Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 362

Savannah quickly steadied her, only to see a row of housemaids standing downstairs. She was exasperated and livid. She wished she could faint from the chaos right there and then. How on earth was she going to clean up this mess?

"Shirley."

Savannah called out.

Shirley quickly emerged from the crowd, answering respectfully, "Yes, Ma'am."

"Come upstairs."

Savannah commanded.

Shirley hurriedly ascended the stairs.

Savannah gestured for Shirley to help steady Madeleine and instructed, "Take Ms. Porter to her usual guestroom and help her into some fresh clothes."

Shirley quickly took charge of Madeleine and told the old lady, "Ma'am, I can't manage Ms. Porter by myself."

So, the old lady summoned her daughter-in-law to help upstairs.

Kayla and Shirley worked together to help Madeleine back to her room to change.

"Mother."

Breaking free from Hayden's embrace, Ashley flung herself at Savannah's feet, sobbing and clinging to her legs. "Mother, you must stand up for me!" Ashley was furious and scared.

Not scared of having hit Madeleine, but scared that her husband, in order to explain things to Madeleine, would divorce her.

She knew that Madeleine was set on marrying into the Blue family to become the matriarch, and the Porter family wanted to use Madeleine to infiltrate the Blue family, to disrupt their unity. Once Madeleine became the matriarch, the Porter family could, through Madeleine, slowly take over the Blue family, becoming the leading family in Skywatch.

Ashley had been married into the Blue family for two decades, and she wasn't about to hand over everything she'd built to Madeleine.

For the sake of her position, Ashley knew that her alliance with Madeleine could not continue. Not only could it not continue, but they would become enemies.

She also had to be wary of Hayden and Madeleine together.

Regardless of the outcome, Ashley and Madeleine's secret alliance was over.

"Get up, Ashley," said Savannah, rubbing her temples. "Don't worry, you won't be wronged. We'll make sure Hayden gives you an explanation. He did say it was Madeleine who initiated." Savannah didn't finish her sentence.

Everyone present knew that Savannah had determined Madeleine to be the one at fault.

"Hayden, what are you standing there for? Go change your clothes. Ashley, don't make a fuss with Hayden right now. Wait till your elder brother comes back."

The matriarch barked.

Soon, Nathan hurried back with his nephew Pete. They ran into Hogan Blue, who had also rushed back after hearing the news.

"Nathan is back."

Nathan strode in.

The servants automatically cleared a path and, once Nathan had entered, they quietly left.

Nathan's personal bodyguard cleared the room.

Soon, only the Blue family remained.

"Nathan, you have to help me out here. I was just following your orders to escort Madeleine home, who knew. Nathan, I'm really suffering here. Why didn't you tell me that Madeleine had drugged herself too?" Hayden, fresh from changing his clothes, saw his elder brother as his savior.

To his surprise, Nathan grabbed him by the collar and started to pummel him.

No one dared to intervene.

Hayden didn't dare to fight back either. He let Nathan beat him until his face was swollen and bruised.

Once Nathan was tired, he stopped, kicked Hayden, and then sat down on the couch.

The room fell silent.

After a while, Ashley, with tears streaming down her face, asked Nathan, "Nathan, is everything Hayden said true? Hayden is your own brother, and you've always loved him the most. How could you set him up like this?"

Pete stood by his mother, comforting her softly, "Mom, Uncle Nathan will handle this."

Grabbing her son's hand, Ashley sobbed, "Pete, your father."

"Mom, don't be afraid. You still have us."

He was only a few months younger than Keith, his brother. Both were twenty-four, and his younger brother was twenty. His sister, a surprise pregnancy after a decade, was still underage. Their mother had two grown sons, and they would never let her be wronged.

Pete wasn't a fool. He knew that if he didn't handle this situation carefully, his mother would end up on the losing end. And, if his mother lost, the status of him and his siblings would inevitably change.

If Madeleine became their stepmother, everything that had happened to Keith over the years could very well happen to them too.

Pete had no desire to become the target of the Porter family's ire. He didn't have the layers of protection Keith did - a bulletproof car and agile bodyguards were luxuries he couldn't afford.

Nathan's face darkened as he explained to his family, "Last night, Madeleine tried to manipulate me. When I caught on, I feigned sickness and had Keith take me to the hospital. But before I left, I knocked Madeleine unconscious. I was afraid if something happened to her in our house, the Porters would hold us responsible, and that wouldn't be easy to smooth over. That's why I had Hayden take her home." "Dad, mom, darling, you all heard that, right? I've been framed," Hayden claimed, maintaining his innocence.

He wouldn't admit that when Madeleine had kissed him last night, he'd felt a spark and hadn't been able to resist her.

"It was all Madeleine's doing. I was going upstairs to take her home when she suddenly woke up and clung to me. I couldn't shake her off. I was taken advantage of! You all know she's a martial artist and her skills are far superior to mine. I am truly innocent and wrongly accused."

Nathan looked at him coldly and retorted, "Although Madeleine did try to manipulate me, she fell into her own trap. Even if she woke up, she would've been disoriented. Even with her martial arts skills, she wouldn't have been able to do much. You could've easily knocked her out again."

Hayden was speechless.