Chapter 751
Natalie welcomed her with a bright smile as she walked over to Johanna, held her arm, and led her to sit down from across Vera.
Noticing Johanna’s smile, Vera was a bit embarrassed and asked, “Mrs. White, how did you find the time to come here?”
“I was just passing by,” Johanna said with a faint smile, nodding her head. “But I wasn’t expecting to see Mrs. Harding lecturing my daughter.”
Vera could sense that Johanna had come to support Natalie.
Her expression darkened and she said, “Mrs. White, since you’ve seen it, I would like to ask you to discipline your daughter. Tell her to stop meddling in other people’s family matters.”
Johanna remained calm when facing her accusation and said, “My daughter has always been me to discipline her. Besides, you don’t have the right to point fingers at my daughter.”
Vera sneered, “I’ve never seen a girl in our social circle who meddles in other people’s family affairs as your daughter does.”
Despite Vera’s harsh words, Johanna didn’t lose her cool and replied, my daughter’s close friend, and she was only helping a friend in need. How is that wrong?”
“You!” Words got stuck in Vera’s throat.
She did not expect Johanna to be as eloquent as Natalie, which put her at a loss for words.
Although Johanna was still wearing a gentle smile, her words were razor-sharp. “If Laney were my friend, I would have already made her divorce Garrett. And Natalie was only helping them get a temporary separation to calm down, which has already saved the Harding family’s face enough.”
“Johanna White! Don’t go too far!” Vera’s face turned red and livid from anger.
She did not expect Johanna to be so protective of her daughter while completely disregarding the most basic etiquettes in their social circle.
Johanna smiled calmly and said, “Mrs. Harding, Natalie has already helped your family save face. She has no ill intentions towards your family. It’s not her fault that she wants to protect her friend.”
Clenching her fists, Vera hissed, “Fine. I don’t want to argue with you here. I hope Laney can divorce Garrett soon. She’s nothing but a troublemaker. As long as she gives the baby back to us, she can go anywhere!”
Upon hearing that, Johanna’s smile gradually faded. “Mrs. Harding, Laney almost died giving birth to her daughter. Not only did your family fail to protect her, but you also want to take her daughter away from her? That’s absurd.”
Vera opened her mouth to argue, but Johanna cut her off coldly, “We’ve already saved you and Garrett from embarrassment. Or else, this matter would not have been so easy for you.”
Vera’s face twisted in fury. She got up to confront them and made to shout, but she caught a glimpse of some ladies from their social circle entering the cafe.
Panicking, Vera recalled Leo’s warning. He had told her not to meet these women, but now it was too late.
The ladies walked straight to them.
“Mrs. White, you’re here so early! We’re sorry to have kept you waiting,” one of them greeted Johanna warmly.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I just got here myself. Please, take a seat,” Johanna replied with a smile.
Natalie also greeted the ladies courteously.
Vera stood frozen in place, feeling embarrassed.
She finally understood why Johanna was there. She was planning to have high tea with those ladies.
After greeting them, the other women noticed Vera standing on the side awkwardly.
“Oh, Mrs. Harding. You’re here, too.”
The women greeted Vera with smiles. Vera forced a smile and stuttered, “Yes…”
These women had heard about the recent scandal in the Harding family and had assumed that Vera would not show up for social events for a long time. So they were surprised to see her there.
Mrs. Lee, one of the member of the group, asked Vera curiously, “Mrs. Harding, were you also invited by Mrs. White for the afternoon tea?”
The truth was that Johanna did not invite her at all and she had only come to cause trouble for Natalie.
Vera was so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.
Just moments ago, she had argued with Johanna and Natalie, so she knew that Johanna might not take her side. In fact, she might even speak ill of her before these women, leaving her no chance of ever showing up again in public.
Unexpectedly, Vera saw Johanna nod her head and say, “Yes, I invited Mrs. Harding.” Vera was surprised. She thought Johanna would use the chance to humiliate her. She did not expect her to show kindness.
Johanna had booked a private room in the cafe in advance, so Vera and the other ladies followed her inside.
The thought of the Harding family’s recent scandals, as well as Leo’s warning, ran through Vera’s mind, and she became very uneasy.
Considering how much these women loved to gossip, they were definitely going to ask her for details on the recent scandals and make fun of her whilst at it. This was especially true since they’d all been invited by Johanna.
She had been very rude to Natalie earlier, so it was almost guaranteed that Natalie and Johanna were going to take the opportunity to humiliate her.
Just as Vera had expected, as soon as the tea and desserts arrived, the wealthy ladies began to gossip as they usually did, chatting away excitedly.
As the conversations progressed, Vera eventually became the topic of discussion.
The Harding family’s recent scandals were the most popular topic in their circle.
Mrs. Lee was the first to ask about it, “Mrs. Harding, we heard that your daughter-in- law had to run away with her child because of you. Is that true?”
As soon as she ended her question, all the other ladies joined in and began chipping in their own comments.
“I heard you made a scene at the hospital when you tried to take your granddaughter away,” one remarked.
“Yeah, I also heard that your daughter-in- law went into labor prematurely because of the assistant that you got for her. Is that true?” another asked.
Vera froze. Her face turned pale as they bombarded her with their questions.
It was so humiliating!
