Chloe slammed the spoon she was holding onto the floor with all her might.
After that, she glared at Charlotte, furious but determined.
"My daughter is the sweetest kid in the world; boys and girls should be treated equally."
"Charlotte, if you continue to belittle women, to treat Aria this way, you can go back home. Don't hurt my daughter's innocent heart here."
Charlotte wanted to retort.
"Really, Chloe? You dare to snap at me? Are you trying to rebel against me?"
Chloe didn't often lose her temper. She was generally a kind and gentle person, but Charlotte pissed her off to the point of losing her sanity.
This just shows how out of line Charlotte's words and actions were.
Bullying her was one thing, but hurting her daughter?
Absolutely not!
Oliver heard the commotion and rushed over. Seeing his son and daughter crying and his wife and mother arguing, he felt an immense headache.
Without even asking what happened, he directly blamed Chloe, "Why are you arguing with my mom? She's my mom, your elder. How can you be so disrespectful?"
Disrespectful?
Chloe was almost spitting blood out of anger at Oliver.
Furious, she asked, "Oliver, should elders who disrespect others also be respected? She called my daughter a worthless girl. I've put up with it, but Aria is very sick now, and she's still talking about her like this. Is she still human?"
Charlotte retorted, "Who are you calling non-human?"
Oliver ordered, "Chloe, apologize to my mom."
Chloe firmly replied, "No way."
Oliver clenched his fist, "Chloe, are you trying to provoke me today?"
Chloe stood her ground, "Oliver, if you dare to hit me, I'll call the police and accuse you of domestic violence."
Charlotte backed up her son, "Oliver, hit her. Women like her only listen when they're hit. Do it now; I support you. If she dares to call the police, I'll tell them she disrespects her elders."
Aria was terrified. She didn't want her mom to be bullied, so she quickly grabbed Oliver's sleeve and pleaded pitifully, "Daddy, don't hit mommy, please. I'll apologize to Grandma. Grandma, I'm sorry for upsetting you again, but can you please not bully Mommy?"
Chloe pulled her daughter into her arms and shielded her.
"Aria, this isn't your fault; you can't apologize. You can't be so weak. Otherwise, you'll be bullied, do you understand?"
Seeing his daughter crying, Oliver loosened his fist, and perhaps he was actually afraid that Chloe would call the police.
After all, domestic violence was not permitted by law.
While Charlotte wanted to say something else, Chloe, with Aria and Austin in her arms, had already returned to their room.
Amelia came to mediate.
Chloe said tiredly, "Amelia, I'm sorry you had to see this."
Amelia sighed, "You really have it tough. It's a woman's worst nightmare to marry into a difficult family, and your mother-in-law is really hard to deal with."
Outside, Charlotte's yelling was still going on.
Chloe sighed helplessly, "Sometimes, I really want to divorce Oliver."
What's the point of living with such a mother-in-law and husband?
Hearing that mom wanted to divorce, Aria started crying.
"Mommy, I don't want you to divorce Daddy. I don't want to lose you. Last time I heard grandma say if you file for divorce, they won't give you the house, the money, me, and my brother. They'll even kick you out of the house."
Chloe quickly held her daughter tight, "Aria, Mommy will never leave you. Don’t be scared; mommy won't divorce; I was just venting."
"Really?" Aria was still very scared.
In her eyes, Mommy was the one being bullied in this family. If she divorces, Mommy would really be kicked out of the house.
Then, she won't be able to see Mommy anymore.
That night, Aria kept running a high fever.
The next morning, Chloe and Oliver took Aria to the hospital.
On the way, Oliver demanded Chloe apologize to Charlotte again.
For the sake of not arguing in front of their daughter, Chloe suppressed her anger but still firmly said, "I won't apologize."
"Chloe, how can you be so unreasonable?" Oliver questioned.
"Oliver, your daughter has been feverish all night. Can’t you care about her feelings?" Chloe retorted.
Aria weakly said, "Daddy, I feel really bad. Can you please not fight with mommy?"
Seeing that his daughter was indeed very feverish, Oliver didn't mention Chloe's apology again.
At the hospital, the doctor looked at Aria's various test reports, and his expression became very grim.
Chloe was on edge.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Windfalls of Love