“Alright then,” Mrs. Wright couldn’t bear to leave Jenna. She had been staying in Aettosa for too long, and now that Jenna was discharged from the hospital, she planned to return to H Rovirsa with Brayden to visit Cody.
After all, Cody had been living alone in Urgford, H Rovirsa for several months without seeing his family.
So, while there was still time, she wanted to spend more time with Jenna.
Queena, being older, was already a bit tired. “I need to take a nap. You all go ahead.”
With that, she walked towards her room.
Meanwhile, in the small courtyard where the Finnegan family lived.
Mariam was still relentless, constantly complaining about how stingy Finnegan was and how poorly he treated her.
Finnegan was so frustrated that he wanted to slap her, but his good upbringing made him hold back.
After venting, Mariam glared at Finnegan and went back to her room, slamming the door behind her. Just as Finnegan was about to enter, he heard the sound of the door being locked from inside.
He was also angry and went straight to his study to work.
Alina, seeing her son and daughter-in-law fighting like this, could only follow her son to the study. “Why don’t you just give in to her a little? What harm would it do?”
“Mom, can you please stop talking?” Finnegan was very irritated.
“I’m only saying this for your own good. If she really leaves, how pitiful would it be for the child to grow up without a father?” Alina sighed. “Yesterday when I spoke to her, she ignored me as if I were talking to a wall. And today, she’s causing another scene. I can’t explain this to the old lady.”
“Then don’t talk to her. Why do you insist on talking to her?” Finnegan was really upset and felt utterly powerless.
“It’s because when I was a daughter-in-law, my mother-in-law made my life miserable. Now that I’m a mother-in-law, I want to treat her well…” Alina became more emotional as she spoke. “Who would have thought she wouldn’t appreciate it at all? Whatever she wants, I give it to her, yet I’m still accused of treating her poorly.”
The more Alina complained, the angrier Finnegan became.
“Mom, can you just stop caring about her? If she wants to eat, let her eat. Why do you insist on taking food to her at school? What are you trying to achieve? She doesn’t even think you’re good.”
“I’m doing this for you! If it weren’t for you, why would I care who she is?” Alina felt extremely wronged. “Your father doesn’t care about anything; he just lazes around all day. If I don’t take care of things at home, everything would fall apart.”
Finnegan sat down on the sofa in the study in frustration. “I’d rather you not worry about these things. Take care of what you should and leave what you shouldn’t alone. Can you stop meddling so much? You two women are fighting each other and completely sidelining me, making me look like a mama’s boy.”
Hearing her son complain about her too, Alina felt even more heartbroken.
She wiped away her tears. “It’s all my fault, okay? No matter what I do, it’s wrong. Whether I do more or less, I’m always wrong.”
Seeing that she was about to cry and make a scene again, Finnegan felt utterly helpless. “Alright, alright, why are you crying?”
He said awkwardly, “Please leave; I need to work.”
Alina glared at him. “The house is in chaos, and you still have the mind to work!”
Despite her words, she didn’t dare disturb her son’s work and reluctantly left. As she reached the door, she heard her son’s voice. “Mom, don’t make breakfast for her tomorrow morning. Got it?”
Alina hesitated. “Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“What’s harsh about it?” Finnegan didn’t even turn around. “I said don’t make it. If she wants to sulk, let her sulk.”
Alina’s lips moved but she said nothing and closed the door behind her.
Sylvia had stayed in the hospital for two months and found that her bedroom in the Hipps Family home remained clean and tidy, with even the bedding freshly changed.
She hadn’t expected Queena to be so considerate.
“There’s a servant who comes daily to clean the room,” Clare said from the doorway. “Franklin, if you need anything, just call me.”
“Uncle, you’re too kind,” Franklin replied seriously. “It’s getting late; you should rest.”
“Then I won’t disturb you,” Clare said as he left and closed the door behind him.
The room suddenly became quiet.
Sylvia bit her red lip. “I… I’ll go take a bath.”
As soon as she turned around, she fell into a warm embrace. The man held her soft body tightly, his thin lips brushing against her sensitive neck.
Before she could react, he grabbed her head and kissed her fiercely.
The fragrance in his arms almost made Franklin lose control as his lips moved down her neck.
“Let’s bathe together later,” he said in a husky voice filled with desire.
“No…” Sylvia tried to resist his advances, but he was like a tiger giving her no chance to escape.
Time passed slowly as the heated atmosphere seemed to set the room on fire.
It was unclear how much time had passed.
Sylvia shamefully got out of bed but stumbled forward uncontrollably. A pair of hands caught her waist despite her protests and carried her to the bathroom. “I’ll take you there.”
Seeing that he didn’t act like a beast again and turned on the faucet to fill the tub with warm water, Sylvia leaned against the edge of the tub and dozed off from exhaustion.
“Do you want me to help you wash?” Franklin’s deep voice startled her awake. She shook her head quickly. “No, I can do it myself.”
He chuckled and left the bathroom.
Hearing only the sound of running water, Sylvia curled up in the tub and unknowingly closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, Franklin sat on the soft bed playing with his phone for about half an hour but still didn’t see Sylvia come out.
Frowning, he put down his phone and entered the bathroom only to find Sylvia asleep in the tub with one arm slipping into the water and her head almost falling in.
Franklin quickly walked over and pulled her out of the water without caring if his clothes got wet. He dried her off with a towel and put his shirt on her.
Satisfied with how she looked in his oversized shirt, he resisted his urges and placed her in the center of the bed before removing his wet clothes and lying down next to her.
The next morning, Alina woke up around six o’clock.
She prepared breakfast early and went to call Mariam as usual. She knocked on Mariam’s door. “Mariam, it’s time for breakfast.”
Hearing this from his study, Finnegan got angry immediately.
He opened his study door abruptly. “Didn’t I tell you not to make breakfast for her?”
Alina felt awkward. “It’s not right not to make breakfast. Besides, she’s pregnant…”
At that moment, Mariam opened her door with a yawn and a cold expression. “I’m not eating.”
Finnegan’s anger flared up again. “I told you not to make it! You insist on doing it only to get snubbed!”
“Mariam, you’re pregnant; how can you skip breakfast? It’s bad for your health,” Alina pleaded with Mariam.
Mariam smirked sarcastically. “I’m on a diet.”
With that, she grabbed her bag and walked out.
“What kind of pregnant woman diets? Ridiculous!” Finnegan shouted angrily after her but Mariam ignored him and left.
“Finnegan, wash up and eat,” Alina called out after seeing Mariam leave.
Finnegan glared at her. “I don’t understand why you’re so afraid of her every day.”
With a loud bang, he shut his door too.
Alina felt utterly dejected seeing how both her son and daughter-in-law treated her like this every day.
She lost her appetite looking at the lavish breakfast she had prepared but didn’t want it to go to waste.
Just as she was about to feed it to the chickens she raised, a servant came into the yard and said, “The old lady wants to see you.”
Alina’s heart sank; this must be because Queena was unhappy with yesterday’s family dinner fiasco…
Her family relied on the Hipps Family for their decent living conditions; if they were kicked out…
She didn’t dare think further.
Quickly wiping her hands clean, she said hurriedly, “Alright, I’ll go right away.”
Following the servant to Queena’s villa, Alina nervously entered the living room where Queena and Mr. Hipps were having morning tea.
She walked over anxiously. “Madam…”
“Sit down and have some tea,” Queena said with a glance at the servant who promptly poured Alina a cup of tea.
Alina reluctantly sat opposite Queena and Mr. Hipps.
“Luckily it was just family yesterday; otherwise, wouldn’t we have been a laughingstock?” Queena sighed. “You’ve spoiled your daughter-in-law so much that she’s become uncontrollable.”