Chapter 20 Should I Be Kind Just to Make Their Bullying Easier?

Behind the closed doors of Keller Manor's study, the sound of Emma Keller's sobs could be heard. "Darling, you've seen just how far Adeline can go! Alicia is your daughter too! Just look at how badly Adeline treated Alicia. Why didn't you say anything?" Lloyd stood by the bed with his hands behind his back and a dark expression on his face. "I've told you before that Adeline has a bad temper. You should refrain from provoking her." "When did we provoke her? She's the oldest daughter of the Keller family and the wife of a son of the Lambert family. We wouldn't dare to do that." Emma's tears kept falling even as she wiped them away. "Ever since I married you more than ten years ago, all this time I've raised Adeline. I've also given birth to Leonard for you. Even though my contributions may not seem like much, at least I've done my best and put in the hard work. "I can overlook the fact that even today Adeline is still reluctant to address me as her mother, but she went too far with her arrogant acts today. How can I not despair?" Lloyd was growing fretful on hearing those words. "She only comes home a few times a year. Everything will be alright if you can just turn a blind eye to her." "I'm older, I don't mind biting the bullet and just taking it. But it isn't the same for Alicia. She's your daughter too, and a young mistress of the Keller family." Emma started sobbing aloud when it came to this topic as her heart ached for Alicia. "Alicia had been constantly throwing up in the toilet just now. Her condition only improved a little after the doctor came by and gave her some medicine. Darling, don't you feel sorry for Alicia when you see her like that?" "Alicia did suffer today. When she's better, you can take her out to shop for some clothes and jewelry." Lloyd handed a card to Emma. "Let Alicia spend as much as she wants. Consider this my compensation to her." Emma took the card and wiped away her tears, sighing, "I do regret things now. We should have let Alicia marry Christopher back then so that she wouldn't have to suffer now." "It's been so many years, it's a thing of the past now. You don't have to mention it anymore," Lloyd reminded her. "Next time, when Christopher is around, don't give Adeline any trouble. She isn't just a daughter of the Keller family anymore, she's also Mrs. Lambert. "Our family won't gain anything from offending Christopher." "Of course I understand that." Emma nodded unhappily. "Everyone told me that being a stepmother wouldn't be an easy task, but I didn't believe them at first. I've always thought that as long as I'm sincere about it, my sincerity will be returned one day and Adeline will be willing to accept and acknowledge me. "Who knew that even after 14 years, all of my effort has been for nothing." Emma sighed heavily. Lloyd looked at her devastated expression and felt pity for her. He placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "It's alright, you've been wronged too." Emma noticed that his tone had softened and said, "Darling, maybe we shouldn't let Adeline come home too often so that we can prevent this from happening again." To keep Lloyd from misunderstanding, she quickly added, "I don't really mean that, but what I meant was that Adeline and Christopher have already been married for almost three years, but they're still childless. We should let Adeline and Christopher spend more time together. "They don't have to come back to the Keller Manor if there isn't anything important going on. It's killing one bird with two stones, they'll be able to spend more time together as a couple and Alicia won't have to face Adeline's bullying." Lloyd considered this and nodded. "We can do that." "Also…" Emma started before hesitating. "What is it?" Lloyd asked. "I've thought about it, and there's something that I think that you should know." Emma's expression was conflicted. "Leonard kept falling sick recently, so when you weren't home, I had a fortune teller come over to take a look, and…" Emma looked up to take a quick glance at Lloyd's expression when she said that. Leonard's health had been quite fragile recently. They had gone to the hospital, but he had still gone through many ups and downs. Hearing that it was something to do with Leonard, Lloyd quickly asked, "And? What did he say?" Emma took two steps forward closer to Lloyd. "And the fortune teller said that it might have something to do with Giselle's ashes." Lloyd frowned. "Giselle's ashes?" "Yes." Emma nodded. "The fortune teller said that it isn't good for us to keep a dead body's ashes in our home, especially for a young child like Leonard. He recommended that we remove the ashes from this building." "Remove the ashes?" Lloyd's brows furrowed together as he sank into deep thought. Emma saw that he was hesitating and continued, "Darling, Giselle had already left this world for so many years. We can move her ashes to the graveyard and we can visit her there. To continue keeping the ashes in our home isn't good for Leonard. "Leonard's still young and is our only son. We can't take any risks with his health." Lloyd processed Emma's words and finally nodded. "Alright. You can do what you need to do." … Her phone suddenly rang inside her bag. Adeline glanced at the caller and pressed the 'Receive Call' button on her car's dashboard. "Aunt Gloria…" On hearing Adeline's voice, Gloria Burlock immediately asked, "Hey, Adeline, did you get into a fight with Emma again?" Adeline could feel a headache coming on just hearing Emma's name. "Did she complain to you again?" Before Gloria's call to Adeline, Emma had complained tearfully to her about Adeline for 20 minutes, saying how difficult things were for her. "Adeline, don't blame me for nagging, but since her marriage into the Keller family, Emma has done her best to fulfill her duties for all these years. It's time for you to let go of whatever grievances you have against her." Adeline smiled dimly. It's been 14 years. Everyone had been telling her that she should accept Emma as her stepmother. But nobody had asked her if Emma had been treating her well. "Sure," Adeline answered lightly. "I can let go of all my grievances as long as she leaves the Keller family." "How are you such a stubborn child?" Frustrated, Gloria tried to advise her further, "It's a difficult situation for Lloyd too, you should take his feelings into account as well. Whenever there's conflict between you and Emma, Lloyd suffers too as he's the one stuck in the middle." Adeline replied coldly, "He brought this suffering upon himself!" "Can't you be kinder to them?" Gloria's temper rose. "Giselle had a gentle and caring personality. Since you were a young child she had taught you to be kind. If Giselle was still alive today and saw what you have become, think just how sad she would be!" Adeline said, "Of course, should I be kind just to make Emma and Alicia's bullying easier?" Nobody could use Giselle to make her morally obligated to anyone. Adeline had lost her morals a long time ago, she wasn't obligated to anyone besides herself! Seeing that Adeline wasn't budging an inch, Gloria hung up angrily. Adeline tightened her grip on the steering wheel and switched directions. Her destination changed from Regalis Villa to the pub Flaming Elixir. … By the swimming pool of a private villa, a man lounged casually on the leather couch with one of his long legs crossed over the other. His handsome features were half hidden under the white light shining on him from above, while a devilish smile played on his lips. In the pool filled with water below him, another man was being held firmly under the water's surface. He was struggling desperately, seeming like he was going to suffocate soon. The man lifted a hand. The middle-aged man in the pool was pulled out unceremoniously. He was completely drenched, gasping for breath between coughs. He knelt on the ground shivering as he begged for mercy. "Mr. Lambert, I really didn't know anything!"