Chapter 124 Eccentric
In the kitchen, Matilda pulled out some greens and handed them to Zoey. "Know how to wash vegetables?"
"Just rinse them, right? I mean, I've at least seen people do it." Zoey took them with a smile, held them briefly under the tap, then dropped them in a basket. "Done!"
Matilda blinked. Okay then. Whatever—the Gonzaga family only bought organic, pesticide-free produce anyway. Barely needed washing.
"Matilda, I had no idea the Gonzaga family made daughters-in-law cook dinner! I can't cook at all—what am I supposed to do? Should I sign up for cooking classes like, right now?" Zoey looked genuinely panicked, as if she were about to marry Charles tomorrow.
Matilda smiled. "Relax. Charles would never make you cook."
If Wentworth were here, she wouldn't be stuck in this kitchen either. He'd handle it. Thinking of him made her chest ache, but in a good way—like all this hassle was worth it.
Zoey caught the shift in Matilda's expression. Young as she was, she seemed to pick up on things. "Matilda, are you actually happy living here?"
"It's fine."
"Want me to come visit every day? My parents are traveling for the holidays—they won't be back for ages."
"Sure, but Charles doesn't live here. You won't run into him even if you do."
Zoey's eyes lit up, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "I'd be coming to hang with you, obviously. And maybe, you know, chat with Amelia a little. Build a relationship."
"Go for it. You're clearly already a hit in this house." What Amelia cared about was family background. As long as your pedigree checked out, any girl would do.
They were still working when Cathy appeared. "Matilda, Ms. Turner—Mrs. Gonzaga wants you both to come out for dinner."
"But we're not done cooking yet." Zoey looked confused.
"Mr. Charles had food delivered from the hotel. It just arrived."
Zoey practically bounced. "Oh thank God! Matilda, we're off the hook—there's actual food out there!"
Before Matilda could respond, Zoey kept going. "See? Making the daughter-in-law cook must just be, like, symbolic. Not actually mandatory. So I don't need cooking classes after all. You really had me stressed for a second there."
Matilda's smile turned wistful. Genuinely sweet girls were precious. Sweet and kind girls? Even more so.
Dinner was a spread. Charles had paid premium rates to keep servers on for the holiday, so the meal rivaled anything you'd get at the hotel itself.
Holden ate in silence, barely speaking. Charles was equally quiet. Amelia looked tense—this year's New Year's Eve was missing Wentworth but had gained a daughter-in-law she despised.
At least Zoey was there. She was pure sunshine—chatty and charming, constantly cracking Amelia up.
Seeing this, Jessica panicked about losing her spot as favorite and doubled down on entertaining Amelia too.
Matilda just ate quietly, rarely chiming in beyond the occasional murmur of agreement. She missed Wentworth. Missed last year's New Year's Eve, even with all its chaos. The military camp had been loud and warm and real—an actual celebration.
After dinner, Holden headed back to his place in the suburbs. Charles made moves to leave too, but Amelia stopped him. "Charles, stay and talk to Zoey for a bit. She's your friend, isn't she? What kind of host ditches their guest?"
Left with no choice, Charles settled onto the sofa. Zoey lit up like Christmas and plopped down beside him.
Amelia turned to Zoey. "You said your parents aren't around, right? Why don't you just stay here tonight?"
"Really? Oh my God, yes! I'll bunk with Matilda."
"Perfect."
Matilda could see Zoey had gotten exactly what she wanted. Time to make herself scarce before she became a third wheel. "Mom, I'm gonna head upstairs and get the room ready for Zoey."
Amelia didn't object, but Jessica did. She gestured at the snacks littering the coffee table. "Matilda, if you leave, who's cleaning this up? You can't dump everything on Cathy."
Amelia shot Jessica an exasperated look. Jessica and Zoey were the same age, but Jessica was nowhere near as quick on the uptake.
Zoey heard that and immediately forgot about Charles. She jumped to her feet to go after Jessica. "Excuse me, you're the junior here too. Why does Matilda specifically have to clean up when there's literally a room full of people?"
"Because I'm a guest," Jessica said smugly. "Guests don't clean."
"Guest or not, you're still the youngest. Like, last year I visited my aunt and I was totally respectful to my sister-in-law. You're being straight-up rude to yours—aren't you worried your cousins will kick you out?"
"I... You can't even compare yourself to Matilda. Who is she, and who are you?"
That set Zoey off even more. "Oh my God, you're calling her by her first name? Do you have any manners? And newsflash—I'm me, Matilda's Matilda. We're equal. If you disrespect her, you're the one with no class!"
"I only show respect to people who deserve it. She doesn't qualify."
"How does Matilda not deserve respect? Give me one reason!"
"She's shameless. Comes from nothing and still thought she could marry into the Gonzaga family."
"Wrong. Matilda never wanted to marry into this family. When she was at the border, she kept turning Wentworth down. He's the one who wouldn't quit—he almost died for her. That's what finally got through to her!"
Zoey was fierce when she got going. Jessica couldn't argue back and didn't want to drag Amelia into it, so she defaulted to, "Whatever. She's still shameless."
"If you hate Matilda, then I hate you."
"Like I give a damn. Who do you think you are anyway? You're just some rich girl from a second-tier company, acting like you own the place. Look—does Charles even notice you exist?"
The second Jessica finished, two voices snapped in unison: "Enough!"
One was Amelia. The other was Charles.
When Jessica had been trashing Matilda earlier, Amelia had just watched coldly. But now that Jessica was going after Zoey, she had to step in.
As for Charles? He didn't totally understand it himself. He just found his cousin's words grating and felt the need to shut it down.
Zoey saw her opening and immediately scooted closer to Charles. "Charles, thank you for defending me."
Charles stayed silent. He'd just said one word—what was she getting all worked up about?