She’d never felt this humiliated in her entire life.
In Vera’s moment of helplessness, unsure how to respond to them, Natalie suddenly spoke up with a smile. “Ladies, please don’t bother Mrs. Harding with all these questions. Laney and I are very good friends, and I happen to know a thing or two about the issue.”
Upon hearing Natalie’s words, Vera’s heart skipped a beat.
She knew that Natalie was going to take the opportunity to reveal everything, including how Kailee had instigated her to force Laney to leave. It was going to be a complete humiliation for Vera.
At that point, Vera kept silent, and waited anxiously for Natalie to reveal the truth.
All the ladies looked at Natalie with teeming anticipation, hoping that she’d divulge some shocking secrets to satisfy their intense curiosity.
Natalie smiled softly at them and said, “The truth is, Laney and Garrett just had a small argument, and decided to live separately for a while. It had nothing to do with Mrs. Harding.”
Mrs. Lee then asked skeptically, “Really? That’s not what people have been saying.”
The other ladies were equally doubtful of Natalie’s account.
The hot topic of Vera mistreating her daughter-in-law had been making the rounds in their circles, with everyone discussing it into great detail. To them, it was highly unlikely that the situation was as simple as Natalie had made it out to be.
It was difficult for them to believe that Laney had left with her child because of a minor disagreement with Garrett.
How could that be?
Vera was equally confused, wondering why Natalie was speaking up for her.
Did she have some trick up her sleeve?
Natalie smiled and continued, “As you all know, rumors travel faster than true stories. Laney told me everything. Mrs. Harding even helped them reconcile with one another.”
Natalie spoke in a very convincing manner, so the gossipy ladies started to believe her account of the scandals.
Johanna then also nodded in agreement and added, “Mrs. Harding has been enduring these negative assumptions about her in order to take the pressure off Garrett. She is just being protective of her son.”
The ladies were skeptical of Natalie’s account at first, but after Johanna’s reassurance, they immediately became convinced. They then felt a unique mixture of sympathy and respect for Vera. “I see. That makes perfect sense.”
“I didn’t realize that Mrs. Harding had quietly been tolerating so much.”
“Next time I hear anyone spread these rumors again, I’ll definitely stop them.”
The ladies all remarked one after another.
Vera’s long-standing worry was finally put to rest.
In spite of that, she was still puzzled as to why Johanna and Natalie had decided to come to her aid and defend her.
With Johanna’s and Natalie’s explanation, the group of wealthy women began to feel that Vera was actually a great mother-in- law.
And they decided to help scotch the rumor for her.
Johanna smiled while persuading Vera, “You don’t need to worry about the children anymore. They have their own life. I used to worry about Natalie and Brandon as well, but they’re managing their lives so well!”
Vera finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “You’re right. I was probably worrying too much about them.”
“That’s right. If you get worried again, you can have afternoon tea with us just like you used to,”
said Johanna with a smile while pouring Vera a cup of black tea.
Completely relaxed, Vera took a delicate sip of her tea, and her smile was becoming more sincere. “You’re right, Mrs. White.”
Johanna smiled and said, “I think I should invite you more often to our tea parties in the future, and I hope Mrs. Harding would honor us with your presence.”
Although Vera wasn’t sure of Johanna’s ulterior motives, she could only nod and agree because of the ladies surrounding them.
“I would be honored to join you.”
The other ladies also moved onto other gossip and let go of the Harding family’s scandals.
After finishing their tea, the ladies left one by one, while Vera remained seated.
Once other women had all left, Vera looked at Natalie in confusion and asked, “Why did you help me? It did not benefit you in any way.”
Natalie smiled and said, “I didn’t want to harm your reputation. I only argued with you earlier so that Laney could live a peaceful life without any disturbances for a while.”
Vera’s anger had already faded away when Natalie spoke up for her in front of those ladies.
Now that Vera was calm, she thought about it from Natalie’s perspective and realized that what Natalie had said was right.
After all, she was manipulated by Kailee. If Laney continued to stay in Barnes, she and her baby could likely be subjected to serious harm.
“But… The baby…” Vera hesitated, unwilling to let go of her misgivings.
She hadn’t had many chances to see her granddaughter before Laney took the baby away.
Natalie sighed and said, “I know you’ve always cared about your granddaughter, but a good family environment is essential for her growth. You don’t want her to grow up without her mother’s care and love, do you?”
Vera knew Natalie’s words was reasonable, so she had no choice but to nod and said, frustrated, “I just miss the child too much.”
“I understand how you feel.” Natalie took out her phone and showed Vera a photo. “This is your granddaughter, and Laney is taking very good care of her, so please rest assured.”
The baby in the photo was cute and had chubby cheeks, innocently and adorably sucking her thumb.
At last, Vera saw her longed-for granddaughter, and even though it was just a photo, it brought tears of joy to her eyes.
She kept glancing at the picture, t*ouching the baby’s cheeks through the screen, and said, “She’s really cute. She looks just like Garrett did when he was young.”
New Book: Beginning with a Daring Encounter
Celsie was tired of being labeled as an introvert, workaholic, and dull virgin by her friends. Determined to prove them wrong, she made a bet that she would do something daring on her 25th birthday. Now that the day had arrived, it was time to fulfill her promise. On her daring to-do list, there was one task: a one-night stand with someone.
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