Chapter 23: Chapter 23

One of the girls shook her head and replied, "We don't know what happened either. Young Master Joshua was perfectly fine when he came here a few months ago, but today we saw him sitting in a wheelchair." As if suddenly realizing something, she muttered to herself, "No wonder Young Master Joshua hasn't come to chat and drink with Big Young Master and Second Young Master recently..."

"Flora, what's wrong with you?" Another maid noticed that Flora's complexion was off and asked with concern.

"It's... nothing." Flora forced a smile and shook her head. "It's nothing, I'm just curious, that's all. Well, you girls should go back to work, I'll go do the laundry." With that, she quickly turned around and retreated towards the laundry room.

When Maxwell rushed back, it was already after dinner. Mrs. Smith was drinking coffee in the living room and smiled as she saw him return.

"Maxwell, you're back!"

"Yeah, there was some traffic on the way, so I'm late," Maxwell apologized, his gaze falling on Joshua's broken leg. He asked, "Joshua, did the treatment go well?"

"As long as I don't die, it's fine," Joshua said gruffly.

Mrs. Smith shot him a glare and said to Maxwell, "You don't have to tire yourself out like this. You rushed back today and will have to rush back tomorrow. It's too exhausting."

Maxwell smiled indifferently, showing that he didn't mind. Mrs. Smith and Joshua had returned from Germany, and he felt that he should be there to accompany them, considering the circumstances were different this time. Now that the Smith Family Group had collapsed, the Smith Family estate was gone as well. Mrs. Smith and Joshua had sought refuge by coming here.

Maxwell turned to Nancy and said in a malicious tone, "Where is Miss White? Tell her to come and serve Madame, and bring two cups of coffee."

"No need, I can walk and move, there's nothing to serve me for." Mrs. Smith smiled and spoke, oblivious to the mischievous twinkle in Maxwell's eyes, thinking he was just finding a regular maid for her.

"Aunt, it's okay, you can instruct her if there's anything you need." Maxwell smiled.

In the backyard, Flora was looking for something to do, feeling like she had been procrastinating all day. She didn't think hiding like this was a solution. But she didn't dare to face Joshua either, after all, she was the one who voluntarily broke off the engagement!

Before she could figure out what to do, Nancy's loud voice resounded, "Flora! Get out here!"

Flora hurriedly went out and looked at Nancy, asking, "Nancy, what do you want from me?"

Judging from her expression, it probably wasn't anything good! Flora felt a bit anxious inside. She had asked other maids to deliver the clothes to the young masters' rooms for her. She couldn't understand why Nancy was looking for her so late.

"Where were you all day? Couldn't find a trace of you?!" Nancy started scolding as soon as she saw her.

Flora didn't utter a word, waiting for her to finish scolding and get to the point. She had learned a trick now, to let it go in one ear and out the other. No matter how she scolded, she didn't care. She pretended not to hear!

Nancy probably realized that her scolding was pointless, so she followed Maxwell's instructions, "Brew two cups of coffee and take them to the living room for Madame and Young Master Joshua... Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?!"

As soon as she said the first half of the sentence, Flora froze. She was asked to brew two cups of coffee and bring them to Madame and Joshua? Did she hear correctly? She opened her mouth, stuttering, "I... I still have a lot of clothes to fold, I'll ask Betty to help me deliver them."

"Big Young Master specifically said he wants you to bring them personally!" Nancy raised her voice, irritated.

Flora was shocked for the second time. Maxwell—! That damned devil! He did it on purpose, clearly wanting to see the show, wanting to embarrass her in front of Joshua!

"What are you waiting for?!" Nancy was completely angry, yelling at her.

Flora had no choice but to hurry into the kitchen. She reluctantly made two cups of coffee, trembling slightly as she held them, and when she walked into the living room, her face instantly turned pale!

Joshua Smith! After more than a month, she saw him again. The man who was once carefree and lively now sat in a wheelchair! Beside him was Mrs. Smith, the woman who had been kind to her, Joshua's biological mother!

So the Mrs. Smith they referred to wasn't the mother of Maxwell and Oliver, but... the woman she had become so familiar with, the woman who almost became her mother-in-law!

Mrs. Smith and Joshua saw her at the same time, and their astonishment was no less than hers.

After staring at each other for a while, Joshua was the first to react, gritting his teeth and spitting out two words, "Flora White!"

"How did you end up here?!" Mrs. Smith shouted as she stood up from the sofa, glaring at her.

Flora felt the sudden double pressure and didn't know what to do. This was the first time she saw Joshua so ferocious and Mrs. Smith so furious!

Every time she met Mrs. Smith before, Mrs. Smith would always hold her hand with a benevolent smile. She would examine her from head to toe, complimenting her with satisfaction, "Oh, my future daughter-in-law is getting more and more beautiful. I hope you can marry into our family soon and keep me company!"

But now, the hatred on her face was no less than when Maxwell went crazy.

Flora's hands holding the tray trembled more and more violently. She glanced helplessly at Maxwell, and on his face, she saw a trace of sinister smirk. Anyone could see that it was a mocking, schadenfreude smirk.

"Get out of here!" Mrs. Smith swung her hand forcefully, palm hitting the bottom of the tray, and the coffee cups clattered to the floor. Coffee spilled everywhere, and the cups shattered upon impact!

Flora exclaimed softly, took a step back, and placed a hand on the edge of the sofa. This prevented her from falling in a disheveled manner onto the broken pieces on the floor.