Chapter 273

Kayla couldn’t even begin to imagine what life would be like living with her mother-in-law! She yanked the car door open and stepped out.

“Kayla!” Tuff quickly reached for her. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going back to the Kingsley family,” Kayla said calmly. “Don’t worry. I’m not upset, and I’d never question how you feel about me.”

“Then why won’t you come home with me?” Tuff asked, his nerves on edge.

‘Great, now the heat’s finally on me,’ Tuff thought, feeling a wave of dread.

‘Man, I really am down on my luck… poor me…’

“I’m not going back, and it’s for your own good,” Kayla said, pulling her hand away. “Your mom and I just can’t get along, and it’s unfair to put you in the middle. So, I’m heading back to the Kingsley family for now. I’ll come home when your mom’s gone.”

Tuff had barely gotten to enjoy a few days of happiness! He just couldn’t accept it!

“Honey, don’t leave me…” Tuff pleaded.

“Come on, I’m really doing this for you,” Kayla said, patting his cheek. She added, “Your mom doesn’t get to visit Norava often, so try to get along with her. That’s just how parents are. I really do understand her.”

“But I can’t sleep at night without you…” Tuff said, his voice trembling.

“No worries. Just have Wesley write you a prescription for a few sleeping pills,” Kayla replied.

Tuff couldn’t believe his ears. ‘Seriously?’

‘Looks like my wife’s mind is made up,’ Tuff thought, feeling a bit helpless. She was being so calm and thoughtful for his sake–he really appreciated it. If he kept pushing her, he’d just be acting like a child.

“Alright then. I’ll drop by to see you all the time, okay?” Tuff said with a sigh.

“Okay,” Kayla said with a smile.

When Tuff said he’d visit often, he really meant every single day. Every night, he’d head back to the penthouse to spend time with his mom. At the crack of dawn, he’d rush over to Kingsley Manor to be with Kayla. If he got there before she woke up, he could even sneak in a little quality time. He managed to keep both sides happy without missing a beat. It was just a bit of a hassle, having to run back and forth all the time.

Kayla really couldn’t care less.

Now that her family had her back, she could crash at home for as long as she wanted, and she was totally at ease. It was nothing like those years with the Kington Gang, when she had no one in her corner and had to bottle up everything, good or bad, all by herself.

But Maggie definitely minded. She’d stayed behind out of kindness to look after her pregnant daughter-in-law, only to end up not seeing her at all.

“Tuff, why isn’t your wife coming home? Is she upset with me or something?” Maggie asked, sounding a little aggrieved.

“Mom, don’t go jumping to conclusions. Kayla’s not like that,” Tuff said, trying to reassure her.

“She hasn’t been home since I got here. If it’s not about me, then what is it?” Maggie asked, sounding a bit hurt.

“Her mom’s sick, and she’s been busy taking care of her,” Tuff explained.

“Her mom’s in the hospital, so why are you running over to the Kingsley family every day?” Maggie asked, giving him a disapproving look.

Every night when he came home, he looked as deflated as a frostbitten eggplant. But in the morning, he’d leave the house all pumped up, like he was about to conquer the world. Maggie had been there herself–she knew exactly what was going on.

“I’m warning you. The first three months of pregnancy are risky. You need to show some restraint!” Maggie said sternly.

Tuff nodded eagerly. “Absolutely.”

Maggie rolled her eyes at her son, clearly not buying it. He was in the prime of his youth, and this was his first marriage… No way she believed he could actually restrain himself. She figured the only way to be sure was to keep an eye on them herself.

After a moment of thought, Maggie said, “Alright, here’s what we’ll do. You tell Kayla to come back home. I promise I won’t give her a hard time.”

“Mom, you really mean it?” Tuff asked, surprised.

“You’re married now. Do you really think I’d make things difficult for you?” Maggie replied.

“Thanks, Mom,” Tuff said, feeling relieved.

Tuff was over the moon. Just as he was about to call Kayla, the doorbell rang.

‘Could it be Kayla coming back?’ he wondered, his heart racing. Awesome! I can tell her the good news right away. When it comes to mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, if one gives in, the other will usually go along with it, he thought.

“Looks like I’m finally going to have some peace at home!” Tuff cheered inwardly.

Tuff practically skipped to the door but stopped dead in his tracks. Standing outside was Joyce.

“Why is it you?” Tuff blurted out, his smile vanishing in an instant.

“I came to see Maggie,” Joyce said, carrying a gift as she walked over to Maggie. “Maggie, are you getting used to the climate here in Norava?”

“The climate’s fine, but it’s just so lonely being somewhere new,” Maggie replied, her face breaking into a huge smile when she saw Joyce.

“Maggie, how about I come by more often to keep you company?” Joyce offered.

“That’d be wonderful!” Maggie said, beaming.

Tuff’s face darkened. ‘Yeah, wonderful… Shit!’ The whole mother-in-law drama wasn’t even sorted out yet, and then there was a third wheel in the house. No way Kayla would want to come back.

“Tuff, go make some juice. Joyce loves orange juice,” Maggie said, grabbing Joyce’s hand and asking her all sorts of questions. The Prescott family didn’t have a daughter, so to Maggie, Joyce was like the daughter she never had.

Tuff let out a sigh and went off to squeeze some juice. Joyce snuck a picture of him from behind while he was working on the juice, then held up her glass of fresh orange juice, snapped a playful selfie, and posted it online.

[Delicious, my love.]

At the hospital, Morgan finally arrived. Kayla and Amelia were bustling around, worried that if they didn’t take good enough care of him, Morgan might get annoyed and refuse to operate on Gloria. Landon watched the two of them, finding it pretty amusing. “You don’t have to go that far. If Dr. Mitchell promised, he’d definitely do it.”

“Well, it never hurts to be extra polite,” Amelia said.

Landon just shook his head and let them be. But then, after checking Gloria’s pulse, Morgan told them, “We can’t do the surgery right now.”

“Why?” The three of them were completely stunned.

“Gloria has been poisoned. Didn’t you notice?” Morgan asked in surprise. “There’s no way she can have surgery like this.”

“Poisoned?” Kayla asked, her voice trembling.

The Kingsley family trio were about to lose their minds. “That can’t be! My mother hasn’t shown any symptoms except for an upset stomach. And the hospital runs tests on her every single day…” Kayla said, her voice rising in panic.

Morgan shook his head. “This kind of poison can’t be detected by modern medicine.”

“She’s really been poisoned?” Landon’s face instantly clouded over, shock and anger flashing in his eyes.

‘Damn it! Who would dare pull something like this?’ Landon fumed inwardly.

“Yes,” Morgan replied.

“What kind of poison is it?” Landon asked, his voice tense.

“It’s charm poison,” Morgan said.

Landon and Kayla exchanged glances, both stumped. After all their years in the underworld, they’d never even heard of something like charm poison. Amelia was totally lost.

“Can it be cured?” Amelia asked, her voice filled with worry.

Morgan shook his head. “It can be cured, but not by me. Only the one who poisoned her can lift it. Rumor has it that this poison was created by a very special sect.”

“Which sect?” Landon pressed, his voice sharp.

“The Mystic Sect,” Morgan replied.

The name “Mystic Sect” sounded upright and righteous, but once you linked it to something like charm poison, it suddenly felt anything but honorable.

Landon immediately ordered a thorough investigation.

“Dr. Mitchell, can you tell how long my mother has been poisoned for?” Kayla asked, her voice trembling.

“No more than seven days,” Morgan replied.

‘Seven days?’ Kayla thought.

‘That lines up with when Mom was admitted to the hospital… The only person who could have gotten close enough to poison her without anyone noticing during that time… was Aunt Shelby!’

“It has to be that vicious old hag again! I’m going to make her pay!” Kayla’s fists were already clenched. If it turned out Shelby was the one who poisoned her mom, she’d beat her to a pulp.

Amelia grabbed her arm. “Kayla, don’t do anything crazy.”

“It’s definitely her! I knew it! They acted all obedient after being put in lockdown, but they were just waiting to pull another trick on us,” Kayla said, and her eyes were cold and murderous–she was ready to go for the kill.

The more worked up Kayla got, the more determined Amelia was to hold her back. Killing someone was a crime. If people found out Kayla used to be a spy and the mistress of the Kington Gang, it could ruin her marriage.

“Kayla, let Landon finish his investigation first. If it really was Shelby, going after her now would be exactly what she wants,” Amelia said, trying to calm her down.

Kayla took a deep breath and finally reined herself in. It suddenly hit Amelia–the weird vibe in the Gellar family’s study. She turned her back and quickly called Jonas. “Do you know about charm poison?”