Mike stood up to go answer the door, but Patrick stopped him. He smirked and said, “Grandpa, I’ll go. You stay here and chat with Tony over tea.”
Jane accompanied Patrick to the door and opened it to find Beatrice and Melissa standing outside.
Beatrice’s smile disappeared as soon as she locked eyes with Jane. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Why can’t I be here?” Jane replied emotionlessly.
She furrowed her brow slightly, wondering why Beatrice and Melissa had suddenly shown up. She had been happy earlier when her grandfather returned from his trip abroad, but now that these two women were here, Jane’s mood soured instantly.
“Mom, Grandpa is welcoming Tony back today so of course Jane is here,” Patrick said coldly. He wouldn’t let anyone belittle Jane in front of him.
Melissa felt even more jealous seeing how protective Patrick was of Jane. In her heart she vowed to drive a wedge between them; after all, only someone like herself deserved the title of Mrs. Pansy.
After being scolded by her son for speaking out against Jane, Beatrice looked displeased as she asked where Mike was.
“In the dining room,” Patrick replied indifferently while taking hold of Jane’s hand. “Just now Grandpa mentioned wanting a great-grandson from us so he could enjoy family life together; don’t ruin his good mood.”
Patrick’s tone was cold as he reminded Beatrice.
“Aunt, don’t be angry with Patrick. He was blinded by that woman,” Melissa said, holding Beatrice’s arm and comforting her obediently.
Seeing the well-behaved and obedient Melissa by her side only made Beatrice angrier. She couldn’t understand what her son was thinking, choosing a woman like Jane.
In Melissa’s eyes, there was also a deep sense of jealousy.
Beatrice walked into the restaurant with Melissa, immediately putting on a smile when she saw Mike. “I brought Melissa to see you. This is tea she prepared for you.”
“Grandfather, how have you been lately?” Melissa asked politely.
Although their attempt to drug Mike had been exposed before, he didn’t ultimately drive them away.
After all, Beatrice was Patrick’s biological mother.
Sometimes, they had to put on a show on the surface.
Mike chuckled lightly before nodding his head in response, “You guys came at just the right time because Tony has returned from his global travels; we’re having dinner together tonight.”
“Hello, Uncle North,” Beatrice smiled insincerely and pulled Melissa next to her. “This is Patrick’s cousin, Melissa. She grew up with Patrick and they’ve been childhood sweethearts with a great relationship since they were young.”
“Hello, Mr. North,” Melissa obediently greeted him while looking him up and down.
[Is this the infamous Tony that strikes fear in people’s hearts? He doesn’t seem so scary!]
Listening to Beatrice’s unnecessary words, Mike looked a bit unhappy. He cleared his throat lightly.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was awkward as Mike said coldly, “Let’s eat. The food in the kitchen is ready. We prepared many dishes today for our family gathering.”
Family gathering? The words sounded harsh to Melissa.
That shameless bitch Jane – how dare she consider herself part of their family!
During dinner, Mike sat next to Tony at the head of the table while Patrick sat beside Jane on one side and Beatrice brought Melissa to sit on the other side.
Patrick occasionally fed Jane some food with tenderness that only showed when he was around her. “Try this one; it tastes good.”
Melissa felt a sharp pain in her eyes from seeing such tender behavior from a man towards another woman as she lowered her head and pushed around her food without any appetite.
Beatrice saw how well Patrick took care of Jane but wasn’t pleased that he didn’t serve her anything himself yet had time for Jane instead.
“Patrick, don’t just take care of Jane; you should eat too,” laughed Tony.
Jane already had a full bowl filled with colorful dishes made by Patrick out of love for her.
Watching how gentle Patrick looked at Jane made Melissa jealous beyond belief but she still had to sit there pretending to be gentlewoman-like without showing any emotions.
Suddenly, unable to bear it any longer, Beatrice deliberately knocked the fork off the table. “Oh dear, the fork fell. Jane, could you help me pick it up?”
Beatrice intentionally dropped the fork in the middle of the table, requiring Jane to bend down and reach into the table to pick it up.
“…,” Jane had a speechless expression on her face.
What did Beatrice take her for? A servant?
Before Jane could speak, Tony interrupted.
“Can’t you pick it up yourself? If you don’t want to, just exchange it for another one. Jane is the precious one I’ve cherished since childhood. When she comes to someone else’s house, she’s not here as a maid. I wouldn’t even dare to boss her around,” Tony said assertively, protecting Jane.
Tony had long known that Beatrice didn’t like Jane. As long as he was around, no one was allowed to bully his precious granddaughter. Beatrice felt embarrassed and didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t just pick up the fork and she couldn’t switch to another one either.
Melissa, who had been observing the situation for a while, immediately spoke up in a sweet voice. “Auntie, let me help you pick it up. I know this fork is your favorite.” Melissa acted obediently and considerately.
She looked at Jane with a smile and said, “Actually, picking up a fork is easy enough to do by just lowering your head slightly. Some people are naturally clueless about how things work and can’t even handle such small tasks.”
In front of everyone, Melissa deliberately made sarcastic remarks.
“I have maids at home to do these things, and Patrick pampers me. He doesn’t want me to do these things,” Jane retorted sharply, her gaze cold and fierce as she confronted Beatrice.
“Besides, you were so close to the fork, yet you didn’t pick it up right away. Is this a way to establish your image?” Jane sneered, calmly picking up some food and placing it in Mike’s bowl.
“You!” Melissa’s face froze with anger, and she reluctantly bent down to pick up the fork.
Originally, she and Beatrice had come to the old mansion today, intending to dig up past events, but they unexpectedly encountered Jane. It was truly unfortunate!
What drove Melissa even more insane was how well Patrick treated Jane, how gentle and considerate he was towards her. Melissa was consumed with jealousy.
What does this woman, Jane, have that makes her able to win her cousin’s heart?
Their engagement ceremony was scheduled for next week. The last time they were engaged, Melissa secretly poisoned Mike, and with Queena’s appearance, their engagement ceremony was ruined, and Jane even severed ties with Patrick.
But in just a few months, they made amends and their relationship became even better than before. Now they were getting engaged again!
The flames of jealousy burned fiercely in Melissa’s heart. If looks could kill, Jane would have been torn apart by a thousand knives long ago.
Melissa clenched her fists tightly thinking: Jane you bitch! I won’t let you get away with this!!