Chapter 200: She Deserved It
When Scarlett saw that badmouthing didn't work, she said again, "But still, you guys need to be careful. If someone's being talked about behind their back, there's definitely a reason for it, you know?"
Sally nodded, then shook her head.
Ms. Spencer was clearly very hardworking.
Just then, Nick finished his training too. Nick ran over and greeted Scarlett.
Scarlett said to the sweaty Nick, "You guys should head back now. Have Ms. Spencer heat up some water for you to take a bath so you don't catch a cold. After your bath, eat something. You're growing, so you need to eat plenty of meat."
Scarlett didn't usually eat much meat herself because she had to maintain her figure. She figured Matilda probably didn't eat much either, and being home alone, Matilda would be too lazy to cook meat.
Meanwhile at Matilda's house.
She had indeed felt a bit out of her element these past few days. Usually when Wentworth wasn't home, she was free and easy—just cooking some noodles for dinner to get by. But now with two little ones in the house, she had to take care of them.
She thought that it was a good thing they were already around 10 years old. If they were around three, she'd definitely escape back to Phoenix City.
Thinking that 10-year-old kids need to grow and their bodies need protein, she prepared ingredients early and learned from food bloggers' videos how to make braised lamb chops, meat sauce, and all kinds of meat dishes.
Since Sunflower School was also in the military district, the two kids got home quickly.
"Nick, look at you all sweaty. Go take a bath first." Matilda said.
Nick happily ran into the bathroom.
This was his habit when staying at other people's houses too - if he was sweaty, he'd take a bath first.
Sally glanced at the dishes on the table. They all looked and smelled delicious, and she was very happy.
Ms. Scarlett was really worrying for nothing—Ms. Spencer was actually very hardworking.
After Nick finished his bath, the siblings happily ate dinner. After eating, Sally and Nick both fought to wash the dishes—one washing dishes, one cleaning up the kitchen.
Matilda was happy to relax. If there were any spots the siblings missed cleaning, she could just tidy up after they went to sleep.
After dinner, Matilda helped them with their homework.
Having seen so many parents online who had heart attacks from helping with homework, Matilda was worried about herself too.
But luckily the siblings were enthusiastic about doing their homework. Sally had already finished most of hers at school. Nick started after dinner because he had soccer training.
Matilda watched them do their homework for a while. Sally was really serious about studying—neat handwriting, answering each question very carefully.
However, Sally was a bit rigid in solving problems, not as flexible as Nick.
Nick was a bit careless with his homework, his handwriting slightly messy, but he was more adaptable.
Matilda didn't say much. Every child has their own characteristics and the path of growth isn't set in stone - they'll figure things out when time comes.
She just told them that if they had questions they couldn't solve, they should come ask her. She could still handle elementary school homework.
The siblings really liked Matilda's approach—not constantly hovering over them, but not completely hands-off either. It was just right.
...
On the weekend, Matilda did a deep clean of the house.
Because the house was big, Sally and Nick came to help.
The three of them worked all morning and cleaned out a big bag of trash while Nick volunteered to take out the garbage.
To throw away large items, you had to run to the trash can by the playground. Nine-year-old Nick wasn't very tall, so throwing away the trash was a bit of a struggle.
This scene happened to be witnessed by Scarlett again.
Scarlett quickly took out her phone and snapped a photo.
After that day, rumors spread around the neighborhood that Matilda was mistreating the orphans of a martyr.
And Matilda was still in the dark. On Sunday she even took the two kids to a book-selling activity organized by some institution. Everyone bought a book wholesale for $3, then sold it for whatever price they could get. The profit was theirs to keep, and any loss was theirs too.
Matilda simply thought this activity was really good for building character.
Nick and Sally really enjoyed this activity too, because Matilda paid for the wholesale cost and the money they earned was theirs to keep. They weren't little kids anymore, so naturally they were happy to have their own spending money.
Then news of the kids selling books on the street got back and spread around the neighborhood again. Matilda was accused of being harsh on the children!
...
Phoenix City.
Charles waited two days, but instead of Zoey coming back, he received divorce papers.
Seeing these divorce papers, he finally realized how serious things were.
Zoey really minded Janice's presence. She was truly angry.
One was his childhood friend and ex-girlfriend he'd had a relationship with, the other was his newlywed wife. What should he do?
Zoey and he had already consummated their marriage, and she really liked him. If he divorced Zoey at this point, he'd be a heartless man.
And thinking about never seeing that adorable little chipmunk again made his heart ache.
Did he really have to cut ties with Janice completely?
He didn't want to lie to himself—he did still have some feelings for Janice. All these years he hadn't had a girlfriend because he'd been fantasizing that Janice would come back.
Now she'd finally returned.
Just as he was thinking, Amelia called, questioning Charles, "What's going on with you and Zoey? I heard you two are getting divorced?"
Charles paused, then said, "Mom, Janice came back to the country. Zoey doesn't want me to stay in touch with her."
"Janice?" Hearing that name, Amelia was shocked too.
Janice was also Amelia's goddaughter. Back then, Amelia had kept her close and raised and educated her with everything she had, out of respect for her parents' memory. But then she started dating Charles and even tried to do things that would hurt the Gonzaga Group.
Janice had deeply hurt Amelia's heart. From then on, Amelia never wanted to mention this person again, and she never pressured Charles to get married.
Amelia asked, "What did she come back for?"
"Probably she felt too lonely abroad by herself. She brought back a daughter with autism."
"Whose daughter is it?" Amelia asked nervously.
"Her ex-husband's. Four or five years old."
Amelia breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't Charles's, that was fine. Four or five years ago, Janice was still missing - Charles couldn't have even seen her.
"She contacted you after coming back?" Amelia asked.
"I arranged housing and a job for her, and arranged a doctor for her daughter. But a woman alone with a sick child always has it tough, so I go see her from time to time. That's why Zoey got angry."
"She deserves it!" Amelia said angrily.
If she had just lived a good life with Charles back then, the Gonzaga family would have spoiled her rotten. But instead she believed what others told her and treated the Gonzaga family like enemies!