Chapter 241 The Walker Family
Oscar took Stephanie along and headed back to the Clinton residence. Getting the car parked, he turned to look at her, who had already fallen asleep at the back seat. “We’ve reached. Wake up now.”
Stephanie pulled herself up, tidied her creased dress, and exhaustedly said, “We’ve reached?”
Oscar glanced at her and replied, “Don’t expose yourself after getting down the car.”
Stephanie nodded.
She did not look too well, and even thick makeup could not cover her pale complexion. Besides, her voice sounded somewhat weak since her whole body was aching so badly.
Getting out of the car, Oscar could not help but reprimand Stephanie after seeing her still looking extremely lethargic. “Get yourself together!”
Stephanie did not dare to go against him again.
Olivia was carrying onto Tony and chatting with Owen when the siblings stepped foot into the living room. Upon seeing them, Olivia hurriedly said, “You’re back? Perfect timing. The Walker family will be here soon.” She then waved to Stephanie and continued, “Stephanie, come over here. I want to talk to you.”
Pretending like she was perfectly normal, Stephanie straightened her back, walked over, and chose a spot quite near to Olivia to sit down. “Mom, what is it?”
The observant Olivia cast her a glance and questioned, “What’s wrong with you? You don’t look too good.”
Instinctively, Stephanie looked at Oscar and answered in fear, “I’m fine, Mom. There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m just hungry and thinking about what dishes the cook will be preparing today.”
Olivia was not convinced and shot a glance at Oscar as she whispered, “Are you two in a conflict?”
Stephanie shook her head. “Mom, I’m fine. Don’t overthink. Oh yeah, I heard from Oscar that you’re finding me a partner. Who’s that? You know I’ve very high expectations; I won’t be interested if he’s not handsome or rich. Don’t blame me for showing him attitude later.”
Olivia smiled. As she was cajoling Tony in her arms, she said, “You don’t have to worry about that. You’ve seen Noah before. You guys used to be playmates but got separated because his family migrated to Anglandur. They’ve returned two days ago, and Mr. Walker mentioned that Noah has intentions to advance his career here. I thought it’d be great to introduce this fine young man to you, so please behave and put on your best performance later. You got it?”
Even though Stephanie put on a smile and looked like an obedient daughter, her mind had long wandered far away. There was no reason for her to get acquainted with good-looking guys through matchmaking at that point in time. Therefore, she had no intention of knowing who Noah was, and neither was she interested in getting to know him. All she wanted was to lie on her bed since she was aching all over.
Oscar’s brutal punishment methods were the cause of her pain. Every step she took felt so arduous, and the pain was so immense that she could feel it in every inch of her body.
“Mom, where’s Amelia?” Oscar placed his hands on his hips and finally asked.
Olivia wriggled her lips in the direction of the kitchen and smiled. “I thought you’ll be able to hold it in longer. It seems like you’ve failed within a few seconds.”
Speaking of the devil, Amelia walked out of the kitchen with a plate of fresh fruits in her hands. Upon seeing Oscar, she could not help but lift the corners of her lips into a smile. But that immediately faded when she saw Stephanie on the couch.
Heading over and putting the plate of fruits on the table, she then said to Oscar, “You’re back.”
Oscar nodded in response.
Stephanie stood up from the couch and respectfully said, “Hi, Amelia.”
Taken aback by her attitude, Amelia looked at her with caution while wondering what tricks she had up her sleeves this time.
Stephanie pointed to the space on the couch and continued, “Amelia, take a seat here. You must be tired after the whole day. Let me give you a massage.”
Amelia warily took a step back. If Owen or Olivia were not present at the scene, she would definitely have asked Stephanie why she was acting so strangely.
“Amelia, have a seat. I’ll get you some cut apples.” Stephanie’s warm gesture certainly freaked Amelia out.
She once got led on because of how unpredictable Stephanie was. If she got fooled again while she had her guard up against her, that would mean she was not just innocent but plain dumb.
Similarly, Olivia found Stephanie’s behavior extremely odd. “Stephanie, what are you doing? Behave yourself. You’re scaring Amelia.”
Hearing that, Stephanie took another glance at Oscar, only to find him looking very grim. That instantly sent a chill down her spine, and she obediently put the apple back onto the plate and giggled. “Mom, I just thought I was in the wrong previously, so I wanted to show my best self in front of Amelia to let her know that I’ve truly repented and that was not just some words.”
That only raised Olivia’s suspicions. She then found Oscar walking over to sit beside Amelia, while Stephanie hastily avoided, terrified.
Olivia curiously asked, “Oscar, have you been picking on your sister?”
Oscar said nothing and instead gave Stephanie a threatening look. The latter then immediately muttered, “Oscar treats me very well, Mom. I suddenly feel like feeding you an apple slice. Here, try one and see if it’s sweet.”
She then stuffed a slice into Olivia’s mouth. Seeing that, Owen frowned and reprimanded, “Stephanie, what exactly are you doing?”
Petrified, Stephanie froze in the spot. Sneaking a peek at Oscar only made her more frantic than before.
When Oscar faked a few coughs, Stephanie immediately reacted like a robot receiving the signals. “Mom, are you alright? I didn’t do that on purpose. Come, drink some water. I mean no harm; I purely wanted to let you try if the apples are sweet enough.”
Olivia snatched the glass of water from her hand and pointed at the sofa on the opposite side. “Stephanie, sit down.”
Stephanie immediately sat down upon hearing her mother’s instructions.
“What exactly is wrong with you, Stephanie? I’ve observed you for a while, and you seem to be out of sorts. Tell me honestly. Did anyone bully you when your dad and I weren’t around?”
Stephanie shook her head at once.
But her immediate response only proved that something was definitely off.
Olivia quietly glanced at the composed Oscar and said, “Tell me honestly, Stephanie. Are you and Oscar in a conflict? Something feels amiss ever since the two of you came in. Did Oscar do something mean to you?”
As much as Stephanie wanted to be upfront, she did not dare to. She was clear who had the final say in the household. Even though Olivia looked like she held the authority, Oscar was the person in power. As long as Oscar wanted to teach someone a lesson, no one, including his parents, would be able to stop him.
Being a willful lady, Stephanie was, nevertheless, not a fool. Especially after getting punished mercilessly by Oscar twice, if she still refused to shut herself up from spouting nonsense, Oscar’s threats of sending her to the drug dealers might really materialize.
She wanted to survive, so she did not dare to take any gamble.
“That’ll never happen, Mom. It’s just that I’ve thought it through. I feel bad that I’ve only been busy having fun and never spare time for you and Dad, so I wanted to make it up to the both of you. But I can’t believe you thought I was weird for being nice to you. I’m really disappointed, to be honest.”
At this point, Olivia was still skeptical.
Owen then chimed in, “Since Stephanie has finally learned to be sensible, you should stop being doubtful of her anymore.”
“We’re glad that you’re thinking that way. Just don’t be so touchy in the future.” Olivia finally bought the story and smiled.
“I got it, Mom,” Stephanie politely replied.
Then, Olivia turned to Amelia, and just as she was about to say something, a young servant walked in from outside and said, “Mrs. Clinton, the Walker family is here.”
Owen and Olivia got up together, and the latter smiled as she said, “They’re here, finally. Perfect time for dinner.”
Oscar then put his arms around Amelia to support her up.
There came five people from the Walker family. Besides Matthew and Carol, there were also a young man and two ladies. The man, clad in a smart-casual outfit and seemingly in his late twenties, had a faint smile on his face. He also had a pair of glasses on, making him look like a mature gentleman. The fine-looking ladies, on the other hand, seemed to be in their mid-twenties, stylishly dressed. The taller one was gorgeous, while the petite one looked pure and cute. On one look, anyone could tell they were siblings with the resemblance they shared. As for Matthew and Carol, they carried the vibes of being cultured and well-educated. The family of five gave others a pretty good first impression.
Owen and Olivia went up and warmly greeted, “You are finally here, Matthew.”
“There’s a bit of traffic on the way, so we’re slightly late,” Matthew replied.
Olivia smiled. “You guys arrived just in time for dinner.”
Matthew and Carol merely smiled.
Pulling the two young ladies over, Carol said, “Olivia, these are my daughters. The elder one is Isabella, and the younger one is Rachel.”
Taking a look at them, Olivia was nothing but full of praises. “So they’re Isabella and Rachel? They’re indeed fine-looking and so gorgeous, unlike Stephanie.”
Isabella and Rachel were those types of ladies who would win the elders’ favor. After they each affably left a peck on Olivia’s cheeks, the two said in unison, “Mrs. Clinton, you’re prettier and more amiable in person than how Mom describes you to be. We love you so much.”
Olivia beamed in delight hearing their compliments.
The two families then continued to introduce their children to each other.
When introducing Amelia, Noah instinctively took a second glance at her, though he politely averted his gaze after that. On the contrary, he was more focused on Stephanie, albeit a pity that the latter was not in good condition then and looked exhausted and dispirited while keeping alert against Oscar.
Olivia prodded Stephanie to signal her to restrain herself. After all, it was not pleasant to be showing attitude to the Walker family, who were their guests.
Enduring the pain, Stephanie had been in annoyance since long ago. Had it not been for Oscar’s presence, she definitely would have stopped putting on a fake front and returned to her room.
