Ava sighed, shaking her head, and said somewhat reluctantly, “Mr. David drank too much last night and somehow ended up sleeping in Elowen’s room. Charlotte caught them this morning, and that’s why they’re quarreling.”
After listening, Isabella was shocked, her mouth gaping open for a moment before she finally spoke, “This is really big news. But just because they slept together doesn’t necessarily mean they did anything, right?”
“If they didn’t do anything, they wouldn’t be quarreling like this,” Ava said, her face reddening with embarrassment. She felt extremely awkward discussing this.
“David isn’t exactly young anymore, yet he still has a wandering eye. He cheated on your mother in the past, which led to their divorce. I thought he was deeply in love with Charlotte, but now, this ugly incident happens again. Elowen is barely in her thirties, young enough to be his daughter, and yet he still made a move,” Ava said disdainfully.
After hearing this, Isabella couldn’t help but scoff. For men, younger women are always preferred. It wasn’t surprising that David, a scumbag, would do something like this. However, Elowen wasn’t exactly innocent either, being able to seduce David right under Charlotte’s nose.
If this incident was just an accident, Isabella wouldn’t believe it for a second.
“Ma’am, why are you hiding in your room? Things are getting heated downstairs. Come and see,” Lily pushed the door open and walked in, pulling her out.
“Don’t go stirring up trouble, you two,” Ava cautioned worriedly.
Lily was very clever, leading Isabella to hide in the corner of the staircase landing, where they could see everything happening downstairs.
Emily rushed towards Elowen, kicking and punching her. “Bitch! You shameless slut, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you!”
Elowen curled up on the ground, silent except for her faint cries, sounding pitiful.
David became furious and went to pull Emily away, angrily saying, “Emily, it’s not your place to hit her.”
Regardless, Elowen was still David’s woman. Emily’s actions at this time were not wise.
Isabella guessed that Elowen must have intentionally provoked Emily.
Seeing Emily being scolded by David, Charlotte also lost some of her usual calmness and began questioning him with a hint of hysteria, “David, I’ve worked hard for your family for so many years, contributing so much without asking for anything in return. Is this how you treat me? Do you deserve me?”
Isabella, hiding at the staircase landing, couldn’t help but find Charlotte’s hysterical voice ridiculous. When she and David were having an affair, did they ever think about whether they deserved her mother? Didn’t her mother work hard for this family, tirelessly and selflessly?
It was clear that a man’s inclination to cheat had nothing to do with a woman’s virtue.
Therefore, Charlotte’s words were simply humiliating David, hitting him in the face as if with a slap. But both David and Charlotte had skins as thick as city walls, so they probably weren’t afraid of it.
At this moment, David was being nagged by Charlotte to the point of a headache and impatiently explained, “Charlotte, I drank too much last night and mistook Elowen for you.”
Charlotte didn’t believe for a moment that David could be so drunk that he couldn’t tell who the woman beside him was. He might have been drunk, but Elowen, that slut, willingly threw herself at him, and he took advantage of it.
Charlotte was in her forties, almost fifty. Even with good maintenance, she couldn’t stop her skin from sagging and wrinkles from appearing around her eyes. She couldn’t compete with a woman in her thirties. And what man wouldn’t be tempted by something new?
Charlotte suppressed her anger, and continued, “David, we’ve lived together for so many years, of course I trust you. But if it’s a mistake, we can’t continue to make it. I think it’s better to compensate Elowen a little more and send her back to her hometown.”
After hearing Charlotte’s words, David hesitated somewhat. What she suggested seemed to be the best way to resolve the situation at the moment.
After all, he was a government official, and such matters getting out of hand would not be good. Although he quite liked Elowen.
However, before David could speak, Mrs. Ada had already voiced her opinion, “Now that this has happened, you just want to kick her out. Elowen is my niece, and I will never agree to you treating her like this.”
“What else can we do, Mom? Do you want her to stay and become David’s mistress?” Charlotte mocked. “Mom, marriage laws dictate monogamy. David is a government official; breaking the law means the end of his career.”
After listening, David was about to nod in agreement, but Mrs. Ada pounded the table excitedly and shouted, “Don’t bully me because I’m old and ignorant! If Elowen is kicked out of this house and she accuses David of rape, it won’t be as simple as losing his job. He’ll go to jail. Charlotte, you evil woman, are you trying to kill my son?”
Isabella, hiding in the shadows, silently applauded Mrs. Ada in her heart. If she had read a few more years’ worth of books, she would definitely be a remarkable person. It was a shame she had such a narrow-minded view.
As soon as Mrs. Ada finished speaking, Elowen crawled to her feet and pulled on her sleeve, crying, “Auntie, please don’t force Cousin. Last night, last night Cousin didn’t force me; I did it willingly… I absolutely won’t accuse Cousin; I won’t make things difficult for him.”
Elowen cried pitifully, and even the hardest heart would soften. David looked at her with a face full of distress and self-blame.
Then, Elowen cried her way to David’s side and pleaded, “Cousin, please don’t drive me away, can you? My husband died, and the house and savings he left were taken back by his family. If you let me stay here, I promise to take good care of Auntie and never cause trouble for you again.”
David looked at her with a heartache, unable to utter a word of refusal.
Elowen then looked at Charlotte, begging pitifully, “Sister-in-law, I beg you to pity me. As long as you don’t drive me away, anything is fine. I promise to stay away from Cousin in the future and never do anything foolish again. Last night, it was really just a mistake; please forgive me.”
At this moment, Charlotte wished she could rush forward and tear off Elowen’s hypocritical face.
Charlotte was trembling with anger, about to explode, when Robert walked in.
Robert had a calm demeanor. After entering, he greeted everyone one by one, seemingly oblivious to the chaos in the room.
Truly a veteran of the business world, his skill was unmatched.
When Charlotte saw Robert enter, she seemed to regain her composure and wiped away the tears on her cheeks, walking over to him.
“Robert, why did you only just arrive?”
“Company matters delayed me,” Robert explained, extending a comforting hand to pat her shoulder.
“Brother-in-law, let’s go to the study for a cup of tea,” Robert said to David.
David nodded with a grimace.
“Ava, bring out the tea I’ve collected, and remember to brew it with water at 70C; my brother’s taste is the pickiest,” Charlotte busied herself preparing tea and snacks for Robert.
Even Emily was impressed.
Mrs. Ada and Elowen were completely ignored, and Mrs. Ada said discontentedly, “Why can’t you say it in front of us? I’m David’s mother. Is there something you need to hide from me?”
Robert furrowed his brows slightly but remained composed. “What do you think, brother-in-law?”
“Let’s go to the study,” David said coldly.