At this moment, Edith, towering beside her mother, was dressed to kill, looking every bit like a princess.
The pitiful image she displayed earlier in front of Jareth, shedding crocodile tears and apologizing profusely, was nowhere to be seen now. She glared at Marilla with a sinister look, as if she wanted nothing more than to pounce on her and tear her throat out!
"Mom, let me introduce you."
Edith kept a false smile on her face as she locked eyes with Marilla, "This is the person I mentioned to you, Ms. Marilla, my junior high school classmate. Now, she's my brother's girlfriend. Funny how things turn out, right? It's like we're one big, happy family."
When Edith said the word "girlfriend", Marilla's heart felt as if it had been pierced by a sharp needle. She blushed furiously, lowering her head in embarrassment.
Overwhelmed by a sense of inferiority, she instinctively wanted to pull her hand away from Jareth's warm grip.
However, Jareth seemed to hear her unspoken wish and stubbornly refused to let go.
"Edith, have you said enough?" The man's eyes darkened, and his voice carried a hint of anger.
Relying on her mother's support, Edith laughed brazenly, "Jareth, what did I say wrong? Why are you so angry? Or is it that you only dare to pamper Ms. Marilla outside, but are afraid to bring her home to meet Mom? Because deep down, you also despise her for being sick, and you know she's not worthy of becoming the lady of the Fairhaven family, right?"
"Edith, shut up!" Jareth couldn't stand anyone insulting his beloved, and his anger flared, making his eyes bloodshot!
Lily, standing behind them, clenched her fists tightly.
"Jareth, look at how angry you are."
Edith chuckled, "If I didn't hit a nerve, would you be this angry?"
"I don't have time to argue with you."
Jareth, being the mature man that he was, couldn't possibly argue with his sister in front of their mother. Suppressing his anger, he said in a low voice, "Marilla, Lily, let's go."
"Hold on."
At this point, the icy Mrs. Fairhaven suddenly spoke up.
Jareth paused mid-step, gripping the cold hand in his even tighter.
Mrs. Fairhaven didn't say anything, just walked up to the couple with a slight, inscrutable smile on her face.
And it was this smile that made Jareth temporarily lower his guard.
However, as soon as she approached Marilla, Mrs. Fairhaven's eyes turned cold and fierce, and she suddenly raised her hand,
Slap!
"Uhm!" Marilla's head jerked to the side, her cheek stinging with pain. Tears filled her eyes from the humiliation.
"Mom! What are you doing?"
Jareth stared in disbelief, his eyes bloodshot with rage. His fury was threatening to overwhelm his reason!
Lily bit her lip in anger, but she didn't dare say anything. After all, she was just a subordinate in the Fairhaven Group.
"Do you think you're worthy of being with my son?"
Mrs. Fairhaven ignored Jareth's rage and stared coldly at the silent, weeping Marilla, "Don't think that because you're the lady of the Abernathy family, I will tolerate you dating my son. I wasn't even satisfied with your sister Glynnis, how could I possibly let you, a mentally ill woman, become the lady of the Fairhaven family? You might as well give up!"
"Mom! I won't allow you to hurt Marilla any further, don't say another word!"
Jareth stepped in front of Marilla, his eyes full of rage and resentment. His fists were clenched tight, as if he was ready to fight, "If you still want me to recognize you as my mother!"
Edith was taken aback and covered her mouth.
She thought that bringing their mother into the situation would be her trump card. Everyone in Elmsworth knew that her big brother was a dutiful son who listened to their mother above anyone else.
She didn't expect that, for the sake of Marilla, her brother was willing to turn against their mother! How could this be?
"Jareth, you would disown me for this mentally ill girl?" Mrs. Fairhaven's chest heaved with emotion, her eyes filled with heartache.
"Marilla is not mentally ill. She is the woman I love!"
Jareth took a step closer to Mrs. Fairhaven, his controlled voice trembling slightly, but it couldn't hide his passionate feelings, "I love Marilla, and I don't want any other woman. If you insult her again, or lay a finger on her again, then you don't want me as your son anymore."
"Jareth! Are you crazy? For this woman, just for this woman? You're willing to give up your mother?"
Mrs. Fairhaven was practically faint from anger, she kept repeating herself, incapable of saying anything else.
Her always obedient son, just a few days without seeing him, and just for the sake of this silly girl, he had turned into a disobedient son!
"Jareth! You know mom has poor health, how could you make her so angry?"
Edith, supporting Mrs. Fairhaven, changed her tactics, "Jareth, how many women have you played with from childhood till now? It's like a never-ending cycle! You're arguing with mom over Marilla now, but it's just because you're still caught up in the novelty! Once you've had your fill, and you remember the words you said to mom today, when you've made mom sick, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"
Marilla, who had been standing timidly behind Jareth, holding her teddy bear, recoiled a step back when she heard these words.
Her long, delicate eyelashes fluttered as she looked at Jareth's broad shoulders and strong back.
This man had given her a sense of security, but for some reason, her heart was filled with unease, confusion, and fear.
"Mom, from childhood till now, I've never asked you for anything, nor have I made any demands. And you and Edith, whatever you want me to do, or whatever you want, I've always satisfied you unconditionally, helped you achieve it."
Jareth's voice was strained and hoarse, and he asked with a bitter smile, "I've lived for twenty-eight years, I don't want anything, I just want Marilla, can't you agree?"
"No, I can't."
Before he could finish his sentence, Mrs. Fairhaven erupted at him, "Over my dead body, you won't be marrying her. You won't let this dimwit step foot into the Fairhaven household!"
Jareth's eyes were aflame, "Mom!"
"You're my only son, the hope of the entire Fairhaven Corporation! If you end up with a woman like her, how could I face your father after my death?"
Mrs. Fairhaven was losing control, her cultivated composure nearly shattered. "How dare Elspeth and that scheming Glynnis to plot against Edith! Like mother, like daughter, the one you've chosen can't be any good either, she's just a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
Edith, feigning concern, was laughing uproariously inside.
"Ma'am, you've been calling Ms. Marilla a fool, but how could a fool deceive anyone? She's more likely to be the one deceived." Lily could no longer hold her tongue, coolly chiming in.
"What do you know? Shut up!" Edith pointed a sharp finger at Lily.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Ex-Wife Is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus)
Please upload further chapters...
Please upload further chapters...
Where is the continuation of this story? You should not have started writing a story if you dont intend to continue till the end you left us hanging, thats very unprofessional as a writer....
Next chapter please.....
1 chapter per day??...
Hurry up and load more better yet just load the whole book...