Chapter 553: A Scene Filled with Warmth and Bliss
Wendy and Michael looked at each other.
"You should explain," Wendy said to Michael. Michael agreed and explained to his grandmother.
"So this was what happened, Grandma. A while back, Wendy had wanted to help me obtain some useful intel and got close to a man named Clement.
"But he had already seen through her plan and so he decided to play along. Wendy was knocked unconscious and has no memory of what actually happened.
"There was another man, Todd Lewis, who was also present. Todd has always liked Wendy, so he tried to take advantage of the situation. He deliberately took off Wendy’s clothes to mislead us into thinking Clement had done something indecent to her.
"He thought that by doing that, he could ruin our relationship and then he would be able to come between us.
"Two days ago, I caught Clement and he told me the truth of what really happened that night. And Todd has admitted to what he did.
"So that night was a huge misunderstanding. Nothing happened."
Michael held Wendy’s hand under the table. "This baby is mine," he said with a smile. Michael had kept his explanation clear and simple.
The look on Mrs. Lucas’s face was that of joy after realizing that it was just a huge scare. Mrs. Lucas nodded her head and said, "So that’s what happened. Which means that you guys got lucky."
"Yes, we got lucky," Michael sighed. However, he was still feeling a little scared.
"From now on, you must protect Wendy well. Don’t ever put her in danger again," Mrs. Lucas said, looking at Wendy, her eyes filled with love. "She is your wife, you must take good care of her."
"I will," Michael promised solemnly.
"Wendy, I’m sorry for the way I treated you. Are you angry with me?" Mrs. Lucas asked apologetically while piling more food onto Wendy’s plate.
"I’m not, Grandma. Don’t worry about it," Wendy replied. "We were at fault too and didn’t handle it well. We’ve made you worry all this while. We’re sorry."
Mrs. Lucas then slowly moved her gaze down to Wendy’s belly. But since Wendy was seated, the table blocked her belly from Mrs. Lucas’s view.
Wendy saw what she was doing and stood up.
"Grandma," Wendy said with a smile. "I’m only two months pregnant. There’s no bump yet."
"May I touch your belly?" Mrs. Lucas asked hopefully.
"Of course you may," said Wendy. She walked to Mrs. Lucas’s side.
Mrs. Lucas placed her shaking hands gingerly on Wendy’s belly and touched it gently. Wendy’s belly was still very flat. At only two months, there was really nothing to feel.
Mrs. Lucas withdrew her hand and said, "Why don’t you move back here? There are many helpers here and they can help to take care of Wendy. It’ll be a little further from the children’s school, but the chauffeur could take them."
Before Wendy could reply, they all heard Winnie’s voice.
"Yonina, you’re back," Winnie said when she saw Wendy. Winnie ran over excitedly.
When Michael saw his mother running over, he instinctively stood up in front of Wendy to protect her.
"Yonina, why did you leave without saying a word? I’d made some soup for you."
Winnie tried to push Michael away but he would not budge. She looked at him unhappily. "What are you doing? I want to talk to Yonina."
...
Winnie was not in her right mind. In the past, she would have started hitting and yelling at Wendy. But now Winnie had mistaken Wendy for Yonina. Winnie had always preferred Yonina as her daughter-in-law.
"Mother, you must be hungry. Sit. Let’s have lunch." Michael pulled Winnie’s hand, trying to get her to sit as far away from Wendy as possible. Michael did not feel safe with her next to Wendy.
"I want to sit with Yonina," Winnie said, a little upset.
"There isn’t an empty seat next to Yonina," Michael pointed to the seat next to Wendy and said. "Look. That’s my seat and that’s Grandma’s seat. Why don’t you sit on the other side of the table? You will be seated right across Yonina where you can see her clearly. Isn’t that good?"
"No. Why don’t you give up your seat then? I want to talk to Yonina," Winnie pushed Michael away.
Michael refused to give in. His mother might be fine now, but who knew when she would suddenly have a relapse.
"Mother, that seat over there is really a very good spot. We had reserved it for you.
Look, when you sit there, you can see Yonina," Michael said.
"That’s right, Winnie," Mrs. Lucas tried to help. "That seat is reserved specially for you."
Winnie started to relent only after hearing what Mrs. Lucas had said. She walked to the chair on the other side and was very happy. She asked Wendy excitedly, "Yonina, how far along are you? How bad is your morning sickness? How are you feeling?"
"I’m doing ok. My morning sickness isn’t bothering me that much," Wendy said. It was true, she had not been feeling as nauseous as before.
"Oh, I’m glad. When I was expecting Michael, it was horrible," Winnie said, recalling her own experience. "By the way, when are the two of you holding your wedding? I want to inform my family, and invite all of them to your wedding."
Wendy and Michael looked at each other when the word "wedding" was mentioned.
They had not held a wedding.
At first, Michael had married Wendy because his grandmother had arranged it. So much had happened since then that they hadn’t had the chance to hold a wedding.
It was only after Winnie brought up this topic that Michael realized he owed Wendy a proper wedding ceremony.
He thought of holding an unforgettable wedding of the century after everything with Christian had been settled.
Wendy looked down and sounded a little disappointed, "Maybe in the future. We’ll let you know when we’ve decided."
"Ok, you must let me know," Winnie continued happily, "My son and Yonina’s wedding must be the grandest and the most beautiful."
"Hmm..." Wendy smiled faintly.
"Oh yes, I should bring out the soup for Yonina." Winnie stood up abruptly. "I had made some soup for Yonina but she didn’t have any."
With that, Winnie left the table. Wendy smiled as she watched Winnie disappear intothe kitchen. "Grandma, please eat more," she said and placed more food onto Mrs.
Lucas’s plate.
"Okay. You too," Mrs. Lucas replied.
Because of Winnie’s sudden appearance, there was a slight change in the atmosphere.
"Oh, we were talking about you two moving back to live here," Mrs. Lucas remembered what they were talking about and asked again. "What do you think?"
Mrs. Lucas wished for Wendy and her two children to live with her. She was getting old and there was no telling how many more years she had left. She wanted to spend more time with the children.
...
"I think we’ll wait a while more," said Michael after Wendy did not make any reply.
He knew that Wendy did not like being around so many people.
Now their family of four was together and Zess was taking care of all the chores and cooking, he felt that all was good.
If they were to move back into the mansion, there were too many people around and that would make Wendy uncomfortable.
"You saw how my mother is like. She’s nice to Wendy only because she thinks Wendy is Yonina. If she realizes Wendy is not Yonina, I’m afraid she might do something bad to Wendy."
Michael continued worriedly, "My mother is like a ticking time bomb, and she doesn’t like Wendy. So I think we should forget about this. We will bring the children to visit you often."
Mrs. Lucas had anticipated Michael’s answer. She gave a sigh of resignation and did not press further.
"All right then. But if you ever decide to move back, you must let me know," said Mrs. Lucas. "Don’t look at how many people live here. There isn’t anyone I can talk to. Look at how your mother is. And your father is hardly at home."
Mrs. Lucas had put in her heart and soul into the Lucas family. If not for her, the entire household would have fallen apart.
"Grandma, why don’t we wait till I’ve given birth? We’ll move back then," said Wendy. She knew that it was quite tough for Mrs. Lucas to be in the mansion all by herself.
She was already old, yet she had to worry about the family. Wendy felt that she should put herself in Mrs. Lucas’s shoes.
"Good, that’s good." Mrs. Lucas perked up instantly at what Wendy said. As long as they were willing to move back into the mansion, Mrs. Lucas was happy. She would then be able to see her great-grandchildren every day.
If Wendy were to move back to the mansion while still pregnant, although she would get more help, there were many more inconveniences. And perhaps after the child was born, Winnie’s condition would improve.
The atmosphere lightened up after Wendy spoke. Mrs. Lucas wore a smile the entire time from that point on. The three of them chatted while eating. It was a scene filled with warmth and bliss.
When they were about to finish their lunch, Winnie brought out a pot of soup.
She happily set the pot down in front of Wendy and ladled some soup into a bowl.
Seeing that the soup was still boiling hot, Winnie blew at it a few times to cool it down. Then she used a spoon and wanted to feed the soup to Wendy. "Try some of the soup that I made especially for you. This is your first time tasting my cooking.
Come on, tell me if you like it. If you like it, I’ll make soup for you every day."
Wendy looked at the spoonful of soup next to her mouth and she turned to look at Michael. Michael was wary of Winnie’s soup and did not dare to let Wendy drink it.
But before he could say anything, the helper who was close by came over and whispered, "It’s safe to drink the soup."
That helper had observed Winnie closely during the entire cooking process. So she was able to confirm that there was no problem with the soup.
Only then did Michael feel relieved. He reached over to take the bowl from Winnie’s hand. "Leave it here for now. Yonina has just finished her lunch and isn’t hungry.
She’ll drink it later."
"But it’ll turn cold and it won’t taste nice. And it’s not good to drink cold soup," said Winnie. "Just take a few sips."
Winnie had spent a lot of time and effort on the soup. Wendy did not want to waste Winnie’s effort. With a smile, Wendy obliged.
Winnie was delighted. She quickly asked, "How is it? Do you like it?"
