Chapter 229
Standing Before Love
Elsie froze when she heard the whispers around her, most of which consisted of snide remarks.
âLook at that homewrecker. I wonder how she can still parade around shamelessly!â
âIâve never seen a homewrecker who isnât shameless. After all, one canât steal anotherâs husband without first being thick-skinned, right?â
âShe does look like a sly homewreckerâand to think she was trying to intimidate others around her.
She should get off her high horse and look at herself in the mirror!â
Elsie stiffened. She looked around and saw that everyone was throwing scornful looks at her. The graceful and elegant front sheâd put up earlier was as good as trashed, reduced to nothing.
A fiery rage lit up her eyes as she marched forward, reaching out with her hand to push Henry, who had already stepped up. âWhat did you say, you little b*stard? You better watch that mouth of yours!â
However, Myra gripped Elsieâs wrist before she could touch Henry. Elsie was shoved backward by Myra, who said coldly, âYou should be the one to watch your mouth. Whatâs wrong, Elsie? Are you having a hard time living with your shame? Does Lyla know that youâre pregnant with her husbandâs child?â
After having been pushed, Elsie staggered and nearly fell onto the ground. Her face was grim, but when she heard Myra mentioning Lylaâs name, her fists clenched at her sides.
Lyla was now her biggest enemy.
Elsie would have been better off not knowing that Sean only loved her for her eyes, which were the same as Lylaâs. Now that she did, her heart clenched with hatred.
As it turned out, he had never loved her in the first place and after she found out she was pregnant, she looked to Eve to ask her for help.
âWhy? Are you going to break the news to Lyla?â Elsie did not want to appear weak in front of Myra.
After all, the latter was abandoned and unwanted. If these were ancient times, sheâd be a disgraced housewife. How dare she act all high and mighty with me? She canât even begin to compete with me!
At least I get to turn things around now that Iâm pregnant with Seanâs child.
Elsie sneered and continued, âDid you forget who sidelined you in the first place, Myra? Weâre practically one and the same. Besides, it doesnât matter if you tell Lyla about this. Iâll give birth to this baby and Iâll be the one to fulfill Eveâs dreams of becoming a grandmother. Weâll see who gets to become the Young Mistress of the Chase Family after this!â
Upon hearing what the woman before her said, Myra scoffed at the naivety that belied her words. âWe are not the same.â
If Eve really wanted to bring Elsie into the family, she wouldnât have kept quiet for so long after sheâd learned of the latterâs pregnancy. Even fools would know that Eve was only after the baby and once the child was born, Elsie wouldnât have a choice but to hand him over to the Chase Family. By then, it would be far too late for Lyla to do anything about it, lest she considered infanticide.
Myra mused in her heart. She had to commend Eve for her wickedness; the woman had silently and single-handedly accomplished the things that would most benefit the Chase Family.
âYou and I are not the same,â Myra repeated stoically. âOne, I donât like Sean and two, Iâm not a homewrecker.â
With that, she pulled Henry with her and strode toward her car. Her heart wrenched when she saw that he had lowered his head in resentment. She paused and turned to address Elsie coldly, âYou should know who youâre dealing with before you try to bring them down. Youâre only going to humiliate yourself in the end. Who do you even think you are?â
The emphasis on the last part of Myraâs warning was not easily missedâsheâd used Elsieâs words against her.
Myra ignored the gloom that passed over the other womanâs face and led Henry into the car.
Henry was still downtrodden even as the car made its way toward the mall. In an attempt to placate him, Myra took his hand and quipped, âIs there a reason why you want to shop for clothes all of a sudden, Henry? Have you grown taller?â
He turned to look at her, no longer as upset as before, and answered, âThe clothes arenât for meâ
theyâre for Momâs boyfriend. Christianâs birthday is coming soon and Iâd like to give him a gift.â
Myra was taken aback at first, but she quickly smiled as she praised, âThatâs very nice of you, Henry!
Iâm sure your mom would be very happy with this and so would Christian.â
Henry grunted in agreement before he took a deep breath and anxiously said, âMyra, I didnât mean to bring up the man and the woman back there. I was angry and I didnât think before speaking. Please donât be mad at me.â
He had been feeling guilty from the moment he brought up Sean and Lyla. When the boyâs mother had told him about those things, she specifically reminded him to avoid bringing up their names in front of Myra.
Myra blinked at him. At first, she did not know the man and the woman whom Henry had referred to.
Then, realization dawned upon her and she smiled when she saw him assessing her anxiously. âDonât worry. Those two are irrelevant and I wouldnât be mad at you just because you brought them up.
Besides, I like your uncle nowâyou said so yourself. Everyone else is irrelevant.â
Upon seeing that Myra was not angry, Henry let out a breath of relief. He clenched his little fists and said, âMy uncle is way better than that man! Youâre going to be the only person he loves and he wonât fool around behind your back either!â
The words came naturallyâheâd picked up the phrase âfool aroundâ from his great-grandfather, who had used the same words to put down the formerâs father.
Myraâs smile softened as she thought of Tony and she teased, âDid your uncle bribe you into complimenting him like this?â
Henry flushed before he flapped his hand dismissively. âNo, not at all.â
She couldnât help but beam when she saw how flustered he was.
It wasnât long before they arrived at the mall. After having parked the car, the both of them headed toward the menâs boutique.
Henry had an acquired taste since young, given that he was the heir to both the Reyer and the Hart Families. Even Myra was left slightly astonished at the understated but tasteful pieces that heâd chosen from the various collections on display.
After picking out Christianâs birthday gift, he turned and saw that she was still perusing the clothes in the boutique. He went over and asked playfully, âMyra, are you picking out a shirt for Uncle Tony?â
Now that Henry knew what Sean was like, he was even more determined to bring Myra and his uncle closer together.
Myra flushed and her hand slid off a pale blue shirt before she drew it back. âIâm just looking around.â
âWell, I think this is a nice shirt. Itâll look good on Uncle Tony!â Henry encouraged with a grin.
Meanwhile, the sales assistant who was packing Henryâs purchase had taken notice of their exchange and hurried over to them. She gave them a polite smile as she said, âThe both of you have great taste.
This shirt is by an esteemed designer and itâs part of our latest collection too. This is the only one of its kind. You could get it for your husband if youâd like, miss.â
The sales assistants in the boutique had a good eye when it came to assessing their customers and they were sure that the woman and the boy came from money.
Myra blushed when she heard that Tony was being referred to as her husband. She gave the shirt another glance and she had to agree that it was very exquisitely made.
She wasnât sure if Tony only wore white shirts out of habit. As far as she could tell, the man didnât own any colored shirts in his wardrobe.
âJust get it. Didnât you say that Uncle Tony is coming over to pick us up later? You could give this to him as a surprise!â Henry cajoled gleefully.
Myra softened when she remembered how Tony had been slightly displeased after sheâd told him she was spending the evening with Henry. She turned to the sales assistant, who was practically thrumming with anticipation beneath her polished, professional facade, and said, âIâll take this then.
Please pack it up for me.â