Chapter 268: Chapter 268: As If Nothing Ever Happened
Joanna Sherman’s expression turned foul.
"Did your mother tell you that? Cedric, I don’t know why your mother is always falsely accusing me, but I swear, I never did anything like that!"
’That Sophia Shaw, how dare she badmouth me in front of her own son!’
What shocked Joanna Sherman even more was that Cedric Grant actually believed his mother!
In that moment, she wanted to rip Sophia Shaw to shreds.
She began to denigrate her almost instinctively. "I know your mother has always hated that I received your grandfather’s affection, and she didn’t."
"But she was doted on by your grandfather for more than ten years. I had only just returned to the Jennings family. Your grandfather felt guilty, so he was momentarily kind to me... Why does your mother have to be so petty!"
"She must have told you all sorts of bad things about me, didn’t she? Cedric, your mother has been framing me since we were children. You can’t believe a word she says!"
"Auntie... Joanna?"
Cedric Grant stared at Joanna Sherman in surprise.
This hysterical, vicious-looking Auntie Joanna was a complete stranger to him!
The Auntie Joanna of his memories was elegant and self-assured, always radiant, too proud to speak ill of others, and concerned only with herself.
He even suspected for a moment that the person before him and the Auntie Joanna he knew were two different people!
After a long moment, he swallowed and said softly, "My mother hasn’t said a single bad thing about you."
Joanna Sherman snapped back to her senses, but not before she saw her own fierce, twisted features reflected in the glass.
Like this, she was no different from a common shrew on the street.
It was the very image she detested and despised the most!
She had actually lost control in front of Cedric Grant!
Joanna Sherman scrambled to compose herself, her eyes darting about in embarrassment as she fought to suppress her panic. "Ah," she said. "Cedric, I’m sorry. A lot has happened between your mother and me. I always kept it hidden because I didn’t want our problems to affect your generation. But just now... I got a little emotional."
Cedric Grant gave a soft "Mm," but his mind was elsewhere.
’Mom used to despise Auntie Joanna, but she never criticized her this viciously.’
’It’s the comparison that hurts.’
Comparing the Joanna of now to the Sophia of the past, Cedric was realizing more and more that his former irritation with his mother had been entirely baseless.
Cedric Grant grew sad again and said in a low voice, "Auntie Joanna, I’m leaving."
Agitated, Joanna Sherman headed upstairs.
As she reached the door, she heard Lillian Forrest’s shrill screams again. "Get out! Get out! Get out of here!"
She had the code, so she quickly keyed it in and rushed inside.
She found Lillian Forrest thrashing wildly, throwing things off the bed. The IV needle had been ripped from her hand, and blood trickled down her wrist, dripping onto the sheets.
She was yelling hysterically, her emotions at a breaking point.
Meanwhile, Ma Lane was half-shielding her son in a protective stance, saying, "Lil, why are you so angry? My son’s got the looks, he’s got the ambition, and he doesn’t even mind that you’re blind. You’d be lucky to marry him, don’t you know that?"
Liam Reed, hiding behind Ma Lane, also piped up, "Lil, your parents have already agreed to this. You’re marrying me whether you like it or not."
"Don’t worry, I won’t mind what happened to you. We can both just forget about it, pretend it never happened."
"See? My son is so understanding. Where else would you find such a good man?" Ma Lane chimed in.
Joanna Sherman listened from the side, sneering inwardly.
’He was the one who took her clothes off, of course he doesn’t mind.’
’Still, to do something so disgusting and have the gall to call himself ’understanding’ was a new level of shameless.’
Glancing at the two of them, Joanna Sherman said nothing to expose them, instead rushing over to Lillian Forrest. "Lillian, be careful!"
Lillian Forrest tumbled off the bed and fell to the floor.
Joanna Sherman quickly pulled her into an embrace.
Lillian Forrest fumbled for the hem of Joanna Sherman’s clothes and broke into sobs. "Joanna, these people are awful, just awful! They don’t care about me. They said I’m a disgrace and told me to just marry whomever!"
Ma Lane, who certainly didn’t think marrying her son qualified as "whomever," opened her mouth to protest, but shut it again with a grumble when Liam Reed tugged on her arm.
Liam Reed looked at Joanna Sherman nervously.
He was terrified that Joanna Sherman would recognize him.
But when he saw that Joanna Sherman wasn’t looking at him, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
’He’d worn a mask and hat that day, and everything was so chaotic. It was perfectly normal that Joanna Sherman hadn’t recognized him.’
Liam Reed thought to himself and stole another couple of glances at Joanna Sherman.
’If she hadn’t pointed out that punk kid was dating Lillian Forrest, he wouldn’t have had to resort to this.’
’Besides, there were no security cameras around that dump, so nobody knew he was the one who’d attacked Lillian Forrest.’
Liam Reed said, feigning thoughtfulness, "Mom, let’s let Lillian calm down first. We can come back and see her when she’s in a better mood."
Ma Lane shot a dissatisfied glance at Lillian Forrest.
’So dramatic!’ she grumbled to herself.
’If her son didn’t like her, and if Lillian Forrest didn’t have Jenson Forrest backing her up, she wouldn’t even want her son to marry her!’
Ma Lane was somewhat wary of Joanna Sherman, so she said nothing more and left with Liam Reed.
Joanna Sherman coaxed Lillian Forrest back into bed with soft words, covering her with the blanket with all the tenderness of a big sister.
The turmoil and humiliation in Lillian Forrest’s heart lessened a great deal in her presence, but she still couldn’t stop crying.
"What happened?" Jenson Forrest asked as he walked in and saw Lillian Forrest crying, with a pillow and a cup on the floor.
He was carrying a thermal container.
Lillian Forrest had said she wanted his homemade seafood congee, so he had made a trip home.
"Where’s Ma Lane?"
Joanna Sherman said gently, "It’s nothing. Lil was just in a bad mood and needed to vent a little."
"Lil and I wanted to talk in private, so I asked Ma Lane to step out."
Lillian Forrest turned her face towards Joanna Sherman, slightly surprised.
’She didn’t mention a word about what Liam Reed and Ma Lane had said?’
Lillian Forrest was just a young girl fresh out of high school and painfully shy. Since Joanna Sherman didn’t say anything, she found it even more impossible to speak up.
Jenson Forrest watched his sister for a moment, his gaze full of sympathy, before turning to Joanna Sherman. "Thank you."
Joanna Sherman took the thermal container from his hands and took out the congee.
"Come on, Lil. Eat a little something."
Lillian Forrest reluctantly opened her mouth. Though the congee smelled sweet and delicious, it tasted numbingly bitter in her mouth.
’Her own parents didn’t care that she’d been violated. They weren’t thinking about getting justice for her, only about marrying her off as quickly as possible!’
’In their eyes, she would always be a useless blind girl!’
"Brother, I’d like Joanna to stay with me alone for a little while longer," Lillian Forrest said in a low voice.
Jenson Forrest gave a soft "Mm" and left the two of them some space.
As Jenson Forrest’s footsteps faded away, Lillian Forrest pushed aside the bowl in Joanna Sherman’s hand. "Joanna, just now... why didn’t you tell my brother what Ma Lane and her son said?"
Joanna Sherman paused for a fraction of a second, then quickly replied, "You girls are so sensitive. If I told your brother, you’d be mortified."
"I really didn’t want to make you feel ashamed."
"Oh," Lillian Forrest replied softly, twining her fingers together.
"Then, Joanna... what do you think I should do?"
Joanna Sherman placed the bowl on the bedside table and turned Lillian’s body to face her squarely. "Lil, I don’t think what happened to you will affect your future marriage, but I do think that if someone truly cares for you, you should hold on to them."
"Lil, a man who loves you wholeheartedly, no matter what, is a rare find in this world."
’Wholeheartedly?’ Rhea Dunn’s face surfaced in Lillian Forrest’s mind.
"Lil, young love is passionate and intense, and it seems unbreakable, but you’re all still so young. Can you guarantee the other person will never change their mind? Can you guarantee their parents will accept you?"
"Only a love that has been tested is trustworthy."
Joanna delivered her earnest advice, then added, "Of course, this is just my suggestion. Food for thought."
She appeared to be completely on Lillian Forrest’s side, but only she knew how much she stood to gain from Lillian Forrest marrying Liam Reed.
