Chapter 12 Mason Defends Lucia
1104 Words
Pearl ran over without thinking and blocked a knife attack on Timothy. The young gang members ran off when they saw that someone else had come.
This was how she became a motherly figure in Timothy's life.
Throughout the years, she watched as Timothy became a self-made billionaire. She was genuinely proud of him.
Timothy didn't forget her either. He would always visit Pearl no matter how busy he was and bring a lot of gifts and money every time. Pearl always refused the money, but Yvonne often pushed Grayson to ask Timothy for benefits. It was also why Pearl and Yvonne had a bad relationship.
She was totally shocked when Timothy suggested letting Mason marry Lucia last month!
Later, she asked Lucia for her opinion. Pearl knew Mason was a qualified husband, but her beloved girl always went first. In the end, she supported the marriage.
She sincerely hoped that she'd made the right decision!
Yvonne watched as Mason kept talking to Pearl and ignored the rest of the family. She nudged Grayson in annoyance, gesturing at him to join the conversation.
Grayson nodded.
"Mason," he said, interrupting Pearl. "Your company has been doing quite well, right? If you need a new partner, you can consider my company. Let's keep the business in the family, right?" His greedy smile was calculative.
"Dad, let's talk about work some other day." Mason smiled politely. His phone rang just then, so he excused himself and walked out.
As soon as he left, Yvonne wiped away her smile. "Talk about it some other day?" she muttered. "That's just an excuse. I wasted so much time acting nice here!"
Then she glared at Lucia, as if blaming her for not helping.
"What, you can't keep up the act anymore?" Pearl looked toward Yvonne. "If you can't act, then you can leave. Nobody invited you here."
"I… I didn't say anything wrong. Why are you kicking me out?" Yvonne said with a pout.
Lucia knew that her grandma didn't get along with Yvonne. She didn't want Mason to see all the family drama, so she coaxed Pearl, "Granny, don't get mad, or else you'll get wrinkles!"
Then she even patted Pearl's cheeks, making the old woman laugh.
"Alright, alright," Pearl said, batting away Lucia's hand. "I have enough wrinkles already."
Jessica tsked from the side. "Wow, Lucia, you're getting better and better at kissing ass. No wonder Granny likes you the best and did everything she could to help you get married."
Lucia didn't want to fight, but the others here clearly did!
She decided to ignore Jessica.
"What's with your attitude? You think you're better than us just because you're Mrs. Reynolds now?" Jessica's resentment had been building up. There was no way she would stop now.
Lucia took a deep breath to push down her anger, but her grip tightened around Pearl's shoulder.
Pearl sensed how Lucia was holding back. She looked at Yvonne and Jessica sternly. "Alright, stop arguing. Each of you shows your true colors as soon as Mason leaves the room. I'm ashamed for you all!"
"Mom, this isn't our fault! It's your fault for being so biased," Yvonne complained, speaking up for her daughter. "Jessica is your granddaughter too, but you neglect her for Lucia. If Jessica married Mason, Grayson wouldn't have to beg him so pathetically!"
"Well, he has to like Jessica in the first place." Pearl's comment shut Yvonne and Jessica up.
Yvonne's expression darkened in anger. She jabbed Grayson's waist with her elbow to make him help.
"Mom, Yvonne doesn't mean that. She's just worried for me," Grayson said. "My company has some financial issues, so I was wondering if the Reynolds could help. They're wealthy. If they're not even willing to help us a little, what kind of in-laws are they?"
"Have they not helped you enough?" Pearl shot back. "Plus, since when did you treat Lucia as your daughter? And now you're here to leech off her in-laws."
Grayson was pushed into a corner by his mom's words. His expression fell, and he said stiffly, "No matter how I treat her, she's still my daughter. She has to be grateful and help out with the company."
Lucia's heart clenched.
After taking down the disguise, Grayson had recovered his usual coldness. His eyes were full of disgust when he looked at her.
Yvonne hopped onto this chance to insult Lucia.
"Yeah, Grayson is right. We funded her basic necessities and schooling for all these years, but she's not grateful at all! She's rich and well off now, but she forgot all about us! If I'd known this, I should've just raised a dog instead. At least, a dog can guard the door!"
The mocking words stabbed into Lucia's heart. Anger flashed past her eyes.
She shot to her feet and glared at Grayson and Yvonne. "You keep saying I'm not grateful, but what about you? Have you ever thanked Granny? Have you ever spent a holiday with her over these years? Where were you when she was sick? If I'm not grateful, that's because I learned from you all!"
"Lucia, you… Fine! You just drag your granny out against us when you can't defend yourself! Do you think we're as useless as you? Where would you get the money to feed yourself if it weren't for us? You think it drops from the sky? Ungrateful b***h!" Yvonne glared at Lucia.
"Yvonne, shut up and get out of my house!" Pearl cried with a red face. She pointed at the door and realized with a start that Mason was standing there!
She froze, arm still raised at the door.
Everyone followed her gaze and looked over.
Lucia blanched. The anger faded from her eyes. She lowered her head and sat back on the sofa.
Her family drama had been exposed, after all.
He must hate her even more now, right?
Mason stood in the doorway with a cool expression. His eyes were as mysterious as the sea, and he radiated a strong aura.
Even if he didn't say anything, his aura intimidated everyone.
He glanced over at Lucia, who had her head hanging, and walked in.
Grayson reacted quickly. He put on an ingratiating smile again and went up to Mason.
"Come, sit here."
"Mason, eat some fruit." Yvonne offered him a fruit platter.
"No need." Mason glanced at Grayson and Yvonne. "Grayson, Yvonne, I respect you as my elders, so please respect my wife as well. I don't want to hear those upsetting words a second time."
His voice was flat, but it almost brought Grayson to his knees!
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