His words were domineering and aggressive in the beginning, but Jombo finally let out the truth. It was emotional and within reason.
Carla stood there in silence and began to reflect.
Yes, this marriage would not be easy. Not only would I need to help Zayn, but I also need to consider whether or not I can adapt to such a large family and their ways.
I think I can't exactly offer him the assistance he needs. On the contrary, I'll be both a hindrance and a burden.
"Think about it. Aren't you only a stumbling block?" asked Jombo again.
Having noticed that Carla seemed to be weighing in on his words, he decided to continue.
"Because of you, Zayn has fallen out with the Staytons, the Chromas, as well as the Bendays. He's even at loggerheads with his aunt. You're not even his spouse, and you've already caused so much trouble. What is going to happen in the future?"
Carla could only lower her head in shame. She had caused a lot of trouble, and there was no denying that.
"I'm still alive. I can hold things back for the time being by using my influence to keep things calm. But who is going to help him after I'm gone? And what if the same thing happens again?"
"Alright, I've had enough!" Seeing Carla reduced to this, Zayn hurriedly stepped in to defend her. "You're one of the best psychological warfare experts the world has seen. If you're going to be using
such tactics, how is anyone even going to defend themselves?"
"Am I wrong though?" Jombo shot back and looked at Zayn. "Did I fabricate anything? Or did I exaggerate things?"
"That's irrelevant. I'm going to marry her anyway."
Zayn knew the old man too well. When he was younger, he was an expert negotiator who persuaded prisoners of war to surrender. He could even use psychological tactics to edge criminals to suicide. To Jombo, Carla was scum. She had no room to fight back.
"Well, aren't you just easy to deal with today!" Jombo was already very annoyed. "Do you think you're still a child? You're already a father! You have responsibilities! Why are you being so difficult?"
"You want to talk about reasoning with me?" retorted Zayn. "Well, let me ask you then. If grandma was so good and so perfect, why did you end up marrying your mistress?"
The old man was stunned, and the expression on his face was a mixture of indignance and rage. "You little sh_t! What bullsh_t are you on about now?"
"Am I wrong?" asked Zayn. "Based on what you just said, we need to have our qualifications sky high to be worthy of the Giblo family. So what was it about grandma that you didn't like? You still ended up having an affair. You got yourself a mistress!"
"I told you to shut it!"
At the age of ninety-six, all of his dirty laundries were being exposed by his grandson and to outsiders at that.
Jombo's face turned purple with rage. If not for his bad feet, he would have already lunged at Zayn ages ago.
"So that proves that you need to marry the woman you love!" retorted Zayn again. "A loveless marriage, regardless of how perfect she is, is counter-productive. If you don't love her, it'll only cause problems that will leave a lasting impact on the family as well as the business."
"Y-You brat…"
The old man was so angry that he hit Zayn on the shin with his crutches.
Zayn didn't bother dodging the blow. "After that, Grandma divorced you and nearly made you split up the family property. Did you forget how the whole incident made global headlines?"
"I told you to shut up!"
Jombo was near-delirious with anger. Shakily, he got up and rushed towards Zayn.
Carla immediately snapped out of her daze. She had been stunned into silence by Jombo, but Zayn had stepped in to defend her.
However, both men made salient points.
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