Before, Evelyn didn’t care because William liked big plates of fish and meat, which she didn’t enjoy.
But now… she had to be more calculating.
After all, her younger brother Ethan’s tastes were similar to William’s!
Smack!
Evelyn struck the back of William’s hand with her chopsticks.
William quickly pulled his hand back in pain, a fierce light flashing in his squinty eyes.
However, one cold glare from Evelyn sent him shrinking back in fear, his neck pulling in tight.
“Don’t you know how to use chopsticks?
If you grab it with your hands, how are others supposed to eat?
You have no manners at all!”
Evelyn scolded coldly.
William didn’t dare talk back, but Margaret couldn’t take it and said with a smile, “William is the only one in the family who likes shrimp.”
She had specifically brought these shrimp back for her son to eat.
Her son could eat them however he wanted.
What right did that little bitch have to interfere?
“Ethan likes them too.”
Evelyn looked directly at Margaret.
“Aunt Margaret, William is your biological son, so it’s fine for you to protect him.
But Ethan is my biological brother.
Aunt Margaret, don’t forget that this house was left to Ethan and me by my mother.”
Evelyn was blunt.
She usually wasn’t very polite when speaking to Margaret anyway.
She’d say nice things when she was in a good mood, but would just as easily show her displeasure when she wasn’t.
The smile on Margaret’s face froze instantly.
She was sick to her stomach with anger, wanting nothing more than to splash the entire bowl of loofah soup in front of her onto that little bitch.
This house had clearly been obtained by Richard.
If that bitch Victoria hadn’t acted so quickly, the names on the property deed would have been hers and Richard’s.
How would Evelyn still be in a position to use the house to belittle people every day?
Richard’s face darkened as he shouted unhappily, “Evelyn, how can you talk to your Aunt Margaret like that!”
“I’m not wrong.”
Evelyn’s expression remained calm.
“This house was mine to begin with.
You’re my father, so of course there’s no problem with you living here.
As for outsiders… that depends on my mood!”
Evelyn moved the plate of shrimp in front of herself, not leaving a single one for William.
She peeled the shrimp for Ethan as she spoke.
Seeing his favorite large shrimp, Ethan’s eyes sparkled.
Richard was equally sick at heart, his intestines turning green with regret.
Back then, it had only been a matter of a few days.
During those few days, Victoria had been incredibly good to him, completely submissive in bed.
In a moment of carelessness, he had been played by that woman.
“How is your Aunt Margaret an outsider?
Since she married into the family, she’s part of the Vale family,” Richard reasoned patiently.
Evelyn glanced disdainfully at the pale-faced Margaret and gave a light snort.
“She married you, not me.
“Dad… the neighbors in the alley all say Aunt Margaret is a hen that can’t lay eggs.”
Evelyn wasn’t just making things up.
Margaret wasn’t even thirty when she married Richard and was in good health, yet she hadn’t had a child for more than ten years.
It was inevitable that people outside would gossip.
“Don’t listen to the nonsense people outside say.”
Under the table, Richard grasped Margaret’s hand and squeezed it gently, making her feel a bit better.
“Your Aunt Margaret didn’t have children because of family-planning restrictions.
Besides, she also wanted to take better care of you and Ethan.”
Evelyn peeled four shrimp, leaving only four on the plate.
William watched anxiously and shouted loudly, “I want to eat shrimp!”
Richard tried to smooth things over.
“Evelyn, let William have some shrimp too.
He and Ethan can have half each.”
“No.”
Evelyn’s expression was cold.
“William brought people to bully Ethan today.
I’m already being kind by not kicking him out to sleep on the street, and he still wants to eat shrimp?
Hmph!”
Evelyn glared fiercely at William.
Then she turned toward Richard.
“Dad… who exactly is your biological son?
You have to distinguish between kin and others.
For someone else’s son, just making sure he doesn’t starve is enough!”
Margaret gritted her teeth so hard that she nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
She bit her lip until it broke, and the taste of blood filled her mouth.
“Little bitch… what ‘distinction between kin and outsiders’?”
What the hell did she know?
It was clearly her own children who were—
Margaret felt aggrieved to death.
She had endured humiliation and shouldered heavy burdens for so many years, which was one thing, but why should her children have to suffer humiliation from this little bitch?
“Evelyn, don’t you know how I’ve treated you all these years?
Claire and William always yield to you, and whenever there’s something good to eat, we prioritize you.
What else do you want from me?”
Margaret shed tears, looking at Evelyn with a heartbroken expression.
Richard chimed in, “Your Aunt Margaret has always cherished you like her own daughter.
Evelyn, by saying these things, you are stabbing a knife into your Aunt Margaret’s heart!”
Evelyn pointed at Ethan’s clothes, which were clearly ill-fitting, and sneered.
“What about Ethan here?
His clothes were made last year, and his pants have shrunk up to his knees.
Yet her own son gets to change into new clothes every single day while she ignores Ethan.
Is this really being good to me and Ethan?”
Margaret’s heart skipped a beat.
Richard had only instructed her to coax Evelyn well; he hadn’t said anything about coaxing Ethan.
Besides, Richard himself didn’t care about his foolish son, so how could she have so much time and energy to coax Ethan?
In the past, Evelyn hadn’t cared much about Ethan, so what was wrong with her today?
“I’ve been a bit busy lately and haven’t had time to make new clothes for Ethan,” Margaret explained.
“But you have time to make them for your own son?
William’s clothes are brand new, aren’t they?”
Evelyn didn’t care about sparing this woman’s feelings.
She was someone who had already died once.
If she had to live so oppressively again, she might as well go bang her head against a block of tofu and die!
Margaret couldn’t save face and forced a smile.
“It’s not that… Ethan doesn’t go out much, so I prioritized making them for William first.
I’ll make them when I have time!”
Evelyn snorted again, too lazy to bicker with this woman.
Besides, Margaret had reminded her of something.
In her past life, Ethan had never attended a single day of school.
He was kept at home most of the time, like a blank sheet of paper.
In this life, she had to find a school for her younger brother.
It wasn’t about learning knowledge, but at least Ethan needed to learn how to live in a collective environment.
Perhaps he could even make a few friends!
All eight large shrimp had gone into Ethan’s stomach, and William hadn’t eaten a single one.
He sullenly ate rice soaked in soup.
He found the sweet-and-sour pork ribs too sour and the bitter melon with eggs too bitter.
He didn’t even want to look at the other dishes without meat, so all that was left was the rice soaked in soup.
This was the most miserable meal he had eaten since coming to the Vale family.
Margaret felt sorry for her son and went to the kitchen to fry two poached eggs, which finally made William barely satisfied.
Halfway through the meal, Richard asked casually, “Evelyn, did you go to the Blackwood family today?”
Evelyn sneered inwardly.
Richard and Claire had indeed colluded with each other.
In her past life, the moment she mentioned calling off the engagement at the Blackwood family’s home, Richard and Margaret had followed up the very next day to propose the cancellation.
The speed had been unbelievable.
Back then, Evelyn had been foolish enough to think that Richard was concerned for her, which was why he had stood up for her and supported her decision to call off the engagement.
Now it seemed clear that Richard had a premeditated plan.
He simply didn’t want her to marry Alexander at all!
“Yes, I went to visit Alexander.
He was slightly injured.”
Evelyn gnawed on a piece of sweet-and-sour pork rib.
Although Margaret wasn’t a good person, her cooking was actually quite good.
The dishes she made were very much to Evelyn’s taste.
Richard already knew that Alexander had become a cripple, but he pretended not to know and asked hypocritically, “Is the injury serious?”
“It’s not serious, just a minor injury.
It will heal soon.”
Evelyn’s words blocked what Richard had prepared to say next.
For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.