Chapter 290 Visiting the Wood Family
The doorbell rang out through the house, and after a short moment someone finally came to answer it.
The individual who opened the door was a tall, slender man who appeared to be in his middle age, neatly dressed in a formal black butler’s uniform.Resting neatly on the bridge of his nose was a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, complete with a vintage eyeglass chain that hung subtly at the sides. His overall appearance was remarkably sharp and well-kept.
When he noticed Amelia standing there, he gave a small, polite bow in greeting.
"You're here."
He then shifted his gaze past her, briefly looking behind her. The only person accompanying her was a subordinate, and there was no sign of Natalie anywhere. At that moment, he couldn’t stop himself from furrowing his brow ever so slightly, a faint but noticeable hint of disappointment appearing in his eyes.
"Amelia, where's Ms. Wood?"
Ms. Wood referred to Natalie.
Amelia noticed the warm and respectful way he spoke when referring to Natalie, and it left a pleasant impression on her. Because of that small but sincere detail, she found herself feeling a bit more kindly toward the butler.
She patiently explained, "My mom twisted her ankle this morning while taking a walk after breakfast. She insisted on coming anyway, but I stopped her - her leg really can't take any more movement. So I'm the only one here today. Once her foot heals, she'll come visit then."
The butler nodded and said, "Just follow me in a moment."
"Okay."
Amelia agreed without much hesitation, as she had already formed a fairly positive impression of the butler and found him quite agreeable.
Of course, part of the reason for that was also because Natalie had previously mentioned that this very butler had taken good care of her when she was younger.
Back then, both Nolan and Madeline regarded Natalie as someone who brought misfortune. There was even a time when Natalie was burning with such a severe fever that she couldn’t even get out of bed, yet no one in the household paid her any attention or showed the slightest bit of concern. -It was the butler who stepped in during that moment, riding his bicycle all the way to take her to the hospital so she could finally receive the care she needed.
“So you must be Tobias, right?” she said as she struck up a conversation with the butler. “My mom told me that you took very good care of her back then.”
“That was simply part of my duty,” Tobias replied with a gentle smile.
With that warm smile, the initial tension and awkwardness between them seemed to dissolve completely.
As he guided Amelia toward the area to change her shoes, he spoke up and said,, “There are quite a few rules to follow in this house,” he began, his tone calm and matter-of-fact. “If Mrs. Wood goes over them with you later, please don’t take anything personally—it’s not directed at you specifically. She treats everyone in the same way.”
He was gently preparing her for the possibility that Madeline might give her a lecture about proper behavior and household etiquette. “Thank you,” Amelia said softly in response.
As Amelia offered her thanks, she had already slipped into a comfortable pair of cotton slippers, feeling a small sense of ease.
In a household of this stature, guest slippers would typically be brand new, pristine, and unused, yet Amelia could tell immediately just by looking that the pair she was wearing had clearly been used before.
Byron’s slippers were in an even poorer state—they looked as though they had been worn by the household staff, showing obvious stains and signs of heavy use.
From this seemingly minor detail, Amelia could already discern that the Wood family had become all appearance and pretense, with very little genuine care or substance behind their polished exterior.
The opulence of the house existed only on the surface; beneath it, decay and neglect had quietly taken hold. Amelia suspected that the Wood family’s legacy was fragile at best, unlikely to survive beyond the third generation.
Tobias guided her to the center of the living room and, in a low, gentle voice, offered her a quiet reminder.
“This chair belongs to Mrs. Wood—no one else is allowed to use it. You’re welcome to sit anywhere else on the sofa,” he explained softly.
Amelia nodded and expressed her gratitude once more, saying, “Thank you.”
Tobias gave a small, polite smile before heading off to inform Madeline.
Amelia, remained standing, choosing not to sit, and quietly took in every detail of the living room with careful observation.
The living room ceiling extended up to the second floor, very high, with a very large crystal chandelier that had yellowed somewhat - it must have been used for many years.
The entire structure was crafted in the style of a medieval castle, with every piece of furniture made from costly, high-quality wood, giving the space an undeniably luxurious and opulent appearance.
However, the wallpaper along the walls revealed several unmistakable patches of water damage. As Amelia continued to take in her surroundings, a girl descended the staircase, making her way into the room.
The girl hurried down the stairs, dressed in a frilly Lolita outfit. “Amelia! Is that you?” she called out.
Although Amelia had her back turned, she couldn’t help but feel that the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Amelia spun around, and for a moment, both of them stood frozen in place. The girl standing before her was unmistakably the owner of the car that Amelia had accidentally rear-ended just before the New Year.
At the time, it was clearly this girl who had slammed on her brakes in the fast lane, but she blamed them for rear-ending her and demanded $100,000 in compensation.
Of course, in the end, the girl had only received $5,000 in compensation. Amelia, however, had never imagined that she would unexpectedly run into her here.
Judging by her age, she should be around the same generation as her cousin, which meant she was likely the daughter of one of Amelia’s uncles, wasn’t she?
Natalie had mentioned that her own sister had chosen to remain single, avoiding both marriage and children, which meant that this girl could only be the daughter of one of Amelia’s two uncles.
Amelia was taken completely by surprise, and the girl’s shock was just as intense. She had never imagined that the woman she had once tried to deceive was, in fact, Amelia herself.
She experienced a mix of embarrassment and anger, feeling self-conscious because Amelia had likely realized that she was struggling financially.
She also felt a surge of anger, frustrated that her difficult situation was now exposed to this seemingly naïve country girl who had only just returned from the countryside.
Originally, she had intended to intimidate Amelia, to demonstrate what it truly meant to be a wealthy young lady. Yet now, confronted with the unexpected reality, she found herself stripped of that confidence and unable to feel any sense of superiority.
or a brief moment, the room was filled with silence, each of them processing the unexpected encounter. It was Amelia who finally spoke first, her voice calm and measured. “Hello, I’m Amelia. You must be Harper, right?”
Before arriving, Natalie had given her a rundown of the various members of the Wood family.
Her eldest uncle, Reid Wood, had two children: a son who had gone abroad for his studies and a daughter who remained in the country.
Her third uncle, Victor Wood, also had two daughters—the older daughter had already entered marriage, and the younger one was still in the midst of her middle school years.
Judging by her age, this girl must be Reid’s daughter—Harper.
“That’s me,” Harper said, offering a stiff smile. For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she already felt defeated, her earlier intention to intimidate Amelia seeming entirely out of reach.
Her resentment toward Amelia only grew stronger. Beyond the fact that Amelia now knew about her financial struggles, there was something else—something that cut even deeper.
Scarlett had initially promised her a car, but because of Amelia, Scarlett had been compelled to go through a divorce and was even sent abroad.
She had also heard that right after Scarlett left the airport abroad, she was hit by a car that broke both her legs, and she would have to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.
With everything that had happened, Harper felt far too embarrassed to even mention the promised car anymore. And the frustrating truth was that all of this was entirely Amelia’s doing!
She had never realized before that Amelia was Natalie’s daughter. While she had heard Scarlett vent her frustrations about Amelia, she had never known the full story or the details behind it.
Given that there were so many people with the surname Richardson, and considering that their family had severed ties with Natalie many years ago, Harper had never even considered making that connection.
Now, with both old and new grudges intertwining, the anger that had long been simmering in her heart flared up even more intensely. It was at that moment that her gaze fell on the chair beside Amelia.
The chair was an antique, a remarkable artifact dating back to the eighteenth century. It was typically reserved for Madeline, and aside from her and the late Nolan, no one else was permitted to sit in it.
It was said that occupying this chair was akin to taking the seat of the head of the Wood family, a position of authority and respect within the household. The younger members of the Wood family both longed for the prestige it represented and felt a deep sense of apprehension toward it.
Her eyes darted around as a mischievous idea to get back at Amelia began to form in her mind. With that thought, she quickly reshaped her expression into one that was warm and friendly once more.
“I honestly never imagined that you would turn out to be my cousin. That incident the last time was truly just a misunderstanding.”
She went on to explain, “That day I was already in a terrible mood, and then my new car got damaged, leaving me with no outlet for my frustration. That’s why I deliberately set such a high price—it wasn’t directed at you, Amelia. Please don’t take it personally or let it weigh on your mind.”
Her explanation was clearly meant to convey that she wasn’t actually struggling financially, just upset at the time.
Amelia responded with a gentle smile.
“Of course I won’t take it personally,” Amelia said with a knowing smile. “Anyone with even a little sense could see that a scratch this minor couldn’t possibly cost $100,000 to fix. I could tell that you were simply in a bad mood back then, not attempting to take advantage of me. With your standing, you really don’t need that $100,000, do you?”
Harper’s smile faltered for a brief moment before she quickly masked it. “Of course,” she replied, her tone measured.