Chapter 512 Pleading At Their House Was Useless
The next day, Eleanor went to visit Amelia Winters. When she saw Oscar again, a hint of awkwardness and guilt arose in her heart inevitably. She kept feeling that the young man before her could see through her. The way he was scrutinizing her made her feel as though she was utterly exposed under his gaze, which was an extremely uncomfortable sensation.
Amelia Winters gently pulled Eleanor to the couch and let her sit down. Noticing that the latter’s face seemed pale, she asked worriedly, “Mrs. Hutton, are you feeling unwell? You don’t look so good.”
Out of concern, she got up to make a cup of jasmine tea for Eleanor. While handing the cup of tea to her, she exhorted, “Have some warm tea, Mrs. Hutton.”
Eleanor finally looked better as she held the cup in her hands.
“Lia, I have a question for you. Do you feel pressured whenever I treat you well?” she asked after moments of hesitation.
Amelia Winters was stunned before she chuckled and replied in confusion, “Mrs. Hutton, why are you asking such a question?”
Eleanor sneaked a glance at Oscar, forced a smile, and said, “I’m not your relative nor your friend, so I’m worried that you would feel pressured that I’m caring about you too much.”
The younger woman chuckled again. “Mrs. Hutton, I grew up without having a close relationship with my parents. Hence, I never understood how to interact with my elders. To be honest, I felt overwhelmed by your cordiality in the beginning, but I was happy at the same time. Your care and concern made me have the illusion that you are my mother, but after thinking about it, I denied such a thought because there’s no way you’re my mom,” she then said ambiguously.
In truth, she had thought of reuniting with her because Eleanor treated her so well. However, Amelia Winters felt that the older woman had no intention of recognizing her as her daughter. All she could do was sound her out and gauge her thoughts step by step. While she could not figure out Eleanor’s true attitude toward the matter, she also failed to comprehend why the latter treated her so well yet did not plan on accepting her as her daughter.
That had her wonder if she had the wrong idea all along, and the truth was that she was not related to Eleanor.
Eleanor’s heart throbbed with sorrow while her mouth twitched. She wanted to say something but held her tongue at the end.
“It’d be a blessing to have such a thoughtful daughter like you,” was all that fell from her lips as she wore a doleful smile.
Amelia Winters smiled and chose not to continue the conversation.
The atmosphere somehow became heavy and silent after the both of them quieted down.
Coincidentally, the doorbell rang, breaking the tension between the two.
Amelia Winters stood up and smiled. “I’ll go and get the door, Mrs. Hutton.”
As soon as she opened the door, she was taken aback by the person standing outside.
“What are you doing here, Ms. Larson?” Amelia Winters asked despite knowing that Jennifer showed up because of her mother. It was one thing for Laura to come to her office and cause a scene without concrete evidence, but it was another thing to strike her. She was not a pushover, so she refused to let Laura off the hook easily when the latter had caused her so much trouble.
If a person were to make a mistake, she believed that they should bear the consequences and pay the price no matter who they were.
If Amelia Winters were not Oscar’s wife, she might have to swallow such humiliation and injury without receiving any form of compensation. In fact, she might even lose her job because of what Laura did and bear the losses all by herself.
With a change of identity, her relationship with Laura had transformed into that of a victim and a perpetrator.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Jennifer asked in an awkward tone.
Amelia Winters stepped aside. “Come in.”
Jennifer entered the house and saw the Huttons seated on the couch. As she had never seen three people look so alike, she blurted in shock, “Are they your sisters?”
“Nope,” came Amelia Winters’ brief reply.
She did not want to elaborate further on the matter. To be precise, she felt that she was not close enough to Jennifer to the point where she could share everything with the latter.
Jennifer was aware that she was in an awkward spot. One could say that she was Amelia Winters’ rival in love or the daughter of her assaulter. With such identities, she could not help but feel out of place.
If it were not for Laura, she would never have shown up in Amelia Winters’ home. Swallowing her pride in front of her rival in love was uncharacteristic of her because her own dignity forbade her from doing so.
Jennifer gave the gifts she was holding to Amelia Winters. At that moment, Oscar walked out of the kitchen and spotted her. Without a change in his expression, he approached her and stated, “Ms. Larson, I have made it very clear that you can speak to my lawyer should you have any inquiries. I’ve requested my lawyer to draft a letter of appeal, so you should employ a good defense lawyer for your mom.”
Jennifer’s face fell at his words. She took a deep breath and forced a smile before replying, “Mr. Clinton, there must be a misunderstanding involved here. My mom attacked Amelia in a fit of rage. I came to visit Ms. Winters today to apologize to her on behalf of my mother. I hope both of you can have some mercy and allow us to settle this matter in private. My mom is well on in years now, so she won’t be able to handle being in a harsh environment like prison. Take it as I’m begging you.”
Oscar sneered. “Ms. Larson, your mom should pay the price for her recklessness. If your mom killed any other ordinary person by throwing a phone at them, would you have spent some money and brushed off the matter by bribing them? It’s a shame that your mom hit my woman. Thus, I won’t let you settle the matter in private, nor do I plan to let her off the hook. If you have anything you want to say, you can speak to my lawyer. Please don’t seek my wife out. Don’t forget that she’s the victim in this incident.”
Jennifer’s expression kept changing throughout his utterances, mixed emotions flickering briefly in her eyes.
“Ms. Larson, I advise you to go home since I can’t provide any assistance to you. When your mom made a fuss at the company, not only did she insult and defame me, but she also physically hurt me. If she exerted a little more force, I might not even be here talking to you right now. She hit me in the forehead, and I might have died if anything went wrong. I’m not a saint who would forgive everyone, and I’m already being courteous for not exaggerating the incident. As for what verdict your mom will receive, that’s up to the police, not me,” Amelia Winters piped up.
“Lia, is she the daughter of the culprit who harmed you?” Eleanor walked over. She was no longer in a good mood as before.
“Mrs. Hutton, she has nothing to do with the incident. It was her mom that made a scene.” Amelia Winters defended Jennifer.
Eleanor studied Jennifer from head to toe and spoke in a cold tone. “Young woman, you have a decent appearance and a stunning aura. I can see at a glance that you come from a good background. However, it’s rude of you to show up at the doorstep and start begging for forgiveness for your mom with such a foul temper. Your mom has no relation whatsoever with Lia, so she does not have to be responsible for your mom’s recklessness. From the moment you showed up at the door, I couldn’t sense an ounce of remorse from you. Are you really here to apologize?”
The latter was upset from being lectured by her.
After taking a deep breath, she looked at her. Ultimately, she made the wise decision of not arguing with Eleanor. Instead, she directed her words to Amelia Winters. “Ms. Winters, I’m sorry that my mom hurt you by accident. I apologize from the bottom of my heart on her behalf.” As Jennifer spoke, she bowed to the latter. “Please withdraw the lawsuit. My mom is old, so she won’t be able to handle such torment. If you have any resentment, direct them to me and spare my mom, please.”
Amelia Winters laughed in anger. Who would’ve known that their family is constituted of a bunch of weirdos?
“Oscar, please help me see our guest off. I believe I don’t have much to say to Ms. Larson at this point.” Amelia Winters turned toward Oscar, not wanting to waste her breath any further.
“Ms. Larson, please leave. You can talk to my lawyer directly if you have any problems,” Oscar said.
Jennifer shot a deep look at him. In the end, she left with her tail between her legs as her pride would not allow her to continue humbling herself to beg others.
Once she left the condominium, she raised her head to look at the blinding sunlight and clenched her fists while her gaze turned grim.
Amelia Winters, don’t be too pleased with yourself. I’ll have you withdraw the lawsuit willingly. If you don’t believe me, just wait.
Amelia Winters could not care less about what Jennifer was thinking. “I hope she didn’t frighten you, Mrs. Hutton.”
Eleanor shook her head. “Her mother was the one who hurt you?”
“It’s a misunderstanding. Let’s stop talking about her. I believe the police will bring her to justice.” It was apparent that Amelia Winters did not want to discuss it anymore, seeing how she changed the topic abruptly. “How many days have you been here for, Mrs. Hutton? You’ve been here for two days, yet I’ve been unable to accompany you and bring you around the tourist spots because of my work and injury. Why don’t you head out and see the sights now? I can ask Oscar to bring you two to go on a tour of the city.”
“Don’t be silly. I came out of my way to visit you. I’m already distressed by the fact that you’re hurt, so how would I still have the mood to enjoy the scenery? You should recuperate at home and eat more. Once you do, I’ll be able to feel at ease.” Eleanor gently caressed the wound on the younger woman’s forehead, her heart aching for her.
“Mrs. Hutton, it’s just a minor injury. I’m fine.”
“All right. I know it’s a minor injury. I’ll head into the kitchen and prepare something delicious for you.”
“You don’t have to do that, Mrs. Hutton. Molly will handle it.”
Eleanor did not say anything and walked directly into the kitchen.
Amelia Winters flashed a resigned smile toward Amelia Hutton. “Mrs. Hutton is such a kind person.”
The latter merely lowered her head in response, acting like she did not hear her.
