Chapter 47

Chapter 47

James didn't say anything in the end.

Victoria's eyes landed on James. She paused for a moment, then smiled and brought up a new topic for us.

"Mrs. Smith, Mr. Smith isn't stopping you this time. Are you happy?"

Hearing this, a hint of distance flickered in my eyes. I said calmly, "He shouldn't have been stopping me in the first place."

First of all, I'm an independent person. After James left me outside that hotel and I went through such a terrible experience, I came to understand deeply that in the end, I can only rely on myself.

"Anna! Who gave you the nerve to say such things?"

James scolded me coldly.

His gaze was as cold as a knife, stabbing hard into my heart.

My breath caught, and my heart filled with pain.

My eyes became even more distant and indifferent. I suppressed my emotions and tried to keep my tone calm, "What did I say that made you so unhappy?"

"You don't know what you said?"

James's words were practically squeezed out through his teeth.

"Anna, you're just a little toy in my hands."

He didn't understand.

Did I eat gunpowder or something? Why was my temper so bad?

Last time he went out of his way to help me get revenge on Cade, but not only was I not grateful, I kept giving him the cold shoulder.

What exactly had he done to upset me?

James was so angry his teeth itched, but he couldn't bring himself to ask me.

I looked up and met his extremely angry eyes. Fear surged uncontrollably in my heart.

I'd been so angry earlier that I almost forgot—both my life and Mom's were in James's hands.

If James got upset, what would happen to Mom?

I lowered my eyes and said softly, "You're right to remind me. I'm just a little toy, a little pet in your hands. Thank you for being so kind and letting me go out to work. Thank you."

After saying this, I stood up from the dining table, walked in front of James, and bowed to him stiffly and awkwardly.

James's whole body stiffened, anger burning fiercely in his eyes.

Victoria looked a bit embarrassed. Her gaze shifted between the two of us, not daring to say anything more.

Feeling James's sharp gaze, my face turned pale. I bit my lip and held back the urge to keep arguing.

After all, every time James and I fought, I was the one who suffered.

The first time, my leg was broken. The second time, I was almost assaulted by thugs and hurt my foot.

So what about next time?

What injury would James inflict on me as punishment?

I smiled mockingly at myself and said nothing more.

Dinner ended in almost deathly silence.

I went back to my room, and James went straight to his study.

We didn't say another word to each other. Even though we lived in the same house, we were like strangers.

I didn't take it to heart. After all, James's temper was just really strange right now, constantly unpredictable.

The next day, I got ready quickly and went to the hospital to see Mom.

I'd been busy with interviews these past few days and hadn't visited Mom.

I wondered how Mom had been feeling.

Just thinking about Mom made my heart feel soft. The corners of my lips curved up as I walked toward Mom's hospital room in my heels.

Before I even reached the room, I heard Henry and Nola's voices from far away.

I frowned, and my smile disappeared instantly.

They usually didn't care about Mom at all. Why were they suddenly here?

They definitely had bad intentions!

"Henry! What are you trying to do?"

My heart raced as I rushed toward the room.

When Henry saw me burst in, his face darkened, "Anna, what's with that attitude? I'm your brother!"

"My brother?"

I laughed coldly and said mockingly, "Did you forget what you did?"

As I spoke, I quickly walked to Mom's bedside. Seeing her face flushed red with anger, I patted her back.

Mom gripped my arm tightly with one hand, breathing heavily.

"Anna, make them leave! Right now! I only have half a life left, and I don't want to see these disgusting things!"

Mom was usually very gentle, but now these two had made her really angry.

Nola looked completely disdainful. She walked arrogantly to the bedside, crossed her arms, and looked down at Mom, "Old woman, what do you have to be so cocky about? Do you think you know who's paying for your medical bills every day? It's my husband! What do you have to be so proud of? Watch out or we'll cut off your medical bills and send you underground early!"

"Nola!"

My voice shot up instantly, and I slapped Nola hard across the face!

"I think you're the one who forgot your place. Did you forget how you married Henry? He was willing to marry you for your status and abandon his original lover. In the future, he can dump you for someone richer and prettier too!"

The relationship between these two wasn't some pure true love.

It's just that their life together was going well now, so no one brought it up.

Now that I'd called it out so bluntly, both of them were trembling with anger.

"Anna, what did she mean by that?"

But Mom grabbed me hard, looking at me with shock all over her face.

My heart jumped hard. I forced out a smile and quickly explained, "Mom, don't believe her. Nola just likes to talk nonsense and take credit for everything. Your medical bills are paid by James. Your son-in-law paying for your treatment is perfectly normal, right?"

"You're the one talking nonsense! It was obviously..."

Nola rushed forward to argue with me.

I shot her a cold look and emphasized, "Isn't it?"

Nola instinctively stopped in her tracks, and the words on her lips were blocked by me.

Henry's face changed dramatically. He grabbed Nola's wrist, "Shut up now!"

"Honey, why are you like this too? It was obviously..."

Nola spoke unwillingly, glaring at me with resentment.

Henry seemed to be concerned about something. He completely ignored Nola's feelings and shouted angrily, "I told you to shut up! Can't you hear me?"

I frowned, watching Henry throw a tantrum in the hospital room, then turned to sit by Mom's bed and comfort her softly.

"Mom, it's okay. We don't need to worry about them."

Nola was stunned by Henry's yelling. Her face turned pale as she stood there frozen.

Henry pinched the bridge of his nose hard and waved his hand irritably, "You go out. I have something to discuss with Mom and Anna."

Seeing Nola still standing there, Henry urged impatiently, "Get out!"

Nola reluctantly shrank back and left the room, looking back every few steps.

"Mom, I..."

Henry immediately put on a flattering smile, rubbing his hands as he moved toward the bed.

I glared at him coldly, not letting him get closer.

Henry didn't care. He still had a smile on his face.

But Mom just looked at him coldly and distantly, "I have nothing to say to you. Leave."

Henry smiled awkwardly but still shamelessly persisted, "Mom, look at what you're saying. We're all family! I'm your son. I came to see you, to show some filial respect. Why are you kicking me out?"

I watched his performance expressionlessly.

I had a pretty good idea why Henry was doing this.

I heard the Andrew Group was having problems and was being pressured from all sides.

Henry was running around frantically but couldn't figure out who was behind it.

Now that he heard Mom had woken up, he immediately came crawling over shamelessly. Maybe he suspected Mom had used her old connections to mess with them.