Her Revenge Was His Regret (Shirley and Gilbert) novel Chapter 316

"You know what makes Julia smarter than you? She uses everything around her." If Julia hadn't misjudged Sherry last time—thinking she still cared about Gilbert's opinion, afraid to make a scene—she wouldn't have lost.

Most women wouldn't attack in that situation. Unless they were stupid. A little slap? Girls don't hit that hard. But the sympathy it would've generated? Priceless.

Perfect way to escalate the war between them.

Julia just didn't expect Sherry to stop caring about Gilbert's opinion or her own image. Sherry went full beast mode and Julia lost.

But Cathy? Cathy was just pure stupid.

Cathy curled on the floor, clutching her stomach, and laughed. "Ha. Finally showing your true colors. I knew no decent woman would cling to my cousin and weasel her way into marriage.

"You played the victim at our house forever. Now you've got Mr. Harrison's attention. Not scared he'll see the real you and kick you out?

"I'm telling you, if Mr. Harrison drops you, the Bodes won't take you back either!

"And guess what? You're getting kicked out soon."

Cathy scrambled up and walked off like nothing happened.

Sherry ignored her completely. She went to her room, worked a bit, then slept.

Truth was, Sherry and Lucas were slammed. The Harrison workload was insane. Lucas' parents had left projects everywhere.

Even Lucas, who hated hearing about having kids, admitted it might beat this grind.

"At this rate, I should've listened to the two and just pumped out a bunch of kids."

He sighed at his desk. At least he was young. Someone older couldn't handle this.

The way he said "the two" sounded distant. "Your grandparents wanted them to have more kids?"

Lucas' expression darkened. Something flickered in his eyes—Sherry caught it. But then warmth crept in. "At least you want to know something about me."

Sherry rolled her eyes.

Everyone gets curious.

Lucas' parents seemed so normal and approachable. To survive that kind of war...

"My father got lucky. The fight got bloody. People died. Others came out broken. He just wanted to hide, stay out of it. Somehow he lasted till the end."

She figured it would be bad. She didn't think it would be that gruesome.

No wonder she'd never met the others. Some dead. Some crippled.

It sounded horrifying, more gruesome than Lucas even said.

No wonder they left her alone.

"Things are better now, right? You're an only child. No competition."

"It should've been." Lucas' smile turned bitter. "They claimed the old scramble was forced. Then in my parents' generation, they still wouldn't let go. They demanded at least ten kids, then told my father to take a few side chicks and push for thirty children total. That way the Harrison line would be stronger."

"You're kidding. You can't just do that out in the open." Sherry didn't get it.