Callum went to Emily’s new home after work and bought a bouquet of roses on the way.
Emily had already made dinner and was about to dig in when she heard the doorbell. She opened the door and seemed surprised to see Callum. “What brings you here?”
“I’m here to see you and also have a meal with you. Is that alright?” He handed the roses to Emily.
She took the flowers from him. “Go wash your hands. I’ll get the food for you!”
Callum went to wash his hands happily. Emily placed the flowers on the tea table and went to get some rice in the kitchen. She served some soup for him as well.
He sat down and took a deep breath. “Your cooking still smells good.”
She smiled and placed the rice and soup in front of him. “Azalea has come back!”
“So what if she is back?” Callum didn’t take the matter seriously.
“How do you plan to deal with Azalea?” After knowing that Azalea was not her daughter, her feelings for the former had undergone a drastic change.
She didn’t like the many habits of Azalea at all. She had always tolerated the latter because she saw her as her own daughter. As a mother, she needed to be tolerant. That was why she had been patient until now.
Now that she knew that Azalea had nothing to do with her, the disgust within was apparent.
“We can’t let her abuse the title of the daughter of the Floyd family, can we? Azalea is a good schemer. I don’t think we should give her the opportunity to do so.”
“I know what you’re worried about, but Braelynn called and told me not to expose her identity for the time being. We’d better continue to treat her as our daughter.”
Emily looked perplexed. “Why is that?”
“Braelynn didn’t tell me anything. She must have a reason for doing so.” Callum couldn’t figure out what Braelynn meant. “Braelynn is not a stupid person. She is in charge of a huge company after all. She must have her own reasons for doing this. Let’s do as she says.”
Of course, Emily would not object to this. “Sure, we’ll do that since Braelynn wants to keep it a secret. However, I don’t think Azalea will stop at this. She called me just now.”
“What did she want?”
“She said she bought me a gift. She wanted to see me. She also said that she went to your villa and was barred from entering. I guessed that a gift for me is only an excuse. She must have panicked that she was prohibited from entering your house, so she wanted to ask me about the situation.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I don’t know what you’re planning to do to her. Because I’m tired of meeting her, I told her that you did this for the sake of her safety. I think she bought it. I also asked her not to call me mom in the future. She changed the way she addressed me very quickly.”
“If she calls you in the future, just deal with her in this manner.”
“I’m not worried about myself. I don’t want to see her when she looks for me, so I can just tell her that I’m not in B City. But you’re different. She is such a shameless person. She’ll definitely go to the company to find you. You can’t dismiss her easily.”
Callum consoled her. “It’s alright. I can choose to ignore her too.”
“That’s another way. After all, Azalea is as despicable and shameless as Madelyn. She has always been a person who only cares about profits and interests. I’m worried that her actions in the name of the Floyd family will harm our reputation.”
Callum understood Emily’s concerns. “Don’t worry. Her identity has not been made public so no one knows who she is. She can’t do anything in the name of the Floyd family.”
“But Meadow is so close to her. It’s obvious that she knows something. I’m afraid that she will overshare things with Meadow because then it will be hard to clear things up with the Davis family.”
Callum chuckled upon hearing her words. “Don’t worry about the Davis family! They’re just taking what they need, just like us.”
“Fulfilling their needs? I think the Davis family is nice to Azalea because they think she is the eldest daughter of the Floyd family. Will they blame the Floyd family if they know that she is not the true thing?”
Callum shook his head in response. “Why would they blame the Floyd family? We have never acknowledged Azalea’s identity. They imagined and speculated everything. What does it have to do with us?”
“That’s true. Meadow is similar to Madelyn. They’re snobbish and love to bully those poorer than them while buttering up to powerful people. I suspect that Meadow is well aware of what Madelyn did back then. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stayed with Azalea for so many years.”
“Of course. Meadow only approached Azalea for the benefits she could obtain. She treats Azalea well because she covets the Floyd family’s property. She is too naive. With Azalea’s personality, I will never leave her in charge of the Floyd family even if she is your daughter. The Davis family has disgraced themselves in order to fulfill their purpose. Wayne joined this lousy plan as well even at such an old age. It’s detestable!”
Callum’s face was full of contempt when he mentioned Meadow and Wayne. Emily felt sick as well at the thought of the Davis family’s actions. “Okay, I just want you to know about it. I won’t fall into Azalea’s trap anyway, but I’m worried that she will manipulate the Floyd family to stir things up. Since they are all doing this to serve their own purpose, we shouldn’t pay too much attention to them.”
Emily heaved a sigh. “I was thinking about Braelynn and felt sorry for her! I’ve been doing my best for Azalea all these years, but she is such a shameless person. Heck, I even gave up on my dignity for her. As long as she has some self-respect and conscience, I won’t think that my efforts are in vain. I really…”
“Weren’t you cheated by her? Don’t dwell on the past. You should be glad that she is not our daughter. If our daughter is so shameless and despicable, I don’t know how much suffering we’ll have to endure in the future. This is great. I’m happy with a daughter like Braelynn. God is fair after all.”
When Braelynn was mentioned, Emily’s mood improved a little. “I don’t know when she will put everything down and accept us as her parents.”
“Humans are emotional creatures. We’ll persevere and she’ll accept us one day.”
Emily felt less worried when she saw Callum’s confidence. “From now on, I’m going to learn to make Braelynn’s favorite dishes. When she is back, I’ll cook for her daily.”
Meanwhile, in the Davis family, Azalea spent a lot of effort in her make-up before she followed Michael out of the house.
Meadow was delighted to see Michael going out with Azalea. She winked at Azalea and went outside to remind her, “Michael is not feeling well. Ask him to drink less, will you?”
“Don’t worry, Meadow. I’ll keep a close eye on him,” Azalea replied sweetly.
A trace of mockery flickered across Michael’s eyes as he got into the car.
Seeing Michael was already inside the car, Azalea followed suit immediately. He leaned on the back seat and sent a text message with his mobile phone. She tilted her head curiously. “Michael, who are you texting?”
Michael kept his mobile phone in his pants. “Why are you looking at my mobile phone? Where are your manners? Azalea, even an ordinary nightclub prostitute can do better than you!”
Azalea blushed when Michael berated her in front of the driver. Michael didn’t even spare her a look. “Be careful with what you say and do when you go out with me in the future. Don’t say things you shouldn’t say or ask questions you shouldn’t ask! Do you understand?”
Azalea was humiliated and embarrassed, but she was the one who wanted to go out with Michael. Thus, she had no choice but to agree obediently. His expression softened a little as he ordered the driver, “Let’s go!”