Jerome and his wife tiptoed into the room.


    "Oh, I just don''t know when Teresa will wake up. What the doctor said was so


    frightening... that she might never recover. Yvonne, don''t be too sad. Your mother is a fighter; she''ll pull through.”


    Mrs. James said, dabbing at her eyes.


    Yvonne wondered which of her aunt''s eyes had detected any sadness in her expression. Not wanting to waste her breath, she remained silent.


    Jerome and Mrs. James lingered in the room, their attention not on Teresa, but fixed on Yvonne.


    Mrs. James kept nudging her husband. Jerome cleared his throat. "Yvonne, I heard from a friend... has Mr. Noah Thompson divorced that woman from the White family?"


    "You''re well-informed, Uncle," Yvonne replied coolly.


    She knew he wasn''t just making small talk. There was an agenda, but she had no interest in hearing it.


    In fact, she was annoyed. His own sister was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for her life, and all he could think about was scheming for his own gain.


    "Well, Mr. Thompson is still young. Now that he''s divorced, he won''t stay single for long, will he? Yvonne..."


    "Uncle," Yvonne cut in, her voice sharp, "my mother is lying in that bed, and we don''t know if she''ll live or die. Do you really think now is the right time to gossip about the Thompsons?"


    Her bluntness left no room for courtesy. Jerome''s face turned ashen, and he looked like he was about to storm out.


    His wife, however, was more adaptable, her smile never wavering.


    "Yvonne, dear, we''re all heartbroken about what happened to your mother. But even in grief, life goes on. Teresa is our family, and she wouldn''t want to see us letting our lives fall apart because of her."


    Mrs. James prattled on, while Yvonne just pursed her lips in silence.


    "Teresa has only one niece, our Caroline. She''s always worried about her. If Caroline could find a good husband, I know your mother would be overjoyed when she we With that, she looked at Yvonne expectantly.


    Yvonne wasn''t naive. She knew exactly what her aunt was getting at.


    She wanted Caroline to be the next Mrs. Noah Thompson.


    Marrying into the Thompson family would be a huge step up for Caroline. But with Noah being divorced, the James family clearly thought they had a shot.


    Noah wasn''t the most prominent Thompson, nor was he the heir, but he was the eldest grandson. Since Karina had married him, the White family had been riding high in Istra, much to the envy of others. The


    James family wanted a piece of that pie.  S


    So much so that Jerome and Mrs. James, who supposedly doted on their daughter, didn''t even mind her bing a stepmother.


    "You want Caroline to marry Noah?" Yvonne asked with a cold smile. She had to admit, her aunt and uncle were ambitious.


    Mrs. James asked, "What do you think?"


    Yvonne replied, “I think it''s a terrible idea.”


    Yvonne''s t rejection wiped the smiles off their faces.


    "Yvonne, what is that supposed to mean?" Jerome demanded angrily. “You just can''t stand to see your cousin do well, can you!"


    "Jerome, calm down. Talk to her nicely. I''m sure Yvonne doesn''t mean if that way. She has, James, family blood in her veins. We''re family; of course she''ll help Caroline."


    This couple, one ying the viin, the other the peacemaker, could have started their own theater troupe.


    Yvonne wondered what the woman lying in the bed would think if she could see this.