Chapter 405: Chapter 405: Opposites
Evelyn Clayton felt an endless panic.
However, the greatest reason for this panic was because she felt like her mother no longer belonged to her.
She didn’t even have the qualifications to please her mother anymore.
"Back then when you married Philip Lockwood, at the wedding, you were upset that I didn’t follow behind you to lift your dress. You publicly scolded me and slapped me. Do you still remember that?"
Evelyn lightly smiled, mentioning these things as if she were talking about the nice weather today.
That day, clearly she was the saddest person, yet she had to smile through a swollen face, then wear a ridiculous dress and walk up the red carpet, to hand the rings to her mother and stepfather.
Charlotte Sterling’s lips trembled slightly, then she gritted her teeth and angrily said, "I didn’t want people to feel, feel that there was a rift between us as mother and daughter! I was getting married, shouldn’t you have smiled and given me your blessing?!"
"Yes, I did bless you. For many years afterwards, I blessed you." Evelyn’s lips curled slightly, calm and indifferent, "But you wanted too much, Charlotte. You treated me as an appendage to your marriage, never as a living person, you saw me as an item to be married along with you into the Lockwood family."
Charlotte, both embarrassed and furious, suddenly stood up with reddened eyes and shouted, "I did not! The reason I treated Iris Lockwood well was to make her a useless person! To ensure she couldn’t inherit Philip Lockwood’s fortune. Did my suffering education not make you outstanding?!"
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, pretending to be surprised: "Oh, so you’re saying everything I have now is thanks to you?"
Charlotte’s eyes glared furiously, wanting to say something but seemed choked up, fiercely staring at Evelyn.
Evelyn tilted her head: "Charlotte, were you always so adept at twisting the truth from birth? If Philip Lockwood weren’t about to fall from grace, would you be saying these things to me now?"
"You... you’re attacking my heart." Charlotte slowly sat down, coldly and angrily glaring at Evelyn, "My marriage ended up like this because of you, and now you turn around and blame me, do you think you’re so noble?"
Evelyn snorted lightly.
She lowered her eyes, calmly poured tea for both herself and Charlotte.
"Stop joking around. That year when you said you wanted to marry Philip Lockwood, you did ask for my opinion, I said I didn’t want a stepfather, you said I should make concessions for your happiness."
"Philip Lockwood had quite a few choices for arranged marriages back then. You were skilled, got Philip Lockwood to decide to marry you... so what, is your hard-earned marriage not happy now? If my concessions are insufficient to make you happy, what will make you happy?"
Evelyn sipped her tea lightly, even couldn’t help but laugh out loud, "Could it be that you’d be happy only if you’d never married my father, never given birth to me?"
As though drained of all strength, Charlotte slumped into the chair, eyes crimson.
"Alright, enough with the nonsense, let’s talk business."
Evelyn’s eyebrows raised slightly, cold and sharp, as though sitting opposite her was not her blood-related mother, but an unfamiliar woman seen everywhere.
"The little bit of affection between you and Philip Lockwood has probably long been drained by his repeated betrayals. Now Philip Lockwood wants to join forces with Harrison Grant; Harrison Grant solves the trouble, Philip Lockwood gets a large sum, Iris Lockwood and Matthew Sullivan take the fall. And you... you’re the most dispensable cannon fodder."
At this point, there was really no need to hide anything between the mother and daughter.
Charlotte gnashed her teeth: "He said he would take me along—"
"Oh, then make your own choice. Trust me, or trust Philip Lockwood. If you trust me, find a way to help me buy Aegis’ shares, and for Iris Lockwood’s sake I’ll give you a sum to quietly live out your later years; trust Philip Lockwood, then we’re adversaries, and I won’t care about your life or death."