"I've raised you, always treated you as my own daughter. You've also met Heather..."Natalie quickly interrupted her, "No, no, I don't acknowledge her as my mother. I only acknowledge you. You're the one who raised me, taught me to read and write, and guided me through life. You're my mother! She's not, she doesn't deserve it!"That was truly Natalie's heartfelt sentiment. Even if she were to die, she would not acknowledge a homewrecker as her mother. She would rather be the adopted daughter of the Yarn family, which sounded better and carried more prestige.Upon hearing Natalie's words, Mary was touched and saddened once more."Natalie, do you still acknowledge me? After all that's happened, do you still consider me your mother?""Mom, do you still acknowledge me? Or have you become fonder of Gale and consider me an outsider?""To be honest, Natalie, you and Gale are both my daughters. I haven't differentiated between my biological and adopted daughters. However, you've committe
Natalie's scheme did not go as planned. Mary said, "Not blaming me is a good start. I can't do much to help you. I've said before that life is a long journey, and you must walk it on your own. Parents, children, even loved ones, can only accompany you for a portion of that journey.""Natalie, from now on, I will see you once a year. This is my final act of motherly affection toward you.""If you make mistakes, you must pay the price. Don't harbor resentment toward anyone. These are the consequences of your own actions, the seeds you've sown."Mary added, "And one more thing..." She looked into Natalie's eyes and said, "In the future, don't refer to yourself as Gale's sister. Gale doesn't like that, and I want to respect her wishes. Besides, you two are barely sisters?"Mary had not acknowledged Natalie's current identity. If she did, would that not be accepting Heather?Natalie was taken aback. She hesitated and held back her tongue. Her strategy had unexpectedly failed. Mary actu
After all, Aurum's reputation had been tarnished. She was hoping Mary's influence might still carry some weight. Mary actually believed that Natalie had a sudden and profound realization, recognized her mistakes, and had no intention of asking Mary to plead for mercy. That unexpected twist left Natalie dumbfounded. She could not say much in response.Gale made a valiant effort to hide her urge to laugh. "Alright, Mom. You've met, and said what needed to be said. Natalie needs to spend a lifetime atoning for her deeds, and she's admitted it herself."Natalie wanted to protest. "I...""What? You don't agree?" Gale immediately raised her voice, suppressing her, "Are you having second thoughts?""No.""My mother still has some affection for you, so I arranged this meeting. You can leave now," Gale said.Natalie would not be happy with just leaving it at that. She was clearly not satisfied with the outcome and did not expect Mary to not fall for her emotional manipulation. She shoul
Moreover, if anything were to happen to Mary, Gale would lose her mother once again. The thought of both her adopted mother and biological mother leaving her in succession was enough to cause unimaginable pain. Natalie's blood boiled with excitement at the prospect of revenge, and she saw Mary as the perfect person to bear the burden of her actions.Natalie extended her hand, holding onto Mary's shoulder, and said, "Well then, Mom, I'll take my leave. Please take good care of your health, and make sure to go out for a walk, alright?""Alright, you don't need to worry about me," Mary replied.Natalie's hand slowly moved upward. Her target was Mary's neck. Conveniently, there was a fruit knife on the nearby table. If she could grasp Mary's neck and position herself as a shield, then take a step back and quickly pick up the fruit knife as a weapon...That way, she would be halfway to success. Mary's life would be in her hands.No one knew what was going through Natalie's mind. Mary s
Upon hearing this, Gale immediately pinched Joshua's ear and asked, "Are you being picky with your food?""Ouch, no! I eat all my meals on time every day, and I never waste a single grain of rice. My teacher says every grain is hard-earned!""Cut it out. I know you too well."Both Joshua and Nicole had their picky eating habits. However, they had different preferences. Nicole disliked eating vegetables and loved all kinds of meats, while Joshua was the opposite, preferring vegetarian and light dishes. He could even finish a bowl of plain rice. Therefore, Gale was quite concerned.She needed Nicole to eat more vegetables and Joshua to eat more meat."It's true, it's true! Ouch, ouch, ouch, grandpa, please say something for me. I'm not picky, am I?"Peter felt sorry for Joshua and patted Gale's hand, saying, "What are you doing? Joshua is just a child. Why are you so harsh? Please let go."Well, it appeared that her son was more important than her.He slapped her hand. Gale relea
Seeing that Peter was about to criticize her, Gale quickly changed the subject. "What a coincidence. I came to see Mom today, and I didn't expect you to bring Joshua along. Dad, I just mentioned to Mom that in a couple of days, I'll bring Nicole and Joshua to visit her, to liven up this hospital room.""Yeah, it's indeed quite a coincidence." he agreed.Joshua crossed his arms casually. "I wish you had brought Nicole along too. Unfortunately, she sleeps like a pig in the afternoon."Mary was also pleasantly surprised. She had not expected to see her well-concealed grandson first."Joshua, come, come, come. Come over to my side." Mary beckoned him over."Here I come, Grandma!"Joshua ran toward the hospital room but hesitated when he saw Natalie. "Hey, bad lady? Why are you here?"Natalie and Joshua locked eyes. She had seen this young boy many times before. He had lived with the Lefitng family, and Aurum had treated him exceptionally well, showering him with endless love, almost
However, her ankle restraints limited her movement. The moment she moved, two guards quickly surrounded her swiftly. Natalie had no choice but to stop and stand in place. She glared at Joshua. "Did you have anything to do with my poisoning, the one that Shawn mentioned?"The Lefting family's staff were all hand-picked by Natalie herself, and they knew her temperament well. None of them dared to cross her, and it was impossible for Shawn to infiltrate the Lefting family with spies in such a short time. However, she had been poisoned inexplicably.By the time Shawn informed her, the poison was already deep in her system, waiting for the right moment to take effect. How had Shawn poisoned her? Who among the Lefting family staff had the ability to continuously administer poison without her noticing?She had suspected Zoe before, as she was the only one who had resigned for several years before returning to the Lefting family as a servant, accompanied by Joshua, which had made her the pr
Why did he have to tell Natalie so much? He even confessed everything! Mary and Peter were both more shocked than the other, completely dumbfounded. No one had expected that Joshua was the one who poisoned Natalie! Even Gale herself, when she found out, was shocked, and she had a heated argument with Shawn!"Alright, no need to talk anymore, young man." Gale pulled him closer and covered his mouth while whispering, "Shh, be quiet, okay?"If it weren't for Peter and Mary's presence, Gale would not have been this gentle! Kids could be really naughty!"I just thought it would be nice to let Natalie know the truth. Otherwise, she would be in the dark, not understanding how she got poisoned!" Joshua responded."I will thank you on behalf of her," Gale replied."You're welcome, big beauty."Gale took several deep breaths to calm herself down. She could not afford to get angry; it would make her look bad, and it was not good for her health. She reminded herself that Joshua was her own