After arriving at the mall, Seraphina immediately took Chris Shelby to a men’s clothing store. “Mr. Shelby, I’ve really imposed on you by coming to the East Coast. Let me buy you a suit to show my appreciation,” she suggested. Upon hearing this, Esther’s expression turned sour. After all, she was Chris Shelby’s wife, and by all rights, buying clothes for Chris was her responsibility. What was Seraphina trying to imply? It made it seem as though she, his wife, was reluctant to buy clothes for Chris.
Chris wasn’t particularly fussy about his clothes; anything wearable would do. Unable to refuse Seraphina’s kind gesture, Chris let her buy him a suit, which cost nearly a hundred thousand dollars. Seraphina, clearly wealthy, didn’t blink an eye at the price.
“My dear, the shoes you’re wearing look a bit old. Let me buy you a new pair,” Esther said, not to be outdone. She dragged Chris to a specialty shoe store and spent a hundred thousand dollars on a pair of designer shoes for him. Esther and Seraphina competed fiercely, buying clothes for Chris without purchasing anything for themselves.
Despite being showered with new clothes, Chris looked distinctly unhappy. Finally, he could no longer bear it. “Ladies, that’s enough. I know both of you are well-off, but I literally can’t carry any more!” Chris was laden with shopping bags, even around his neck.
Seraphina laughed and said, “Mr. Shelby, I think you’ve bought enough clothes for today. Let’s go home!” Esther felt very upset, as Seraphina seemed to have taken all the right words, leaving her, his wife, speechless.
When they got home, Juliette immediately sensed the tension between Esther and Seraphina. During dinner, the two women kept serving food to Chris, who ended up eating everything on the table while Juliette stared at her plain rice with a look of deep resentment.
At bedtime, Chris sought peace by planning to sleep alone. However, both Esther and Seraphina followed him to his room. “Mr. Shelby, as an Amerosia Primus, could you share some of your stories from the border battles?” asked Seraphina. “Dear, I wanted to discuss Hope’s education with you,” Esther chimed in.
Chris looked helpless. “Ladies, can I have some peace? You’ve been at it all day. Aren’t you tired?” he pleaded.
Both women were taken aback. Annoyed, Chris continued, “Is this really necessary? Why must you make things difficult for each other? I’m caught in the middle here; who have I possibly offended?”
He turned to Seraphina and sternly said, “I sheltered you out of respect for my master, but Esther is my wife. I won’t allow anyone to challenge her authority. If you continue this way, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave, even if the master himself blames me.”
Upon hearing Chris Shelby’s words, Seraphina immediately lowered her head and remained silent. She realized that no matter what she did, she could not shake Esther’s place in Chris Shelby’s heart. If she continued this way, it would only make Chris Shelby dislike her even more. Eventually, Chris Shelby would really drive her away!
After speaking to Seraphina, Chris Shelby turned to Esther with a serious and heartfelt expression, “My dear, you really don’t need to do this! Don’t you trust my character yet? Whether it was Candace before, or Juliette and Marie later, they were just friends to me, like siblings. You are the only one in my heart; no other woman can replace you.”
Hearing this, Esther felt deeply moved. The reason she acted this way was merely out of jealousy over Seraphina. Esther feared that Seraphina might steal Chris Shelby from her. However, Chris Shelby did not see this as a problem at all. If he were so easily swayed, he would have been taken long ago; there was no need to wait until today. Thus, Esther was worrying needlessly!
Faced with Chris Shelby’s admonition, both women realized their mistakes. Seraphina was the first to respond, pouting, “Mr. Shelby, you’ve misunderstood me. I have no designs on you! My actions were merely an attempt to foster a good relationship with you.”
Esther stubbornly added, “Yes! Honey, I wasn’t really jealous, I just wanted to treat you well.”
At this, Chris Shelby couldn’t help but feel speechless. These two women were really stubborn.
Chris Shelby said irritably, “I don’t care what your intentions are, but such issues must not happen again today!”
Seraphina took Esther’s arm with a playful laugh, “Mr. Shelby, you’re really strange! Esther and I get along very well; there’s no problem between us.”
Esther rolled her eyes, “Seraphina is right! I think you’re being paranoid. We weren’t fighting over you. Let’s ignore him and his self-importance, and go back to sleep!”
“Alright, Esther!”
After that, Esther and Seraphina, arm in arm and closer than ever, left together. Watching their departing figures, Chris Shelby stood with his mouth agape, an incredulous look on his face. Could it be that he had been paranoid all this time?
Chris Shelby finally understood why they say a woman’s heart is a deep ocean-an utterly baffling entity. However, after yesterday’s events, Esther and Seraphina no longer seemed jealous of each other. Their relationship had become very good, which left Chris Shelby feeling somewhat neglected.
While Esther and Seraphina chatted away, ignoring Chris Shelby, all he could do was shake his head and sigh. Being a man was exhausting! At meals, Esther, Seraphina, and Juliette chatted and laughed together, leaving Chris Shelby, the only man, to eat in silence, which started to depress him a bit.
While Esther and Seraphina’s jealousy had been annoying, being left out was an entirely different problem. What was he to do now?