Chapter 641: Mother-Daughter Nature (3)
Chapter 641: Chapter 641: Mother-Daughter Nature (3)
Vera, however, detected a note of concern in Winter Sullivan’s words. It was only their second time meeting, yet she had already earned Winter’s solicitude. ’Who could still say Winter Sullivan is a cold person?’
Vera also noticed her discomfort, so she smiled faintly and said, "I’m not trying to win a popularity contest. I can’t force everyone to like me. But in my opinion, whether people like me or not, I am who I am—one of a kind. I won’t be heartbroken if someone insults me, nor will I be over the moon if someone praises me."
Winter Sullivan’s eyes lit up. She slammed her hand on the table and said, "Exactly! That’s how people should be. I can’t stand those petty sycophants who spend all day trying to guess what others are thinking and fawning over them!"
She looked elegant, but she was surprisingly strong. The impact was enough to slosh tea out of the cups on the table.
At that moment, all the customers and staff in the shop turned to look at her. She immediately felt a little awkward, cleared her throat, and said, "There was a bug."
Vera had never quite understood the huge personality shift Sheldon Caldwell underwent when he was in and out of his military uniform. Seeing Winter Sullivan now, she finally got it. ’Like mother, like son, indeed!’
Vera smiled but didn’t say anything more.
Winter Sullivan, however, felt she was being strange today. ’I’m not one to show my emotions, especially not with someone like Vera, whom I’ve only met twice. But for some reason, I just feel exceptionally relaxed around her.’
’I’ve been somewhat impolite today,’ Winter thought. ’I hope I didn’t frighten Vera. And I still haven’t asked a single thing I wanted to know.’
So, she asked Vera directly, "The last time we met, Susan mentioned that she had seen you in Trellis. I’ve actually been quite curious about that. Could you tell me in detail what happened between you two there?"
Vera hadn’t expected such a direct question and, for a moment, didn’t know how to respond. After all, Susan Caldwell was Winter Sullivan’s daughter. It felt a bit wrong to go and complain about her to her own mother.
Winter Sullivan seemed to sense her hesitation and said in a gentle voice, "Just tell me the truth. The Caldwell family has never shown favoritism when it comes to disciplining our daughters. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. I certainly won’t retaliate against you because of some conflict you had with Susan. I just want to discipline my own child better."
Hearing this, Vera began to understand how Susan Caldwell had managed to keep things from Winter Sullivan for so long. Winter was uncompromisingly just; she would never tolerate Susan throwing the Caldwell family’s name around to bully others.
But if Winter Sullivan sensed something was amiss and went around asking people, "Has my daughter done anything shameful?" any normal person wouldn’t answer directly.
After all, Winter Sullivan was Susan Caldwell’s mother, and both she and Julian Caldwell were influential figures who carried immense weight. There were very few people in Veridia who would dare to offend them.
Even with Winter Sullivan’s reputation for being righteous, she was still a mother. And what mother doesn’t have a soft spot for her own child?
So, when Winter Sullivan asked people these questions, ninety-nine percent of them would gloss over the truth, and sometimes they might even throw in a few words of praise for Susan Caldwell.
And Vera was the one percent who would tell Winter Sullivan the truth.