When Hunter sent his grandmother back to her room, Vincent and Wendy were still there. Wendy was still seated on the chair because her ankle was injured, and she had not moved at all. As for Vincent, he had kept his eyes on Wendy, as per his grandmother’s command. However, he did not say a single word to her.
Even though Wendy took the initiative to make some small talk with him, he was not interested in any conversation with her. When the old madam saw the awkward smile on Wendy’s face, she knew that the girl had hit a wall. When her two grandsons left the room, she dismissed her maid before she turned toward Wendy and took the young lady’s hand in hers.
“Wendy, don’t mind the boys. That’s just how they usually behave.”
“It’s alright. I think that they are fine men. That’s why women find them attractive.”
Wendy bit her lip and teased her finger with a shy look. The old madam felt a little uneasy when she saw her like that.
After she hesitated for a few moments, she asked. “Wendy, do you… like Hunter?”
“Eldest Young Master Jackson…” Wendy pretended to think for a moment before her face paled.
“I.. I don’t. Old Madam, please don’t get me wrong. I would never steal Eldest Young Master Jackson away from Emily, absolutely not!”
She pretended to be so terrified that she began to tremble. If her ankle were not injured, she would have gotten off the chair to kneel in front of the old lady.
“Old Madam, I would never fight against Emily. I won’t, Old Madam. Please don’t punish me. Don’t hit me, no!”
“Wendy, what’s wrong with you? Why would I hit you?”
Realization dawned on the old lady, and she hurriedly asked, “They… Did they hit you? Frequently?”
“No, no, of course not. Emily would never hit me. I accidentally fell on my own. Why would Emily hit me?”
Wendy acted as if she wanted to force a smile, but she could not do it. Eventually, she burst into tears. She slipped from the chair and fell onto her knees with a thud. Tears trickled down her cheeks like a miniature waterfall.
“I’m sorry, Old Madam. I know that I can’t hide anything from you. I really like Eldest Young Master Jackson, but… but it is just a one-sided love from my end.”
“It’s true, Old Madam. Please don’t be angry with me, and please don’t tell Emily. I’ve only ever liked Eldest Young Master Jackson from afar.”
She choked so hard on her tears that she could hardly speak. She grabbed the corner of the old madam’s blanket tightly, and she looked so sad and frightened.
“I am content with just looking at him from afar. I’ll never think about things that I’ve had with him again.”
“You and Hunter… were you both together?”
The old madam was quite shocked. Why had she not heard about that at all?
“No, no, we weren’t. Old Madam, please don’t tell Emily, please.”
Even though she denied their relationship, she also begged the old madam to keep it from Emily. Had she been in an affair with Hunter? Had they separated because of her selfish move to match Hunter with Emily? At that moment, the old madam felt as if her heart had been torn into a million pieces. It was painful! Her heart felt so painful that she had quivered. What had she done? She had destroyed her granddaughter’s happiness!
“Wendy…”
“Old Madam, promise me, okay? Please, promise me, don’t tell Emily.”
As Wendy reached out for the old madam’s hand, her sleeve slipped to reveal her fair arm.
There were several bruises on her delicate arm.
The old madam grabbed her hand sharply. “What are these?”
“No! They are nothing. Whatever it was, it was because I accidentally hurt myself.”
Wendy hurriedly pulled her sleeves down as if she was afraid that the old madam would see the other bruises on her arm. Did Emily do that to her? Did the bright and lovely girl have a cruel and vicious side to her?
The old lady did not want to affirm that Emily was a bad girl. It had not been too long ago when she thought that Emily was her granddaughter, and she had loved her. She had cared for the young lady before she realized that she had made a mistake. It was too soon for her to change her perspective on that lovely girl.
“I accidentally bumped into something and injured myself. I’ll be fine soon.”
Wendy forced a smile on her lips. She seemed unwilling to dwell any further on the matter.
Wendy said, “Old Madam, you can rest assured that I will never get close to Eldest Young Master Jackson again. I promise that I will stay away from him and not stand in their way.”
“Please believe me?”
The old madam looked at her as Emily’s image drifted into her mind. Even though Emily had a dull appearance, she had loved and cared for the young girl for a long time. She had thought that Emily was her granddaughter, so she could not bring herself to hate her at all.
Wendy realized that she had probably overdone it. The old madam had long recognized Emily as her granddaughter and had grown to like her very much. Even though she wanted to destroy the relationship between the old madam and Emily, she should not be the one to do it. It would be too obvious if she continued to heap blame onto her sister.
The old madam pondered about the situation for a few moments before she held Wendy’s hands in hers. Then she softly said, “I promise that I will not say anything. Please get up, Wendy.”
When Wendy got up, she accidentally hurt her ankle again. She clenched her teeth tightly but said nothing about it. She knew that the old madam pitied her because of her supposedly strong characteristics.
“Wendy, I have spent quite some time with Emily. I think that… Emily is not a bad girl. Is there any misunderstanding between you two?”
Even after she saw the bruises on Wendy’s arm, she still did not want to believe that they were there because of Emily.
Wendy immediately replied, “No, we are very good. Emily had always been very good to me. Truly.”
The old madam looked at her and stopped talking. She did not want to hate Emily, but Wendy’s humble behavior had shattered her heart into pieces. What could she do? She could not let go of both of them.
“It’s a good thing that you are not close to Hunter. No matter what you both had before, he has a fiancée now.”
“I know.” Wendy looked down and pretended to wipe her eyes so that she could hide the hatred in it.
It seemed like the old madam still cared about that bloody Emily, and she was unwilling to believe that the s*ut had hit her! She even wanted Wendy to give up on Eldest Young Master Jackson! However, there was only a sweet and docile expression on Wendy’s face when she looked up again.
“As long as Hunter is happy, I would be happy too, Old Madam…”
Her meek and submissive nature soured the old madam’s heart.
As she held Wendy’s hand, she softly said, “Wendy, you are a beautiful girl. You’d definitely find happiness in the future.”
“You are Emily’s sister. From now on, just like Emily, why don’t you call me Grandmother too?”
“Grandmother,” Wendy said softly.
The old madam’s eyes moistened. She wanted to keep her dignity in front of the young lady, so she quickly looked away and wiped the corner of her eyes discreetly. When she turned around again, she had returned to the quiet and calm Old Madam Jackson.
“You are a good girl. Therefore, God will treat you kindly. Don’t be afraid. Grandmother will also protect you.”