“We’re all one family now anyway, so why hold a wedding? It’s a waste of money and it’s your second marriage. There’s no real need to have another wedding.”
Hank came out of the kitchen and uncompromisingly said, “I promised Jessica to hold a grand wedding for her. I can’t disappoint her. This is my second marriage, but it is her first. Women mostly only wear the wedding dress once in their whole life.”
He had no way of resolving his mother’s resentment for Jessica, but he would not yield on the things he had decided to stand firm on.
He still had some money left.
The money he provided Jessica with for the renovations and for holding the reception only made up half of his savings.
After having lost his job as punishment by Zack, who knew when he would be able to find a job next?
How could he dare spend all his money? He mentioned to Jessica that the marital home needed renovations and that they should furnish it simply because they only had that bit of money. If Jessica wanted to furnish it with classier stuff, she would have to fork out the money herself.
“If you had been as thoughtful toward Liberty back then, my grandson wouldn’t have left my side either. Hurry up and tell me-did Liberty hide away with Sonny?”
Hank walked to the sofa to sit down, asking, “Where’s Dad?”
“He’s playing chess at the opposite neighbor’s. He’s having a good time-he doesn’t seem to be worried about anything.”
“Liberty did not hide away with Sonny. Maybe she closed the shop because they had something urgent came up. I brought Sonny to the park to play for a while. Sonny’s very happy.”
“That’s good then.”
Mrs. Brown sighed in relief.
Then, she continued, “You need to spend more time with Sonny to nurture your relationship with him. Or else, you’ll feel frustrated when he calls someone else ‘dad’.”
Hank sat down on the sofa and after a moment of silence he said, “That Mr. Lewis seems to be pursuing Liberty.”
“No, it doesn’t just seem like it. He really is pursuing Liberty. If he didn’t feel anything for Liberty, why is he constantly going to Liberty’s diner?”
Mrs. Brown heard her son bring this matter up and took this opportunity to advise him. “Hank, look at how Liberty has opened her own business now. And a breakfast diner at that. With her cooking skills, business will definitely be good.
“She’s also a very hardworking woman who knows how to get by and is now losing weight. She’s not as ugly as she was before. You see, she can even attract top executives like Mr. Lewis, which means she’s still immensely valuable on the market.
“The main thing is, right now, her family is strongly backing her. Don’t even mention that Serena is Zack York’s wife-just her rich aunt alone is impressive. I’ve heard Mrs. Stone has a lot of say in the Stone family.
“As long as you remarry Liberty, no matter if it’s the Stones or the Yorks supporting you, it would be of great help to you. You could set up your own company and be your own boss. How good is that?”
Mrs. Brown thought optimistically.
“That Yates woman can still be your lover-she’s young and pretty enough and has a hot body. But as a wife, she’s not good enough. Look at her! Every day, she goes out the moment it’s bright outside and comes back only when it’s dark. She doesn’t do house chores either. Such a lazy woman won’t help you amass riches.
“And who knows what she goes out to do every day? She’s not even looking for a job but she still dresses up so fancily to go out every day. Hank, be careful that she doesn’t cuckold you.
“I reminded you at the beginning that Liberty is better when it comes to getting by.”
Hank’s expression was dark as he said impatiently, “Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that Jessica’s in charge of the renovations for our marital home? She goes out every day first thing in the morning to keep an eye on the workers doing the renovation. I go there to check on the progress often too.
“Do you think managing the renovations is easy? Back then, Liberty went out early and came back late to watch over the workers during the whole renovating process too.
“Jessica’s the youngest of her family and rarely did housework. She’s still young. You need to give her a chance to hone herself. Don’t keep comparing her to Liberty. How old is she and how old is Liberty?”
He and Liberty were the same age, while Jessica was younger than him by five to six years.
“Anyway, you should keep an eye on her. She managed to seduce you, so she could very well seduce other men. In the past, you had a high income and were her superior and she managed to get benefits from you. Now that you’re both unemployed, who knows if she’ll try to seduce a richer man than you?”
Hank was speechless.
“If you ask me, you’d better break up with that Yates woman and try to get Liberty back. Right now, she’s a sitting duck that lays golden eggs. Whoever marries her has a bright future ahead of them.”
“Mom, even if I wanted to remarry her, have you ever thought that she’d have to be willing to? Do you think your son is the most outstanding man on earth? Do you think that all the men on earth have died out leaving me the last man standing?”
Hank retorted unkindly, “Jessica and I are already husband and wife. I’ve already divorced once and I don’t want to get divorced again. Stop saying stuff like this in front of me and stop getting on Jessica’s case.
“She’s your daughter-in-law. If you’re mean to her now, once you get old, she won’t be bothered with you either. And don’t set your hopes on my sister. All she knows is to come home and take advantage of us. If there’s nothing she can get out of you, she won’t be bothered with you too.
“My brother-in-law and my sister have worked for so many years and their monthly incomes aren’t low either, but they only use you and dad’s money for their household expenses-the same money which was given by me to you guys for your living expenses. They definitely have much more in savings than I do.”
Hank had chased his sister away, but his mother was still of one mind with his sister and was hostile toward Jessica.
“They can’t bear to spend their own money but keep coming to ask me to lend them money. When I refused, she even shamelessly went to harass Liberty. Then, when I chased her out, she even packed up everything useful and everything edible in our home and took them with her when she left! Mom, the daughter you gave birth to is a leech-a leech who only preys on her own family!”
As the saying goes, out of ten daughters, nine would be leeches, and Chelsea was the worst kind of leech among them.
In the past, Hank had not cared because he was richer than his sister at the time.
After his relationship with Liberty had lost all passion, he felt that his sister was truly family for life while Liberty was anything but an outsider, so he was always partial toward his parents and his sister.
Now, things were no longer what they used to be-Hank had different thoughts now.
Without realizing it, Hank had become his sister’s enabler for many years.
Mrs. Brown was at a loss for words.
The door opened.
Hank dropped the conversation with his mother, guessing that Jessica had come home.
As expected, when the door opened, Jessica walked in with two portions of fast food.
“Darling, you’re back. You’re right on time-let’s eat. I got two set meals for us.”
Jessica walked over, carrying the two set meals. She sat down beside Hank and opened a bag to take out one set meal and passed it to Hank. Then, she placed her portion on the coffee table, opened the fast food cover, and began to eat.
Hank looked at his mother, then looked at Jessica, and asked, “Darling, did you only get two sets? What about Mom and Dad?”
Jessica said as she ate, “I didn’t buy any for them. They can cook whatever they want. There are still two packets of instant noodles at home-enough for them to have one each. And there still are three eggs, enough for the three of you to have one each.”
When her in-laws cooked, they would cook very little. When her mother-in-law served them, she would serve her father-in-law and Hank a large portion. Mrs. Brown would then serve herself a large portion too, but would never serve her a portion.
When Jessica went to help herself, there would only be a little left in the pot.
Her mother-in-law did it on purpose.
Every time Jessica ate at home, her mother-in-law would deliberately not buy groceries, and even if she did buy some, she would buy food that Jessica disliked.
Even when she just prepared a plate of plain lettuce and three boiled eggs, it would be just enough for the three of them and there was no share for Jessica as the daughter-in-law.
If it were not for Hank still on her side, giving her half his share of food and even his boiled egg to her to eat, Jessica would have found it impossible to stay in this house.
The more they interacted, the more Jessica understood why Liberty had thanked her after getting divorced.
Since they had started it, she would respond in kind.
That was why she only bought a set for Hank when ordering takeout. As for her in-laws- nothing!
Mrs. Brown was so angry her chest started hurting and she pointed at someone who was eating with gusto while she herself was on the brink of letting loose a stream of abuse.
“Mom, I’ll give you my share. I’ll have instant noodles-I haven’t eaten them in a long time and I want to have some.”
Hank hurriedly shoved his set meal into his mother’s hands to avoid another conflict erupting between his mother and wife.
Mrs. Brown’s heart ached for her son and she slammed the set meal down on the coffee table heavily. She stood up and said angrily, “Do you think I can’t afford a fast food set meal? I have a pension too! Son, let’s go. Call your dad up. We’re going to a restaurant!”
Jessica turned to look at Hank.
Hank immediately surrendered and chose his wife. He said to his mother, “Mom, you go with Dad.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.