The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 20

"As the precious daughter of the Lowell family, you act like a common shrew, with no manners whatsoever. It's disgraceful!"

"I'm your sister-in-law, Claire. A little respect wouldn't kill you, or did your parents forget to teach you basic manners along with your ABCs?"

"So tell me, who's the shameless one?"

Claire's eyes began to well up with tears.

She took a deep breath, her polished nails pointing at Jocelyn's face.

"You... you... don't get too cocky! Sooner or later, I'm going to get you kicked out of the Lowell family!"

Jocelyn shrugged. "I'll be waiting."

Claire stormed off in a huff.

Maria came over and said softly, "Jocelyn, she's a little terror. You'd be better off staying away from her. After what happened today, there's no telling what kind of trouble she'll try to cause for you."

Jocelyn smiled faintly. "With her intelligence, she can't come up with anything too sophisticated. Let her be."

Maria said, "Sigh. After all they've put you through, you still went to all that trouble to get these things for them. It must be so hard for you."

Jocelyn leaned in and whispered in Maria's ear, "I bought them from the supermarket after dinner with a friend. They were the leftovers that no one wanted, half-price. It was a bargain. They even gave me a free burlap sack."

As for the scratch on her hand?

She had accidentally scratched herself while itching.

Playing the victim, acting... anyone could do it.

Maria chuckled.

Jocelyn put a finger to her lips. "Shh."

Maria smiled. "Tomorrow, I'll make a nice soup for our dear Audrey to help her recover."

Jocelyn had anticipated that Claire would go running to Adrian with an exaggerated, twisted version of the story, so she had prepared a counter-strategy before coming home.

Of course, she was only testing the waters.

Jocelyn wasn't sure if playing the victim would work on Adrian.

After all, he usually paid her no mind.

To her surprise, it had worked remarkably well.

-

The next day, Jocelyn ran into Adrian in the dining room.

That was a rare sight.

So that was it.

Jocelyn managed to control her temper and asked calmly, "How did Audrey know you were planning to transfer the apartment to me?"

Adrian was silent for a few seconds. "I mentioned it unintentionally."

What an 'unintentional' mention.

Jocelyn didn't say another word.

She knew that arguing now was pointless.

She would have to rethink her long-term strategy.

Looking at Adrian's face, Jocelyn completely lost her appetite.

"I won't be going to the hospital with you. I have to go out."

Adrian asked, "Where are you going?"

Jocelyn didn't look back. "The hospital."

Adrian asked, "What for?"

Jocelyn replied, "A nasty chick pecked me. I'm going to get a rabies shot."