Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride-Chapter 1056 - 1052: Where Did You Sleep Last Night

Across the table, her father’s gaze was fixed on her. Beatrice Hargrave pressed her lips together and mumbled, "It’s always been Uncle Nicholas talking to the director. I’m not really sure."

As soon as Beatrice finished speaking, Josephine Hawthorne sneered, "Ha, with an intelligence like that, you still dare to enter the entertainment industry," then she turned to look at her husband with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Grayson, are you sure you can make her a star?"

Beatrice glared fiercely at Josephine, full of defiance but unable to find a reason to retort.

Henry Hargrave glanced at his wife indifferently without responding, then turned to Beatrice and asked sternly, "Why did you stay out last night?"

"Oh," Beatrice muttered with guilt, not daring to meet her father’s gaze, she shifted her eyes elsewhere and scratched her forehead, saying, "Last night, Uncle Nicholas entertained Director Zhang at the KTV, and then they went to a club to play cards... I wanted to go home, Uncle Nicholas said... he already informed you, and... if I left early, Director Zhang would be unhappy, so..."

"Beatrice, look at me," Henry said seriously, his gaze just as stern, "Where did you stay last night?"

Beatrice hesitated, biting her lip, and after a moment said, "It was too late at the time, so I fell asleep on the couch at the club, and when I woke up this morning, I was already at Uncle Nicholas’ house. He said... I was sleeping too soundly, so he took me back."

"You stayed at Nicholas’ house?" Henry frowned and asked again. Beatrice, puzzled, looked at him and nodded, "Yeah."

Upon hearing that Beatrice stayed at Nicholas Croft’s house last night, Josephine immediately slammed her chopsticks on the dining table, snorting with displeasure, "Hmph, the child of a whore is just as shameless, staying overnight at a strange man’s house!"

Feeling her mother unfairly implicated, Beatrice’s anger flared up, and she replied with cold sarcasm, "If my mom’s a whore, then what about your husband? He’s even worse for sleeping with a whore!"

"You!" Josephine choked, looking at Beatrice who was staring back defiantly with her chin up, Josephine turned to her husband and complained, "Grayson, this is the daughter you brought back. Look at how she talks to her elders. Not respecting me as her stepmother is one thing, but she’s even insulting you..."

"Beatrice, apologize to your stepmother!" Henry commanded firmly and seriously.

Beatrice stubbornly raised her chin and said, "No, why should I? She insulted my mom first, why should I apologize?"

"Beatrice Hargrave, I told you to apologize to Josephine. Don’t make me say it a second time!" Seeing his daughter’s refusal, Henry repeated, his stern gaze and tone were decisively unquestionable.

Meeting Josephine’s mocking and sarcastic eyes, Beatrice clenched her hands tightly on her jeans, angrily looking at her, unwilling to compromise.

"Beatrice Hargrave, I told you to apologize!" Henry’s hand slammed heavily on the dining table, his voice raised several decibels.

"Make her apologize to my mom first, then I’ll apologize to her!"

"Beatrice, don’t test my limits!" Henry scolded harshly again, "Apologize to Josephine, or you can’t eat!"

Beatrice...

Looked angrily at her father, eyes reddening, suddenly stood up from her chair, and said defiantly, "I’m fine with not eating, starving to death for all I care!"

With that, she turned and headed for the stairs, running up while holding onto the railing.

"Grayson, now you know how hard it is for me to be a stepmother..." Josephine pretended to wipe away tears with feigned grievance.