Chapter 151: Nora's Unique Sexiness
"What's wrong?" She noticed Jasmine wasn't on the sofa and came looking for her.
As soon as she entered, she saw Steven wiping his hands with a blank expression, while Jasmine was on the floor looking wronged.
Jasmine looked over and glared at Nora viciously.
"What are you doing here?" Nora looked down at Jasmine. She wasn't stupid - she could tell what had happened at a glance.
"None of your business!" Jasmine looked fearless, got up, and stormed out angrily.
Nora stared at her retreating figure.
Jasmine was her sister-in-law. She could be a little lenient if she was just being naughty, but if she was trying to seduce her husband, she shouldn't blame her for confronting her!
Because someone who would do such a thing had no moral boundaries!
If it weren't for the sake of her two children, she would go out and tell Tanner right now!
"What did she just do to you?" After Jasmine left, Nora went in and asked him.
"She touched my hand." Steven's face was dark, his tone unpleasant. "So disgusting. Don't let her come to our house anymore."
Steven really hated Jasmine.
Nora felt a bit relieved.
She had been worried they might be doing something in the study, so she came over to check. Fortunately, Steven was trustworthy.
"Okay, I won't let her come to our house anymore," Nora promised.
Steven was still wiping his hands hard.
Nora took his hand and pulled out a clean disinfectant wipe. "Here, let me help you."
Steven gave her his hand.
Nora squatted down and gently wiped Steven's hand, inside and out, carefully disinfecting it all over.
Steven glanced at her. She was squatting beside him, wearing a pink shirt and a pencil skirt, giving off a different kind of allure.
If Nora were his secretary, seeing her like this every day, pressing her onto the desk whenever he wanted sex - thinking about it, it actually seemed pretty good?
Steven's whole body felt hot.
"There, all clean." Nora looked up at him.
Steven finally felt his hand was okay. After Nora's cleaning, all the disgust in his heart had disappeared.
His gaze deepened as he looked at her. "Are you tired from entertaining them?"
"I'm okay. You're more tired, having to work overtime on Sunday." Nora looked at him, her voice very soft.
"Are they leaving?"
"Not yet. They're outside talking about Olivia's divorce. I need to go back." As the host, Nora couldn't be away too long.
"Okay." Steven didn't say anything, just touched her hair with his large hand and let her go.
Nora turned and went out.
Olivia was sitting on the sofa. When she saw her come over, she asked softly, "What did Jasmine go to the study for just now?"
Olivia had seen it too.
Nora leaned close to Olivia's ear and whispered, "She went in to talk to Steven, kind of trying to seduce him."
"Jasmine is too restless." Olivia turned to glance at Jasmine.
Jasmine was playing with her own son, ignoring their looks.
Besides, she wasn't afraid of divorcing Tanner. At worst, she'd give both children to the Adams family - she didn't want them.
This marriage had nothing good about it anyway. If she went back to her parents' home, she'd live much better than with the Adams family. Her family was well-off - even if she divorced Tanner, her parents could support her.
After four o'clock, the Adams family members were ready to leave.
Nora went to knock on the study door and pushed it open. "Steven, my parents are leaving. Come out to see them off."
"Okay." Steven came out of the room.
Jasmine asked Nora to pack some cherries for her, saying she wanted to take them back for Lily.
Nora didn't mind and packed several kinds of fruit for her. They couldn't finish it all anyway, and it was all for Lily's sake.
Wayne saw Steven come out and deliberately asked, "Steven, this wine in your wine cabinet..."
He actually had the nerve to ask Steven for wine!
Nora's heart sank!
Steven glanced at it and said coolly, "If you like it, take two bottles back."
"Great!" Wayne happily opened the wine cabinet and took two bottles, leaving only one bottle of red wine inside.
Nora felt embarrassed by her family's behavior.
This behavior was like they were ransacking the place, wanting to take home everything they laid eyes on.
Last time she visited their home, they hadn't prepared anything. But when they came here, they wanted to take everything back.
Jasmine also wanted to take some leftover lobster back.
Tanner stopped her. "That's enough! Just take some fruit back for Lily. Don't take anything else."
Jasmine was a bit unhappy, glared at him, and pushed the baby stroller out.
Steven saw them to the elevator.
Nora saw them to the community gate. Wayne had asked Nora to come along and told her to call them a taxi to take them home.
Nora did as asked, just wanting to satisfy him and make him leave quickly.
Standing at the community gate, Wayne brought up the wedding gift again.
Wayne didn't dare mention it to Steven, so he could only mention it to Nora. Seeing how nice the Riverside Apartment was, he had strong thoughts again.
A wedding gift of two or three hundred thousand - with Steven's means, surely he could afford it?
Nora glanced at him, her tone cold and indifferent. "Last time I gave the family a sum of money, didn't you say that would count as the wedding gift?"
Nora didn't plan to ask for that money back.
Whether it counted as a wedding gift or as saving her nephew, it was the last time anyway.
Wayne said, "Didn't that money go to treat your nephew? It wasn't given to me - I didn't get a penny."
"I don't care. Anyway, you said at the time that money would count as the wedding gift, so it's the wedding gift. I've given it, so don't bring this up with me again."
Nora's attitude was very firm.
Besides, Wayne liked to gamble. She couldn't let him have money. Without money, he was at least more honest. With money, he could gamble without even going home.
Wayne was a bit unhappy. "Nora, your mom and I raised you for over twenty years. Even if I haven't achieved much, I've put in the effort, haven't I?"
Talking about the debt of raising her, Nora almost laughed.
When they were young, she and her siblings were left-behind children staying with their grandfather.
Later, when she was about ten, her parents came back from working away, but they hadn't made any money - Wayne had gambled it all away.
After coming back, they just made her and Olivia do housework, farm work, cut grass. When they had no ability, they left them with their grandfather to raise. When they had working ability, they brought them home to do chores.
This was the so-called "even if there's no credit, there's hard work"?
Nora said directly, "You don't need to say so much. Anyway, I won't give you another penny."
Hearing Nora say this, Wayne felt very unhappy, but he had no solution.
Nora seemed soft-natured, but she was actually harder to talk to than Olivia. Wayne could never persuade her. It was better to convince Olivia to divorce and get more money, which she could then give to him.
As expected, an adopted daughter turns cold-hearted once she's grown!
The Adams family got in the car and left.
Nora sighed.
Whether visiting the Adams family or having them come to Riverside Apartment, after spending a day together, Nora only felt unhappy and depressed.
She walked home with her head down.
Olivia went to her room to rest. After hosting all day, her back was very sore, especially since she had just been discharged from the hospital.
Steven sat on the sofa waiting for Nora.
Seeing her walk in looking downcast, he knew she was upset again.
"They left?" Steven stood up and asked.
"Yes." Nora nodded and sighed.
"Unhappy?"
"I'm okay." She slowly walked into the master bedroom and lay on the bed to rest.
After hosting all day and cooking a big lunch, she was really tired. She lay on the pillow, her whole body aching.
Steven followed into the master bedroom. Seeing her lying listlessly on the pillow, he came over to massage her shoulders.
"Very tired?" Steven looked down and asked her.
"Very tired." Nora was not only physically tired but also mentally exhausted. She said weakly, "After hosting all day, I'm so sleepy. I need to sleep for a while."
"Okay." She had made seven or eight dishes at lunch, mostly by herself. She was indeed very tired.
Steven covered her with a blanket and went out to the living room.
All the dishes from lunch were still soaking in the sink.
Steven walked over, rinsed the dishes clean, put them in the dishwasher, and pressed wash.
Then he wiped down the dining table, cleaned it up, turned on the robot vacuum, and then went back to the study to handle documents.
Time flew by, and it was evening.
Nora woke up.
Dusk was falling. She looked at her phone.
It was already after six. She had slept for over an hour.
Her head felt heavy. She sat up and stared blankly for a while. Just as she was about to go out and make dinner, she saw Olivia cooking.
"There's a lot of leftover seafood from lunch. We don't need to cook tonight - just make some mashed potatoes, and we can eat." Olivia glanced at Nora.
"Okay." Nora didn't want to cook either. She was too tired - just eating something simple would be fine.
Olivia sat on the sofa. "When I woke up, the dishes were already in the dishwasher, and the robot vacuum had cleaned the floor. Did you do it?"
"No." Nora poured a glass of water and took a sip. "I was too tired when Mom and Dad left, so I went to sleep first."
If it wasn't her, then it was Steven.
Olivia smiled and said, "I didn't expect him to be so thoughtful despite looking so cold."
Nora smiled. After sleeping and with Steven having finished all the housework, Nora's mood improved a lot.
Having a husband who took initiative with chores was just too good.
Otherwise, when she woke up, what awaited her would be a lot of unfinished housework.
That's why dishwashers and robot vacuums were great appliances. Otherwise, after entertaining guests, you'd be left cleaning up until your back ached.
Nora poured Olivia a glass of water, sat beside her, and chatted with her.
"Did Dad tell you today to have a child with Steven?" Olivia asked her.
Nora sat cross-legged on the sofa. "How could he not? It was the same speech as yours - saying Steven's conditions are good, it's best to have a child, that men become more responsible when they have children, and it can make the marriage more stable."
Olivia shook her head speechlessly. "Don't listen to him. The previous generation's thinking doesn't apply to our generation anymore. Actually, whether a man has a sense of responsibility has nothing to do with children. Otherwise, why do those men who have several children still cheat?"
Speaking of cheating, Nora thought of Willie.
She hadn't told Olivia before because Olivia was recovering and had suffered too many blows. Nora didn't dare say anything.
But now... she looked at Olivia.
Olivia said, "Nora, let me tell you, actually, children mostly tie down the woman. When you get married, don't have children too quickly. It's best to wait until the relationship is stable for half a year or a year. My opinion is, when both people have a good relationship, discuss having children, both want them, and then welcome the child - that's the best. Otherwise, there will be many problems later."
After experiencing the miscarriage, Olivia had become more mature.
Nora nodded. "I understand."
She was currently choosing to start a business - it wasn't the right time to have children. She would find time to talk to Steven about this.
Soon, the mashed potatoes were ready.
Olivia said, "We can eat now. I'll heat up the dishes in the microwave. Nora, go call Steven out to eat."
"Okay."
Nora thought, since they were about to have dinner, she'd better wait until after eating to tell Olivia, so as not to affect her appetite.
Nora knocked on the study door.
"Come in," Steven called out.
Nora poked her head in. "Steven, what are you doing?"
"Working." He really was working. York Development Group had a lot going on lately - endless work. He was working overtime even on Sunday.
Nora walked into the study. "Steven, dinner's ready."
"Come here." Steven looked up at her.
Nora obediently walked over.
Steven grabbed her hand and, with a pull, brought Nora onto his lap.
Nora was startled. "Don't mess around! Olivia told us to come out for dinner."
"Wait a moment."
Steven responded, but didn't do anything else inappropriate. He just held her and looked at her face.