Ch. 1536..1540
Chapter 1536
The old maid nodded. “She does seem a little strange to me.”
Madam Stockton enquired further, “Can you tell me what you saw?”
“If | do, please don’t get angry at me.”
“Oh, don’t worry about inconsequential things like that. Just get it over with,” Madam Stockton pressed her on.
The old maid uttered discreetly, “What Ms. Weiss said to Ms. Sherry just now sounded like a threat no matter how you put it. If Ms. Sherry doesn’t do as Ms. Weiss says, would it be seen as a sign of disrespect? In the same vein, would it be seen as opposing your authority as well?”
Madam Stockton seemed very intrigued by this. “You make a good point. Julie said something very interesting back there, and it took me a moment to fully understand what she was trying to imply.”
“It was a good thing you stepped in back there. Judging by Mrs. Sherry’s temper, it wouldn’t surprise me if she made the situation worse.”
Madam Stockton almost seemed offended by this remark. “I only did that so my granddaughter can get some rest. | wasn’t trying to help her at all.”
The old maid smiled and answered flatteringly, “I see, | see. | understand.” “Forget the flattery. Tell me what else you have noticed.”
“Alright,” the maid continued, “What really confuses me now is Ms. Weiss’s behavior. She usually tries to play the good mediator between you and Ms. Sherry, but why was she directly inciting conflict back there? If | were her, | would have continued trying to get on Ms. Sherry’s good side to get her to like me.”
Madam Stockton frowned and remarked, “Maybe she only said all those things because she was just trying to help me and get Caprice to stay behind.” The maid sighed. “Let's hope that’s what her intention was.”
Meanwhile, Julie had left Madam Stockton’s residence. Her hands were balled into fists, and her expression was harsh and sinister.
What went wrong? Why was the old woman suddenly defending Sherry? How did this happen? Was it merely because Caprice wanted to go with Sherry?
Or did the old lady happen to be in a good mood back there because she had a chance to enjoy a meal with Caprice? Was that why she decided to go easy on Sherry this time around?
Julie was perplexed by this and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She cursed out loud, “Damned old hag!”
At Sherry and John’s, as soon as Sherry brought Caprice into the living room, the girl stretched her tiny arms as far as she could toward her father on the couch and cried
out, “Daddy...” Her voice was like an angel’s.
Sherry felt a sting of jealousy, but she knew it was not right to blame Caprice for being attached to her father. She swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth.
John smiled, he rose from his seat and approached Caprice, immediately taking her
into his arms.
Caprice burrowed her cheeks into his neck and wrapped herself around him tightly.
Sherry grimaced.
John noticed Sherry’s reaction. Then, he turned to Caprice and asked tenderly,” What's wrong? Did you miss your daddy?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Do you miss Daddy or Mommy more?”
Caprice thought for a moment and chirped brightly, “Daddy!”
John smiled as Sherry looked at him with a sullen look.
It looked like Caprice noticed she may have hurt her mother’s feelings and quickly remedied it. “I miss Mommy too!”
Even though Sherry knew Caprice was only saying this to make her feel better, she did feel genuinely comforted. She smiled and shot John a look.
John muttered dryly, “Heh.”
He took Caprice into the bedroom, and Sherry followed after them.
It was a Monday the next day.
Since Sherry did not have any urgent matters to attend to, she planned to take
Caprice out for a quick shopping trip. She could buy something nice for her, and it was also a good chance for them to bond.
John instructed her to keep him updated on what they were doing every hour. Apart from that, he did not issue any specific restrictions.
With that, John went to work after breakfast while Sherry dressed up along with Caprice.
Chapter 1537
They bumped into Queenie on the way out.
Upon being told that they were going shopping, Queenie immediately volunteered to join them. Since it would be rude to not take her along, Sherry obliged.
They arrived at a famous shopping district in Glanchester. Sherry brought her card with her and braced herself for a wild shopping spree with Caprice.
They bought clothes, jewelry, and all sorts of toys that Caprice liked. Queenie was a shopaholic herself as well.
They were not done with shopping even when it was past noon, but the car was already loaded to the brim with their hauls for the day.
Finally, they decided they had enough and went home.
On the way home, Caprice sat between Sherry and Queenie and was jovially fiddling with a new doll that Sherry had bought for her while munching on a pack of snacks. She seemed like the most satisfied out of the trio.
Even when the car stopped at their residence, she was still nibbling on the same pack of snacks. The car was parked outside Sherry and John’s courtyard.
Sherry had just gotten out of the car with Caprice in her arms when she saw Madam Stockton walking towards her. She was staring at Caprice.
Caprice was so focused on her snacks that she hardly noticed her grandmother approaching. Sherry prompted her, “Caprice, your grandma is here to see you. Say ‘hello, Grandma.’
Caprice turned to Madam Stockton and greeted her, “Grandma!”
Madam Stockton smiled warmly at her. “Hey!” After that, she directed her attention toward Sherry.
Sherry seemed to have caught sight of something. She quickly put Caprice down and gently nudged her forward. “Caprice, go play with your new toys with your grandma and aunt. Mommy has some work to do and will join you once I’m done, alright?”
Caprice was very well-mannered and nodded.
Madam Stockton’s eyes lit up. Could this mean that she could spend time with Caprice? She quickly took Caprice into her arms. “Little Caprice, come on, show Grandma your new toy!”
Queenie got out of the car and joined them. She heard what Sherry told Caprice and smiled warmly at Sherry, then she took out the haul of new toys they bought for the little girl from the car and joined Madam Stockton with Caprice in the garden.
Sherry watched the trio stroll into the garden. She watched her daughter joyfully unpacking her fresh collection of toys.
After making sure that Caprice was well attended to by Madam Stockton and Queenie, she walked into the courtyard. She had some minor tasks to attend to.
She went back to her room and turned on the computer. Caprice must have inherited a certain trait from one of her parents as she got bored with her toys very quickly.
The race car was abandoned to the side after she played with it for a while. She tried one toy after another, but each one of them was tossed aside in quick succession.
Queenie was at a loss by this point. She tried to salvage the situation by bringing Caprice’s favorite excavator toy.
The child immediately lit up. She drove the excavator around the well-maintained lawn and began to shovel up batches of dirt.
At first, Queenie only watched Caprice play and let her do as she willed. However, when she noticed the excavator swerving in a certain direction, she immediately cried out, “Caprice, that’s my favorite hydrangea! Stop!”
Just when it seemed like Caprice was going to stop, Madam Stockton told Queenie off, “It’s just some flowers. Shovel them back in and replant them. How hard can it be? Don’t get mad at the child!”
Queenie was perplexed and muttered, “I wasn’t mad at her...” All she did was warn Caprice! Madam Stockton glared at her.
Queenie immediately zipped her lips. They turned their attention back to Caprice just in time to see her driving the toy excavator into Madam Stockton’s favorite roses and plowing them out of the ground, roots and all.
Queenie immediately took a deep breath and glanced at Madam Stockton. Madam Stockton was cheering Caprice on like the perfect cheerleader, “Wow! There you go! Caprice!” Queenie was speechless.
Meanwhile, Julie was standing on the patio a short distance behind them. She had been there for a while and was observing Caprice play with a disdainful scorn on her face.
After observing them for a while, she took special care to fix a warm smile on her face before joining them in the garden.
Chapter 1538
Chapter 1538 She approached Queenie and Madam Stockton.
Madam Stockton was focused solely on Caprice and did not acknowledge her. Julie turned to Queenie with a smile, “Queenie, didn’t you just come back from shopping with Sherry? Why is it just you and Caprice? Where is Sherry?”
Queenie informed her, “Sherry said she has some work to do.” Julie had a strange reaction and commented, “What's the matter with her? How could she just leave Caprice behind?”
Queenie frowned. She felt that Julie was being unfair and immediately spoke up for Sherry, “What do you mean by that? She entrusted Caprice to me and Mother, didn’t she?”
Madam Stockton seemed to have overheard what Julie said as well, which was evident by her darkening, expression.
Julie hurriedly explained, “No, I’m not saying that you two cannot take good care of Caprice. | just can’t help but notice the difference between Sherry and John. John always keeps Caprice by his side at all times while Sherry seems like she doesn’t mind letting her be on her own.”
Queenie countered, “It’s not like that. She knows that we miss Caprice as well, so she specifically made a point of letting us spend time with her.”
Julie looked towards the garden. It seemed like Madam Stockton was not paying attention to what they were saying anymore and only had her eyes fixed on Caprice. Julie mumbled under her breath, “Wouldn't it be nice if that were the case?”
“You know, | was wondering if you have a problem with Sherry,” Queenie said out of nowhere.
Julie seemed intimidated by this question.
Madam Stockton looked like she was only paying attention to Caprice, but she was fully alert and listening in.
After a brief pause, Julie asked, “Queenie, why are you asking this out of the blue? Did Sherry say something about me?”
Queenie was not one to run circles around a subject. She said whatever was on her mind, “She never badmouthed you or anything like that. | only asked because what
you just said about her being negligent about Caprice sounds like you have something against her.”
Julie tried to salvage it, flashing the same smile as always. “It’s not like that. You might have misunderstood. | just found it surprising that she would entrust Caprice to Mother because | thought there were some issues between them. Then, when you told me she specifically entrusted Caprice to you two | thought she was not being very attentive to Caprice. I’m sorry, | must have misunderstood her.”
She salvaged the situation very expertly.
Queenie seemed convinced by this and remarked with a quick smile, “Sister—in-law, Sherry is a good person. She has some problems here and there, but at the end of the day, she’s more than fine.”
Julie smiled, “I feel the same way too, but | just thought it would be better if she would show more genuine respect for Mother.” Queenie shot her a look.
The catalyst was Madam Stockton choosing to be standoffish with Sherry, which only generated the same sort of response from Sherry. If they wanted to fix things, it would require the same amount of effort from both sides, Madam Stockton had to adjust her attitude as well.
She could not voice this opinion of hers because she was afraid that Madam Stockton would give her a stern scolding if she ever said it out loud.
Upon noticing her apprehension of continuing the discussion, Julie smiled faintly and turned to Madam Stockton again. Madam Stockton was still looking at Caprice, but her mood seemed darker than before.
Could she be upset because Sherry did not respect her?
It was true that Madam Stockton was feeling rather upset at this moment, but it was not because of how she felt toward Sherry, but more so because of her reflection on what Julie had just said.
Even Queenie immediately recognized what seemed like Julie’s hostility toward Sherry.
However, toward the end of the conversation, Julie had switched her tone and expressed how she wished Sherry would be more respectful toward Madam Stockton. Why was she constantly reiterating this point?
Madam Stockton knew she had always advised Julie to keep her distance from Sherry, and it bothered her to hear what Julie had to say about the situation.
It was then that a silver car rumbled down the main road and stopped in the courtyard. It was John’s car.
Even from inside the garden, Caprice could tell that her father had come home. She immediately put aside her toy and waddled to the entrance to greet her father.
Madam Stockton was worried she would trip over herself and quickly got up to follow her. Julie was one step ahead of them and got to John’s car before any of them did. Madam Stockton took notice of this but did not think much of it.
Shortly after that, John opened the door and got out of the car.
Chapter 1539
Julie greeted him warmly, “Welcome home, John.”
John flashed a quick smile at her, then he walked past her and marched straight for Caprice. “Daddy...” Caprice chirped and put her arms out toward him.
John obliged and took her into his arms. He looked around and asked, “Where’s your Mommy?” Julie informed, “Sherry said she has work to do.”
Madam Stockton glanced at her.
Queenie spoke up, “Brother, we just got back from a shopping trip with Caprice. Sherry wanted to let Caprice spend more time with Mother, so she entrusted Caprice to us.”
John turned to Madam Stockton.
Madam Stockton did not know what to say. She was reluctant to show any form of goodwill toward Sherry, but she was.not going to refute what Queenie had said since it was the truth.
John smiled and let it be, “Caprice misses me, so I'll be taking her for now.” With that, he walked away. Queenie followed him into the house.
Madam Stockton remained planted in the same spot. She wore a lingering look in her eyes as she watched Caprice being carried off.
Julie went up to her, sighed, and mumbled what sounded like a complaint, “It’s still early. Why can’t he let Caprice stay with you for a while longer?”
Madam Stockton felt the same way, but she was not going to hold it against her son and said, “He hasn’t seen Caprice for the entire day, it’s only natural that he would miss Caprice.”
Julie smiled, and casually pointed out with a laugh, trying to play it off as a joke, “He barely has time to talk to his mother! He just takes Caprice and goes. He must be going to see Sherry.”
Madam Stockton’s expression suddenly became grave when she heard this.
Julie caught the look in her eyes and asked, “Is there something wrong? Was it something | said?” Madam Stockton hesitated, then brushed it off. “No, nothing.” With that, she walked
back to her room.
Julie followed her.
Madam Stockton turned around briskly and waved her off. “Stop following me. do your own thing.” Her voice was harsh.
1. e. just Julie frowned and answered politely, “Alright, let me know if you need anything at all.”
She then stopped following the woman. She watched Madam Stockton retreating to her room. After she was out of sight, her anxiety began to rise.
Her previous remark should have incited Madam Stockton to complain about how unfair Sherry was being, but it did not work. Also, what was with that glare?
What had gone wrong? It seemed like ever since Caprice visited Madam Stockton and had dinner with her last night, something changed.
After Madam Stockton returned to her room, she called the old maid to her side. She told the maid about what Julie said back in the garden.
After she finished relaying her tale, she asked, “Do you think she said all those things intentionally?”
The maid considered it fora moment and shared her thoughts, “Ma’am, Ms. Weiss is a very smart person. She isn’t one to just blurt things out without giving them proper consideration.”
“Then, why is she saying all these things? Is she intentionally trying to rile me up?” If not for Sherry wisely deciding to let Caprice spend more time with her over the past two days, Julie’s words just might have had an effect on her. She might have been irritated enough to begin hatching ideas of booting Sherry out of the house.
Chapter 1540
The old maid shifted with suspicion and asked in a low voice, “Has she been whispering many things in your ears since you were upset two days ago?” Madam Stockton seemed to have made the connection and was stunned.
The maid knew that Madam Stockton finally recognized what was happening at last. She sighed and expressed, “Madam, if my suspicions are correct, she is trying to drive a wedge between you and Ms. Sherry. She wants you two to claw at each other’s throats.”
Madam Stockton was puzzled by this. “Why is she doing that? | already dislike Sherry enough as is. | don’t need her help to dislike her more.”
Although it was true that things were becoming more amiable between her and Sherry over the last two days, she never said anything about completely opening herself up to Sherry either.
The old maid considered for a while then suggested, “Could she be doing this so you would be angered enough to try to drive Ms. Sherry out of the house?”
Madam Stockton was baffled by this suggestion.
She remained stunned for a long time, then she finally spoke, “That just might be it. Why else would she say all those things about Sherry otherwise?”
The maid sighed. “It seems like she’s very good at keeping up appearances but must have it out for Ms. Sherry deep inside.” “Sherry never did anything to get on her nerves, so why would she do this?” Madam Stockton was puzzled.
The maid thought for a long time. At last, she spoke, “I think she’s worried about Ms. Sherry growing on you given the time. She’s the wife of the young master and that automatically places her in a higher position. If you’ve come to acknowledge her place in the family, that would easily make her the cadet of the family. If | had to guess, Ms. Weiss is worried about her position. It’s a power struggle all the way through.”
“So, you're saying that she’s worried about Sherry taking her place in our family?”
“| suppose so.”
Madam Stockton sighed. She never thought Julie to be the scheming type.
Even if Sherry were to be installed as the lady of the family, it did not in any way imply
that Julie’s position as the second lady of the family would be threatened, and she would never be mistreated.
Was she worried about what Sherry would do to her in the future?
Inside Sherry’s bedroom, she had just wrapped up a short meeting and was now working on other documents.
She gazed intently at the computer screen, her fingers dancing over the keyboard rhythmically. She was deeply focused.
It was after it had become dark outside that she finally finalized the said documents. She went through it again to check for mistakes and only sent it after she was satisfied with her work.
She slumped over and breathed a sigh of relief. She planned to look for Caprice now. As soon as she swung around, she saw a familiar figure standing by the door.
She was not sure how long he had been standing there. His tall figure was leaning gracefully against the door frame, his arms perched across his chest as usual. She noticed the way he gazed into her eyes.
She was taken aback. “When did you get home?”
John answered, “Half an hour ago.”
Half an hour ago?
She asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
John squinted. “What, like you'd be able to set your work aside even if | told you?”
“Well, that’s true.”
John shot a look at her. Sherry shuddered slightly. Then, she got up and approached John while asking, “Did you see Caprice when you got home?” John suddenly stepped to his side and blocked off the doorway.
He shot her a look and asked, “You’re asking me about Caprice? That’s good. | was worried you forgot you have a daughter for a second there.”
Sherry responded with a note of aggression, “Stop being weird. Caprice is my daughter. I’d forget about every person in my life before | forget about her.” Also, she did not leave Caprice behind. She had entrusted her to Madam Stockton to appease her.
John asked, “Does that include me?”
Sherry paused for a moment, then replied confidently, “Yes.”
The smile hanging in the corner of John’s eyes withered immediately. He withdrew away from the doorway. Sherry walked out the door.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, John tripped her back foot.
She staggered several steps forward and barely managed to regain her balance.
She immediately swung around and glared murderously at John who was feigning innocence, albeit not very convincingly. She howled at him, “You prick, what did you trip me for?”