Chapter 213

“Hold on a second,” Rosalie interrupted, raising her hand. “For the sake of who?”

Claudia’s face stiffened in shock. The chill in Rosalie’s contemptuous gaze startled her. “Of me,” she replied instinctively, “as your mother.”

“Tsk,” Rosalie smacked her tongue, looking down at Claudia. “Who allows you, a mistress, to address yourself as my mother!”

Realizing a similar situation to the one at Graham Villa was unfolding, Edward intervened to stop Claudia before she could continue. “Alright, Rosalie,” he said, “since you don’t want to consider your stepmother as your mother, from now on you can call her Aunt Claudia. Let’s not ruin Christmas for everyone, okay?”

Realizing Edward had cut off any chance for argument, Claudia’s eyes welled up with tears. Her husband hadn’t even allowed her to retort; she had to let it slide. Such a huge humiliation to Edward seemed a trivial matter.

Edward noticed Claudia’s reproachful gaze and understood her feelings. He reached out and gently squeezed her hand, offering reassurance.

Catching their exchange, Rosalie sneered, pretending not to notice. “Alright,” she said, “but if anyone tries to act like they’re my mother in the future, don’t blame me for being rude, Edward.”

Too tired to continue arguing with his daughter, Edward waved his hand. “Alright, alright. Aunt Claudia will keep that in mind.”

Under Rosalie’s tyranny, the entire Graham family harbored resentment, but were powerless to act.

“Let’s skip this topic,” Edward said, changing the subject. “Rosalie, now that you’re back from the Galloway family, do you plan to return to work at Talley Group?”

During the year she was married to Julian, Rosalie spent most of her time at Galloway Manor and didn’t attend university. Edward had no idea what kind of work she was involved in. A person who married at nineteen and didn’t finish college had a very limited range of job options. In the past, Julian had covered all her expenses.