Chapter 16

The young woman was Shelly Barrett, Timothy’s cousin.

Mia simply ignored Shelly’s sarcastic remarks. Throughout the years, Shelly viewed Mia in contempt.

Her comments would always suggest that Mia was only willing to marry a half-dead Timothy for money.

In the past, Mia kept putting up with Shelly’s ridicule. But now that she had signed the divorce papers,

she no longer needed to do so.

Shelly strutted haughtily over to Mia and snapped, “Why are you just standing there? Hurry over to the

kitchen and start cooking. Remember to make my favorite seafood stew.”

Mia withdrew her gaze and replied, “Grandma Laura invited me over to have dinner. She didn’t ask me

to come here as a maid to cook for other people.”

“What do you mean by that, Mia? You’ve got the nerve, don’t you? You’re even refusing to cook! I’m

going to tell Aunt Sharon about this!”

Mia ignored Shelly and walked into the house. When she entered the living room, she saw two people

sitting on the couch.

One was her ex-mother-in-law, Sharon, while the other was her ex-husband’s first love, Maya.

She didn’t expect to see Maya at dinner today.

Shelly rushed into the living room. She purposely bumped into Mia before reporting loudly, “Aunt

Sharon, I told Mia to head to the kitchen and cook for us, but she refused! She even said that Grandma

invited her over as a

guest and not as a maid!”

As soon as Shelly finished speaking, Sharon’s expression turned cold. “Mia, as my daughter-in-law,

how can

you refuse to cook for the family? What’s the point of keeping you around then?

“What can you do apart from spending the family’s money? You should be honored that we let you

cook for us.”

“Do calm down, Mrs. Barrett. Don’t let this affect your health,” Maya said with a smile.

“The more I look at her, Maya, the more annoyed I get,” Sharon huffed. “Even though you two have

similar

names, she’s just some poor woman. How can she compare to a young heiress like you? You come

from such

a good family, and you even studied abroad.

“You’re a beautiful and capable young woman. In my eyes, you’re the most perfect daughter-in-law a

person

could have.”

Maya’s eyes flashed with smugness as she replied, “She’s an orphan, Mrs. Barrett. I can understand

her

circumstances.”

“Hah! What’s there to understand? As an orphan, she should know her place. She shouldn’t have

dreamt of

soaring up the ranks of society.” Sharon scoffed.

“My son is such a fine young man. He’s bound to accomplish a great deal more in the future. How can

he be

“They’re not from the same class. I never agreed to their marriage, you know? But his grandmother

insisted

upon it.”

Mia took it all in. She had heard the same speech numerous times over the last three years.

However, she was no longer an orphan. She had six brothers who were all accomplished in their

various fields.

She raised her eyes and remarked, “Oh. Based on what you just said, are you implying that Timothy

needs to rely on his wife’s and family connections to make something of himself?”

“What’s this about him needing to rely on his wife? My son has always been talented, even at a young

age. Why would he possibly rely on a woman?” Sharon snapped.

“Wasn’t that what you just said?” Mia reminded her. “You said he should’ve married someone from the

same

class as him so that he can accomplish a great deal more in the future.”

Sharon was so furious that she couldn’t even speak. When did Mia become so sharp-tongued?

Mia glanced at the maid who was standing nearby. “Where’s Grandma?”

The maid finally snapped out of her daze and replied respectfully, “Mrs. Barrett Senior is taking a nap in

her

room. I think she hasn’t woken up yet.”

Mia frowned. “Has Grandma not been feeling well lately?”

She was a little concerned about Laura’s health.

Shelly purposely chimed in, “Mia, look at what Maya brought with her. Not only did she bring a lot of

expensive

supplements and health products, but she even brought a bracelet. They’re all very valuable, you know.

“Meanwhile, look at you. You came empty-handed. You don’t even know how to behave like a proper

guest.

Don’t you know any etiquette?”

Maya glanced at the expensive gifts on the table and intentionally said, “You’re too kind, Shelly. These

are all just ordinary gifts.”

“They’re ordinary to wealthy people like us, Maya, but someone in our midst doesn’t have any money.

She would never be able to earn enough money to afford these things, so that’s why she did everything

she could

to marry into the family,” Shelly stated.

Sharon scoffed. She wholeheartedly agreed with Shelly. Due to her daughter-in-law’s low social status,

she had been the brunt of the other wealthy women’s jokes for years now.

Yet, Timothy never did anything about it. It took him three years before he decided to file for a divorce.

Mia chuckled. Her gaze was mocking as she retorted, “Do you think Grandma has never seen these

things before? She never cared about superficial things and isn’t materialistic.”

Then, she looked at the maid and said, “I’ll prepare one of Grandma’s favorite soups for her.”

“That’s wonderful. Mrs. Barrett Senior hasn’t had much of an appetite lately, but she enjoys your

cooking very

much.”

Mia went to the kitchen. She didn’t want to entertain the three women in the living room anymore.

Out of everyone in the Barrett family, Laura was the only one who was nice to her, so she didn’t want to

start a major conflict with anyone. It’d only put Laura in a difficult position.

Mia stayed in the kitchen alone to prepare a healthy soup for Laura.

She was still pondering how she was going to tell Laura about the divorce.