Chapter 262: That Would Depend on What She’s Done
Arabella Donovan was stunned for a moment, then turned and shouted in the direction Mrs. Shelby had gone, "They’re at the Women and Children’s Hospital in the West District right now."
Mrs. Shelby froze. A moment later, she started walking again, her pace even faster!
The woman in yellow watched her retreating back and said indignantly, "A dog of a man like that should be dragged off and drowned in a pig cage!"
All eyes in the room instantly snapped to her, startling her.
"Don’t... don’t look at me like that. I’m talking about the act, not the person. It’s the same for men and women. Anyone who does something like this should be drowned in a pig cage."
Arabella was amused by her timid yet defiant demeanor. "We just think you’re absolutely right."
The woman in yellow realized she had misunderstood and giggled a little sheepishly.
One of the main culprits had run off, making the situation for the other person involved all the more awkward.
Seeing Arabella’s gaze shift to her, Mrs. Kohl felt her skin tighten. "Don’t look at me, either. My husband died ages ago. He wouldn’t have a chance to wrong me even if he wanted to."
"Who said your family’s problem was a cheating husband? A moment ago, you seemed to have quite an opinion about my grand-uncle kicking his disowned grand-nephew’s family out of Brynn."
"S-So what if I did?" Mrs. Kohl’s eyes flashed with panic for an instant, but then, as if she’d remembered something, she straightened her back.
"Was I wrong? Elder Donovan has no children, and the bride is so old, she definitely won’t be having any. That makes his grand-nephew’s family the closest blood relatives Elder Donovan has—the most suitable people to care for him in his old age."
"You people, for your own selfish gain, tricked Elder Donovan into driving them out of Brynn. At the end of the day, wasn’t it just to get rid of Elder Donovan’s true relatives so you could monopolize his inheritance? So young, yet so manipulative. Aren’t you afraid of facing retribution?"
Arabella had been hovering around Guinevere Preston all day, so Mrs. Kohl naturally assumed she was part of Guinevere’s family. Even though Arabella had just been proven right about Mrs. Shelby’s situation, Mrs. Kohl remained prejudiced against her, and her words were far from polite.
Arabella recoiled, choked by Mrs. Kohl’s feudal, patriarchal obsession with children, bloodlines, and being cared for in old age. She turned to Dennis Donovan and asked, "Grandpa, does our family have a throne to inherit or something? Is it absolutely necessary for him to have a child?"
Dennis Donovan snorted. "Anyone else who wants to have kids can have them. Your grandma and I can’t be bothered. We haven’t had enough of our life as a couple yet. Why would we be bored enough to bring a little one into the world to torment our old bones?"
"Besides, if we had a well-behaved child like you, that would be one thing. But what if we ended up with a monster like them? And we’re supposed to wait for them to care for us in our old age and let us live out our golden years in peace? We’d be lucky if they didn’t drive us to an early grave."
As for the inheritance these people were so concerned about, Dennis Donovan had truly wanted to just throw it all in a river or set it on fire rather than let any of it go to those so-called relatives who acted like they wanted to suck him dry.
To put it bluntly, having and raising children was nothing short of a high-stakes gamble. Win, and everyone is happy. Lose, and you could die in a corner with no one to care.
Arabella couldn’t help but give Dennis Donovan a thumbs-up. When it came to progressive thinking, her grand-uncle was in a league of his own.
Just the fact that he’d spent his whole life waiting for one person, choosing not to marry or have children if he couldn’t find her, was something very few people could do.
Most people lacked his courage, and even more so, his conviction.
"I’m very curious. What gives you the nerve to come into someone else’s home and casually comment on their family relationships, their descendants, and their affairs after death? Is it your sons, who can’t wait to get away from you and would sever ties in a heartbeat to avoid supporting you? Or is it your grandchildren, who treat you like a nanny and an ATM, only to burn the bridge after they’re done and scorn you for being a poor old woman?"
Mrs. Kohl’s face turned ashen. She almost couldn’t stop herself from crying out, "What nonsense are you spouting? My children are the most..."
"The most what? Filial? You can try to fool outsiders with that talk, but don’t you dare fool yourself. You have three sons and one daughter. In the end, is there really a place for you in any of their homes?"
Mrs. Kohl trembled, her gaze toward Arabella now a mixture of panic, unease, and the humiliated fury of someone whose secrets have been exposed.
The atmosphere suddenly grew tense. The woman in yellow, who had made such a stir just moments before, once again stepped forward.
She asked in confusion, "Mrs. Kohl, didn’t you say your sons were the most filial and sensible, and that your daughters-in-law were all kind, gentle, and considerate? You said you stay with each family for a month at a time. How could there be no place for you in their homes?"
If looks could kill, the woman in yellow would have been skewered into a porcupine by Mrs. Kohl’s dagger-like glare.
The woman in yellow: "???" ’What’s going on? Was I wrong to show concern?’
Seeing her reaction, how could the onlookers not understand what was going on?
"Looks like Serena was right. She had so many children, yet not a single one is willing to be filial and care for her in her old age?"
"Well, that depends on what she’s done in the past."
Arabella’s words successfully piqued everyone’s curiosity. At her statement, Mrs. Kohl’s expression changed once again.
It turned out that this Mrs. Kohl, much like Mrs. Shelby’s mother-in-law, favored sons over daughters and was also extremely biased.
She had three sons and one daughter. Logically, in a family structure like that, the daughter should have been the most pampered.
Just like in Arabella’s family. Before they knew of Arabella’s existence, Eloise had always been the most doted-on child in the family. Not only did her parents love her, but her older brothers did too.
But the Kohl Family was different. Mrs. Kohl loved her first child, her eldest son, the most. From childhood, everything he enjoyed was the best, the most expensive.
When her eldest son got into university but had no money for tuition, she went so far as to force her second son to drop out of school and work to earn his brother’s tuition fees.
The only reason she didn’t make her eldest son bleed her youngest daughter dry was that the girl was too young at the time—no one would dare hire her. Plus, she still had her third son.
This third son was also the apple of her eye, her favorite next to her eldest.
After the eldest son had finished university and secured a manager position at a large company—all by bleeding his second brother dry—it came time to save for the third son’s tuition. Yet Mrs. Kohl’s first thought wasn’t to ask her now-successful eldest, who could have easily helped his younger brother, to cover the costs.
Instead, she chose to accept a bride price of eighty thousand and marry—or rather, sell—her daughter to a crippled, disreputable old scoundrel in his thirties from the next village.
Upon hearing this, the way everyone in the room looked at Mrs. Kohl completely changed.
If Mrs. Shelby had some pitiable aspects that deserved sympathy, the Mrs. Kohl before them now truly deserved the phrase "worse than a beast."
The woman in yellow, who just a short while ago had wanted to stick up for her, now silently took a few steps back, putting distance between them.