Evelyn hurriedly interrupted her memories, looked at Richard, and smiled.
“Dad…”
Richard smiled kindly, but when his eyes landed on the spotlessly clean Ethan, a flash of disgust passed through them.
It didn’t escape Evelyn’s notice, and her heart stung.
Having lived another life, her heart had become clear, and her eyes had likewise brightened.
Many things she had ignored in the past were now appearing before her eyes, one by one.
“Evelyn, did you go to Grandfather Blackwood’s house today?” Richard asked with a smile.
Margaret was also pricking up her ears, her heart in her throat.
“I did.
Alexander has returned, so of course I had to go see him.”
As she spoke, Evelyn went to the courtyard to fetch water.
She needed to take her bath while the water was still hot; otherwise, it would turn cold by nightfall.
Richard frowned.
As a former scout, he quickly noticed the changes in Evelyn.
Moreover, judging by her tone, it didn’t sound like the joy of someone who had just called off an engagement.
He was very cunning and, though he had doubts in his heart, he didn’t show them on his face.
He asked with a smile, “I heard Alexander was injured.
Is it serious?”
“Just a minor injury, nothing to worry about.
I’m going to take a bath now.
Dad, tell Margaret to make sweet-and-sour pork ribs tonight.”
Evelyn carried a full bucket of water to the bathroom without even glancing at Margaret, who was standing beside Richard.
In her past life, she had never had a good attitude toward Margaret, and now she didn’t even need to pretend.
She had seen Margaret holding a rack of ribs, so she mentioned it casually.
Ethan loved sweet-and-sour pork ribs the most.
“Alright, we’ll have sweet-and-sour pork ribs tonight.”
Richard agreed readily, but Margaret was displeased.
She had originally planned to make braised pork ribs, as Claire and her brother loved the braised version and didn’t like the sweet-and-sour one.
Since there was only one rack of ribs, if she made them sweet and sour, she couldn’t make them braised.
Claire and William were her own children.
How could she not feel for them?
She was only putting on an act for Evelyn!
Richard glared at her and hissed, “Go and do it!”
It was just a rack of ribs.
Compared to such a large fortune, it was nothing!
Richard knew about Victoria’s property and savings because he had handled them personally.
However, he had been careless for a moment and let Victoria get the upper hand.
She had placed the property and savings under Evelyn’s name and had even drawn up a will.
It had only been a matter of a few days, yet he had missed out on a huge fortune.
Richard wished he could strangle that woman, Victoria, for burning bridges after crossing the river!
Evelyn was still three years away from turning twenty.
It was rightfully his to begin with.
Back then, if he hadn’t pulled strings and made connections, this property would never have been recovered and would certainly have been confiscated!
Evelyn locked the door and prepared to bathe when suddenly, she heard Margaret scream.
“William… who beat you up like this?”
“Sec… Second Sister…”
William whispered.
His face was swollen badly, and his eyes were narrowed into slits.
Margaret’s heart broke.
Inside the bathroom, Evelyn’s lips curled upward as she bathed quickly.
She had to keep her wits about her to deal with that old vixen, Margaret, later on!
Looking at her battered son, Margaret had no heart left to cook.
She looked at Richard resentfully, hoping her husband would stand up for her and her son and properly teach that dead girl, Evelyn, a lesson.
“Go cook first!” Richard barked at Margaret.
Margaret went to the kitchen sullenly, feeling stifled.
That little bitch, Evelyn, had beaten her son so badly, yet she still had to make sweet-and-sour pork ribs for the little bitch!
She wished she could put some poison in the ribs to kill that little bitch!
Richard sent Margaret to the kitchen to cook and went to the second floor to find his eldest daughter, Claire.
Seeing Claire wearing a long-sleeved shirt and sitting with the fan blowing at its lowest setting, he couldn’t help but frown slightly, but his expression soon smoothed out.
“Claire, did you go to the Blackwood Family today?”
“I went, and Evelyn went too.”
Claire nodded.
“Dad, Evelyn didn’t mention the engagement cancellation.
She was acting strange today.”
Richard frowned deeply.
“What’s going on?
Wasn’t Evelyn getting cozy with Damien?
Why is she refusing to break off the engagement now?”
He hadn’t interacted much with Alexander, and he was quite intimidated by him, much like how he had felt when he saw his commanding officer back in the military.
Damien was easier to control.
Therefore, Richard was happy to see the relationship between Evelyn and Damien.
That woman, Victoria, had been too cunning.
She had actually specified in her will that the property could only be transferred after Evelyn turned twenty, and only to her husband or children.
He knew Victoria had been guarding against him!
Hmph.
He still had a way.
He just had to make sure Evelyn didn’t marry Alexander.
The property he had worked so hard to obtain would absolutely not benefit Evelyn and Alexander!
“I don’t know.”
Claire’s eyes reddened. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“Evelyn was acting crazy today.
She beat William half to death, and she even badmouthed me at the Blackwood family’s house.
Grandfather Blackwood even has a problem with me now.”
Richard also felt that something was strange.
In the past, Evelyn and Claire’s relationship, while not necessarily great, had still been decent.
Evelyn had even been willing to take Claire along whenever she visited the Blackwood family.
What was going on this time?
Most importantly, if Evelyn didn’t break off the engagement with Alexander, how would he get the property?
“Did you upset Evelyn?”
Richard asked in a deep voice.
Evelyn was simple-minded and clear about her loves and hates.
Whoever treated her well, she would give her heart and soul to.
Conversely, whoever offended her, she would immediately turn against them.
This kind of person was the easiest to deal with.
Claire’s expression became slightly unnatural.
Richard immediately knew that something was wrong and let out a soft hmph.
Claire didn’t dare to hide it anymore and told him about the phone call from Damien at noon.
“At the time, Evelyn was taking a nap, so I didn’t wake her up.
I just passed on Brother Damien’s message to her, and she became a bit unhappy.”
Richard looked deeply at his eldest daughter and said unhappily, “In the future, try to keep your distance from Damien.
Don’t upset Evelyn.”
Claire’s little schemes couldn’t hide from Richard at all.
If it weren’t for the property, he would have been very happy to see Claire marry Damien.
But now, the property was the top priority, and everything else had to be set aside.
“Yes… I understand.”
Claire felt bitter inside, but she didn’t dare to disobey Richard, so she had to agree.
In her heart, however, she hated Evelyn even more.
She had to yield to this bitch in everything.
Even though she knew her father had an agenda, Claire still felt deeply unbalanced.
She just hoped that Richard would get his hands on the property quickly so she would never have to suck up to that idiot Evelyn again.
The Vale family’s dinner was as sumptuous as usual: sweet-and-sour pork ribs, stir-fried bitter melon with eggs, loofah soup, stir-fried celery with dried tofu, garlic water spinach, and even a plate of large prawns.
There weren’t many—just seven or eight—which Margaret had secretly skimmed from the canteen.
All the canteen staff did this.
Everyone could get a share of the good food, which was why working in the canteen was such a lucrative position.
Many family members were desperate to squeeze their way into the canteen.
“Shrimp is delicious…”
William’s eyes lit up when he saw the prawns, and he reached out to grab them.
There was another reason Evelyn hated William.
This little bastard was exceptionally bossy, especially at the dining table.
Whenever there was a dish he liked, it had to be placed directly in front of him, and he would hog the plate to himself, completely lacking manners.