Chapter 40 The Uninvited Guest Returns
Hearing this, my face darkened, because Liliana really hated me too. Before I married into the Thompson family, she made things difficult for me at every turn. After we got married, she picked fights with me again and again. Most of the time I just put up with it, until she went abroad to study and I gradually forgot about her.
But I never expected she'd be coming back, and staying at our house no less.
While my mind was in turmoil, Tyler spoke up, "It's not convenient for Liliana to stay here. This is Sophia and my home. She can stay at a hotel under the Thompson family's name."
"Tyler, you can't expect her to live in a hotel forever. Liliana's parents died young, and she's too scared to live in the house they left behind. We've been taking care of her all these years. If she doesn't stay with you, where else would she go?" As Isla spoke, she glanced at me, as if deliberately making sure I heard.
I remained quite calm though. I said, "The Thompson family owns plenty of properties, Mom. She doesn't have to stay at our place."
This time, Tyler was on the same page as me. He said, "I'll have Hayden clean up an apartment for her to use."
Just then, Isla's phone rang. She picked it up and said excitedly, "It's a video call from Liliana! Perfect timing, everyone's here."
With that, Isla opened the video call and handed the phone to Tyler first. Liliana's excited voice came through, "Tyler! I finally get to see you! I sent you messages on WhatsApp before and you never replied, and you wouldn't answer my video calls either. Have you forgotten you have a sister?"
For some reason, hearing Liliana's tone made me feel inexplicably annoyed.
"I haven't forgotten. You spend every day not studying properly, just sharing all kinds of eating, drinking, and partying. How are your grades? Are you graduating with honors?" There was a hint of affection in Tyler's tone.
Liliana's voice was cheerful, "Of course! Who do you think I am? I got perfect scores in every subject. Don't you trust my abilities?"
"Alright, not bad."
I just kept eating my meal, occasionally adding food to Jasper's plate. Over the years, I'd come to understand clearly that even though I was a daughter-in-law of the Thompson family, I could never truly fit in with any of them.
So I stopped trying to torture myself.
"Tyler, I don't want to live alone when I get back, it's too boring. Can I stay at your place? Plus I haven't seen Jasper much, and I can help tutor him if he has any problems with his studies."
My hand paused as I was reaching for something. I looked up, wanting to see how Tyler would respond.
He refused, "I'll prepare an apartment for you and give it to you directly. You can stay there, and come over for meals when you want. Sophia's cooking is great, and our household staff are good cooks too."
Just when I thought the matter would end there, Liliana started acting cute, "Tyler, I want to stay at your place. I want to play with Jasper."
"By the way, Jasper is only in kindergarten, there's nothing academic that needs tutoring." Tyler's tone was flat, but you could still hear a faint trace of affection.
Liliana said with a hint of shyness, "Your parents live with you too, right? I'll live with you all too. Wouldn't it be nice for our family of five to be together?"
Family of five?
My expression froze for a moment, then relaxed. It seemed that after all these years, Liliana's attitude toward me hadn't changed at all. Now she was directly treating me as if I didn't exist.
I kept my composure, acting as if nothing was wrong.
"Our family of five is enough. You go live in the apartment. Don't bring this up with me again." As Tyler spoke, he glanced at me, as if trying to comfort me.
I met his eyes briefly before looking away.
I might have been touched before, but thinking about it carefully now, the way the Thompson family had treated me could actually be seen as Tyler tacitly approving it.
If he truly protected me, if he was really my solid shield, his family wouldn't dare treat me this way.
Unfortunately, I'd realized this a bit too late.
But at least I hadn't stayed trapped in it forever.
Isla chimed in from the side, "Don't listen to Tyler, listen to me. Just come stay with us. It'll be so lively with our whole family living together. Gray and I will be back in the country soon, and we can all have a nice family reunion."
"Yes! Thank you Isla! Did you hear that, Tyler? Isla said I can come stay. You have nothing to say now, right?" Liliana's tone showed her triumph and pride.
Tyler hesitated slightly, looking at Isla with some displeasure, while Isla just waved her hand dismissively at him. Gray also added, "Since Liliana wants to come stay, let her. We're all family, no need to argue over a place to stay."
Since even Gray said so, Tyler naturally couldn't say anything more. He gave in, "What day is your flight? I'll have someone pick you up."
"The day after tomorrow, 3 PM."
"Alright, got it."
The corner of my mouth lifted involuntarily with a hint of self-mockery. In this brief exchange, from start to finish, they never once asked for my opinion.
Well, I'd always been an outsider in their eyes, so why would they ask my opinion?
Next, Liliana greeted Isla and Gray separately, and even played with Jasper through the screen, completely ignoring my existence.
The video call finally ended after more than ten minutes. I kept my face calm throughout, as if none of it affected me.
Isla seemed dissatisfied with my reaction. She said mockingly, "It'll be good when Liliana comes back. This house will be livelier, and our family can finally have a proper reunion."
Gray gave Isla a look, telling her to stop talking.
But Isla just rolled her eyes and said nothing more.
Tyler looked at me, his tone gentle, "Liliana won't stay at home forever. She'll move out sooner or later. She just got back to the country, let her have a transition period, and I'll have her move out soon."
I raised my eyebrows slightly, a faint smile on my lips, "No need to ask me. Whatever you all decide is fine."
At my words, Tyler frowned slightly, but said nothing in the end.
-
That evening, I was in Jasper's room holding him and reading him a story, though my mind was actually wandering.
I didn't really care whether Liliana came or not. What I cared about was Jasper. Now Isla and the others were all working to make Jasper stop seeing me as his mother, and instead make Ava his mother over time.
Once Liliana came back, she'd definitely be on Isla's side.
What would I do then?
A young woman in her early twenties with endless energy and time—I had a feeling she would be the most stubborn obstacle between Jasper and me.