Chapter 804 The Victor
Stephanie made an effort to appeal to Amelia and even sought Olivia’s help to do so. Olivia had specially invited Amelia and her family to visit. Since Oscar just so happened to have work matters to attend to, Amelia could only head over with Tony accompanying her. Hugging Tony, Olivia asked affectionately, “Are you very busy these days?”
Amelia sat down on the other couch and replied, “Thanks for your concern. It’s been all right.”
Just then, Stephanie came out of the kitchen with a tray of fruit in her hands and a wide smile adorning her lips. “Amelia, you’re here! I was just about to call you. I didn’t expect you to be here already. Where’s Oscar?” she asked.
Sweeping her gaze over at Stephanie, Amelia replied, “He had some matters to take care of at the company, so I came here first with Tony.”
Stephanie set the tray on the table and grabbed a piece for Tony. “Tony, here. Try this! Your grandmother told me you liked these fruits, so I got these from the countryside, especially for you.”
Tony glanced at her warily. He made no move to accept the food.
A hint of annoyance flashed across Stephanie’s eyes at his reluctance, but she managed to conceal it. Even Olivia did not realize her true feelings. However, Tony was a sensitive child, and he had always been clever. Naturally, he had sensed Stephanie’s displeasure. Tony wrinkled his nose. He had no intentions of playing nice with Stephanie.
“Grandma, I had a stomachache since this morning. Is it okay if I don’t want to eat the fruits?” he said coyly.
Upon hearing this, Olivia panicked. “How did you get a stomachache? Let me take a look at you! Oh my, your complexion looks bad. Let me give Robert a call and request he come over and give you a check-up. We can’t possibly let anything happen to you!” Olivia muttered worriedly.
Tony sat in Olivia’s arms obediently. In a rather sullen tone, he said, “Grandma, I’m okay. I just don’t feel like eating the fruits.”
Olivia glanced over at Stephanie. “Stephanie, since he doesn’t feel like eating, stop forcing the child.”
Stephanie nearly bit her tongue in anger. This mother-and-son duo is really adept at getting on my nerves. Both of them are so cunning!
“I didn’t know you had a stomachache, Tony. It’s okay if you don’t feel like eating.” Stephanie tossed the fruits back on the plate and glanced over at Amelia. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to invite you to visit some tourist attractions. Since it’s not peak tourist season right now, it’s more convenient for pregnant women like me. Would you care to join me?”
Olivia chimed in, “Amelia, Stephanie has matured a lot ever since she got married. She told me she did terrible things to you in the past, and now she wishes to repent. Since we’re family now, why not let bygones be bygones? Could you give her a chance for my sake?”
Amelia lowered her gaze. No one could see the expression she was wearing.
When she lifted her head a moment later, she acted as if there was nothing amiss. She smiled and said, “Mom, I’ve never held it against Stephanie. It’s all water under the bridge. As for visiting the tourist attractions, ordinarily, I would agree to it, but since she’s around six to seven months pregnant, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I have no idea how I’d face the Walkers if something were to happen to her. So Mom, please don’t put me in such a spot.”
Olivia’s expression darkened.
Stephanie looked at her and beseeched, “Amelia, you said you don’t blame me. I wish to bury the hatchet and get along with you, but you’re refusing to let me make amends. Your words really hurt, you know that?”
Amelia replied warmly, “Stephanie, I’m doing this for your own good. You’re heavily pregnant, so it’s not a good idea to visit those places. Instead, why don’t you visit my home and we can have a good long chat there?” This was the limit of her compromise.
Upon hearing that, Olivia’s expression eased up a little.
“All right, that’s a promise. I’ll make sure to visit you regularly when you have free time.”
Amelia nodded in response.
Olivia patted Tony, who sat in her embrace. “Your Aunt Stephanie wasn’t trying to make things difficult for you. Please try to get along with her, all right?”
Tony shot a glance at Amelia before turning back to look at Olivia. He blinked his eyes innocently. “Grandma, did Aunt Stephanie try to do something bad to me?”
Olivia choked for a moment.
Soon, Noah and Isabella both arrived.
“Amelia,” the siblings greeted her in unison.
Amelia merely nodded politely.
“Isabella, Noah! I made up with Amelia. From this day forward, we’re a happy family,” Stephanie bragged. “Isabella, I’m on Amelia’s side now. So don’t you dare have any designs on my brother, or I won’t forgive you!”
A trace of embarrassment flashed across Isabella’s eyes. Smiling wryly, she said, “Come now. Stephanie, don’t make fun of me. I no longer dared to covet Oscar. In fact, I’d be happy to stay as far away from him as possible. But I guess Oscar and Amelia didn’t seem to believe that I’d stay away. No matter what I did, I would always be the bad guy.”
Amelia calmly watched as Stephanie and Isabella put on their little show. The sudden change in their attitudes was suspicious to her. Both of them decided to have a change of heart at the same time. I bet they’re plotting something.
It was obvious that Olivia was on their side when she persuaded, “Amelia, they both mean well. So please, for my sake, don’t act so defensively around them.”
Inwardly, Amelia laughed bitterly. So that’s what they were after. She realized that the family gathering that day was in order to take advantage of the time when she was alone. They were trying to force her to forgive Stephanie and Isabella. No matter what the duo had done to her before, Amelia was forced to act benevolently and forgive them.
Although Olivia said that she did not care about the incident in which she took Tony away without saying goodbye, in truth, she was still peeved. Otherwise, Olivia would not have taken the other side so staunchly. The elderly woman utterly disregarded Amelia’s feelings and was trying to make her accept the people who had hurt her previously.
One of them was Amelia’s sister-in-law who had nearly cost her and Tony’s lives, while the other was someone who still harbored feelings for Oscar. It didn’t matter who it was, Amelia did not wish to mingle with them. However, Olivia was trying to force the three of them together. Amelia felt quite bitter at the thought.
Just then, Tony jumped down from Olivia’s arms and ran to Amelia. He stood in front of her as if to protect her. “Grandma! Don’t bully my mother!”
Olivia’s expression took on a slight change.
Tony turned to look at Amelia. “Mommy, don’t worry! I’ll protect you.”
Upon hearing that, the expressions of everyone present stiffened.
Amelia picked up her son and said, “Silly boy, no one’s bullying me. You’ll hurt your grandmother’s feelings if you say those words. Think about how well she always treats you. Hurry and apologize to her.”
Tony wrinkled his nose. It was obvious that he was reluctant to do so.
Oliva stared at Tony dejectedly. “Tony, I was only trying to be nice. I treated your mother nicely but you’re saying that I’m bullying her? Am I such a demon in your heart?”
Tony’s eyes darted around, his thoughts known only to himself. He then sighed and ran toward Olivia before hugging her neck. Following that, he planted kisses on both her cheeks.
“I like Grandma the best! I hope Grandma likes me and Mommy too and will stand on our side instead of forcing Mommy to do things she dislikes.” Tony stared at Olivia with clear eyes. Olivia felt her heart softening at the sight. Even if she had been planning to force Amelia’s hand while Oscar was absent, she could no longer do that.
Hugging Tony, Olivia said, “Okay, I’ll stop. Shall we go to the kitchen and see if the food’s ready? Let’s get you some soup. Your father is still busy at work, so who knows if he can even make it in time to eat.”
With that, she scooped Tony into her arms and left. Amelia heaved a sigh of relief. She got up and said with a detached tone, “Stephanie, stay here and take care of your in-laws. I’ll be heading upstairs first.”
Stephanie nodded reluctantly.
Once Amelia was out of sight, she gritted her teeth and muttered, “That brat Anthony foiled my plans once again. I was just about to succeed when he acted cute and distracted Mom. I truly regret not strangling her to death back then!”
Isabella wasn’t too happy with the situation either. However, she did not display her emotions as openly as Stephanie did.
Quirking her lips, she said, “Don’t get mad. With Aunt Olivia on our side, Amelia won’t dare to do as she pleases in front of you.”
Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, “I won’t even bother with her if I wasn’t trying to chase her out of our family!”
Noah chose to be more cautious. He knitted his brows as he said, “Steph, stop involving yourself in this. Isabella is doing this because she refuses to wake up from her daydream.”
Stephanie glared at him without comment.
Meanwhile, Oscar hurried over the moment he settled matters at the company.
When they saw him coming in, the Walker siblings maintained their composure and did not step forward to fawn over him. Before long, everyone was able to finish their meal peacefully.
Oscar, Amelia, and Tony stayed at the Clinton residence before heading back at around eight o’clock at night.
Stephanie and the Walker siblings made sure to leave at the same time.
As they headed to the parking lot, Oscar suddenly said, “Noah, you’d better keep a leash on your sister and wife. If my wife expresses any displeasure, I’m going to hand over the documents to the police. Your mistress did provide me with all sorts of dirt, after all. Although you won’t be sentenced to life, I reckon you’ll have to do six to seven years of jail time. I’m sure you know how much I hate presumptuous people.”
Noah stiffened at Oscar’s words before his expression turned cold. Chuckling, he said, “Oscar, you seem to have misunderstood something. They were only trying to patch things up with Amelia. We’re a family now. It won’t do us good to be too distant from each other.”
In response, Oscar gave him an impassive look.
Noah instantly perked up and declared, “Don’t worry, Oscar. I’ll talk to Isabella and Stephanie. I’ll tell them to keep away from Amelia as much as possible.”
“You’d better.”
Once Oscar headed toward Amelia and Tony, Noah’s face darkened. The irritation he felt toward Isabella and Stephanie grew stronger.
When they returned to the Walker residence, Noah made Stephanie go upstairs before pulling Isabella to the side.
“Isabella, I’m warning you. I’m not interested in your plans but they’d better not involve Steph,” he warned with gritted teeth.
Isabella shot her brother a disdainful look. “You’re bad at managing the company. If it weren’t for Stephanie’s and my help, do you think Oscar would invest in our company?”
Noah snorted in response. “Isabella, don’t try to be a smart-aleck and become a victim of your own cleverness. Don’t get ahead of yourself and end up with nothing.”
“Rest assured, I have it all planned out. Things will only get better from now onward. I will do whatever it takes, and sooner or later, Oscar will be mine. Just you wait and see,” Isabella declared confidently. “Don’t come begging to me then.”
Noah felt as if his sister was still clinging to a three-year-long pipe dream. He was utterly sick of it. If she really has the ability to change Oscar’s mind, she won’t still be here, unable to even touch the man’s fingertips.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Upon saying that, Noah turned around to leave.
A smirk tugged at Isabella’s lips. Just you wait and see. Oscar will be mine! And to those who think that I’m just digging my own grave, I’ll make sure to return the favor.
She had been shamelessly pursuing Oscar for three years. She was sure that the setbacks she encountered would eventually bring her glory in the future. Isabella was going to make the jaws of the people who once laughed at her drop. She would then force them to admit they were wrong about her before making them suck up to her. Isabella was going to emerge as the final victor.
