Frank''s attitude toward Yvonne, however, was much better. He wasn''t pretentious or temperamental and gave her a friendly nod and a smile.


    "Where are Father and Bet?" Emma asked Lily, her face still cold.


    "They are in the study upstairs," Lily replied.


    "Alright, let''s go up then," Emma said, pulling Frank upstairs with her.


    Yvonne sat back down and continued flipping through the magazine. Lily brought


    her a ss of freshly squeezed juice. "Ms. Jones, your juice."


    "Thank you for the trouble," Yvonne said politely, taking the ss and sipping the juice.


    “No trouble at all," Lily said before returning to the kitchen.


    Yvonne finished the entire magazine and had just tossed it back on the coffee table when another car was heard in the courtyard.


    Two luxury cars drove into the courtyard one after the other and parked.


    Eden and Ynda got out of the first car. Vanessa and her husband were in the second car with their son, along with Mrs. Thompson Sr.


    Mrs. Thompson Sr. had just been discharged from the hospital and was now in a wheelchair, being pushed inside by Vanessa.


    Hearing themotion, Lily came out of the kitchen. She was stunned to see Mrs. Thompson Sr. arriving with such arge entourage: Eden, Ynda, Vanessa, Omar, and their son.


    "Ma-Ma''am, what are you doing back here?"


    "Am I not allowed back?" Mrs. Thompson Sr. red at Lily, then had Vanessa push her inside.


    As Mrs. Thompson Sr. was an elder, Yvonne stood up from the sofa out of respect.


    She looked calmly at the woman in the wheelchair. Mrs. Thompson Sr. must have just left the hospital; her face was haggard, and she seemed to have lost all her vitality. She truly looked like she didn''t have much time left. No onder Frank was so tolerant of her-he probably feared she wouldn''t be able to die in peace.


    Although Mrs. Thompson Sr. had done many foolish things, she had still carried and given birth to Frank And during all those years when Mr. Thompson Signored them mother and son had relied on each other so their bond was surely deep.


    "Who is this? I''ve never seen her before,” Mrs. Thompson Sr. said, her cloudy eyes fixing on Yvonne.


    “Grandma, this is Bet''s new ything," Vanessa said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. Her voice wasn''t quiet, and she deliberately raised an eyebrow at Yvonne in a provocative gesture.


    Mrs. Thompson Sr.''s eyelids drooped as she said disdainfully, "Just some kept toy. To think he''d bring her into our home. Bet is bing more and more reckless."


    Yvonne''s lips tightened into a thin line. Her hands, hanging by her sides, clenched slightly as she struggled to suppress her anger and hold her tongue.


    Mrs. Thompson Sr. looked half-dead already; Yvonne was genuinely afraid that one sharp retort from her might just finish the job.


    Seeing that Yvonne didn''t dare to even speak in front of Mrs. Thompson Sr., Vanessa thought she had found her weak spot and continued to mock her.


    "Grandma, I heard that this Ms. Jones was also kept by some old man. It was all over her school''s


    forums, a total disgrace. Benne


    really has no standards, he''s not even bothered by how dirty she is... Ahh!"


    Before Vanessa could finish, the ss of juice in Yvonne''s hand was sshed all over her face.


    Yvonne might be afraid of killing the old woman, but she wasn''t going to put up with Vanessa.


    "Yvonne, are you crazy?!" Vanessa shrieked, her face dripping with sticky juice.


    “Perhaps Ms. Monroe has been abroad for too long and has forgotten the rules here. This is a society governed byw, where spreading malicious rumors is prohibited. Rumors, after all, die with the wise."