Chapter 792: Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Relationship (2)
Chapter 792: Chapter 792: Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Relationship (2)
Brooke Mitchell looked at Vera Xavier and concluded her point, "So, if a person’s reputation isn’t spotless, or if they give others an opportunity to gossip, it only proves that person hasn’t conducted themselves well enough. They aren’t walking a straight path!"
The lecturing tone in her voice made Vera Xavier feel quite uncomfortable. She forced a smile and replied, "You’re right, Mrs. Mitchell. But there are always malicious people in this world who love to slander others. They can spin stories out of nothing."
Brooke Mitchell scoffed. "I still believe that an innocent person has nothing to fear from a crooked shadow. Times may be more open now than they were in my day, but that’s no excuse for a young woman to have a man staying over at her house."
Hearing this, Vera Xavier finally understood the source of the other woman’s anger. ’So Brooke Mitchell thinks I’m some kind of loose woman?’ But the fact that Nathaniel Nathan didn’t go home and instead holed up at her place whenever he had a spare moment was indeed difficult to explain.
Vera Xavier found being on Brooke Mitchell’s bad side to be a real headache. Given Brooke’s current hostility toward her, she felt that something bad was bound to happen sooner or later.
She felt as if she were competing with Brooke Mitchell for Nathaniel Nathan’s affection. Thinking about how he had indeed been spending so much time at her place, she felt an inexplicable pang of guilt and decided it was best to just back down for now.
She said with a placid smile, "You’re right, Mrs. Mitchell."
Her calm and composed demeanor, however, made Brooke Mitchell suspicious. For a moment, she wasn’t sure just how far things had gone between Vera Xavier and Nathaniel Nathan.
But the memory of how fiercely Nathaniel protected Vera annoyed her, so she stopped paying attention to Vera and said directly to the shop owner, "Please wrap up this plant for me."
Vera Xavier, of course, wasn’t about to fight her over it, so she gave a small nod when the shop owner looked her way.
She couldn’t help but feel a flicker of worry. ’Brooke Mitchell’s hostility is so strong. This could be a problem.’
While the shop owner wrapped the plant for Brooke Mitchell, she refused to speak to Vera Xavier, even out of boredom. Instead, she glanced around the shop and her eyes landed on Vera’s three-legged dog.
Brooke Mitchell frowned. "Whose dog is this? Why is it missing a leg?"
"Apparently, he was born that way," Vera Xavier said with a smile. "I just found him."
Brooke Mitchell shot Vera Xavier a contemptuous look. "I wouldn’t have pegged you as the kind-hearted type."
Vera Xavier couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or an insult. She replied calmly, "Nathaniel says I’m a lot like you in that regard, Mrs. Mitchell."
The retort left Brooke Mitchell speechless. After all, she couldn’t very well contradict her own son and lose face.
Just then, two impeccably dressed middle-aged women approached and asked with a smile, "Brooke, did you find the plant you were looking for?"
Vera Xavier noticed the two women were dressed in a style somewhat similar to Brooke Mitchell’s. They also carried themselves with a refined, intellectual air—it was obvious they were high-society ladies from Veridia.
’I’d better just stand here quietly,’ she thought. ’Brooke Mitchell definitely won’t want me mingling with her friends.’ A new thought struck her. ’Should I pretend I don’t even know her?’