Chris Ford had been concealing his feeling of guilt from the start, yet when Wendy unknowingly revealed the truth that heâd been so anxious to hide, he acted like a cat whose tail had just been trampled and exploded with anger.
âIâm sick of you speaking nonsense like that all the time!â he snarled, âYou know how ridiculous youâre being! Zack is our own grandson. Why would it be so weird that Iâm concerned about him?â
Wendy said nothing in reply. She removed the treatment mask and wiped her face with a clean cotton pad. Then, she picked up another bottle of skincare product, poured the content onto her palm, and began rubbing it on her skin.
Chris walked up to her and grabbed her wrist, âYou have to come with me and talk some sense into Father!â he barked. âWe have to explain everything to him. Even if Weston and Guinevereâs engagement has been broken off, we still canât let a woman like Ella Steele be with our son!â
âYou go and tell him yourself!â Wendy shoved his hand off her impatiently. âI donât want to upset Father.â
âWENDY!!!â
It was the first time that Chris Ford had yelled at Wendy in such a manner since theyâd gotten married.
âIâm truly disappointed in you!â âYou should know youâre not getting any younger!â he added. For some reason, the sight of her smearing creams and lotions on her face filled him with a wave of contempt heâd never felt for her before. âDonât you know how pointless all these creams are? Youâre never going to be as pretty as a young woman!â
Those words ultimately triggered Wendyâs wrath. In a blind moment of rage, she bolted to her feet and furiously swept the glass jars and bottles off her vanity, smashing them onto the floor. âFine!â she shouted. âWhy donât you go on and find a young woman then? Why are you still wasting your time with an old woman like me?!â âFine!â Chris was so enraged that his eyes had turned bloodshot. âRemember that you said so yourself! So donât regret it later!â
Men were always like that. Even when they did something wrong, they never stayed feeling guilty for long. Once a period of time had passed, even those as guilty as sin would get impatient and start getting angry. Chris stormed out of the room, leaving Wendy in there all alone.
Stella hid in a nearby storeroom when she heard Chrisâs approaching footsteps. She only came out when she saw him storming out of the room and disappearing in the distance.
She had no intention to interfere with the relationship between Chris and Wendy, but even she could sense, just from overhearing their quarrel just now, that Chris and Guinevere had a peculiarly close relationship. But she thought nothing more of it and was about to return to her room when the sound of a crying baby distracted herâ¦
âWaaa! Waaa!â
Chris had been so loud and brash when he shoved the door open that it had woken Zach up. Children his age tended to make a lot of fuss when they got upset, especially when awakened from sleep.
Wendy was startled by Zachâs loud cries. She massaged her temples and let out a heavy sigh before putting on a shawl and rushing out of the room. âIâm coming. Iâm comingâ¦â âHeâs been woken up by the noise!â the nanny griped as she carried Zach out of the nursery. âI know, I knowâ¦â
Wendy quickly took Zach into her arms and cooed softly at him to calm him down.
âBring his milk bottle over,â she instructed the nanny as she patted Zachâs back gently.
âYes, maâam.â
âDid you change his diapers?â âNo, it was still dry.â
Wendy remembered being a lot more relaxed when Weston was a baby. She had basically let the nanny handle everything back then. Yet now, with Zach, she was a lot more involved and spent much more time and effort taking care of him.
Wendy was rocking Zach to sleep in her arms in the hallway when she suddenly noticed Stella standing at the door.
âArenât you asleep yet?â she asked, surprised to see her.
Seeing that Wendy had seen her, Stella thought it was pointless to hide now, so she turned around and nodded, saying, âI was just about to go to bed.â She then glanced at Zach and asked, âHow long does he cry like that for?â
The thought of her own baby suddenly came into her mind. He would be just about Zachâs age if he were still alive. She wondered if he would be naughty or well behavedâ¦