Chapter 148
With measured steps, Margaret entered, leaning heavily on her cane. Her eyes brimmed with tender anguish as she looked at Athena.
At the sight of Margaret, tears welled up in Athena’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Athena could turn her back on anyone, but never on Margaret.
“Grandmother,” Athena fell to her knees, her voice choked with tears. “I’ve failed you as your granddaughter.”
“My child, stand up,” Margaret said, her eyes reddened with tears as she reached out and gently helped Athena to her feet. Margaret looked at Athena’s disheveled hair and shook her head repeatedly, thinking, it’s my fault. I dragged Athena into this mess. She smoothed Athena’s long hair and coiled it back up, taking the hairpin from Gwen, and secured the bun in place.
Athena’s heart ached sharply, her throat tightening so much that she could barely breathe. She gazed at Margaret, confusion and guilt clouding her eyes, yet not a word of accusation could escape her lips.
“Grandmother can’t bear to part with me. Neither can I,” Athena thought. “But this place is devouring me. Any longer, and I’ll lose my mind.”
Margaret seemed to see right through Athena’s thoughts. In a gentle yet firm voice, she said, “A woman should never so lightly cut off her hair.”
Their customs held that women’s hair should remain uncut, save for times of collective grief or their parents’ death. Athena’s parents were still alive. For her to shave her head now would be tantamount to cursing them. It was a defiant act and the gravest filial impiety. For this offense, she would face eighty lashes, exile to a place a thousand miles away, removal from the family registry, and the scorn of society. This wasn’t just cutting her hair; it was choosing death.
Margaret’s heart was breaking for Athena. Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she held Athena’s. Margaret slowly surveyed those present, her usually gentle eyes blazing with fury. “You heartless wretches! Must you hound her to death before you’re…”
“Athena is but a child. She cannot bear such a heavy punishment. Let me pay the price instead, shall we?”
Henry panicked and hastily pleaded, “Mother, please calm your anger!”
Everyone lowered their heads, terror etched across their faces.
Gwen gently helped Mais settle into the armchair.
Margaret looked around at her descendants in the room, sorrow etched across her face. The illustrious Monson family, now split apart by an adopted daughter, she sighed inwardly. “She’s forced the Monson family’s trueborn daughter to shave…”
Margaret armed her cane hard against the floor, her voice steel-edged, “Hey, do you still acknowledge me as your mother?”
Chapter 145
Henry hung his head and answered anxiously, “Mother, why would you say such a thing? How could I ever not acknowledge you?”
Margaret nodded and sighed. “Since you still acknowledge me, that’s good. Then, will you heed my words?”
Henry and Eloise exchanged uncertain glances, unable to discern Margaret’s intentions. But they knew that undoubtedly, it must concern either Willow or Athena. Henry weighed his words carefully before replying, “Naturally, I’ll listen to you.”
Margaret pointed at Willow and declared, her voice firm, “Since you claim you’ll listen, give Athena justice. I will not tolerate Willow’s presence in this house any longer.”
Willow’s legs went weak in terror at these words. She broke into soft sobs, daring to meet Margaret’s gaze as she pleaded through her tears, “Grandmother, I beg you, please don’t cast me out of the…”
In just a few days, she would marry into the Osborne family. Without my status as the daughter of the Duke of Suffield, would the Osborne family even consider accepting me? Margaret is driving me to ruin, Willow thought.
Willow’s choked sobs wrenched at Eloise’s heart. Close humedly pleaded, “Please, Margaret, please spare her.”
Margaret stood firm as iron, her heart utterly unmoved. She shifted her attention to Henry. “Henry, you speak.”
As head of the family, the final decision naturally rested with him. Henry hung his head, his face etched with conflict. He pleaded, “Mother, why must you put me in such an impossible position? Willow’s wedding is just days away. If you cast her out of the estate now, it would be tantamount to signing her death warrant.”
Margaret nodded, then turned her gaze to Nicolas. “Nicolas, do you share this view as well?”
“Yes,” Nicolas frowned, lowered his head, and said, “Grandmother, I beg you to reconsider. It is a critical moment for the Monson family and the Osborne family’s marriage alliance. We can’t afford any mishaps now.”
“Indeed, you each have your designs, and all you do is for the sake of the Monson family.” With that, Margaret looked up at the sprawling duke’s estate, her eyes brimming with nostalgia.
But it only lasted for a fleeting moment. Her gaze soon turned resolved. “Since this is how things stand,” she said, “I shall sever all familial ties with you.”
These words left everyone utterly stunned, especially Athena. Tears burst from her eyes.
Oh, Grandmother, she thought. Never in her wildest dreams did…
“Grandmother stopped me because…”
If Margaret proposed severing familial ties with the family, there was nothing Athena could do to stop it. Margaret was trying to save her by doing so.
They don't want me to suffer. But for my happiness, she cut off her lifeline, Athena thought, anguish twisting in her heart.
The authorities couldn’t intervene because it wasn’t about filial piety.
Chapter 148
Once the legal severance papers were filed and notarized, Margaret would have no ties to the Monson family. People would only say Margaret had lost her mind, turning her back on her family. All the blame and disgrace would fall squarely on her shoulders.
“No one in the duke’s estate will be implicated. Grandmother is severing her lifeline, all for my sake,” Athena thought guiltily.
“Grandmother!” Athena dropped to her knees at Margaret’s feet, choked with sobs. “Please, don’t sever your family ties. I want you to live happily and at…”
Athena thought, “My grandmother should be enjoying her golden years, not spending her old age in disgrace, scorned by everyone.”
With tears in her eyes, Margaret gently stroked Athena’s hair and said with a soft chuckle, “My dear, come away with me. We shan’t stay in this duke’s estate any longer.”
Only at that moment did Henry and Eloise finally snap out of their daze. They stared at Margaret in utter disbelief. Tears welled up in Henry’s eyes as he pleaded, “Mother, how could you disown your son for Athena’s sake?”
Henry was Margaret’s eldest son, raised solely by her from infancy. After giving birth to him, Margaret’s health suffered irreparable damage, and all subsequent pregnancies ended in heartbreaking miscarriages. Yet she lavished Henry with boundless maternal devotion.
“How could decades of mother-son bonds be severed so abruptly?” Henry thought. He burst into tears like a forsaken child. “Mother, I’m your son! How could you cast me aside?”
Margaret said with unexpected lightness, as if liberated at last. “These gilded halls have confined me for a lifetime. Now I want some peace for myself, and it’s also for Athena’s sake.”
Margaret’s gaze rested on Athena, her eyes brimming with aching tenderness. She gripped Athena’s hand tightly. “She is the rightful daughter of the Monson family, yet you’ve hounded her to the brink of despair. If you won’t cherish…”
Tears welling in his reddened eyes, Nicolas stepped forward, sobbing, “Grandmother, I’m your grandson too! Why can’t you show me some…”
“Nicolas.” Margaret’s eyes clouded with disappointment. “Your father may be blind to reason, but must you follow his folly? As you said, family comes first. You show kindness to others, yet reserve nothing but cruelty for your sister, Athena. I once believed that, in time, you would come to see reason. But I was wrong, gravely, profoundly wrong.”
At this point, Margaret turned to Henry, her eyes filled with guilt and deep remorse. “Ever since Athena returned to this household, you have never treated her kindly. You’ve used her as a pawn in your schemes, thinking only of lining your pockets. She is the rightful daughter of the Monson family, not a pawn for you to move at your whim.”
Margaret’s final words rang out with conviction.
Everyone she looked at instinctively lowered their heads, unable to meet her eyes.
Margaret turned to Henry, her voice firm yet measured. “Considering I gave you life and raised you, it’s not too much for me to claim the East Wing, is it?”
Eloise’s heart lurched. The duke’s estate consisted of the East Wing and the West Wing.
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Only the East Wing was initially built, during the family’s golden age, which explained its exceptionally lavish decor. The family’s resources could no longer keep up when they expanded the West Wing. Outwardly, it looked impressive, but inside, everything was just cheap and shoddy. Moreover, the East Wing alone took up nearly two-thirds of the duke’s estate.
Margaret claimed the lion’s share of the estate with just a few words.