Yvonne was fawning over John, serving him food, feeding him, and catering to his every need.
Hannah was impassive. She occasionally updated Louis on Quilo’s development and shared she was thinking of enrolling him into a sensory class for babies. Louis was all for it and encouraged her to do so.
He handed Hannah a black credit card and gave her full authority to spend as she deemed fit. He also told her to look for a house nearer the town center if she was not satisfied with the villa she was staying in.
Yvonne stole a few glances at Hannah, but she did not betray any emotions in her expressions. Ever since she cozied up to John, she should have received big allowances. John had bad spending habits and would have splurged on her.
Regardless, she must be envious when she saw the black card Louis gave Hannah.
Everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts during dinner. As soon as it was over, Hannah went to feed Quilo. I got the maid to distract Yvonne and dragged John into the garden.
“Are you out of your mind, John Stovall? Why did you bring along Yvonne?” I chastised.
He shrugged, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and dismissed, “Why can’t I bring my girlfriend? Since it is a family dinner, and she will be family, then what’s the harm?”
“Are you serious?” I looked at him, dumbstruck.
He nodded. “At the end of the day, I will have to get married. There is nothing wrong with Yvonne. She is pretty and has an ordinary family background. At least she would not have the guts to betray me and mess around behind my back.”
“John, you would never look within and see if you had done anything wrong, would you? Put your hand on your heart. How long have you kept Hannah waiting for you? You took her love for granted. Do you really think it is fair for you to neglect her?” I rebuked him.
“And what justified her to have an affair with another man?” John hollered. “She could have told me directly if her needs were not met. Why betray me in that disgusting manner?”
I nearly laughed out loud. “What about you? She had an affair with one man. Have you counted the number of women you have fooled around with all these years? Have you ever rejected any woman who throws herself at you? No! You happily embrace one after another. Have you ever considered how much it pains a woman to have to bear with all these? She gave birth to your child, gave up her life to cater to your every need, and learned to cook all the dishes you like. What have you done for her? John, her frustrations and disappointment were built up over time. It took her many years to finally muster the courage to live her own life. Of all the people, you have the least right to criticize and blame her.”
John was shell-shocked and stared blankly at me, lost for words. I gave him a piece of my mind, although I was not sure if he took in what I said.
I let out a sigh as I turned to walk back to the hall. Aren’t we all the same? We do not treasure what we have nor work on the relationship with those we love. In the end, we either lose them, or things turn ugly between us.
If we don’t invest time to nurture those relationships, we have no right to complain when things fall apart.
There was a huge swimming pool in the garden at the Stovall residence. It was left unused in the winter as none of us had the habit of swimming in the winter. On top of that, we installed a spa in the house, so the pool became a white elephant.
“You have no right to take anything from the Stovall family since you are going your separate ways. Hannah, you knew John will not be marrying you, so nothing in this house belongs to you.” I heard a commotion, stopped, and turned to investigate.
It was Yvonne. She and Hannah were seated by the pool. They were not on friendly terms, so the only common subject they could talk about was John.
Hannah had her gaze fixed on the pool as she refuted Yvonne. “Why are you harping on this? Are you trying to tell me that I should not take anything from the Stovalls or that I should hand them to you instead? I know what is on your mind. I know you do not want me to reap any financial gains from John. Unfortunately, you are not part of the Stovall family yet. Under the law, you are not a Stovall, and most importantly, no one here recognizes you as family. Ms. Wilde, I like to keep things simple. I won’t bother anyone, and I don’t like others to bother me, so please leave me alone. You can make your demands known to John. If he obliges, you get it. If he doesn’t, then too bad.”
