Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Grandma Makes Things Difficult
Nina Sinclair went rigid, staring blankly at Yvonne White, her face as pale as a sheet.
A flicker of suspicion crossed Yvonne White’s mind. "What is it?"
"N-nothing."
Nina Sinclair quickly lowered her head and bit down hard on her lip. A bead of blood welled up, making it seem as if she were hiding some unspeakable pain.
Forgetting everything else, Yvonne White rushed to check on Nina.
"Tell Grandma, are you being bullied at home?"
Nina Sinclair’s face was pale, and tears streamed down her cheeks unchecked.
"Grandma..." Nina’s voice trembled, her expression hesitant, as if she could barely bring herself to speak.
Yvonne White instantly understood. Her tone grew grave. "Nina, don’t be afraid. Your grandmother will make this right for you!"
Nina looked up, her eyes brimming with grateful tears. She gazed at Yvonne White in disbelief before finally saying, "It’s not entirely Chloe’s fault, really. It’s my own jealousy..."
「Ten minutes later」
"That’s outrageous!"
Fury was written all over Yvonne White’s face, her dark, deep-set eyes frightening to behold.
Seeing this, Nina quickly pressed a finger to her lips, a flicker of panic in her eyes. "Grandma, please don’t say anything! Dad and my brothers are already unhappy with me as it is. Besides, this was my fault in the first place. It’s only normal for them to be angry with me."
Yvonne White held her tongue, but she was still seething inside.
"What did you do wrong? Are you no longer the young lady of the Sinclair family? You’ve been a part of this family for so many years. Just because Chloe Sinclair is their biological daughter, they can just cast you aside? No wonder I thought you’d lost weight when I first saw you. I can’t believe Quentin Sinclair is making you live by yourself! What would happen if something happened to you, a young woman all alone?"
The more Yvonne White thought about it, the angrier she became.
Even though Nina hadn’t uttered a single direct complaint about Chloe, Yvonne’s heart still filled with loathing for the granddaughter she’d barely even spoken to.
Nina watched Yvonne’s furious expression and gloated internally.
’She knew it. Yvonne White was the easiest person in the entire family to control.’
’She looks like a shrewd old woman, but in reality, she’s an idiot who can be deceived with just a few words.’
Although Nina was inwardly disdainful, her eyes were full of joy. She linked her arm through Yvonne’s and said sweetly, "Thank goodness I have you to care for me, Grandma. It makes all my past suffering feel like nothing."
Yvonne’s heart ached. She stroked Nina’s head and said, "Don’t you worry. Your grandmother will be sure to teach Chloe Sinclair a lesson!"
Nina said, "No, don’t," but just when the old woman was about to reconsider, she suddenly went quiet.
’She was just going through the motions.’
’Unless it was a last resort, she couldn’t make a move herself.’
’Having the old woman make a move would be more effective than anything she could do.’
’Once the old woman starts tormenting her, won’t Chloe be overcome with insecurity?’
—
Chloe Sinclair spent a day in the countryside.
But she spent nearly the entire day in utter misery.
As promised, the old woman began "teaching Chloe a lesson," spending the next day and a half relentlessly finding fault with everything she did.
Even though Chloe had been prepared for it, she was still getting annoyed by the old woman.
Mr. Sinclair tried to help several times, but he was stopped by the old woman each time.
At first, Mr. Sinclair thought the old woman simply found Chloe disobedient and was trying to discipline her granddaughter in her own way.
After all, Chloe’s past behavior hadn’t been particularly satisfactory.
But when he saw Nina sitting silently on the sofa, a look of unconcealed delight in her eyes, Mr. Sinclair instantly understood.
He was filled with rage, but the thought that she was his late wife’s own mother forced him to bury his anger deep inside.
"Chloe, let your brothers do the dishes. You don’t have to."
Chloe, who was in the middle of clearing the table, paused. She obediently put the dishes down, went into the kitchen to wash her hands, and came back out.
Yvonne White’s face soured. "What’s wrong with her doing them? Didn’t she do chores all the time at her adoptive parents’ house?"
"What, is she so used to being a pampered heiress now that she can’t even wash a dish?"
Yvonne White chuckled softly, a hint of ridicule in her eyes.
Ethan Sinclair frowned. "Chloe worked all day yesterday. Besides, she has her college entrance exams in two days. We can do the dishes."
"Yeah, Grandma. Besides, the girls in our family are meant to be doted on."
"Exactly," Landon Sinclair replied flatly.
Yvonne White was shaking with rage, so angry she could die. She tried to speak several times but couldn’t get a word out.
"All of you know how to dote on Chloe Sinclair, but what about my granddaughter? Why don’t you dote on her?"
The more Yvonne thought about it, the angrier she became. "Since the moment you walked in, has a single one of you initiated a conversation with Nina? Do you only recognize blood ties and not affection? Do you have any idea how much your actions just now must have hurt Nina!"
With that, she turned to look at Nina.
Sure enough, Nina was silent, her head bowed, appearing to be sobbing quietly.
But Mr. Sinclair looked at her in disbelief. "Mother, Chloe is your granddaughter, too."
"I don’t acknowledge her!" Yvonne White snorted, refusing to even look at Chloe.
At this, the expressions of the four men present all darkened.
They exchanged a look.
Finally, Mr. Sinclair said, "In that case, I won’t bring Chloe here again."
After he spoke, Landon Sinclair, who was closest to Chloe, pulled his younger sister behind him and turned his head to say a few words.
The two sides seemed to be at an impasse. No one dared to utter a word.
Nina had never expected things to escalate this far. She could feel several scorching gazes on her, but she didn’t dare lift her head.
"Dad, you... please don’t be upset with Grandma. It’s all my fault," Nina suddenly said after a long moment, her voice choked with sobs.
Mr. Sinclair’s frown deepened.
Nina’s words put him in an impossible position.
He didn’t want to argue with the old woman, but hearing Yvonne White personally disown her own granddaughter made him feel sick to his stomach.
Steeling his heart, Mr. Sinclair said, "Chloe, we’re going home."
Chloe nodded obediently, but just before leaving, she shot a deep, meaningful look at Nina.
As she walked out to the villa’s main courtyard, Chloe could still hear Nina’s loud, theatrical sobs.
She scoffed to herself, then got into the car without hesitation.
’Nina wanted to use their grandmother as her backer, but she forgot that help from afar is useless against a threat right at your doorstep.’
’Nina had truly made the wrong move.’
Once in the car, Mr. Sinclair and her brothers took turns consoling Chloe.
"I’m fine," Chloe said, shaking her head.
But no matter how she tried to explain, her father and brothers didn’t believe her.
So they bought plane tickets and flew straight back to Kennet.
Chloe had just gotten off the plane when she received a call from Jasper Shaw.
At first, she stared at the number, stunned for a moment.
"Mr. Shaw?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line before he finally replied, "Yes. It’s me."
