How the Ice King Became my Doting Billionaire Husband

At that moment, seeing that Barclay and Adelaide had drawn clear boundaries, someone thrust a paintbrush into Barclay's hand along with a half-full can of paint.

In a natural tone, they said, "Barclay, let's not dwell on the past. You're here now, so might as well help us paint. Us girls aren't exactly pros at this, and we're opening in three days. I figured we'd keep it simple and do the decorating ourselves."

Barclay, whose worldview was predominantly cynical, found himself holding a paint can, barely able to wrap his head around the situation. He was the eldest son of the prestigious Clark family and had never done anything like this before.

The next thing he knew, Morwenna was tying an apron around his neck and then placing a cap over his carefully styled hair. Just like that, a new painter was born.

Barclay stood frozen for a moment, but seeing everyone busy, he realized it'd be odd to just stand there. Resigned, he began painting. To his surprise, he found the task strangely therapeutic. Barclay threw himself into the work.

Meanwhile, in prison, Adelaide was far from giving up, even after Stuart accused her of rape-a charge that, when levied against a woman, sounded almost laughable. Her incarceration was largely due to Stuart's significant influence. Yet, she was confident she'd be out soon. With her family's support, she'd be free in no time. Even without it, she wouldn't be behind bars for long.

“Adelaide, you've got a visitor," the guard announced. She knew it had to be her parents, coming to figure out her release. She still held value to the

Gallagher family, with a good amount of money at her disposal and connections with the sons of prominent families. Now, with Jethro recovering from surgery and in need of funds, the Gallagher family couldn't afford to lose her. Adelaide was confident.

But in the visitation room, she met

only her mother, which surprised her. Given the gravity of the situation she expected her father be there too. Violet, hearing footsteps, looked up sharply her gaze filled with venom as she stared at Adelaide. Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Adelaide was taken aback by the look but quickly regained her composure. "Mom, don't look at me like that.& didn't want this to happen. It was your constant nagging about securing Stuart that drove me to it. But don't worry, I still have a chance. Is the lawyer arranged? How soon can I get out?"

Violet spat out her words with seething anger, "Adelaide! You still want to get out? Why don't you just drop dead!"

Adelaide's face paled, "Mom, what are you saying? How can you say that to me?"

Violet's expression was fierce, as if she wanted to leap across the table and strangle Adelaide, her voice shrill, "Adelaide, even now, you're playing dumb with me. Jethro woke up!"

Adelaide's complexion changed drastically. Wasn't Jethro supposed to be in a coma for months after his surgery? How had he woken up so soon?

Unbeknownst to many, Fletcher,

who had a knack for doing good deeds without seeking recognition, had just finished administering an injection to Jethro. The emergency surgery that had been required due to Jethro's sudden deterioration was something Fletcher knew couldn't be hidden from everyone, especially not himself. He realized someone had deliberately worsened Jethro's condition. Upon discovering Adelaide had drugged Stuart after getting everyone else out of the way, Fletcher quickly connected the dots. So, Fletcher, out of kindness, helped Jethro wake up sooner.

Upon regaining consciousness, Jethro's first words to Violet were, "Mom! That wretch Adelaide tried to kill me!"