It was already late at night when they arrived at the Baldwin residence. The place was an Elizabethan- era courtyard building, and was divided into four courtyards in the south, east, north, and west. Each courtyard was elegantly decorated with pavilions, carved railings, and jade.
Joanna's room was in the East courtyard, next to Justin's.
"Brat, you'd better be a good host and help Joan settle in so she'll start envisioning this place as her home." Sophia ordered Justin solemnly before she went back to her room to rest.
"Don't worry, Mum, I'll take good care of my girlfriend," Justin sighed.
"Hmm. Since she's your girlfriend, the two of you should be staying in the same room. Why get a separate room?"
"Mom, I told you that she's shy. We're not married yet, so how can we stay in a room together?" With that, Justin gently pushed Sophia out of the room and said, "Go to sleep. We want to spend time together."
When Sophia heard this, her eyes shone with excitement. 'Yes, please enjoy your time together. Son, do well and don't fail me."
Finally, everyone went, leaving just Joanna and Justin inside the room.
"Justin, be honest with me, were you trying to trick me?" Joanna's face was tense as she asked seriously.
'Why do you say so?' He was smiling faintly, completely calm.
'You asked me to pretend to be your girlfriend and come meet your parents, but you didn't tell me it was going to be this grand. Your family even gave me a trained battalion! If I don't marry you, it'll look like I'm taking your family for granted," she protested, clenching her fists.
She was really anxious. The Baldwin family was treating her so well, so she felt guilty for deceiving. Additionally, seeing the way they handled problems, she was worried about rubbing them the wrong way.
"There's no dilemma at all." Justin stood up and walked towards Joanna slowly with a smirk on his face. "Instead of pretending to be my girlfriend, you should marry me for real. I wasn't kidding when I said I want you to be the mistress of the Baldwin family."
"Stop joking around!" She stepped back and tried to push him away. "I'm not interested in being a housewife. I just want to live the rest of my life peacefully."
He gently pushed her up against the wall and murmured, "Cyber Queen, look at me. Even if you're not interested in being a housewife… aren't you interested in me?"
Honestly, Justin was an attractive man, but Joanna wasn't familiar with him yet, so his actions weirded her out.
She ducked out from under him and pushed him against the wall, twisting his arm behind his back. Justin let out a muffled groan, his charming face smashed against the wall.
Joanna growled menacingly in his ear, 'You'd better behave around me, brat. Don't try to flirt with me or I'll tear your limbs off!"
"Ah! It hurts. Boss, let me go!" Justin yelped, not expecting her to be this strong. He squealed so loudly that the entire courtyard could hear him.
When Sophia heard this, she smiled happily. "Good! Justin didn't fail me."
Inside the room.
Joanna only let Justin go after teaching him a lesson.
"Cyber Queen, you're a girl but you're also a hacker and a fighter. Who would dare to marry you if you're this fierce?" Justin groaned and rubbed his neck which had almost been snapped by Joanna, keeping his distance as he teased her.
"Are you still going to talk nonsense?" She held her arm in the air and stared at him coldly.
"No, definitely not!" He immediately stepped back. 'This is just the way I talk. You can't possibly expect me to keep quiet all the time, right?"
"I do. It seems you're just a naturally annoying human." She scoffed and slowly put her hand down, and then tentatively asked, "What are you going to do to Susan?"
Justin clenched his jaw, and said casually, "We'll let her suffer and teach her how to be a proper human being!"
"Are you insane?" Joanna was a little overwhelmed by all this. "She's Ace's mom; the Moran family will not let you go if anything happens to her. You might have an army, but the Moran family can't be underestimated either. If a fight breaks out, both families will suffer!"
"Both families will suffer?" Justin's gaze was cold as he sneered, "Every battle must have a winner and a loser. Though we've appeared to tolerate each other over the years, we've actually been competing with each other. I think it's about time to drop the act and face each other head on."
The Baldwin family had always wanted to launch an attack on the Moran family, but they just never had a reason to. Since Susan had appeared on her own and insulted them, it was practically a sign telling them it was time to go to battle.
"But…"
"Don't interfere in this matter, Cyber Queen. You're from the Pierce family which we have no quarrel with. All you have to do is sit patiently and watch the show."
After Justin was done speaking, he dusted off his clothes. "It's late, and you must be tired. Have a good rest. I'll leave now."
After his departure, Joanna became even more anxious. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing!
She was worried that something might happen to Susan, and that this might be the start of a war between the Moran family and the Baldwin family.
After some thought, Joanna felt that the only way to solve this was to find the confession room and sneak Susan back to the City.
'But this place is huge and every part of the city is controlled by the Baldwin family. Where would Susan be locked up?' She wondered to herself.
"No. I can't wait anymore!" She quickly got up and opened her closet.
Joanna had not anticipated the wardrobe to be stuffed with branded clothes, shoes, and bags in her size. It looked like they had bought the entire collection of a luxury boutique for her!
Again, she felt guilty when she saw how much the Baldwin family cared about her. She decided that after sending Susan away, she would come clean to them and ask for their forgiveness!