Chapter 27
Rosalyn had always treasured Josh like a precious jewel. Now she was furious and distressed. “That wretched woman! If I don’t teach her a lesson today, she’s really going to think she can walk all over this family. Where is she?”
Vance frowned. “Mom, she’s still Josh’s mother. Please don’t go
overboard.”
“I’m your mother. And I can’t even put my foot down about this? Stop defending outsiders!” she snapped.
Vance sighed and gave in. “She went upstairs.”
“The tenth floor?” Phoebe asked with carefully masked curiosity. “Isn’t that where the Rangel family’s private suites are? Strange… what would Estela be doing up there?”
Vance’s head snapped up, a sharp gleam flickering in his eyes as he stared at the elevator panel, still stopped on floor ten.
‘Estela. you’d better not be doing what I think you are,‘ he thought.
“She thinks she can climb her way into something better?” Rosalyn sneered. “She should count her blessings just for marrying into the Leon family! That alone was already beyond what she deserved!”
“She probably realized she made a fool of herself downstairs and went up there by mistake,” Rosalyn added, her tone laced with contempt. “Someone go get her back–before she embarrasses us in front of the Rangel family!”
Estela had just gotten word–Spencer was almost there.
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Beside the elevator, the indicator for the tenth floor lit up.
The moment the doors slid open, her smile froze.
“Mom?” Estela hesitated, staring at the group led by Rosalyn.
She hadn’t seen Rosalyn since returning from Zrefast.
She knew Rosalyn had never liked her–looked down on her humble background, resented that she hadn’t brought any advantages to Vance.
After the wedding, when she was officially introduced to the Leon family, Rosalyn made her bow all night just to “set the rules.”
From then on, whenever Rosalyn was even slightly displeased, the punishment was always the same: bow. Even when Estela was eight months pregnant.
Vance never stopped it.
In fact, when she could no longer stand from the pain in her knees, he told her to keep enduring it.
“If you behave, Mom won’t punish you for no reason,” he said.
That time, he’d personally applied medicine to her legs.
Estela, starved for even the smallest kindness, had let herself believe it meant something–biting back all her bitterness in silence.
Things only started to change after Josh and Rowena were born. Rosalyn softened a little, and rarely made her bow after that.
Estela had thought maybe, just maybe, she had a chance to win her
over.
When Vance took the kids to Zrefast, she stayed behind in Trurgh,
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dedicating herself to serving his parents.
But while everyone whispered about how perfect Vance and Phoebe looked together, she–his wife–was the last to know. A cast–off, completely in the dark.
Estela lowered her eyes, pulling herself out of those bleak memories.
Rosalyn stormed forward, brows raised in fury. “Estela, bow!”
Estela didn’t budge.
Her expression calm, she looked at her and said, “Mom, what’s going on?” Not a hint of guilt or fear in her voice.
That only made Rosalyn angrier. She pointed a shaking finger at her and snapped, “You dare ask what’s going on? Josh’s burning with fever and you, his mother–where the hell were you? How did our Leon family end up with a woman like you? Get over here and bow! If you don’t explain yourself today, don’t even think about getting away with this!”
‘Maybe I’ve been too lenient with this lowborn tramp these past two years–now the girl has completely forgotten her place. Leaving her child behind and talking back? Unbelievable!‘ she thought.
But Estela didn’t flinch. A faint, cold smile played on her lips.
“Mom, why is it always bowing with you? Do you think you’re the queen or something? There are plenty of people around Josh. What am I–some magic pill? One look from me and he’s cured?”
Her gaze slid briefly over to Josh, who had clearly been enjoying the drama–until she looked at him.
His eyes were still swollen from crying, but her stare made him squirm.
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‘Weird. Mom is always afraid of Grandma–always did whatever she said. Why is she acting like this?‘ he thought.
“Estela, what kind of attitude is that?” Rosalyn’s voice shook with fury.
‘If I don’t put her in her place today, this girl would be turning the entire Leon family upside down tomorrow,‘ she thought.
“As long as you’re my son’s wife, I’m your mother–in–law! I even tried to treat you like my own daughter! And this is how you repay me? You heartless thing! Josh’s been sick with a fever for three days, and you couldn’t even bother to check on him once?”
Estela couldn’t care less about the guilt trip.
Instead, her smile deepened, laced with meaning.
