The CEO’S Unplanned Heir novel (Aurelia and Leopold) novel Chapter 880

Aurelia patted Avery's shoulder, offering a smile and echoing, "Avery, you're spot on."

Perla was embarrassed and angry, clearly insulted by the insinuation that they were mocking her precious son, Ritchie.

"Our Hawthorne family isn't exactly bursting at the seams with kin," Perla said with a huff. "We've got just three youngsters in this generation, and Ritchie is your only cousin. No matter his faults, you should stand by him."

Avery snorted, "Come on, Perla. How could you be so ungrateful? Aurelia paid off your mortgage, hired three nannies for Margot and Bella, and even footed the bill for that posh preschool. Ritchie's the kids' father, and you're the grandmother. Have you chipped in a dime for children support?"

Perla glared at him, "Ritchie's out of work, and we're just scraping by on our pensions. How could we possibly have extra cash?"

"Aurelia lined up job after job for him, but he'd rather spend his days living it up," Avery retorted.

Perla resorted to playing the victim, "With all your money, what's feeding one more mouth to you? You might as well consider it charity. You can afford to keep pets, so why not support your cousin Ritchie?"

Belinda rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed, "Stop your wailing, Perla. Ritchie is nothing but an ingrate, biting the hand that feeds him. He's even turned against Aurelia. She didn't hold a grudge and cleared your debts, millions of them. You ought to be grateful. It's your warped morals that spoiled Ritchie, lawless and disloyal. Where is he anyway, out causing trouble again?"

Perla's face twitched in irritation as she burst into tears and shouted, "Ritchie is set in his ways, beyond changing. That he hasn't caused a disaster is a miracle. I can't force him to change his life. Remember, you were there defending his antics in his youth too. Now you just want to live in peace, leaving him to fend for himself. Isn't that a bit harsh?"

Perla felt like there was a bone stuck in her throat, unable to swallow or spit it out.

"That's all water under the bridge. Why bring it up again? You weren't exactly kind to Avery's parents either," Perla shot back.

Belinda glanced at her dismissively, "Even so, I'm the mother who brought them into this world. I'm Aurelia and Avery's grandmother. Can you, an outsider, compare to that?"

She touched her face, adding with a hint of vanity, "The kids got their good looks from me. Back in the day, I was a knockout, the belle of the ball. They used to call me the Helen of Troy in these parts."