Chapter 284 Give Up The Custody
Olivia lay on the bed for nearly an hour before she recovered. Everyone immediately rushed to her. Anxiously, Stephanie asked, “Mom, are you all right?”
Olivia looked at Oscar and Amelia.
Amelia then stepped forward and said softly, “Mom, I’m sorry.”
Olivia snorted and said adamantly, “Amelia, if you still respect me as an elder, don’t take Tony away. He’s the eldest grandson of our family. I’ve waited so long to have a grandson. You’re driving me into a corner if you take him away.”
Amelia looked at Olivia as her lips moved soundlessly, but she still could not muster a coherent response.
Seeing as this was not working, Olivia figured that she had to change a method to convince Amelia. “Amelia, you know that I’ve treated you well over the years. If you insist on getting a divorce, don’t take Tony with you. I’ll have Oscar give you more money. I promise that you’ll be able to live a prosperous life for the rest of your years.”
Unable to help it, Amelia’s eyes turned red. When she heard Olivia calling herself an elder, she could hardly breathe.
Oscar put his arm around her shoulder and took her away from Olivia’s oppressive stare. “Mom, rest well.”
Olivia glared at him, saying, “Oscar, are you trying to kill me?”
Lowering his head, Oscar said in a deep voice, “Mom, I would never do that.”
Olivia struggled to push herself up from the bed. Seeing that, Owen quickly walked over and helped her. He said in distress, “Olivia, calm down.”
Olivia’s hand was clutching her chest as she cried, “How can I? I worked hard to raise my son, but he only cares about his wife now. His mother collapsed from anger, and he doesn’t even care. He’s still on his wife’s side! What hope do I have in my life?”
Olivia was throwing a fit. She blamed Oscar and Amelia for being unfilial to her.
Tears started rolling down Amelia’s cheeks before she said, “Mom, please calm down! Let’s talk about Tony when you’re feeling better, okay?”
Looking at her, Olivia replied, “Amelia, I’ll be fine as long as you don’t divorce Oscar.”
Amelia responded with silence.
At that, Olivia grasped her chest, pretending to be in pain again.
“Amelia, you just want to see me suffer, don’t you?”
“That’s not it!” Amelia hurriedly explained, “Mom, I suffered so much just to give birth to Tony. I can give up the assets from the Clintons, but I can’t live without Tony. Mom, please forgive me for being selfish! You have two children as well, so you should understand that I can’t live without my son! Please don’t take Tony away from me. Please!”
Every single word out of Amelia was fraught with sorrow.
While clutching her chest, Olivia said, “Amelia, you really are trying to kill me! I finally have a grandson, but you’re taking him away.”
Amelia stared at Olivia in silence.
At that moment, Oscar put his arm around Amelia’s shoulders and said, “Mom, even if Tony’s custody goes to Amelia, you can still see him. Amelia will never stop him from seeing you. Why are you doing this to her? You said that you liked her, but why won’t you respect our decision?”
After a pause, he added, “Mom, even if Amelia and I have divorced, we will still respect and love you like we used to.”
A weary expression crossed Olivia’s face upon hearing that.
At the side, Stephanie said, “Oscar, don’t you understand? It’s not that Mom is unwilling to see Amelia leave. She just doesn’t want Tony to leave her. Mom has waited so many years to have a grandson, but you gave Amelia his custody just like that. Have you thought about Mom’s feelings? Don’t you know that she loves children? You were married for almost five years without a child, and Mom kept nagging that she wanted a grandson. Now that she finally has one, you’re both getting a divorce. How could Mom accept it?”
Oscar shot her an icy look in warning.
Yet, Stephanie pouted and added, “Oscar, don’t glare at me. I’m just telling you Mom’s feelings. How dare Amelia hurt Mom’s feelings like this? Do you think Mom would like a daughter-in-law who goes against her like this?”
While listening, Amelia’s body trembled subconsciously. A hint of sadness flickered in her eyes.
Despite that, Oscar’s arm was still wrapped around her shoulder firmly, giving her comfort and strength silently.
“Mom, take a good rest. I’m guessing that you don’t want to see Amelia and me right now. We’ll head out first.”
Olivia shut her eyes, not deigning to give him a response.
Oscar then brought Amelia out of the room. After walking out of the house, he led her to the lake. As the wind blew past them, Amelia instinctively pulled herself away from Oscar’s arms. While she looked at the ripples on the surface of the lake, she could feel a heavy weight pressing on her chest.
“I’m sorry.”
Turning to look at her, Oscar questioned, “Why are you apologizing?”
“You probably hate me for hurting Mom, right?”
“No. It’s my fault for not handling it well. If I had thought about Dad and Mom’s feelings in the first place, they wouldn’t be making things difficult for you. I’m the one who should apologize to you.” Oscar stretched out his hand to stroke Amelia’s hair, but the latter avoided his touch.
Oscar could only put down his hand.
Staring out at the lake, Amelia said abruptly, “Oscar, thinking about it now, we shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. Marriage with an ulterior motive shouldn’t even exist. If our lives had not intersected, all these wouldn’t happen now. You would have married a woman with similar social status according to your parents’ wishes. They would be happy after you have a baby. You would be happy as well.”
Oscar’s eyes instantly darkened.
“Don’t overthink things. Mom is just mad at us. She’ll be fine after some time. As for Tony, don’t worry about it either. I promised you that his custody would belong to you, and I’ll keep my word.”
Amelia glanced at Oscar and noticed that he looked calm. Seeing that he was not upset because of Olivia’s condition and their divorce, a complex range of emotions swelled in her.
She was moved by the fact that Oscar was on her side, but she could not help but feel suspicious. With Oscar’s power, if he did not want a divorce or if he wanted Tony’s custody, Amelia could never go against him. She was surprised that Oscar would support everything she wanted. In fact, Amelia was even beginning to suspect that Oscar was going with the flow because he had long wished that she would leave the family. After that, he could marry his lover and officially bring her home.
Then, all the Clintons would blame her for the divorce, and they would sympathize with Oscar.
She did not want to think of Oscar as such a bad person, but his magnanimous actions made her doubt him. If a man truly loves you, would he look so indifferent after knowing he’s getting a divorce?
Suddenly, Amelia felt that her relationship with Oscar had become weirder. Is Oscar eager to divorce me so that I’ll leave the family?
She could not help but smile bitterly. All the ruckus in the family had made her paranoid.
What’s the use of me worrying about this now? I brought up the divorce and framed Oscar and Cassie myself. I’m a thief who’s crying foul now. What a hypocrite!
If Oscar could read Amelia’s mind, he would definitely plead innocent. He was so devoted to Amelia that he had taken all the blame from Owen and Olivia for her. Now, he was even called an unfilial son because of her.
Amelia sat down and gazed at the lake quietly while Oscar stood beside her in silence.
Amelia had many questions for him. Oscar, have you ever loved me? Why did you agree to get a divorce so quickly? Why don’t you even want to fight for Tony’s custody? However, she could not get the words out of her mouth. Since they were getting a divorce soon, those questions would be redundant.
Both of them sat quietly at the lakeside for nearly an hour.
Due to Olivia’s adamant objections, they kept delaying the divorce procedures. Three days later, Oscar had to attend an important meeting in the company, so he went to the office after breakfast.
Once Oscar left the house, Olivia summoned Amelia to the study.
Pointing at the sofa, she ordered, “Have a seat.”
Amelia sat down obediently and placed her hands on her thighs like a true lady.
Olivia then sat on another sofa across from Amelia. With stern expressions on their faces, both of them looked like enemies sitting at the negotiating table.
Taking out a bank check, Olivia put it in front of Amelia. “Amelia, this is a blank check. You can write down any amount on it, but don’t be too outrageous. You’re determined to get a divorce, so I won’t stop you anymore. However, since you’re so young, you’re going to marry someone else in the future. You should take the money and marry a rich and handsome man. You’ll certainly lower your worth if you bring Tony with you.”
Amelia stared at the check before she lifted her head to look at Olivia.
Olivia sat up straight, appearing like a noblewoman, and added, “Amelia, I told you that I liked you very much as my daughter-in-law. If I have a choice, I won’t give you the money and let you leave. Yet, you insist on divorcing Oscar. I’m not an unreasonable woman. If you take the money and give up Tony’s custody, I’ll still help you whenever you need it in the future.”
Amelia grinned with a hint of sadness and exasperation.
“Mom, I’m sorry. I won’t take the money; I just want Tony.” Amelia stopped smiling as she looked at Olivia firmly. “Mom, you’re a mother as well. You know how important a child is to a mother. I know that I’ve hurt your feelings, but I can’t abandon Tony.”
Olivia’s expression changed drastically as her eyes filled with coldness.
