Chapter 780
Was Willow in the wrong? No, Willow did nothing wrong! She only did all that because we agreed to it!
Yale was not very happy when he heard what Charmaine said.
“What are you talking about? You’d better not bring this up in front of Sophie in the future, Charmaine!”
Yale had initially wanted to head out after dinner, but he dropped the idea when he recalled that Sophie was here.
Not wanting Sophie to know about his affairs outside the house, he decided to stay home instead.
Charmaine was furious, but there was nothing she could do about it. Because Sophie was the one calling the shots in the Tanner family, Charmaine and Willow had no choice but to put up with everything.
“I’m sorry for putting you in such an unpleasant situation, Mom,” Willow said apologetically. Mom is my only source of support right now, so I can’t let her abandon me!
Charmaine gave her an affectionate pat on the cheek.
“You’re my daughter, so it is only natural for me to protect you. She won’t come after us as long as we leave her alone, so we should just behave ourselves from now on.”
As much as she hated Sophie, she knew that Sophie wasn’t the unreasonable type who would attack without provocation.
Therefore, Sophie would not go after them as long as they left her alone.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I know that she isn’t someone I can afford to mess with, so I won’t mess with her ever again!”
“I’m glad you understand. All right, I’m tired after a long day, so I’m going to head upstairs. You can either go back to your room or stay here and watch some television.”
Josiah was the only one who would want to watch the New Year’s Gala. Charmaine and Willow didn’t like it at all, but they used to watch it with him just to keep him company. Since Josiah was no longer around, they weren’t about to sit around and watch that show by themselves.
However, Sophie came down the stairs before they could head upstairs. She then sat down on the couch and switched on the television.
“Are you planning on watching the New Year’s Gala, Ms. Sophie?” asked one of the housekeepers upon seeing Sophie.
“Yeah. You guys can carry on with your tasks. Don’t mind me.” Sophie used to find it boring when she watched it with Josiah back then, but she suddenly felt a strong urge to watch it with him after he was gone.
She didn’t even care if the show was boring. All she wanted was to spend time with Josiah again. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible.
Charmaine figured it would be inappropriate if she went upstairs immediately after Sophie came downstairs, but she couldn’t bring herself to watch the New Year’s Gala with her either.
As such, she had found herself facing a dilemma.
Yale immediately came downstairs the moment he found out about Sophie watching the New Year’s Gala. “Your grandpa loved watching the New Year’s Gala! He probably loved it more than anything else in the world!” he said with a sigh while sitting down next to Sophie.
Sophie simply kept quiet and continued watching the show.
“What are you two doing standing around? It’s our family tradition to watch the New Year’s Gala! Come sit down right this instant!” Yale shouted when he saw Charmaine and Willow preparing to leave.
They don’t have anything to do upstairs, so they might as well watch television with us!
Willow clenched her fists as she took a deep breath and sat down on the couch.
Charmaine, too, decided to join them as she had nothing to do upstairs anyway.
Although the four of them were seated together on the couch, they had nothing to talk about. Given how badly damaged their relationship was, there was absolutely no way to repair it anymore.
Fortunately, Caleb’s call came in before things got too awkward between them.
“Hey, Dad. Is everything all right at home?” Caleb had been so focused on his research that he never came home ever since Josiah passed away. He only called home to check on them when he recalled that it was Christmas.
“Everything’s fine at home, Caleb! Remember to take good care of yourself out there. Sophie’s here with us, so you don’t have to worry about a thing!” Yale replied.
He knew that they would be able to solve any problems easily with Sophie around.
“That’s good to hear. You guys have to take good care of yourselves now that Grandpa is gone. He wouldn’t be able to rest in peace otherwise.” Caleb was overseas all by himself, so there wasn’t much he could do for them.
“How much longer will that research of yours take, Caleb? You’re not getting any younger, you know? It’s about time you find yourself a decent woman and get married!” Yale asked. While he was proud of Caleb for getting into a research facility in Anglandur all by himself, he didn’t want his son to spend his entire life working either.
“Don’t worry, Dad! I have a girlfriend, and we’re in a steady relationship at the moment. She’s a fellow classmate at the research facility. We will get married eventually.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Caleb. Make sure to inform us when you get married. We’ll be sure to attend your wedding!” Yale said affectionately. After all, Caleb was his only son.
Unfortunately, Yale hardly had a chance to communicate with Caleb as the latter was overseas all the time.
“Where’s Willow? She’s at home, right?” Caleb asked. He knew Willow was prone to taking things too far, so he couldn’t help but worry about her.
“Yeah, she’s right here. We’re all gathered in the living room to watch the New Year’s Gala!”
“All right, then.”
Caleb had wanted to speak with Sophie, but he didn’t know what to say when he recalled how cold she was.
Still worried about Willow, he asked, “Could you pass the phone to Willow, please?”
Yale did as told and handed the phone over to Willow.
Willow made her way over to a corner before answering the phone, “Hey, Caleb. It’s me.”
Hearing her voice made Caleb feel like it had been ages since they last talked. “Hey, Willa! Regardless of what happened in the past, you should be grateful that our family is now reunited. Don’t mess things up again, okay?”
Willow didn’t know what else to say in response to that. After all, she was no longer in a position to do or say anything.
“I just want you to be happy, Willa.”
“Caleb, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find happiness in this life.” Given everything that had happened, it would be difficult for her to even marry a decent man, let alone a wealthy one.
She no longer had anything that could add value to her or make her desirable.
“Come on, don’t be so pessimistic. I’m sure you’ll be able to find your own happiness if you behave yourself.”
Of course, she knew what he was implying.
“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry about me, Caleb. I’ll take good care of myself.”
She knew nobody in the Tanner family would care about her sentiments, so she didn’t feel like speaking her mind too much.
At the moment, she just wanted to keep a low profile in order to increase her chances of survival.
“Could you pass Sophie the phone? Actually, never mind. She doesn’t like talking to me unless absolutely necessary.”
“Would you like to speak to Mom?” Willow asked. She couldn’t help but wonder if Caleb had forgotten about their mother.
