Elsie froze when she heard the whispers around her, most of which consisted of snide remarks.
“Look at that homewrecker. I wonder how she can still parade around shamelessly!”
“I’ve never seen a homewrecker who isn’t shameless. After all, one can’t steal another’s husband without first being thick-skinned, right?”
“She does look like a sly homewrecker—and to think she was trying to intimidate others around her. She should get off her high horse and look at herself in the mirror!”
Elsie stiffened. She looked around and saw that everyone was throwing scornful looks at her. The graceful and elegant front she’d put up earlier was as good as trashed, reduced to nothing.
A fiery rage lit up her eyes as she marched forward, reaching out with her hand to push Henry, who had already stepped up. “What did you say, you little b*stard? You better watch that mouth of yours!”
However, Myra gripped Elsie’s wrist before she could touch Henry. Elsie was shoved backward by Myra, who said coldly, “You should be the one to watch your mouth. What’s wrong, Elsie? Are you having a hard time living with your shame? Does Lyla know that you’re pregnant with her husband’s child?”
After having been pushed, Elsie staggered and nearly fell onto the ground. Her face was grim, but when she heard Myra mentioning Lyla’s name, her fists clenched at her sides.
Lyla was now her biggest enemy.
Elsie would have been better off not knowing that Sean only loved her for her eyes, which were the same as Lyla’s. Now that she did, her heart clenched with hatred.
As it turned out, he had never loved her in the first place and after she found out she was pregnant, she looked to Eve to ask her for help.
“Why? Are you going to break the news to Lyla?” Elsie did not want to appear weak in front of Myra. After all, the latter was abandoned and unwanted. If these were ancient times, she’d be a disgraced housewife. How dare she act all high and mighty with me? She can’t even begin to compete with me! At least I get to turn things around now that I’m pregnant with Sean’s child.
Elsie sneered and continued, “Did you forget who sidelined you in the first place, Myra? We’re practically one and the same. Besides, it doesn’t matter if you tell Lyla about this. I’ll give birth to this baby and I’ll be the one to fulfill Eve’s dreams of becoming a grandmother. We’ll see who gets to become the Young Mistress of the Chase Family after this!”
Upon hearing what the woman before her said, Myra scoffed at the naivety that belied her words. “We are not the same.”
If Eve really wanted to bring Elsie into the family, she wouldn’t have kept quiet for so long after she’d learned of the latter’s pregnancy. Even fools would know that Eve was only after the baby and once the child was born, Elsie wouldn’t have a choice but to hand him over to the Chase Family. By then, it would be far too late for Lyla to do anything about it, lest she considered infanticide.
Myra mused in her heart. She had to commend Eve for her wickedness; the woman had silently and single-handedly accomplished the things that would most benefit the Chase Family.
“You and I are not the same,” Myra repeated stoically. “One, I don’t like Sean and two, I’m not a homewrecker.”
With that, she pulled Henry with her and strode toward her car. Her heart wrenched when she saw that he had lowered his head in resentment. She paused and turned to address Elsie coldly, “You should know who you’re dealing with before you try to bring them down. You’re only going to humiliate yourself in the end. Who do you even think you are?”
The emphasis on the last part of Myra’s warning was not easily missed—she’d used Elsie’s words against her.
Myra ignored the gloom that passed over the other woman’s face and led Henry into the car.
Henry was still downtrodden even as the car made its way toward the mall. In an attempt to placate him, Myra took his hand and quipped, “Is there a reason why you want to shop for clothes all of a sudden, Henry? Have you grown taller?”
He turned to look at her, no longer as upset as before, and answered, “The clothes aren’t for me—they’re for Mom’s boyfriend. Christian’s birthday is coming soon and I’d like to give him a gift.”
Myra was taken aback at first, but she quickly smiled as she praised, “That’s very nice of you, Henry! I’m sure your mom would be very happy with this and so would Christian.”
Henry grunted in agreement before he took a deep breath and anxiously said, “Myra, I didn’t mean to bring up the man and the woman back there. I was angry and I didn’t think before speaking. Please don’t be mad at me.”
He had been feeling guilty from the moment he brought up Sean and Lyla. When the boy’s mother had told him about those things, she specifically reminded him to avoid bringing up their names in front of Myra.
Myra blinked at him. At first, she did not know the man and the woman whom Henry had referred to. Then, realization dawned upon her and she smiled when she saw him assessing her anxiously. “Don’t worry. Those two are irrelevant and I wouldn’t be mad at you just because you brought them up. Besides, I like your uncle now—you said so yourself. Everyone else is irrelevant.”
Upon seeing that Myra was not angry, Henry let out a breath of relief. He clenched his little fists and said, “My uncle is way better than that man! You’re going to be the only person he loves and he won’t fool around behind your back either!”
The words came naturally—he’d picked up the phrase ‘fool around’ from his great-grandfather, who had used the same words to put down the former’s father.
Myra’s smile softened as she thought of Tony and she teased, “Did your uncle bribe you into complimenting him like this?”
Henry flushed before he flapped his hand dismissively. “No, not at all.”
She couldn’t help but beam when she saw how flustered he was.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the mall. After having parked the car, the both of them headed toward the men’s boutique.
Henry had an acquired taste since young, given that he was the heir to both the Reyer and the Hart Families. Even Myra was left slightly astonished at the understated but tasteful pieces that he’d chosen from the various collections on display.
After picking out Christian’s birthday gift, he turned and saw that she was still perusing the clothes in the boutique. He went over and asked playfully, “Myra, are you picking out a shirt for Uncle Tony?”
Now that Henry knew what Sean was like, he was even more determined to bring Myra and his uncle closer together.
Myra flushed and her hand slid off a pale blue shirt before she drew it back. “I’m just looking around.”
“Well, I think this is a nice shirt. It’ll look good on Uncle Tony!” Henry encouraged with a grin.
Meanwhile, the sales assistant who was packing Henry’s purchase had taken notice of their exchange and hurried over to them. She gave them a polite smile as she said, “The both of you have great taste. This shirt is by an esteemed designer and it’s part of our latest collection too. This is the only one of its kind. You could get it for your husband if you’d like, miss.”
The sales assistants in the boutique had a good eye when it came to assessing their customers and they were sure that the woman and the boy came from money.
Myra blushed when she heard that Tony was being referred to as her husband. She gave the shirt another glance and she had to agree that it was very exquisitely made.
She wasn’t sure if Tony only wore white shirts out of habit. As far as she could tell, the man didn’t own any colored shirts in his wardrobe.
“Just get it. Didn’t you say that Uncle Tony is coming over to pick us up later? You could give this to him as a surprise!” Henry cajoled gleefully.
Myra softened when she remembered how Tony had been slightly displeased after she’d told him she was spending the evening with Henry. She turned to the sales assistant, who was practically thrumming with anticipation beneath her polished, professional facade, and said, “I’ll take this then. Please pack it up for me.”
