Chapter 344: Chapter 344

Geneva briefly closed her eyes as the words sank in. They stung! It was too much like salt to an open wound. However, Geneva had borne the brunt of similar retorts over the years, and frankly, she was tired.

Alex was right. She was the mistress of the Thornston estate, the most powerful woman on the island. The woman on the other side may be her sister-in-law, who had instilled deep fear in her from the beginning.

Geneva was not one to succumb to such fear, but she had lowered her head for the two Thornston sisters, Molly and Sally, primarily because of her guilt. The guilt of having married their brother when she was carrying the child of another. Guilt from having another man in her heart, despite assuming the role of mistress.

In fact, Geneva had just let them be because she had immense gratitude for Alex then and did not want to apply her headstrong reactions to them. She had felt then that she owed them that. However, by letting them have that free range over her, a subtle shadow had been cast over her such that the all-powerful Geneva never said a word back, even if she was blatantly insulted in public.

This had gone on for years, so much so that Geneva felt it was somewhat expected. The almighty Geneva only took a step back for her two sisters-in-law, no matter what they did. In essence, they became her stop button or her fear-like button.

The two, especially Sally Thornston, had the female sixth sense and knew that Geneva did not necessarily like their brother. It did not matter that the two were only fulfilling their parents’ wishes. To them, Geneva did not have the right to ’play’ around with their brother.

Somehow, they even knew that it was years after marriage before there was any consummation. Now, it was not so hard to figure out how they had gotten that information was not so hard.

Many things made more sense after Katie had been caught eavesdropping that day. However, if Katie was in that state, then did it mean that there had other persons planted in there? That was not so hard to imagine.

Geneva murmured to herself quietly, Alex was right.

Geneva imagined Sally right in front of her; her voice dropped a notch, and she interrupted Sally mid-speech. This was something that irked Sally to the core. The older woman was used to having the final say and had never been interrupted in her life. She was older than Alex and probably should be enjoying her children’s and grandchildren’s company instead of meddling in her brother’s life, even in their seventies.

"Guest or not, I’m the one who has held this whole Thornston estate together over decades while you still think you have a say in here." Geneva shot back. She had not raised her voice and her words were gently articulated to an annoying level. There was also another edge that Sally had never heard from her. Geneva’s voice was laced with an edge that cut through the air like ice. Sally flinched even over the phone.

"Who we hire, and fire should have nothing to do with o big Miss Thornston. This should have nothing to do with you in any way. Are you getting delusional with age? Also, the Thornston Estate staff listen to me not because they have been coerced like what I know is happening behind your closed doors.

You feel so little in your shoes that you always feel it’s better to push others down in order to feel a little bigger. The staff does not only listen to me because of some surname. I respected you over the years because of your relationship as Alex’s older sister and not because of any other reasons. Do not mistake my respect for acceptance of any BS. I-"

Sally flared up over the phone and started shouting even more derogatory words that Geneva knew that she could never repeat to anyone. She was flustered and threatened on a whole different level. Sally liked to do what she did because Geneva was docile and never retorted back, but she did not know which animal’s gallbladder Geneva had eaten in order to throw on airs like that.

On the other hand, Alex stood up swiftly, knocking on the sturdy chair he was on back, as soon as he heard what his sister had said to his wife. It would had toppled over had it not been a heavy antique chair.

Alex’s eyes remained glued to the illuminated phone, out of which the very familiar voice he had known since childhood was still spouting derogatory words to his wife. His hard-earned wife! What Alex was most scared of was for that strange man with molten silver eyes, Roman, to appear and take his Geneva away from him.

To Alex, even in his old age, his wife was the best of the best. She was a part of him that made him who he was. She was ingrained in him, and he never wanted her to experience the slightest of convenience. To Alex, the two had a wonderful family together and he would give everything to maintain that for life.

His eyes shone in range, which his sister, Sally, would have recognized had she been in the same room with him. This was a reaction that no one wanted to trigger in the older Thornston.

Alex’s breathing started getting heavy as he had to take in slow, deep breaths in order to get the needed oxygen. One could see his muscles tense and his hands ball into fists.

All these were because Alex had left Geneva to handle the estate in its entirety while he dealt with the business. Alex had limited contact with his family and never knew that this was what had been going on behind closed doors.

His heart hurt for his wife.

"If my wife is a guest in my house, then what does that make you? Don’t you go by your husband’s name now? Are you a stranger in his house?"

For a moment, both Geneva and Sally went quiet. Geneva turned sideways and looked up to see Alex fuming.

"What gave you the guts to go so far as to even think of saying those words to my wife? You talk of family, Sally, but have you forgotten that all due respect should be given to the mistress of the Family, notwithstanding age? WHO THE HELL GAVE YOU THE AUDACITY TO TALK TO MY WIFE THAT WAY?"

Geneva got up and then rubbed her arms silently on Alex’s arms. He heaved up and down as he stared at the phone’s screen as if that would bring out his sister.

Geneva pressed the bright red button to hang up the call.

Alex rubbed a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Why did you hang up?" He asked, as his voice took on a softer edge. Just then, a soft knock sounded on the door, and Suzie pushed the door open while balancing a tray on her arm.

She walked in with a slight bounce in her step and a bright smile on her face. The smile was so bright that it slightly relaxed the tense muscles of the older couple.

Suzie set the tray down and served two cups of tea.

"This is chamomile tea..." She bowed again and left silently. At the door, Suzie added,

"I added a couple of Ava’s snacks."

Geneva smiled and shook her head. How could she not understand Suzie? Chamomile tea was known to calm nerves. By adding the snacks that they liked, Suzie was taking care of them even without saying anything or overstepping her bounds.

Suzie had taken her new role very seriously. Even though she had assigned a maid to tend to Geneva’s needs, she took on the bulk of the tasks so that sometimes, Geneva did not even miss Katie’s presence.

"Let’s take a seat first. Katie was attentive enough to bring this. Let’s talk slowly through this...."

However, Alex sank to his knees in front of his wife.

"What are you doing? Do you think that you are so young and have good knees?"

"Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you have to carry this burden alone all these years?" His voice trembled a raw edge of pain cutting through each word.

"I should have been there for you—I should have known. I feel so guilty, so helpless, that I don’t even know how to make it right." Alex swallowed hard, his eyes filling with unshed tears. It was so surprising that Geneva was taken aback.

"I’m so, so sorry, my dear... I never meant for you to suffer ."

Geneva bent low and helped Alex back up onto his seat. Then, she handed Alex a small mug of tea.

"Sip it while it’s warm and have a bite of that too...."

Alex looked at his wife. Worry evident. He handed her his tea and then picked the other.

"What is done is done. Is there a need to get sick over this? Knowing Sally, she would not let this go. The Gala Dinner is in a few days. She will follow up on it, so do not worry much-"

"Just why!" Alex set the mug back down, and Geneva glared at him. He immediately picked it up and continued sipping it while casting fleeting glances at her. He had pushed his anger back and, at that moment, was more like a little kitten seeking forgiveness.

Thank you so much to all for your votes and comments! I hope we can keep it up ^_^

Support the author by reading only on NovelHub :) ~Uploaded only on NovelHub by Loctovia ~