Chapter 31 : A Hard Slap On Her Face
Ruth shook her head and forced a smile. “I’m fine.”
Ella huffed. “Fine? You’ve been crying all day and haven’t eaten a single bite.”
Nigel noticed the iPad next to Ruth and picked it up. It was open to a matchmaking website. A post had been pinned to the top in bold, eye-catching letters. Shameful Ruth. She’s a fraud. Beware!
Nigel clicked on the post and read through the details. That was when he found out that Allison had beaten up the mother of her matchmaking prospect.
The insults online were getting worse. It was not just Ruth being cursed out. Both Nigel and Toby were being dragged into it as well. People were saying their whole family was dishonest for hiding a person’s medical conditions.
Sherrie was heartbroken. “They’re going too far. It’s one thing to insult Mom, but why are they attacking Toby and Nigel too?”
Nigel gripped the iPad tightly. He did not blame the netizens. This was all Allison’s fault for being so rebellious. If she had not acted out, none of this would have ended up online. He turned around and started pounding on Allison’s door.
When Allison walked out of her room, Nigel grabbed her. “How much more trouble are you planning to cause this family?”
Allison stared at him. “I’m not getting married.”
“What woman doesn’t get married? You think you can just stay in this house forever?”
Allison remembered how Sherrie had once playfully said she did not want to get married. And what had Nigel said back then? He had told her she did not have to. He had said the family could afford to take care of her.
Allison laughed at herself. “If you think I’m a burden, I can move out of the Rogers family.”
Nigel suddenly yelled, “You think it’s that simple? If you move out, people will just say we abandoned you and kicked you out!”
So they wanted to get rid of her, but they also wanted to maintain a good reputation. The only way to do both was to find a man to take her as his wife.
Allison did not respond. She just took the iPad from Sherrie’s hands. She scrolled through the comments, then turned the screen toward Nigel. “So if you marry me off to a man with CAIS, that would make you all look good?”
Nigel was stunned. His eyes landed on one particular comment. “That woman isn’t any better. Her son has CAIS, is prone to violence, and can’t even have kids. And she still insists on a grandson? What a joke. No wonder they got kicked out.”
Still in a baffled state, he turned to Ruth. “Mom, the guy you picked for Allison has CAIS?”
Ruth looked bewildered. “I… I didn’t know. But Genna is a nice person…”
A woman who groped people’s butts to test their obedience? How nice could she be?
Ruth still tried to justify her decision. “Their family is well off, and her husband works at the health bureau. Ally isn’t actually mentally ill. If we explain things properly, they won’t hold it against her.”
Allison laughed bitterly. How little must Ruth think of her, to believe that as long as others did not look down on her, that was all that mattered. She never once considered whether Allison looked down on them.
Allison sneered. “What’s more important to you, Genna or the health bureau that can help Nigel’s career? As long as it benefits Nigel, it’s okay to marry me off to someone with CAIS and turn me into a baby-making machine, right?”
Ruth’s face burned with embarrassment.
Sherrie immediately interrupted their conversation, “If it helps Nigel’s career and benefits our family’s hospital, then I’d be willing to marry a disabled person and take care of them myself.”
Allison shot her a look. “Since you’re so self-sacrificing, why don’t you marry him?”
Pak! Nigel slapped Allison across the face. The pain was sharp. Allison closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again with a completely calm expression.
He must have been holding that slap for a long time. He had probably wanted to hit her before, but had been suppressing it under a fake sense of morality. It was only now, while defending Sherrie, that he finally lost his self-control.
Allison said in a convincing tone, “Mom and Nigel picked such a great family. If Sherrie marries into it, she’ll be living the good life. Nigel, why are you so mad? Shouldn’t you be happy for her?”
Nigel was still furious. “Are you even comparable to Sherrie? She’s in grad school and has won multiple provincial level awards. And you? A high school graduate with a history of bad behavior. Marrying into a family like that is the best Mom could arrange for you. Or are you still hung up on Ronan? Let me tell you right now. You’re not even worthy of polishing the Lopez family’s shoes. Ronan is Sherrie’s!”
Even though Allison had told herself not to care about what anyone in the Rogers family said, words could still cut deep. Even knives stabbed into the heart would hurt. She regretted trying to argue. Bias ran too deep. People like Nigel would never think they were wrong. To them, the only problem was that she did not know her place.
Seeing that Nigel had gone too far, Sherrie grabbed his sleeve and gently said, “Allison, you really misunderstood. Nigel isn’t forcing you to get married. It’s just that business is tough. The hospital had a medical dispute, and the impact has been huge. Nigel’s been stressed about it for days.”
A medical dispute? Before Allison could ask what had happened, Nigel pulled his arm away. “Why are you telling her that? Someone as vicious as her would love to see the hospital shut down.”
With that, he stormed upstairs.
Allison turned a scrutinizing eye on Sherrie. “Was it your mistake that caused the accident?”
A flicker of guilt flashed through Sherrie’s eyes before she turned and followed Nigel.
Allison went back to her room and checked the news about Rogers Hospital on her phone.
That was when she found out that Rogers Hospital had been exposed for surgical malpractice, leading to a patient’s sudden cardiac arrest. Though the patient had been resuscitated, their family had set up banners outside the hospital, demanding an apology and compensation.