Chapter 69

Chapter 69

In the master bedroom, Patricia handed the altered dress to Missy for approval.

Missy held the embellished dress lovingly, admiring it from different angles. "Patricia, this is amazing! You're even better than the pros!" she exclaimed.

Patricia's eyelid twitched, and she forced a smile.

In her previous life, Missy had never addressed her so warmly. Hearing such a gentle term now gave her goosebumps.

Missy stroked the handcrafted embroidery on the collar, feeling very satisfied. Her tone softened even more, "Patricia, how about joining me at the charity gala?"

Remembering her relationship with Patricia, Missy coughed and quickly added, "I don't mean anything by it. You've been part of the family for a while now. It's time you attended these events to get used to them. There will be plenty of such occasions in the future."

Better not seem too eager.

Patricia wasn't interested, but she had to play along. She looked troubled and said, "I need to discuss it with Charles. I'm not sure if he..."

Seeing Patricia's distressed expression, Missy's heart softened. She muttered, "What? He dares to restrict your freedom! Patricia, don't worry, I'll teach him a lesson right now!"

Patricia pretended to be grateful and nodded. This made Missy even more convinced that Charles was treating Patricia poorly. 

Her face darkened, and she rushed downstairs, ready to confront Charles.

With Missy gone, Patricia felt relieved and picked up her iPad to continue sketching.

Missy stormed downstairs. Charles looked up, about to say something, but Missy glared at him.

Charles was bewildered.

"I'm taking Patricia to the charity gala on Saturday," Missy said, glaring at him. 

She used to be intimidated by Charles, but now, with their family's happiness at stake, she had to be strong. "I'm not asking for your permission; I'm informing you."

After speaking, Missy felt she wasn't assertive enough and slapped Charles's arm. "Patricia said you don't allow her to attend these events. How can you restrict her social life?"

Charles finally understood what Missy meant, but when had he ever restricted Patricia's social life?

"Patricia is going to Regal City next week to meet Mark. She might not have time," Charles explained.

"Mark? I think you're just trying to keep her away from me." Missy snorted, scrutinizing Charles.

Charles rubbed his forehead, unsure how to explain.

"I..."

Missy was interrupted by Lillian, who came over with a fruit platter. Missy's eyes widened in shock.

Too... too... too similar!

This woman looked just like the one Charles cared about. Missy's heart sank, and her face darkened instantly.

Lillian approached with the fruit platter, wearing a practiced smile. She gently greeted them, "Mrs. Missy Anderson, Mr. Anderson, have some fruit."

"Who let you in?" Missy snapped coldly. "How can you be so rude!"

Lillian was startled by her reaction and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Missy Anderson, I..."

"Get out!" Missy shouted, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust.

Lillian bit her lip, glanced at Charles unwillingly, then turned and left, holding back her tears.

Missy watched her leave, feeling increasingly uneasy.

She turned angrily to Charles, her tone warning, "I don't care what you're planning, stay away from that woman!"

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Charles was completely confused.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Missy grabbed her dress bag and glared at him. "Whether you go to the gala or not is up to you, but Patricia must go with me!"

With that, she left Rosewood Estate without looking back.

Patricia had been hiding upstairs, listening to the entire conversation. She only came down when the living room was quiet.

"What was wrong with her today? She seemed to have a big issue with you."

Charles rubbed his temples and sighed, "I don't know, maybe she's under a lot of stress lately."

He looked up at Patricia. "Do you want to go to the gala? If you do, I'll go with you."

Patricia shook her head. "Just decline for me."

Charles nodded and said no more.

He was still thinking about Missy's unusual behavior, which seemed to be triggered by seeing Lillian.

That Lillian, there was definitely something off about her.

He narrowed his eyes, suppressing his suspicions.

Missy hurried home.

As soon as she entered, she shouted at Ruben, who was watering the garden, "Ruben, you need to control your son!"

Ruben saw her angry expression and quickly put down the watering can. "What happened now? Did Charles upset you again?"

"He did more than upset me!" Missy pulled him to sit on the bench, her eyes red. "I saw that Lillian at Rosewood Estate today. She looks exactly like that woman! Do you think Charles is up to no good again?"

Just thinking about that familiar face made Missy uneasy.

"That can't be. Charles has been treating Patricia well lately."

"Treating her well?" Missy gritted her teeth. "It's all an act!" 

"I said I wanted to take Patricia to the charity gala today, and he made all sorts of excuses! If it weren't for that woman, my relationship with Charles wouldn't have been so strained! I won't let Patricia make the same mistake!"

"Alright, alright, don't overthink it." Ruben patted her back, trying to calm her down. "I'll find a chance to talk to Charles and see what's going on."

Missy nodded, feeling slightly reassured.

Just then, the door to the Anderson Mansion opened, and the servant greeted, "Mr. Alvin Anderson." 

Alvin stumbled in, his face flushed, his collar disheveled, and he was humming a tune.

"Alvin! You're drunk again!" Missy stood up and blocked his path, scolding, "Your wife is pregnant, and instead of taking care of her, you're out drinking all the time. How can you do this to her?"

Alvin looked at Missy with drunken eyes and chuckled, "Mom... good evening."

"Good evening, my foot!" Missy was so angry she wanted to hit him. "If your grandfather sees this, he'll punish you again!"

Alvin's eyes darkened, and he hiccuped. "Fine, fine, punish me. I don't care."

Ruben stepped in to hold Missy back, frowning. "Go get some sobering soup, drink it, and head back to Silver Estate."

Alvin hung his head and mumbled, then staggered towards Silver Estate.

Missy watched him leave, stomping her feet in frustration. "None of you are easy to deal with!"

Ruben sighed. "Alright, calm down. Thea's pregnancy is probably stressing him out."

"Stressed and he drinks?" Missy glared at him. "If anything happens to Thea during this pregnancy, I won't forgive him!"

Alvin stumbled back to Silver Estate. 

As soon as he entered, he threw his coat on the floor and headed straight to the kitchen, ignoring Thea in the living room.

The noise in the kitchen was loud. After searching for a while, Alvin couldn't find what he wanted and shouted at Thea, "Thea! Get over here!"

Thea was startled, frowned, and walked over, holding her belly.

"Keep it down! Rex and Kelly are asleep!"

"So what if I'm loud?" Alvin pushed her aside and sneered, "Stop talking nonsense. Where's my alcohol?"

"Alvin!" Thea was furious. "You drink outside and come home to drink more! Do you realize I'm carrying your child?"

"I don't care if you have it or not!"

Thea's face turned pale. She pointed at Alvin, trembling with anger. "You... you jerk!"