William, growing angrier the more he thought about it, shook off Claire and hobbled away by himself.
Claire was almost thrown to the ground when he shook her off, and she felt utterly sick inside.
She had thought today was supposed to be a joyous day, but now… look at the mess everything was in!
She would have to explain things to Mom and Dad later; they had already prepared to go to the Blackwood Family tomorrow to annul the engagement!
Claire didn’t believe for a second that Evelyn would really marry that cripple, Alexander Blackwood.
She was devoted to Damien; today’s actions were just her being jealous and deliberately opposing her.
All it would take was a little coaxing from Damien.
Evelyn led Ethan back home and carried a large basin of water that had been warming in the yard into the bathroom.
Ethan had a weak constitution and couldn’t wash with cold water in the summer, so she would leave the water outside to warm up.
After a day under the sun, the water was nice and warm, and she and Ethan each had a basin.
“Ethan, hurry up and take your bath, so you can smell nice and clean.”
Evelyn subconsciously started helping Ethan undress, but when she reached his pants, Ethan shyly covered himself, his face flushing red.
“I’ll take them off myself…”
“Pfft… I’ve been bathing you since you were little, and now you’re shy… Alright, alright… Sister won’t look…”
Evelyn smiled and pinched her brother’s cheek.
It was chubby and felt like pinching jelly—tender and bouncy.
But later, when Ethan grew up, he became tall and thin, with no flesh on his face.
Whenever she pinched his cheek, she could feel only skin beneath her fingers.
It was all because she hadn’t taken good care of her brother.
In this life, she must raise Ethan to be plump and healthy.
She had to find a way to make money.
Evelyn couldn’t help but frown.
Although she owned a good amount of property, she had no right to use those assets until she turned twenty, except for the right to live in this Western-style house.
She couldn’t touch a single penny of the other assets.
If only she could use those assets early.
The property Victoria Vale had left for her was astonishingly valuable.
When the lawyer had read out the will in her previous life, Evelyn couldn’t believe her ears.
Besides the house she lived in, there was another Western-style house on Wellington Road and one on Kingsley Road.
Both houses were currently rented to foreigners working at the diplomatic consulate, a lease her mother had arranged before she died.
The rent was wired directly into the account Victoria had set up for Evelyn.
Over more than ten years, the rent from just those two houses had already become a significant sum.
Furthermore, besides the real estate, Victoria had also left Evelyn a large deposit of 350,000 tales.
There were also two bank safety-deposit boxes, which Evelyn had opened and examined.
They contained priceless jewelry and accessories, all in a very antique style, reminiscent of an earlier era.
That’s why… Evelyn couldn’t understand how her mother could have acquired such a massive fortune.
Her maternal grandfather had been just an ordinary doctor with a compassionate heart who often treated patients for free, barely saving any money throughout the year.
Even if she had worked her entire life, she couldn’t have accumulated such enormous wealth.
Not to mention the astonishing sum of 350,000 tales.
What did 350,000 tales mean in 1995?
At the very least, it was enough to buy a luxury villa on the most prosperous avenue in Aurelia City!
In her previous life, Evelyn had never questioned the suspicious nature of this fortune.
But now, she realized that the origin of the assets was far too strange.
The strangest thing was that Victoria hadn’t left a single penny to Ethan.
All the property had gone to Evelyn.
Yet before her death, Victoria had repeatedly asked her daughter to take good care of her younger brother.
The more Evelyn thought about it, the more confused she became.
So she decided to stop thinking about it and focus on how to earn money.
Richard’s monthly allowance to her wasn’t much—only fifty tales—which was nowhere near enough.
“Mmm… Hmph hmph mmm…”
Ethan’s off-key singing and the sound of splashing water came from the bathroom.
Evelyn couldn’t help but smile.
It had been a long time since she had seen Ethan this happy.
Ethan had finished his bath, but he still couldn’t dress himself.
Blushing, he asked Evelyn to help him put on his clothes.
He was awkward and kept glancing to the side.
“You little rascal!”
Evelyn pinched his cheek lightly and expertly helped him get dressed, but she noticed that Ethan’s pants were far too short—the hems nearly reached his knees—and she couldn’t help but frown.
She had been so careless in the past.
In truth, one could see Margaret’s saintly words and poisonous heart through many small details.
Ethan’s clothes were always ill-fitting, and his shoes were always hand-me-downs from William, while Claire and William were always dressed perfectly—and of course, so was Evelyn.
Margaret never dared to treat Evelyn poorly when it came to material needs, but she didn’t even bother to maintain appearances for Ethan.
Evelyn’s desire to earn money grew stronger.
She couldn’t be bothered to ask Margaret for anything.
Once she had money, she would buy everything new for Ethan.
However, she still needed to get Richard to cough up some money for now.
Ethan was his own son, after all, and it was only right for a father to provide for his son.
Hmph…
He was so generous to those two burdens, Claire and her brother!
The sound of a motorcycle came from the courtyard.
It was Richard returning.
He had been working the day shift for the past half month and would return home together with Margaret.
She turned on the television for Ethan and switched it to the cartoon channel.
It was just the right time for Koseidon, which Ethan loved to watch.
He would often imitate the actions from the show and chant:
“Level one preparation… Level two preparation… Level three preparation, launch!”
After watching the entire cartoon, those were the only three lines Ethan remembered, which was quite amusing.
“Evelyn is back…”
Richard parked the motorcycle, carried his helmet into the house, and smiled when he saw Evelyn.
Richard had a sturdy build and a square face.
He looked upright and honorable, and he usually acted quite righteously, so he had a very good reputation at the factory.
He had transferred from the military to Sunset Machinery Factory and was now the Head of the Security Section.
He also had enough influence to get a word in with the factory director and the secretary, so he was doing quite well for himself.
Margaret had a plump figure and a very ordinary appearance, but she had a pair of watery, expressive eyes that looked quite charming whenever she arched her brows.
However, no matter how much makeup she applied or how carefully she dressed, she was incomparable to the elegant Victoria Vale.
They were worlds apart.
Yet it was precisely this uneducated and not particularly attractive woman who had Richard completely wrapped around her finger, obeying her every word.
When Victoria died, Evelyn was already old enough to remember things.
In her memory, Richard and Victoria had been, at best, like polite strangers living under the same roof.
But Evelyn now felt that it was actually more like they treated each other with cold indifference.
Thinking back on it, Victoria hadn’t liked Richard at all.
She had always slept with Evelyn at night.
At most, she would go to Richard’s room to sleep for one or two nights a month, as if she were merely completing a task.
And the next day, Victoria’s mood would be even worse.
She would often cry when Evelyn wasn’t looking.
Childhood memories flooded back into Evelyn’s mind bit by bit.
She also recalled that her mother, Victoria, had almost never smiled.
Her brows were always furrowed, and she would often sigh and shed tears in the middle of the night.
“Evelyn… is your father doing well?”
That was the sentence Victoria said most often, sometimes to herself and sometimes to Evelyn.
But every time she finished saying it, Victoria would become even more sorrowful.
Evelyn couldn’t help but frown.
Richard’s body was as strong as an ox.
He wouldn’t catch a cold even if he wore only a single layer of clothing in the depths of winter.
Why would Victoria worry about Richard’s health?
“Evelyn…”
Richard called out again.