I quickly got to my feet upon seeing Simone getting up. “It’s okay, Mom. I’ll help myself.”
Although I doubted her sincerity, she was still Ashton’s mother. I knew better than to let her get the soup on my behalf.
I followed her over into the kitchen and saw her turn off the stove. She grabbed a ladle and poured me a bowl of soup carefully. Her hands moved adroitly as she worked, and I could not help but think she must be a good cook herself.
I noticed her fit figure as she bustled about in her kitchen. It must not be easy to maintain such a body at her age.
I walked over to get the bowl of soup from her, but she dodged my hand and put the bowl on the kitchen table forcefully instead.
My hand froze in the air before I realized the smile on her face had long faded away. She looked cold and cruel now.
Although such a change was not totally unexpected, the speed at which her expression changed still caught me by surprise.
“Since it already spilled, I guess I won’t get to try it anymore,” I said, turning to leave.
“What’s the rush? There’s still some soup left. I spent a long time preparing it. You should really try,” her dry voice rang behind me immediately.
Her lofty tone made her live up to her name of a true Hall.
“Let’s cut straight to the point. There’s no use wasting time here. Ashton is a smart man. He will know something’s going on. I know you’re just trying to leave a good impression on him by being nice to me out there. If you don’t want him to be suspicious of you, you’d better cut to the chase with whatever it is you want to tell me. Out with it now.”
It was at this moment that I thought Simone must have had a hand in poisoning me.
“I admire your honesty, and I guess I could say you have some brains too. Perhaps that’s why Ashton likes you, but don’t expect the Hall family to treat you like he does. Since you’re already here, you’d better follow our house rules and behave properly.”
Simone came from a good family. She was an amiable person before the accident, but it seemed like I had got ahead of myself. I thought too highly of her.
After all, she had spent such a long time with Nicolas. There was no way she would stay the same woman.
I glared at her coldly for a few seconds before talking. For a split moment, I felt a surge of pity for her. “You must really miss your son after such a long time, but sadly, there’s nothing you can do because there’s no way Nicolas will let you keep in touch with someone he loathes. You did nothing to save your own son when he planned the accident. But look at you now. You’re pretending like you’re his mother when he comes back after all these years. You have no moral ground to lecture the person he loves the most. Do you think this is how you show your love for him? Or do you think this will appease the guilt in your heart?”
I could roughly understand how Simone felt as the words tumbled out of my mouth. I took up the half-filled bowl as I looked at her from the corner of my eyes. “All you can see is me being domineering toward Ashton, but have you ever thought that his heart is bleeding because of you? I might not be the best wife for him in your eyes, but at least I won’t ever leave him to suffer alone.”
A smirk curved on my lips as I turned to leave with the bowl of soup in my hand. But just as I was going out of the kitchen, I bumped into Ashton.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
Ashton blocked the kitchen entrance and glanced at Simone before looking at me. “What took you so long?” he uttered softly.
“We got carried away talking with one another. You have nothing to worry about. It’s not like I’ll do anything to her,” Simone interrupted with a bitter smile on her face.
Women had their own struggles when transitioning from being mothers to mothers-in-law. It was understandable that they might feel jealous because they thought they lost their sons to their sons’ wives.
“It’s difficult to say you won’t do anything to her,” Ashton said reproachfully, not bothering to try treating his mother nicely.
