The CEO's Mischievous Little Bride
Chapter 275 Why Am I Always the One Getting Hurt

Sebastian helped Molly into the car and said to Shawn, "Merry Christmas, Shawn."

Shawn had just been complaining to Tom in the car, thinking that Sebastian had bad intentions toward Molly. "Look, Sebastian is holding my daughter's hand. I really want to chop his hand off."

Tom replied, "Mr. Olteran, that's Molly's brother."

Shawn continued, "He touched her face!"

Tom explained, "He was just fixing Molly's clothes."

In short, Shawn didn't like Sebastian very much.

However, when Sebastian brought Molly back to the car and politely wished Shawn a Merry Christmas, Shawn suddenly thought that Sebastian was a well-mannered young man with a bright future. His opinion changed quickly. "Merry Christmas, Sebastian. Thanks for your hard work."

"It's my duty," Sebastian replied. He then turned to Molly and said, "Don't go out at night anymore."

Molly nodded, looking into Sebastian's eyes.

After seeing the Olteran family's car off and watching them disappear, he turned around and went back inside.

Sebastian shared the gingerbread cookies Molly brought with his teammates.

On the way home, Shawn asked Molly, "Molly, do you have a boyfriend at school?"

Molly was curious why Shawn was asking this. "No, I don't."

Shawn was very satisfied. "Don't date anyone. Those ordinary people aren't good enough for you."

In Shawn's eyes, even nobility wasn't worthy of Molly.

Back at the Olteran family home, the TV was on, but no one was really watching.

It was Vera's first Christmas with the Olteran family, and she couldn't help but miss Brianna and Warren.

Patrick had earlier suggested that Brianna and Warren join them for Christmas, but they both declined, planning to go abroad to visit their son instead.

Usually bustling with activity, the house felt different on Christmas as everyone thought of their other loved ones.

Vera and Molly were both listless.

Randall was quite happy, as Vincent and Cindy finally wouldn't blame him for any mischief and make Patrick punish him.

However, his happiness was short-lived as Cindy called him over and tasked him with cheering up Vera and Molly.

Randall pointed at himself and asked Cindy, "Mom, do I look like a clown to you?"

Cindy nodded. "Yes, you do. Very much so."

Randall reluctantly returned to Vera and Molly with his daunting task.

Vera said, "Randall, stay away from us. Nothing good happens when the three of us are together. Let's avoid any bad luck during the holidays."

So, Randall sat apart from Vera and Molly. He said, "Before Molly was found, whenever Uncle Patrick came back, it was just to beat me up."

"My parents would always bully me to get Uncle Patrick to come home for Christmas. My dad broke Grandpa's vase with my ball and blamed it on me, so Patrick would come back and beat me."

"My mom threw away my homework and said I was being naughty and not studying, so Uncle Patrick came back and beat me again. He even bought me three different sets of homework as punishment."

"I feel like Uncle Patrick is the one who 'raised' me."

Cindy and Vincent felt awkward. "We asked you to cheer them up, not to bring up the past," they said, feeling embarrassed.

Shawn tried to remember. "Which vase of mine got broken?"

Vera said calmly, "Patrick must have known you were lying to him."

Everyone in the room looked at Vera in shock and confusion.

Vera blinked innocently. "You all didn't know?"

It seemed they really didn't know.

Vera linked arms with Patrick and pointed at his face, looking at the family. "Patrick is so smart; how could he not realize you were using Randall as an excuse to get him to come home for Christmas? Even if it was just a pattern, he would have figured it out after three times."

"Patrick was just playing along with your act. You wanted him to beat Randall, so he came back and did it. And Patrick actually wanted to come home for the holidays to see his mom."

Cindy recalled over the years, Patrick indeed did that. Every time he came back, he would go to his mother's old room and stay there for a long time before leaving. Cindy asked, "Did Patrick tell you this?"

Patrick also looked at Vera, remembering he had never mentioned it. How did she know?

Vera had a simple expression. "Does he need to tell me? Anyone who understands him would know."

It sounded as if Vera was the only one in the family who understood Patrick.

However, it seemed like Vera really was the only one who knew Patrick.

Randall's face darkened. If Uncle Patrick knew he was misunderstood back then, why did he still hit him? Why didn't he hold back at all?

He complained, "Why am I always the one who gets hurt!"

Patrick had a secret he had never told anyone. He hid it so well that no one had ever discovered it. He thought even Vera didn't know his true intentions. "Patrick, my husband, wants to groom you to be the successor of the Olteran Group." Vera revealed Patrick's secret, which he had kept for over a decade. Shawn was curious. "What, grooming Randall?"

Cindy and Vincent were too shocked to speak. Patrick wanted Randall to be the successor of the Olteran Group?

Patrick was also stunned. How did she know? "Vera, who told you?"

Vera turned to look into Patrick's eyes and said cutely, "I just know that's what you plan to do."

When Vera got married, Cindy was afraid she would take everything from Randall, and Patrick was impatient with that. He publicly stated that no one would take what belonged to Randall. However, from the time Vera married into the family and heard so many things about the Olteran family, she became more and more certain that Patrick wanted to groom Randall.

"Patrick has been grooming Randall for a long time, guiding him to take exams, apply to universities, teaching him how to be a person and do things, not letting him idle around, and not allowing him to claim he's the only child of the Olteran Group. He just didn't want Randall to go astray. Patrick doesn't say much, but he cares deeply about Randall."

When Randall was hospitalized as a child, besides Vincent and Cindy, Patrick was the fastest to rush to his side.

When Randall was ten, he had a low fever for a month, on and off, with hospital stays, blood tests, and treatments. When the doctors couldn't diagnose the illness even after blood cultures, Randall still had a low fever, and his hands were swollen from the needles.

Patrick was heartbroken. That year, at eighteen, he took Randall abroad alone to the top hospital for treatment.

Patrick didn't bring Randall home until he was fully recovered.

Patrick, who wasn't good with words, always treated Randall with sternness and coldness whenever he appeared.

He told Randall, "Choose a business school for college, go to grad school, and get certified."

Cindy asked Vera, "Why doesn't Patrick leave the company to his own child?"

Vera said, "Back then, I hadn't appeared, and Molly hadn't been found."

Molly was puzzled. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Patrick lost Molly, which led to his mother's death. He felt he was a sinner, unworthy of earthly happiness. Marriage and having a family would make him greedy. He believed someone as sinful as him should always be alone." "However, the Olteran family couldn't end without descendants, so the heavy responsibility fell on Randall's shoulders."

"He wouldn't open his heart to anyone, but he actually cared about everyone in the family. Vincent's future, Randall's education, his father's health, and Cindy's parents' affairs-he just didn't want to talk about it." Vera looked at Molly. "For the fifteen years of searching for you, you were Patrick's nightmare."

Molly's nose tingled, and her eyes welled up with tears. She looked at Patrick, and tears unknowingly fell.

Vera immediately grabbed a tissue to wipe Molly's tears. "Molly, don't cry. Patrick used to care about you, but now he loves me the most, it's me!" She emphasized her position at the end.

Molly cried out loud, not holding back. "I'm touched."

Suddenly, Vera's phone rang. She picked it up and saw a message from Austin: [Merry Christmas, Vera.]

Coincidentally, Patrick saw it too.