Chapter 26 Clown

"Mr. Thomas, don't be angry, I was just joking…" Watching Ethan's face which looked like he had eaten shit, Emily couldn't help but want to laugh.

Ethan's face turned even darker, and he said coldly, "Emily, I'm talking serious business with you."

"Please go ahead," Emily said with her head down, secretly sticking out her tongue.

This subtle movement didn't escape Ethan's eyes. His gaze dimmed slightly, an incredulous thought crossing his mind.

However, he didn't dwell on it, simply saying in a deep voice, "Now that you are my legal wife, you need to behave properly with the appropriate etiquette. I'll have someone arrange for a teacher to come and teach you at home."

Emily raised her head, her clear eyes widened in surprise. "A teacher to teach me? What do I need to learn? At my age, I should be going out to find a job. There's no need for more studying."

She said that mainly because she really didn't need to learn anything.

She thought, ‘Before going to jail, I had disguised myself as a student at Ashwood University, which was boring enough. Now Ethan wants to send a teacher to teach me posture and etiquette at home?’

"You don't need to work. The secondary card is for your expenses. What you should do is to learn to live up to the standard of Mrs. Thomas." Ethan's face was serious, and his words seemed indisputable.

Emily bit her lip, lost in thought. ‘If a teacher came to teach me at home, my free time would be limited, but it doesn’t matter. It is just a course in posture and etiquette and shouldn’t take much time.’

"Well then," Emily reluctantly agreed.

Only then did Ethan nod in satisfaction and say, "I'll have someone arrange a reasonable schedule for you so that you won't be too tired. Also, do you plan to continue an undergraduate education?"

"No need for that. I've been detached from society for three years and can't afford to learn." Emily pretended to be aggrieved.

In reality, she was ecstatic. She thought, ‘Finally, I don’t have to study anymore. How can I stupidly go back to university? As an expert, communicating with a bunch of undergraduates is truly a struggle.’

"Alright," Ethan responded and turned his wheelchair back.

Emily followed, worried that he couldn't control the wheelchair himself, but Ethan turned back and said, "Byron is here, you don't need to follow."

Emily stopped, nodded, and returned to her room.

She took out the mini laptop from under the covers and began to operate it, blacking out the surveillance in the second-floor corridor so that no one would know about her sneaking into the study.

The corridor on the third floor, the one outside her door, was quiet now, without a soul in sight.

She flipped through the timeline of the surveillance video and suddenly noticed something.

She thought, ‘Byron should have already left before Ethan came to find me. What should Ethan do now?’ But it should be fine. One of his legs still has strength. He has already finished bathing and should have the ability to get into bed by himself.’

Thinking of this, Emily stopped worrying, packed up her computer, and went to sleep.

*****

Early the next morning, she was awakened by a knock on the door.

Emily groggily walked to the door and opened it, only to see Rosalind anxiously saying, "Mrs. Thomas, your teacher has arrived. Please get up quickly and have some breakfast before your class starts.”

Emily was stunned before turning back to look at the clock on the wall. She thought, ‘It is only eight o'clock! Why did she come so early? Why is Ethan so quick with his actions? I just agreed to take classes last night, and the teacher is already sent here so early today. Is my life going to be like this from now on?’

Annoyed, Emily ran her hand through her hair. She quickly washed up and then went downstairs.

A woman in her thirties, with delicate makeup, was sitting at the dining table, sampling breakfast. Her every move was very affected.

Emily's lips twitched slightly as she thought, ‘Could this woman be my etiquette teacher?’

"Good morning," Emily approached politely and greeted her.

The woman lifted her gaze, scrutinizing Emily up and down, and showed a disdainful expression. "You must be Miss Emily Parker. I am your etiquette teacher from now on. My name is Trista Webet. You may call me Mrs. Weber."

Trista's mannerisms with an air of superiority didn't sit well with Emily.

"Mrs. Weber," Emily still politely addressed her, then pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Stop!" Trista pointed at her.

Emily was about to reach for a muffin when Trista's action puzzled her.

"Miss Parker, please stand up," Trista said expressionlessly and arrogantly.

Emily wore a puzzled expression. "Mrs. Weber, what do you want? I need to have breakfast first, then I'll be ready for class."

"Miss Parker, when I say stand up, that means class has already begun. From the moment you sit down to your breakfast etiquette, everything is part of our lesson," Trista stood up with her arms crossed.

She began lecturing pompously, "Firstly, your posture when sitting down was very crude, completely lacking in grace. You don't resemble a lady of high society at all. I heard you spent three years in prison. Perhaps you've picked up many bad habits there. I don't know how Mr. Thomas could have taken a liking to you. Now, follow my lead. When you sit down, you must sit with grace like this..."

Trista demonstrated with exaggerated movements, twisting her waist and sitting down slowly, hands neatly folded in front of her.

Her movements were affected and artificial, causing Emily's lips to twitch involuntarily. "Mrs. Weber, is this what I'm supposed to learn today? Why should I sit down like that? Do you expect me to act like a clown every time I sit down?”

"What? A clown?" Trista turned green with anger.

Emily had no intention of learning this kind of thing, and she disliked Trista's tone.

She was hungry and having breakfast was the most important thing for her at that moment.

She reached out, grabbed a fragrant muffin, stuffed it into her mouth, crossed her legs comfortably, and leisurely looked at Trista.

Seeing this scene, Trista screamed in shock, "Miss Parker, what are you doing? Rude, you are absolutely rude… This isn't prison. Take a good look. This is The Hall! How can you be so rude? You're simply not worthy of being Mr. Thomas's wife!"

Trista's screaming hurt Emily's ears. She rubbed her ears helplessly and sighed, "Mrs. Weber, could you please calm down? Yelling at people like this doesn't seem to fit your teaching philosophy."

Trista stared in shock, her eyes wide. She pointed at Emily, her chest heaving, too angry to articulate a complete sentence. "You... you..."

Emily smirked slightly and coldly laughed. "Mrs. Weber, I believe the best etiquette is to remain calm and composed."

Trista was so flustered that her eyes nearly rolled back. She impulsively grabbed her phone and angrily declared, "I'm going to call Mr. Thomas. I'm sorry, but I'm not cut out for this job. Not at all!"

Emily couldn't wait for Trista to leave. She felt that subjecting herself to such lessons was simply a waste of life and a hindrance to human progress.

Just then, a stern and gruff voice cut through, "What's going on here?"

Emily turned around and saw Aldrich walking in with a cane, his face serious.