Chapter 791: Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Relationship (Part 1)
Chapter 791: Chapter 791: Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Relationship (Part 1)
Vera felt a little helpless. It really was strange to have a future mother-in-law who always spoke with such a contrived air.
But she knew that even if this was a chance encounter, she absolutely could not be rude. She couldn’t put Nathaniel Nathan in an awkward position.
So, with a sweet smile, she offered a polite greeting. "Hello, Ms. Mitchell."
With Nathaniel Nathan and Beckett Nathan absent today, the haughtiness in Brooke Mitchell’s expression was even more pronounced. She offered a faint smile and asked, "What are you here to buy?"
Vera smiled. "My place is a little empty, so I came to buy some houseplants."
"’My place?’" Brooke Mitchell raised an eyebrow, immediately seizing upon the key word in Vera’s statement.
The last time Nathaniel had brought Vera to the Nathan family estate, he had personally taken her home afterward. Brooke Mitchell hadn’t pressed for details, simply assuming Vera was staying in a hotel and would move back to her school dormitory once the semester officially began.
But from the sound of it, Vera had another residence in Veridia. The moment she considered that Nathaniel might have bought the place, and that he and Vera were living there alone, a wave of displeasure washed over her.
Vera knew there was no reason to hide the fact that she owned property in Veridia from Brooke Mitchell, so she said frankly, "I bought a house in Veridia. You’re welcome to come over for a visit whenever you have time, Ms. Mitchell."
Vera’s words confirmed Brooke Mitchell’s suspicions. She desperately wanted to ask if Nathaniel was living with her, but Brooke Mitchell had always prided herself on being a cultured woman. She simply couldn’t bring herself to ask a question she deemed so crude and direct.
Thus, Brooke Mitchell’s expression grew even colder. She asked distantly, "So, Nathaniel isn’t home today?"
Vera, of course, knew the "home" she was referring to wasn’t the family estate. Brooke Mitchell’s obvious displeasure, however, stirred something in Vera. She smiled sweetly and said, "Didn’t Nathaniel tell you, Ms. Mitchell? He has an event at the base today, so he wasn’t able to come home."
This answer was nearly identical to what Nathaniel had told her previously, so Brooke Mitchell’s expression finally softened a bit. She looked at Vera and said, "A young woman should have some self-respect."
In the eyes of the older generation, a young woman living with a man before marriage was a sign of having no self-respect.
Susan Caldwell had been dragging Vera’s name through the mud so much lately that hearing such a remark filled her with revulsion. But Brooke Mitchell was, after all, Nathaniel’s mother; Vera couldn’t just start an argument with her.
Still, the comment was heavy with judgment. That, combined with the fact that Brooke Mitchell seemed to know Susan Caldwell quite well, made Vera feel she had to say something in her own defense.
She smiled faintly. "You have a point, Ms. Mitchell. But sometimes, this ’self-respect’ you speak of is really just a matter of the innocent proving their innocence and the guilty exposing their own corruption. There are people in this world who love to judge others based on their own assumptions. An innocent young woman, if she is too outstanding, will inevitably have baseless rumors spread about her. That’s why I believe that self-respect is something you define for yourself. What other people think isn’t important."
Hearing Vera’s rebuttal, Brooke Mitchell felt a knot of irritation tighten in her chest. She said coldly, "We live in a society, and society is a collective. No one can exist completely outside of it."
"I, too, believe in the principle that the innocent will prove their innocence and the corrupt their corruption. But if one’s conduct is upright, one’s shadow will be straight. Then other people would have no reason to gossip."