Chapter 998

By the time Michael realized what had happened and tried to retrieve the wine bottle from Barrett, most of it was gone. Barrett was so drunk he collapsed, unconscious. Michael couldn't get rid of him. He cursed himself. What had possessed him to bring such a good-for-nothing back? Drinking that much—could Barrett have drunk himself to death?

Frustrated, Michael stormed out, returned with a bucket of cold water, intending to douse him. But seeing Barrett lying as still as a corpse, his face pale and green, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He shook his head, calling for his servants to prepare a carriage. He would personally take Barrett back to Valor Estate.

The ride was rough. Inside the carriage, Barrett vomited profusely. Michael smelled the stench from outside while driving the horses. It was like the foul water of a long-stagnant ditch, mixed with the scent of decay.

Fuming, Michael shouted into the carriage, "Barrett, you'll pay for this damn carriage!" It was his wife's carriage—he never used it himself—and this mess would cause him immense trouble with her. He cursed under his breath. One should avoid being too kind, and never be too curious.

When the carriage arrived at Valor Estate, Michael jumped out, red-faced and furious. He called for the Warren family servants. "Get your precious master inside. I can't deal with him."

Benjamin rushed out with several servants. The stench hit him like a brick as soon as the carriage door opened; he almost gagged. He forced himself to breathe through his mouth and glanced inside. His younger brother was curled up in a mess of vomit and spilled wine. The unbearable stench made his eyes water.

Benjamin was furious. He quickly ordered the servants to carry Barrett inside and to his room. Then, he turned to Michael, thanked him, and asked, "Mr. Brown, what on earth happened to make him drink like this?"

"I don't know. You can ask him yourself. I'm going back to clean the damn carriage," Michael replied impatiently.

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Chapter 998 +25 BONUS

Benjamin nodded awkwardly. "Take care, Mr. Brown. I'm sorry about all this." When Michael returned home, he endured a long lecture from his wife.

"It's not that I mind you bringing someone over for a drink, but look at the kind of person you brought home! When you see someone like him, stay away! How could you let him come here? And look at the carriage! You've ruined it! How am I supposed to visit Violet tomorrow? Why did you get involved with that heartless man, someone who forgets favors and repays kindness with hatred? Ptooey!"

Lucille wasn't normally harsh, but with Barrett, she spared no criticism. Some people deserved it.

Michael remained silent, working with a servant to clean the carriage, hauling bucket after bucket of water. The damp spring air and weak sun made drying the carriage difficult, and the smell would linger even then.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at Valor Estate was no better.

When Barrett woke, Viola screamed, "I thought you were locked up in the Ministry of Justice, and I was trying to get you out! But no! You chose to stay there! If you don't want to see me, give me a divorce! Now look at you! The king threw you out! You angered him, and you think you still have a future? You've been demoted and your salary docked for three years! How will we survive? I was blind to marry you! Don't even think about touching my dowry!"

Benjamin had left by the time Barrett regained consciousness. After Amelia's death, Benjamin had stopped caring about home. Without a job, he relied entirely on the family.

Barrett stared blankly, letting Viola yell without responding. Only when she finally sat down, breathless, did he slowly lift his head and say calmly, "Tomorrow, I'll go to the palace to confess my mistakes and resign."

Viola leaped to her feet, incredulous. "What did you say? Resign? Are you insane?"

(Chapter 990?)

This cleaned-up version addresses grammatical errors, punctuation, and sentence structure for improved clarity and flow. Note that "Chapter 990?" is added at the end as the original text seems to end abruptly with a reference to Chapter 990, suggesting a possible typo or missing text.