Chapter 12: The Two Families Discuss the Annulment

Yunice gazed at Owen in sorrow, her eyes filled with a tangled mix of resentment and grievance. This house was left behind by Dad! I was a daughter of the Saunders family also! What right did Owen have to drive me out? No one had the right to throw me out of Dad’s house!

Because Dad had made a will dividing the family assets into three parts, the real estate belonged to me, savings went to Oscar, and hospital Ito shares were given to Owen. Dad had said that since I’m a girl, I would need a house as a foundation when I married Oscar; Oscar, with cash in hand, could fund his new drug research; while Owen, with his medical connections, could boost pharmaceutical sales. Yenice, in turn, could provide insights for Oscar’s drug development. The three of us were supposed to complement each other in a virtuous cycle. Now that they had achieved success, they saw me as useless and decided to cast me aside?

Yunice was so furious she could hardly breathe. She clenched her palms tightly and locked eyes with Owen in a heated glare. She wanted to lash out, but reason held her back—she couldn’t fight head-on. Right now, I couldn’t even prove my identity. Bringing up the will recklessly would only benefit Elsie. Moreover, after three years in the psychiatric hospital, I had lost my connections and resources. Without money or support, who would help me fight a lawsuit?

Yunice shut her eyes in frustration. Powerless rage was useless. Confronting them head-on would only get me sent back to the psychiatric hospital. When she reopened her eyes, all emotion had vanished from them. She wiped away the rice grains from her face.

Then, she swiftly crouched down and picked up the chicken drumstick from the floor. She hesitated for a brief moment at the sight of the bright red chili oil on it. But only for a moment. She then took a big bite and swallowed mechanically like a lifeless doll.

Everyone was stunned. Elsie put on a show of concern and exclaimed, “Yunice, don’t eat that; it’s dirty!” Owen was also taken aback—he hadn’t expected Yunice to pick up food from the floor and eat it. At that moment, a shocked voice came from the doorway. “What is going on here?”

Margaret Grant, Paul’s mother, was so stunned that she forgot her manners and strode in. It wasn’t until she saw Yunice actually eating off the floor that she turned to Owen and Lily with an indescribable expression. Y immediately turned her head away in shame. Lily…

Owen stepped forward to greet her. “Madam Margaret, what brings you here?” Margaret raised her hand to brush him off. She had intended to question Owen, but upon seeing Yunice squatting there, numbly eating the drumstick, she rushed over and snatched it away. Her voice trembled with distress. “Don’t eat that! It’s too spicy! You have a gastric disease! How can you handle such spicy food?”

Owen had assumed Margaret was upset because Yunice ate off the floor, but upon hearing about her gastric disease, he was… 10:45 AM.

Yunice, now supported by Margaret, turned to Owen and asked, “I finished eating. Are you pleased now?” Owen was at a loss for words. That wasn’t what I meant. I had assumed she was deliberately only eating plain rice. “If your stomach was unwell, why didn’t you say anything?”

Yunice replied, “I did. But you said Mom worked hard to cook and told me not to be fussy. You said eating one bite wouldn’t kill me.” In the mountains, resources were scarce, and people preferred spicy food. Having lived there for fifteen years, Lily and Elsie had long since adapted to eating spicy dishes. After returning home, Lily, wanting to make it up to her children, frequently cooked feasts of spicy food. Elsie naturally enjoyed it, and both of her brothers weren’t picky eaters. But I couldn’t handle spice at all.

When I was young, Dad had to play both parental roles. Unable to always tend to me personally, he had hired a nanny to care for me. However, the nanny had been negligent, leaving me hungry to the point of developing a chronic stomach condition. After that, no matter where Dad went, on business trips or meetings, he always took me along, ensuring my health improved. But in the three years I spent in the psychiatric hospital, I had been deprived of proper meals and grew even more sensitive to spicy food.

“If she can’t eat it, she can’t eat it. How is that being fussy?” Margaret scanned the table full of spicy dishes and directed her anger at Lily. “You’re a mother. How hard is it to ask your daughter what she wants to eat?” Lily’s eyes reddened as she lowered her head and wiped away tears.

Owen, unable to bear seeing his mother upset, frowned and said, “Madam Margaret, she didn’t say anything. How were we supposed to know?” Margaret held Yunice protectively. “Even I knew, so doesn’t that mean you should be reflecting on yourselves?” Owen fell silent.

Yunice felt a stabbing pain in her stomach. Pressing her hand against it, she endured the discomfort. Noticing this, Margaret quickly supported her and turned to the others. “I’m taking Yunny with me.” Owen instinctively wanted to stop her. We…

But Yunice looked him in the eye and said firmly, “From now on, I’ll do everything you ask. But I won’t explain myself to you ever again.” Watching Yunice’s unsteady steps as she followed Margaret away, Owen looked at the scattered rice and chili flakes on the floor, a deep turmoil in his heart. I hadn’t expected things to turn out like this…

Earlier, Hanser had asked if I was pleased. Now could he be pleased? For what? She was my own sister; seeing her in pain only made my heart ache. Yanur had done exactly as I had asked. When I told her to hold the burning charcoal, she did. When I told her to stand straight, she… When I told her to eat, she ate… un)happy. This man… the outcome I had wanted. I just wanted Yanice to be obedient, to get along with the family without… 10:45 AM.

“Huh?” Lily flinched, her eyes darting around nervously before she finally murmured, “She never told me.”

Having endured much hardship, Lily was deeply respected by both Owen and Oscar. They had never raised their voices at her. But today, Owen broke that rule. Despite Lily’s discomfort, he pressed on. “Then did you ever ask her what she likes to eat?” Lily hesitated before stammering, “Maybe because I didn’t raise her when she was young, she doesn’t feel close to me. She doesn’t talk to me much…”

Owen’s expression darkened. I could tell she was lying. I had watched Yunice grow up. As a child, every birthday wish she made was for our mother to come back and hold her. The first night Mom was rescued and brought home, Yunice had eagerly wanted to share a room with her, saying she had a lifetime of things to talk about. But what had our mother said? She had said that Elsie was afraid and needed her, that the bed wasn’t big enough for three people, and had told Yunice to sleep alone. For the first time, Owen realized that maybe their mother had never truly cared about Yunice.

And at the door, Paul had witnessed it all. He had come with Margaret. Margaret was Paul’s mother, and she had watched Yunice grow up. The two got along well. Paul had come to the Saunders mansion today because his father wanted both families to have a meal together and formally discuss the annulment. Margaret had worried that the annulment would be another blow to Yunice, so she had come personally to take Yunice away, hoping to prepare her in advance. Send Gifts