Expectedly, Estelle was infuriated after Jolly called her ‘Mrs. Sutton’.
It had been three years since she divorced Ryan, but she never gave up on the title. She always claimed to be a member of the Sutton Family to outsiders, and she still lived with Mariam in Sutton Manor following the divorce.
However, Jolly’s tone was full of disdain when she called her ‘Mrs. Sutton’. With a dark expression, Estelle snapped, “We don’t welcome you here, Jolly!”
“Jolly?” Freddie’s mother became startled for a moment as the name rang a bell. When she recalled who the person was, her expression changed. Indeed, it’s such a small world!
Jolly did not even frown. “If I’m not mistaken, Mrs. Sutton, it’s the birthday party of Charlotte’s schoolmate, Freddie. Freddie and his mom invited us, not you.”
“You’re in Dolton Residence. Do you think I don’t have the final say?”
Just when Jolly wanted to refute her, Rachel stopped the woman. “Forget it. Charlotte’s schoolmate is throwing a birthday party, so don’t make it ugly. Let’s go.”
Since the kids had entered the house, it was fine for the adults to talk in a rather hostile manner.
Rachel then said to Freddie’s mother, ‘We’re not going in. However, since the kids are here, it’ll be hard to explain to them if we leave all of a sudden. Let them play for a while. I’ll tell them that something happened and we have to leave. Is it alright for you, Mrs. Dolton?”
Freddie’s mother was visibly relieved. Just when she was about to agree to it, Estelle cut her off.
“Stop pretending to be a nice person. You’re Rachel, right?’ Estelle swept a glance over Rachel and Jolly before sneering. “Both of you snatched other women’s husbands and gave birth to their kids. That’s how you cling to those men. You’re just birds of a feather.”
“Mind your language!’ Jolly was most protective of her friends. She hadn’t planned on making a scene, but she didn’t expect Estelle to flare up and chastise Rachel as well.
“Am I not speaking the truth?” Estelle scoffed. “Everyone in Riverdale knows that you rely on the power of your family to cover up your dirty deeds.”
Just then, a loud slap was heard as Estelle’s face jerked to the side. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. “How dare you slap me!”
“Why wouldn’t I dare to?” Jolly’s gaze was dark as she spoke in a condescending tone. “Haven’t you been telling everyone that I rely on my family to oppress you? I’m doing it right now so that your lie will turn into truth. You should thank me for that.”
“You-
“Estelle, stop thinking that I have no idea what you’ve been doing behind my back for the past six months ever since I returned to Riverdale. I haven’t settled the score with you not because I’m foolish, nor am I afraid of you. I just can’t be bothered to deal with a sc*mbag like you.”
“Stop slandering me, Jolly!” Estelle was barking like a mad person as her sister-in-law pulled her back. The noise had attracted the attention of the people at the party, so they gathered around – them.
Samuel and Charlotte caught sight of it as well, and they quickly went over. Still, they had no idea what was going on. “Mommy.”
Rachel stuffed the car key into Samuel’s hands. “Bring Charlotte to the car first. We’ll be leaving soon.” Samuel took a glance at them and asked maturely, “Are you alright? Do you want me to call Mr. Victor and Aunt Gloria?”
“There’s no need for that. It’ll be over soon.”
After a nod, Samuel took Charlotte’s hand and brought her away. Upon seeing that, the star of the party and fair-looking young boy quickly ran after them.
Presently, Rachel had no time to deal with the kids’ issues since onlookers were criticizing and talking about them.
“You’re fully aware of whether I’m slandering you or speaking the truth. Did I snatch your husband, Ryan?’ Jolly scoffed. “If I wanted to marry him, you wouldn’t have stood a chance. six years ago. To put it bluntly, I dumped Ryan, and I don’t care that you got together with him and treated him like a piece of treasure. That was the case six years ago, and it’s still the same now.”
“Y-You…” Estelle’s face had turned pale. Her lips were shaking, but she was unable to say anything. Jolly gave her a sympathetic yet humiliating. look. “Are you furious? The man you’ve been conspiring to get is worthless in my eyes. Let’s go, Chris.”
As soon as she finished her words, Jolly turned around and left. While walking alongside her, Rachel couldn’t help but turn to look at the woman. Jolly’s petite yet delicate nose slightly tilted upward as she gave off a feeling of inherent nobility.
Someone like Estelle would never understand this kind of innate pride. At the entrance of Dolton Residence, Freddie’s mother smoothed things over and asked the guests to get into the house.
“I had no idea about the relationship between Freddie’s schoolmate and the woman.”
“What’s the point of saying this now? Do you want to mock me as well?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean, then?” Estelle shot her a glare and stepped into the house. It’s not over yet!
– Meanwhile, the fair-looking young boy was standing beside Rachel’s car with a dejected expression. “Why are you leaving all of a sudden, Charlotte? We haven’t even had cake yet.”
Samuel and Charlotte had already gotten into the car. While resting her chin on the window frame, Charlotte explained, “Didn’t you see everything? Your aunt was arguing with my mom and my godmother. We have to go home, so you’d better go back now.”
Freddie was perplexed. “Why?”
“Just ask your aunt about it.”
At this moment, Rachel and Jolly appeared. When Rachel saw the young kid standing beside her car, she felt sorry for him. “Freddie.”
The boy came to his senses and asked, “Are you going home, Charlotte’s mom?”
“Yes. I’m sorry that we can’t celebrate your birthday with you since something came up. We have to bring Charlotte and Samuel home. Anyway, I wish you a happy birthday.”
Freddie was on the brink of bursting into tears.
“But we haven’t had the cake yet.” A helpless Rachel stroked his head to placate him. “Go back now. Your mom must be worried about you.”
After she finished his words, she turned around and got into the car. A reluctant Freddie stood by the roadside and fell momentarily silent before asking, “Charlotte, will you stop being my friend from now on?”
She stuck her head out of the car and glowered at him with her crystal-like eyes. “Stop behaving like that! You’re annoying!”
Freddie pouted, feeling so aggrieved that he was about to burst into tears. Meanwhile, a helpless Charlotte scratched her head and rummaged through the space between the safety seats for some time before she found a bag. She then held it out of the window and said, “Take it.”
A dazed Freddie took the bag and saw that there was a beautiful box inside it that was wrapped with a ribbon. Evidently, it was a birthday gift..
The engine started as the red car moved out of Dolton Residence. Freddie snapped back to reality and shouted at the car, “Charlotte, I’ll bring you a cake on Monday! It’ll be a strawberry-flavored one!”
