The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show-Chapter 154: Wreaking Havoc at the Birthday Banquet (3)
Jackson Kensington followed Lorraine Warren’s gaze, and his expression changed drastically.
His mouth fell slightly agape, his pupils dilating in a mixture of confusion and terror.
"You... you..." He extended a trembling finger, unable to form a complete sentence as he shook his head and took a step back.
The gift box didn’t contain some horrifying object, but a photograph of Rose Kenway. With a still-youthful face, her smile was like a fresh, elegant gardenia. The picture was taken when she was nineteen, in the prime of her youth—the same year she first met Jackson Kensington.
Naomi Kenway had found this photograph in a treasured box belonging to Rose Kenway. She still remembered the blissful smile on her mother’s face as she told her the story behind it.
Rose Kenway had said that Jackson Kensington took this picture to commemorate their first date.
Unfortunately, her mother had died never knowing that the man she deeply loved had long since betrayed her. Now, so many years later, he was carelessly squandering the inheritance she left behind, having completely forgotten she ever existed.
Naomi Kenway took a step forward, the corners of her lips curling slightly. But the smile was dripping with sarcasm. In a leisurely tone, she asked, "I wonder if you remember what day it is today?"
Jackson Kensington froze for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth as if he were genuinely struggling to remember.
"Today is my mother’s death anniversary!" Naomi Kenway said, each word deliberate. The smile vanished from her lips, her eyes turning utterly glacial.
The features on Jackson Kensington’s aging face stiffened. He seemed to recall something, and a flicker of guilt crossed his face.
He glanced sideways at Lorraine Warren, his expression stunned. "Why did you have to pick today?"
Lorraine Warren froze, unable to believe Jackson Kensington would speak to her in such a tone. A sense of panic flashed through her. ’My greatest fear is that he still has lingering feelings for Rose Kenway.’ Even though the woman had been dead for so many years, Rose Kenway had been just too exceptional. So exceptional that even now, firmly in her position as Mrs. Kensington, it all still felt unreal. She had been one of heaven’s true favorites.
"I... I forgot..."
Jackson Kensington turned his head away again.
This was the first time Naomi Kenway had ever seen anything resembling "guilt" in Jackson Kensington’s eyes.
"This... I really did forget..." Jackson Kensington said.
Naomi Kenway found it laughable; his face seemed to grow more detestable by the second. "Forgot?" Her voice rose. "What a casual, flippant ’forgot’! Have you forgotten how you got everything you have now? Today is my mother’s death anniversary, and you’re here with this homewrecker, throwing a lavish birthday banquet?! Jackson Kensington, you are shameless!"
The guests below heard Naomi Kenway’s words clearly, and putting it together with what had just happened, they could roughly guess the situation.
There were plenty of philanderers in their circle, but Jackson Kensington’s behavior was particularly contemptible. Just the act of celebrating his second wife’s birthday on his deceased wife’s death anniversary was enough to make one’s stomach turn.
"For real?! Today is actually Mr. Kensington’s late wife’s death anniversary? That’s too much... At the very least, he should show his deceased wife some basic dignity and respect, right? This Mr. Kensington is just disgusting! I saw the date on the sign wasn’t today. Is he doing this just to spite his late wife?"
"And this Mrs. Warren is the homewrecker? No wonder they kept saying she and Mr. Kensington were childhood sweethearts. They must have gotten together before his first wife even died. I mean, look how old Miss Kensington is!"
"I still remember how decisive and capable Ms. Kenway was. A true powerhouse of a woman. She was so respected when she was alive, only to end up like this after her death. It’s truly saddening."
"The Kenway Group has been going downhill ever since it was handed over to Jackson Kensington. I hear it’s only staying afloat because of the foundation its predecessors built. In my opinion, they would have been better off giving it to Miss Kenway to manage. Even though they say Naomi is clueless about running a business, it couldn’t possibly get any worse than it is now!"
"Ms. Kenway was brilliant her whole life, but so foolish in that one moment! How could she hand over such a huge enterprise to Jackson Kensington? I heard she only left her own daughter a few properties. What a blunder! A complete blunder! Now that it’s in Jackson Kensington’s hands, who knows who will inherit the Kenway Group. Ms. Kenway probably never imagined he had another daughter on the outside!"
...
*
The murmuring from the crowd grew louder, and the color in Jackson Kensington’s face worsened. The guilt in his eyes vanished, replaced by resentment.
’If Naomi Kenway hadn’t come and made a scene, none of this would be happening. How could I, the CEO of a publicly listed company, be reduced to being badmouthed like this?’ Losing face was one thing, but he had gone to great lengths to invite all these guests. How many of them would still be willing to associate with him after this?
Lorraine Warren’s expression had also turned foul. Naomi Kenway’s use of the word "homewrecker" felt like she had been flayed open and put on display.
"Jackson..." she called out, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
Jeanette Kensington could no longer wallow in her own grievances. She rushed over and whispered a plea into Naomi Kenway’s ear, "Nicole, I know I’m the one who’s been upsetting you lately, but can we please stop making a scene? This will only bring shame to our Kenway family."
"Your surname is Kensington. What do you have to do with the Kenway family?"
Jeanette Kensington’s face instantly stiffened.
The guests below continued to whisper and curse. Some had even started to leave early, showing him no courtesy whatsoever. Jackson Kensington felt like a clown in a circus, put on display for everyone’s amusement.
’This is all Naomi Kenway’s fault...’
At that moment, the faint guilt in his heart was completely wiped away. He looked at Naomi Kenway not as a daughter, but as an enemy who wanted to devour him alive.
"Naomi Kenway, you are getting more and more out of line! I am your father! Since when do you have the right to lecture me?!" he roared, flying into a rage born of humiliation. He completely abandoned his public image, revealing his coarse, brutish side.
"I don’t have a father. My father died a long time ago!"
"You!" Jackson Kensington’s eyes were bloodshot, clearly incensed.
He looked around frantically, then snatched a tray from a nearby waiter’s hands and raised it to strike.
Naomi Kenway’s eyes narrowed. She casually grabbed a bottle of champagne and hurled it at Jackson Kensington. Her movements were vicious and swift.
A sharp CRACK echoed as the bottle shattered, splattering pale yellow liquid all over Lorraine Warren’s exquisite and magnificent gown.
Beside her, Jackson Kensington clutched his shoulder, howling in agony as blood gushed from between his fingers. With a dull THUD, the wooden tray fell to the floor. If he hadn’t dodged in time, Naomi Kenway’s champagne bottle would have been aimed right at his head. ’She really wants me dead!’
Naomi Kenway’s expression remained calm. Her beautiful eyes were as still as water, as if she weren’t the one who had just thrown that bottle.
Jackson Kensington had a violent streak. When Rose Kenway wasn’t around, the young Naomi Kenway had suffered no shortage of his beatings. Jackson would always threaten her, saying that if she told anyone, he would disown her and throw her out of the house.
To a child, being abandoned was a terrifying prospect.
A cold glint flashed in Naomi Kenway’s eyes. She was no longer that helpless child who could be bullied and manipulated at will.
