Jessica’s explanation only drove fear in Oscar. “Jessica, she’s well connected. It won’t go unnoticed if we hired a few hooligans to stir trouble. Her relatives are wealthy and powerful. They’re not people we can mess with. “Did you say that her brother-in-law is the heir of the wealthiest York family? All the more reason to stay away from them. Don’t you know how the Yorks are? We’ve heard of the family even though we live in a rural area. Forget it. A hundred thousand dollars isn’t worth me taking the risk.” Jessica winced her face. “I’m your sister, Oscar. So you’re going to let it go when someone is making my life a living hell?” Oscar replied, “How is she making your life a living hell? I mean, you lied to us. Hank had a wife and a son when he was with you, but you became his mistress and wrecked his family apart. You kept that fact from us. Here we were, thinking you found yourself a good man.“Do you think I don’t know you well? I bet you’re the one picking on the Liberty
“Weren’t you and Jack the reason Mom and Dad asked for a lot of money? Ask any family, and none of them will tell you that they expect that much for a wedding gift. What would you think if your children’s in-laws demand that much for a wedding too? “That kind of money will be good for me to start a family with Hank. How can I possibly allow Hank to give it away? It’s only for formalities’ sake, but what did you tell Mom and Dad? 777,777 dollars is lucky for you. All I get is seven thousand dollars in return, and nothing more. “Mom and Dad will get a hundred thousand dollars while you and Jack get three hundred thousand each. Why? Why are they selling their daughter to give their sons everything? What about the daughter?” Faced with her sister’s questioning, Oscar turned red in the face and lashed out, “You’re favoring outsiders instead of family. We’re your brothers. You should get more out of the Browns since they’re wealthy, but you can’t get anything now because you’re married
Liberty married into the Browns without asking for anything. The wedding gift, be it material items or money, should be given according to the current going rate and local traditions. Nevertheless, Jessica’s parents demanded a lot to give to her brothers and left Jessica nothing to start her own family with. Jessica was not going to say yes to that. Now that Hank put her in control of the purse strings, Jessica was paying for everything their house needed. She felt the pinch every time she footed the bill. The responsibility fell on her to manage the household finances and everything was not cheap. As the head of the household, she started to get on top of their financial situation. Besides, she and Hank were still out of employment. They were eating away what little savings they had, so they had to be budget conscious. Jessica was relieved she only contributed one-third of her past salary to her family. She spent another one-third and saved the remainder in the bank. At
Mrs. Brown went to pick Sonny up and planted kisses on Sonny’s cheeks, only giving it a rest when Sonny frowned. “Sonny, I couldn’t get you a toy since I came over in a rush. I’ll give you some money, so you can ask your mom to take you out shopping. You can get whatever you want.” Mrs. Brown then pulled out a wad of cash and stuffed a few hundred-dollar bills in Sonny’s hand. “Mrs. Brown.” Liberty immediately stopped her and took her son from Mrs. Brown. Liberty uttered, “Don’t give Sonny money, Mrs. Brown. He’s still young. He’ll get into the habit of asking for money to buy things if you keep giving him money.” Mrs. Brown replied, “Then you take the money. It’s for Sonny to buy things.” She then handed Liberty the cash. Refusing it, Liberty answered, “Mrs. Brown, Sonny has everything he needs. It’s okay. You can keep the money for yourself.” Since Mrs. Brown often dropped by for chatter, Liberty learned that Hank gave a lot less allowance to his parents. Mrs. Brown m
“Liberty, are you hiring at the moment? I don’t have a job, and my age makes finding one a pain. I can’t beat those young girls out there. “You can hire me if you’re looking to hire. I’m not asking for a lot. I’m happy with eight thousand dollars a month with meals and accommodation included.”Chelsea changed the subject. Echoing her daughter, Mrs. Brown told her former daughter-in-law, “Liberty, Chelsea has been out of work for a long time. It’s going to be hard for you to run the place and look after Sonny. You should hire someone to help you. Chelsea is not an outsider. Plus, she’s a good worker. It’s better for you to hire her than someone you don’t know. You might end up with a thief for all you know.“I can look after Sonny, so you can focus on running the business.” If Mrs. Brown was watching Sonny, Liberty would have to go to the Browns’ home to pick the boy up, and she would bump into Hank. Liberty and Hank had known each other for more than a decade, and they had a so
“You can talk to me about it, Nana. No need to look for Duncan.” “I don’t need you. Stop with the questions. Hurry up and give me Duncan’s number.” Zachary skeptically gave his best friend’s number to his nana. At the end of it, he persistently asked, “What happened, Nana? Why do you need to talk to Duncan?” “It’s none of your business. Go back to work.” Grandma May immediately hung up on her darling grandson after getting Duncan’s number. Over on the other side, Zachary was speechless. Could he not be a little nosy to ask about it? Grandma May dialed Duncan’s number and spoke in an anxious tone when Duncan picked up, “It’s bad, Duncan! It’s bad! Those absurd people are out to get Liberty again. It’s Liberty’s ex-mother-in-law and sister-in-law. They’re jealous that Liberty set up a diner. They want Liberty to transfer the ownership of the restaurant to them. Liberty can’t face those two women alone. She’s no longer the two-hundred-pound woman she was.“I’m only an old l
“I’ll be right there. I’m sorry, Liberty.” Hank apologized on behalf of his mother and sister before ending the call. Picking up his car keys, he told his father, “Dad, Mom and Chelsea made a fool of themselves at Liberty’s diner again. Come with me to bring them back.” Black in the face, Mr. Brown took a moment to swallow the news and said, “They have nothing better to do.” They had a nice thing going on as a family, and it had all come to an end. It took Hank to get a new wife for Mrs. Brown and Chelsea to appreciate Liberty. Now the ladies would not stop harassing Liberty, and it was embarrassing. “I’ll take your mom back to our hometown after your wedding. We won’t come to the city unless necessary.” Mr. Brown believed taking his wife and daughter back home could give the newlyweds some space. The absence and distance would do them all some good. At least, the family would not be having fights every day. That way, his former daughter-in-law would be left alone too. Hank
Grandma May was lost for words. Snapping out of her trance, Liberty asked, “Mr. Lewis, h-how did you know they were here?” Duncan let go of the struggling boy. Despite giving Sonny many pinwheels, he still could not get through to the little man. Duncan believed he was a failure because he could never get the three-year-old to like him. “Grandma May called me and said your former mother-in-law and sister-in-law were stirring trouble at your place. She told me to hurry over with security, and I did because I was worried that they might scare Sonny and hurt Grandma May.“Are you all alright?” Liberty was in a daze. No wonder Duncan showed up out of the blue. It turned out Grandma May called him for help. Well, Lewis & Co. was nearby after all. It made sense why Grandma May sought Duncan for help. Without thinking much of it, Liberty said, “They have no shame, but I’m not afraid of them. I was going to splash them with water, but your arrival was perfect timing.“Thank you