Chapter 697 Goody Two-Shoes
Noticing Jean’s hostility toward Sonia, Rose reacted with an even darkened expression. She then slapped the blanket and said with an icy voice, “What is your glacial gaze supposed to mean, Jean? Are you going to bite Sonia?”
Jean shivered a little upon hearing Rose’s lecture, shrugging her shoulders as she timidly looked away from Sonia with a bitter smile. “What’re you talking about, Mom? Why would I want to bite her?”
“Hmph! Your eyes make you look like you were about to eat Sonia alive!” Rose snickered nonchalantly.
In response, Jean kept her head down without saying a single word, knowing she would only make things worse if she continued to explain for herself. Meanwhile, Sonia quietly enjoyed the sight of Jean’s humiliation in front of Rose, gloating over her with a gleeful smile.
At the same time, Jean, who noticed that, was piqued and angry. “Sonia, you—”
“What do you think you’re doing?” Rose slammed her blanket once more when she noticed Jean’s aggression toward Sonia.
Jean’s dominance was weakened by the old lady’s words as she pointed at Sonia and complained. “Mom, she was laughing at me.”
“Hmph! You’re a joke. Don’t you think so?” Rose sized her up with disgust and added, “I’m not surprised about that because anyone would laugh at a joke like you.”
“How could you say that, Mom?” Jean was seen with her eyes wide open. “I’m your daughter-in-law.”
“And Sonia is my granddaughter-in-law, so if you ever dare to bully her, I’m going to make sure you regret it. After all, you need to know that you’re not as important as my granddaughter-in-law.” Rose gazed at Jean with a darkened look.
Overwhelmed by her jealousy, Jean glared at Sonia with her eyes turning red. “Granddaughter-in-law? Are you getting too old and dumb to realize she is no longer your granddaughter-in-law, Mom? Not only did you continue to treat her like your granddaughter-in-law, but you also gave her the bangle. You must be out of—”
“Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me before I forget.” Rose suddenly squinted.
“W-What?” Jean’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Rose’s words.
“Come here, Sonia.” Rose patted the bed as a gesture to have Sonia sit beside her.
“Grandma.” Sonia put the medicine aside and obediently did as she was told.
“Sonia, tell me whether she just tried to take the bangle from you.” Rose seized Sonia’s wrist with the bangle on it.
“Well…” Sonia looked down bitterly. “Grandma, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to bring this up. After all, she is still Toby’s mother. I…”
Rose assured Sonia and said, “Don’t worry. She is just Toby’s stepmother. There is no need for you to be worried about that. Just do as I said and tell me what happened. Fear not—I’ll have your back even if Toby isn’t happy about it.”
“Alright then, since you insist, I’ll tell you everything, Grandma.” Sonia nodded, looking down a little to hide the cunning look on her face. Then, she reacted with a bitter look on her face and said, “Mrs. Fuller spotted the bangle on my wrist when we were in the elevator. Not only did she suspect that I stole it, but she also tried to take it from me by force. No matter how I tried to explain that the bangle was given to me by you, she simply wouldn’t believe it. Then, she accused me of coaxing you into giving me the bangle when you weren’t sober enough to act on your free will. Grandma, please explain to Mrs. Fuller that I didn’t do what she said I did.”
Sonia put her words in a bitter way that made her seem as sympathetic as possible. Upon hearing Sonia’s words, Rose couldn’t help but feel a strong urge to protect her, as she believed her story without question. Nonetheless, only Sonia herself was aware of how much she was disgusted by her own fake pretense. Jeez! I didn’t know I’d be so disgusting playing a goody two-shoes.
“Alright. Alright, I’ll talk to her right now.” Rose fixed Sonia’s hair with a benevolent expression on her face. When she turned her attention to Jean, the amiable look immediately disappeared and was replaced by annoyance. “You’ve got some guts there, lady! How dare you try to forcefully take Sonia’s bangle from her!”
“No, Mom! Please don’t listen to her nonsense.” Jean pointed at Sonia. “I wasn’t going to take her bangle by force. Instead, I just wanted to take it back because I knew it belonged to the Fuller Family. After all, she is an outsider while the bangle is the Fuller Family’s heirloom, so what right does she have to wear it? Besides, how could you give something important to an outsider? Only the Fuller Family’s daughters-in-law can have it, but she isn’t…”
“Who should I give it to if Sonia is not the one to have it? You?” Rose looked up, cutting Jean short.
“I-I…” Jean responded with her avoidant gaze.
Noticing Jean’s speechlessness, Sonia gleefully asked, “What is it, Mrs. Fuller? Please speak your mind.”
In response, Jean bit her lip and angrily gawked at Sonia. Speak my mind? How am I supposed to? I can’t just tell Old Mrs. Fuller that I want the bangle for myself. If I do that, the old lady is definitely going to give me a hard time. Soon, she took a deep breath and kept herself together, forcing a smile on her face. “That’s not what I meant, Mom. What I’m trying to say is that the bangle should be given to any of the Fuller Family’s daughters-in-law as it is meant to be. I’m not saying that you should give it to me, but you could give it to Toby or Tyler’s wife. Sonia is an outsider, so wouldn’t you be going against the ancestor’s wishes by giving her the bangle?”
“Hmph!” Rose shot a darkened gaze at Jean and chuckled coldly. Does this woman really think I’m too dumb to read between the lines? All she wants is for me to take the bangle back and give it to her instead. Sadly, I’m not going to grant her wish.
“Who says I’m giving the bangle to an outsider? In fact, Sonia and Toby are back together. Don’t you know that? Since they’re back together, it won’t take them long to remarry to each other. So, technically, I didn’t give this bangle to an outsider, although I gave it to Sonia a little earlier than I should,” Rose replied with both her palms facing upward.
“What?! They’re back together?!” Jean screeched with a jarring voice.
“That’s right, Mrs. Fuller. I forgot to tell you that, and I’m sorry about that.” Sonia smiled at Jean.
“Wait, what?” Jean puckered her lips, taking a few moments before she could organize her sentence. “When did you both get back together?”
“Yesterday.” Sonia continued to smile.
Then, Rose seized Sonia’s hand amiably but stared at Jean with a glacial gaze. “Now that you know it’s only a matter of time for Sonia to remarry Toby after they rekindled the old flames, you’d better behave yourself, Jean. Don’t ever forget your promise. If you ever dare to bully Sonia like you used to, you’d better be prepared for what’s coming to you.”
As soon as Jean heard the old lady’s words, her face turned as pale as a white sheet. “D-Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t.” Deep down, Jean could still remember the words she once said because Rose swore to cast her out of the Fuller Family if she ever dared to bully Sonia again. After all, she didn’t want to leave the Fuller Family because of her reluctance to give up her comfortable and wealthy life.
Besides that, she was also unwilling to leave her son and the place that was full of memories between her and Homer. Apart from Rose’s warning, Toby had also told Jean that he would pick her if he had to choose who to give up between her and Sonia. Therefore, Jean realized she was now in a disadvantageous situation that didn’t allow her to argue with Sonia.
“Talking is easy, but the execution is another story.” Rose added, “I hope you could keep your word, or you’re going to regret it. Besides, I want you to forget about the bangle Sonia is wearing; otherwise, it won’t end well for you either.”
“Understood.” Jean looked down, replying with a bitter voice while Rose grunted coldly and left her in the cold.
In the meantime, Sonia stomached the disgust inside of her and decided to play a goody two-shoes once more, smiling at Jean in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Fuller. It was my fault. Because of me, you got lectured by Grandma, so please forgive me for that.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Jean’s response was ambiguous, her eyes appearing red.
As Rose furrowed her eyebrows unhappily and was about to say something, Sonia seized her hand and squinted at Jean with a smiling face. “Well, I’m glad to hear that there will be no further trouble from you, Mrs. Fuller, but even if you do come to me for retaliation someday in the future, I’m not afraid of you either with Grandma by my side.”
