Arthur had intended for Freya to bewitch Bradley, but he had not expected the fool to be a smart woman. She would actually work with Bradley to strike back at them.

Still, that did not matter. If Bradley loved Freya, then they had halfway succeeded in their goal.

As long as they went after Freya, they would have something to hold over Bradley's head.

Everything that belonged to the Austins would be theirs, would be Ethan's. No one could steal that away from them.

…

Meanwhile.

Freya's wide eyes blinked as she stared at Bradley in shock. She had not expected him to punish Jinny.

Arthur had protected Freya without waiting for her to say or do anything.

He had not been trying to placate her back then.

He had proven that if she had been wronged, he would be someone she could rely on.

"Why are you blanking out? Come, let's go see Dad."

Freya had been dazedly staring at Bradley's face and only snapped back to reality when he called out to her. When she saw that he was going to continue carrying her, she hurriedly spoke up.

"I'll walk myself. It'll be improper for you to carry me around while your elders are watching."

Bradley understood she was just being shy. "It's fine. Dad will be even happier to see us act this way."

"Still…"

Freya was about to continue speaking when a servant ran over. "Mr. Bradley, Ms. Freya, Old Mr. Austin invites you to head in."

"Okay."

Without saying another word, Bradley carried her into the living room.

Upon entering, they saw that the whole family was waiting inside.

Freya had seen Owen and Arthur at Bruce's birthday banquet. Next to the two men was Lydia while sitting on the couch across from her was a couple who should be Brian Austin, Owen's second son, and his wife, Susan Chapman.

"Old Mr. Austin, Mr. Arthur and Ms. Freya are here."

The servant led the two into the living room, and as soon as the words were spoken, all eyes fell on Freya.

Dressed in a simple and elegant white dress without any makeup on her face, Freya looked so clean, refined, and remarkably outstanding.

She also looked very adorable and attractive.

Lydia knew Freya was beautiful as she had seen the photos of Freya, but Freya appeared even more beautiful in person. It was no wonder that Bradley would be captivated by her.

If Lydia had not known Freya was pretending to be simple-minded, she might even be fooled by Freya's appearance.

Her gaze landed on Bradley. This cripple was still in the dark, unaware that his wife was a promiscuous woman who had cheated on him.

Well, she would use Freya to thoroughly embarrass him.

He deserved death for daring to punish her child and coveting what did not belong to him.

Owen nodded in satisfaction when he saw how loving the couple was. "Bradley, Freya, come over here."

Upon hearing that, Freya struggled a little and whispered into Bradley's ear, "Put me down."

Bradley ignored her and carried her over to Owen's side before respectfully greeting him.

"Dad."

He tapped Freya on the hand.

She froze, confused about what he meant by that.

Bradley exasperatedly leaned in and whispered, "We're married Freya. You should greet him."

What?

Greet him?

What should she call him?

Puzzled, Freya opened her mouth to greet Owen. However, it took a long while for her to finally muster the courage to say, "Dad."

The elderly man seated before her was old enough to be her grandfather. After all, he was much older than Bruce.

Owen smiled. "Good. It's great that you're back."

He then introduced everyone else in the room to Freya, and she politely smiled in response.

When Lydia saw that Freya merely smiled instead of greeting everyone in the room, she intentionally said in a mocking tone, "Freya, by right, you should greet everyone you're introduced to. After all, we are all your elders. Also, Bradley isn't all that mobile. It might not be good for you to sit on his lap the entire time. Even if you're in your honeymoon phase, you should at least be considerate."

"Lydia, enough. Freya's brain isn't fully there. Why are you going after her? Anyway, Bradley finally found a wife. It's not wrong for him to want to pamper his wife," Arthur said, pretending to lecture her.

The couple indirectly criticized Freya for her lack of manners while explicitly calling her a fool. Anyone could tell that they were targeting Freya with their remarks.

Bradley's face darkened. Just as he was about to speak, he was suddenly poked in the chest.

He looked down to find Freya winking at him in a signal for him to put her down.

Her eyes shimmered, and even with the layer of fabric between them, Bradley could still feel the warmth coming from her finger. There was an imperceptible flash of passion in his dark eyes. Finally, he put her down.

Freya stood on the spot and innocently gazed at Lydia, saying, "Bradley and I aren't clinging to each other because of love, Lydia. He's carrying me because my foot is hurt."

She then showed everyone her wounds.

Lydia glanced at it before her mind whirred. Just as she was about to say something, Susan spoke up.

"Freya just married into the family. It's understandable for her to not be used to greeting us. I've already considered her smile as a greeting."

As soon as she said that, Lydia shot her a look of warning. It was clear that Lydia was unwilling to just let this go as she began to snidely retort to that argument.

"Just married? Arthur met Freya during Mr. Lawson's birthday banquet. She didn't greet him then."

Arthur chimed in, saying, "Lydia, enough. Freya was busy dancing for the celebration. There was no time for formalities."

Upon hearing that, Lydia exclaimed, "What? Freya can dance?"

She then turned to Bradley. "You've married a wild one, Bradley. She can sing and dance. You better keep a close eye on her, or she might run away and vanish forever."

On the surface, it seemed like she was saying it out of consideration for Bradley, but her words subtly mocked Freya for not knowing her place while also laughing at Bradley for being a cripple who was unable to control his wife.

Arthur was not afraid of fanning the flames as he added, "Bradley, did you know? Freya was hiding in a room with another man, singing to him. I don't want to say anything, but you should at least make an appearance. Freya is a beautiful woman. What if someone tries to steal her?"

The duo kept putting out more and more provocative statements, unaware of the fact that Owen's face was growing darker.

Just as Lydia was about to mock Freya once more, Owen slammed his hand on the table in anger. "Enough with the lies! I was there that day. I saw everything she did. Just what is your motive for repeatedly slandering Freya instead of properly disciplining Ethan?"

Lydia hurriedly put on an apologetic smile. "Dad, I just wanted to give Bradley a reminder. I mean nothing by it except that I don't want Bradley to suffer."

"Thank you for the concern, Lydia."

Bradley then took off his sunglasses to reveal eyes as cold as ice and as dark as ink. "I've regained my eyesight, so I won't be suffering anything. Anyway, Freya told me everything later that night. She is my wife, and I trust her."