The Killer Queen

“Come at me! You think I’m afraid? You were my punching bag back in the day!”

The moment Sexton heard this, he rolled up his sleeves and lunged at Marcel in a flash. “Marcel, you’ve got the nerve to bring up the past? You promised you’d take good care of her, and what happened? I should have never stepped aside back then!”

Talking about the past, the two old–timers were as pumped as if they had been shot with adrenaline, neither willing to back down.

“You not stepping aside? She wouldn’t give you the time of day! Your staying in the game wouldn’t have made a lick of difference!”

“Oh, cut the crap! If it weren’t for your dirty tricks, she wouldn’t have been duped by you.” Sexton got more and more heated, even kicking Marcel in frustration. “She’s gone, and that makes you happy?” This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Marcel, clutching his cane, sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze tinged with forlornness. “Happy or not, I’ll be joining her down there one day.”

“Pfft, Marcel, save your breath. Maybe I should beat you to it; then you’d have no say in the matter.”

“You wish! Even if you went first, she’d ignore you.”

Sexton was about to throw punches when the two old coots got into a scuffle yet again.

The bodyguards and caregivers didn’t dare intervene, worried about accidentally hurting the

two.

Palmer, left with no choice, stepped in to break them up.

Noella was curious; every time they argued, they would dig up the past, but she had never seen them this worked up before.

“Grandpa, who are you talking about?”

Marcel’s eyes were filled with deep memories, and a smile crept across his face as if he was lost in the past.

“An old friend. It’s not important anymore.”

That set Sexton off again, and he snapped, “Not important? Marcel, how can you be so heartless to say she’s not important? Poor thing, to have crossed paths with a jerk like you!”

Noella was speechless.

To be called a jerk at this age, Marcel was livid, too. “You’re not a jerk? You went and married someone else while professing your love for her!”

“That was because I knew I had no chance! Not like you, an old fool who leaves a trail of

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chaos!” Sexton was also fuming. “She only had eyes for you back then, Marcell”

“Who she liked is none of your business; what’s the point of bringing it up now?”

Both had fallen for the same woman in their youth, but she only had eyes for Marcel, Now that she was no longer around, she remained an untouchable presence in the eyes of both old men, As they were about to tangle again, Noella coolly said, “Whoever throws a punch can forget about leaving the hospital.”

Her words worked like magic, instantly calming the two old men down. Their chance of discharge was entirely in Noella’s hands!

“Darling, I’ve been good; I took all the meds you sent!”

“I did, too! Acting like you’re the only one who did? I’ve been following Noella’s orders to a T.”

Watching the old men trying to prove their obedience, a faint smile crossed Noella’s face, Her eyes landed on the comics tucked under the hospital bed.

“Who brought these comics? Didn’t I say they’re bad for your eyes, to cut down on them?”

Marcel quickly nudged the comics farther under the bed with his foot.

Sexton hid his game console under the blanket, fearing their precious toys might be discovered by Noella, jeopardizing their chance to leave this dreadful hospital!

Marcel quickly changed the subject. “Noella, you just came from your grandma’s? What did she tell you this time?”

Noella glanced at Palmer standing beside her. “Nothing much, just that she wants me to call off the engagement with the Pollack family.”

Sexton bounced up from his bed, eyes wide as saucers. “Kid, you didn’t agree, did you? That nasty old hag! Could she be jealous that I’ve got such a fantastic granddaughter–in–law? Don’t listen to her nonsense. I really like you, and even if Palmer, this stinker, doesn’t deserve you, I can snag you a proper guy from the Pollack family!”

Palmer looked on speechless. Was his grandpa poaching right in front of him?

Despite what Sexton said, he was looking out for his grandson.

“The kid may be a grump with a bad temper, but he’s a looker and can earn a buck. Noella, for those reasons, you should give him a chance. If it doesn’t work out, I will find you someone else!

As for your grandma, that nasty old hag, you can’t take her seriously. Just last time, she barged into the ward, claiming your grandpa had an affair. Pure nonsense.” Sexton rolled his eyes while speaking.

Noella, seeing the speechless Palmer beside her, couldn’t help but smile. “I didn’t agree.”

Sexton breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced at Marcel beside him. “This is your family’s

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business; you deal with it.”

They could see right through the old hag’s intentions. She just wanted her own granddaughter Yvonne to marry Palmer, didn’t she?

Marcel felt weary and sighed. “I know what you mean. I filed with the authorities to end our marriage last month. But she is Tristan’s mother, after all, so I can’t be too harsh.”

Noella was taken aback.

Marcel had quietly divorced Ashlyn?

And it was all arranged last month? Given Marcel’s status, a divorce would need a long preparation time and involve complicated procedures. So, Marcel must have been planning the divorce even earlier.

Sexton smiled knowingly, looking like he had all the answers. “If there weren’t things I can’t tell you, you probably would’ve divorced long ago.”

Keeping a secret for so many years was no easy feat!

Marcel caught the hint. “What do you mean? What can’t you tell me?”

“There’s a lot I can’t tell you. What, you want to know everything, like how much I ate for breakfast?”

Marcel squinted, sensing something fishy.

Realizing he had said too much, Sexton slapped his mouth shut and cheerfully dragged Noella off to his room to play video games.

When the time came to spill the beans, Marcel would have plenty to regret!

“Noella, that game you told me about last time, l’just can’t beat it! It’s driving me nuts!” Sexton whipped out his gaming console, eager to dive into the game Noella had shown him last time

she was over.

He had the playtime all set up, foolproof. Noella wouldn’t have a clue he’d been sneaking in some game time in the dead of night.

Noella grabbed the console and, like a pro, fired up the backend console, tapping into all the hidden files.

A stream of numbers flooded the screen, rolling non–stop. Her fingers flew over the controls, and in no time, she had pulled up all the recent times the console had been used.

“Grandpa Sexton, you were gaming at 3 a.m. last night?”

Sexton’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “I just happened to wake up for a bathroom run!”

“A three–hour bathroom run?”

“Hey, constipation’s no joke when you’re old…”

Noella nodded. “Alright then, I’ll prescribe you some medicine for that, but fair warning, it’s gonna taste bitter.”

Sexton felt like bursting into tears! He had pros cover his tracks for crying out loud! They had reassured him they could delete any trace of his gaming escapades.

How did his granddaughter–in–law sniff it out so easily?