectfully to Lyndon.
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