Chapter 355: Chapter 355

Molly swelled up in anger at her children’s behaviour.

The oldest was already thirty-nine going on forty, but what was this behaviour they were exhibiting like that of children?

’I don’t know how I birthed such ridiculousness! How could those three have come out from me?’ She asked herself as she prided herself on being a very shrewd and intelligent person. At the same time, her eyes lingered on her nephew’s wife, and even in her irritative state, Molly’s eyes shone. Never in her seventy-plus years in life had she met such an astonishing beauty.

’It’s unfortunate that her family background works against her... what a shame!’ Molly thought but even with this, Molly did not say any of those words that lingered on the tip of her tongue at the bride.

Her three sons were still bickering in the background, drawing her attention.

’I have three sons! Three! However, all of them could not measure half of Ian,’ she lamented in her heart. This was one of Molly’s pain points in her life.

She turned to glare at the three in warning, but they were too caught up in their silly argument to mind their mother or, presumably, their aunt.

Geneva face palmed herself mentally. She did not know how these three came to be.

Ian gently drew Shelby to stand closer to him and then waved his hand subtly. The gesture was masked with his action of drawing Shelby near, so presumably, no one saw it, but its intended effect was instantaneous! It was as if a mute button had been pressed.

Dumb started coughing so hard and fast that he could not get any words out. Dumber felt like something was stuck in his throat, so he paused and grabbed a wine glass, drowning out its contents, but that did not help.

He rubbed his hand on his throat, frowning as the liquid down his throat did not help. Dumbest, did not fare any better. Despite the fact that he did not get any of the discomforts faced by his older brothers, he continued talking and making animated gestures which were not heard by anyone. He did not know that his mouth was moving without sound, which made him look totally crazy!

Shelby smiled and raised an eyebrow. Over the past few weeks, she noticed that Ian was lax with his display of abilities, especially when she was around him.

’I knew you would!’ The two used their mind links to communicate, and this outlook presented a very intimate one to all onlookers as well as Sally.

Sally was the one spearheading the ’Find a new wife for Ian initiative’, and she had even come up with the perfect wife’s selection in the form of a few women from prominent families, as well, but then, never had she ever foreseen such a reaction from herself. It was as if she had taken a backseat in her mind and was looking at herself through a screen.

Despite being in her seventies and appearing far younger, Sally found herself acting like a smitten teenager experiencing her first crush. The sight of Shelby left her breathless, her slightly wrinkled cheeks warming with a flush she hadn’t felt in decades.

A wave of disbelief washed over her—Sally was appalled at her own reaction yet entirely powerless to control the giddy excitement bubbling up inside her. Her heart raced, a reminder that some feelings never truly age.

Sally forced herself to swallow the words she had been about to say. She indeed feared whatever those were, as she could not trust herself.

Shelby turned to face the two women, pretending that she had ot seen their awkward stances and greeted them as politely as she could,

"It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Since you’re Ian’s aunts, I will address you as Aunt Sally and Aunt Molly."

’This is not how it was supposed to play out!’ Sally lamented, but she found out that she could not even utter a reprimand or a bad word at Shelby. Why? She did not even know what was going on with herself!

Geneva, somehow noticing this, smiled and whispered to her husband,

"It seems like Shelby’s charm is growing by the day."

Alex chuckled. They knew how to handle all these because they had learnt of that simple fact, ’Never look directly into those blue orbs if you can!’ Shelby was beautiful, and that was an established fact, but she became a lethal entity if one looked her directly in the eyes. Alex and Geneva had no idea how Ian could be himself around Shelby.

Well, the Ian they knew wasn’t really the same as he had turned into a wife-doting man. But the older couple were unsure whether it was of his own will or he was under Shelby’s influence. Nonetheless, Geneva sighed that it was under Shelby’s influence because she preferred Shelby to have that absolute influence over Ian than that Aliya girl!

Alex and Geneva were slightly to the side but had their eyes lowered, making it look like the almighty old Chairman and his wife were paying reverence to their son and his wife!

Ideally, this gossip would have spread but in that moment, almost everyone around except the children, Brad and the assistants seemed to be immune to this.

Molly, always the one best at masking her emotions, nodded at Shelby’s greetings but not Sally.

"What kind of witchcraft is this?!" She snapped and this time, even Molly rolled her eyes at her sister’s reaction.

"I’m not sure that I follow, Aunt Sally..."

Sally looked long and hard at Shelby and also thought that her words were silly, she diverted the talk into another thing. Sally knew that the bride swap ploy had already fallen through, but she came armed to the teeth to confront especially Geneva. She was unsure why she felt that another bride might not work, but common sense told her to back off, and for once, Sally obeyed that thought.

"You! Were you the one who kicked out Katie from the estate?"

For a moment, all went quiet.

"I’m not sure I follow what you mean, Aunt Sally. Is there a reason that you’re being hostile? It’s the first time we have met, but I get the feeling that you don’t like something I may have done."

"Of cours-" Sally swallowed her words at Molly’s subtle warning, and then she switched gears.

"I get it that you are the one in charge of the estate and everything. But how could you kick Katie out as soon as you come in? Is that how that criminal father of yours thought you? This action in itself, demonstrates that you are not fit for the job if you had to fire the one chief maid who has been here for years before you!"

Ian had folded his arms at a point in time and looked at the petrified individual who was trying to make himself as small as possible at the back of his aunt’s entourage. However, he stayed out of everything, for he knew this was a trivial thing that his Elfin could handle just as easily.

"Shelby had nothing to do with this!" Geneva snapped, wondering if Sally did no brains and did not understand that some things were better kept away from the public.

She had always kept a polite stance with her two sisters-in-law except for that one time on the phone but Geneva felt that enough was enough.

She took a step forward and placed a hand on Shelby’s arm to still her.

"What right do you have to come to my home during my husband’s auspicious day to raise such a ruckus? It seems like my tolerance over the years has given you the false impression that you can do as you please here? Is that so? Mind you... and as your brother said, the Matrons/Mistresses of the Thornston estate are to be revered, in case you have forgotten!"

Sally took a hesitant step back, totally shocked! Her cane barely supported her.

"I may have handed the mantle to my daughter-in-law but that does not mean that I am invisible here. If you cross the line one more time, I will ban you from entering the estate for a long while!"

At the back, Katie shook. She had no idea why, but she was scared shitless of the people around her. An unknown person had come to her cottage some days back claiming to know her, but Katie had no recollection of ever meeting this person or the two old women he had taken her to meet.

They had kept asking her about this family. Katie knew how powerful the Thornston family was but she did not know them personally as these people claimed. In the end, she was convinced that they were mistaking her for someone else until they brought her to this lavish party.

Even though Katie knew in her heart that she had never been to the estate, everything about it was familiar to an uncomfortable level. Despite this and the wish that she could retain the memories that she had listed, all she wanted to do was get the hell out of there.

Her instincts and everything in her told her that these people were not to be messed with, and if there was one thing she remembered, it was to trust her instinct!

She wanted no part of what was going on. At that moment, her quiet cottage felt like a haven that she needed to get back to ASAP!

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