Chapter 18
As long as Christina was willing to get divorced, it would be easy for her to leave a broken marriage. Beverly didn’t want to interfere in the matter anymore-it wasn’t any of her business.
Suddenly, she heard Heather say coldly, “I won’t let you do that. You’re supposed to be the Gray family’s heiress. Think about how people will laugh when they hear that you can’t even manage your own marriage.
“As the lady of the York household, what you need to control is the family’s power, status, and wealth. You need to pave a smooth path for your children and uphold your honor. Getting upset and angry over a lowly mistress… You are truly a disappointment.”
Christina fell to her knees, unable to believe that her own mother had said such things to her. “Mom, Lance betrayed me. He was unfaithful to me! Do you expect me to swallow my grievances and put up with that?”
“All he did was make a mistake that every man in the world makes. As long as he treats you with the respect you deserve, you
don’t have to be so fixated on the minor things.”
Heather helped Christina up, but her voice turned icier. “I’m not telling you to suffer in silence. I’m just telling you what matters most. Lance won’t dare to take things too far with the Gray family backing you up. He wants Evan to invest in him, doesn’t he?
“I’ll take this opportunity to give him a warning-I’ll make him cut ties with that woman and focus on his family with you. Now, forget about getting a divorce.”
“Mom, that woman is already pregnant with his child; he’s been taking her to public events with him and allowing others to call her his second wife! Is that the so-called respect you think he’s given me?” Christina cried as tears flowed down her face.
“You’ve only given him a daughter. If this mistress gives him a son, you can take that child in and treat him like he’s your own. Lance won’t have anything to say.” Heather didn’t even bat an eye at Christina’s words. Instead, she started giving the latter ideas.
“She’s calling herself his second wife, not his only wife. With her around, you won’t need to worry about other women clinging to Lance and trying to steal him. Isn’t this a win-win situation?”
“Is having power, status, and a good reputation that important to you? Do they mean more to you than your daughter’s happiness?” Christina sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown.
She’d grown up pampered, and Heather had always doted on her. She never would’ve expected to one day receive such harsh treatment from her mother.
“If you won’t help me, I’ll go to Evan.”
However, as soon as she got to her feet, Heather slapped her hard across the face, exuding ruthlessness and looking at her with utter disappointment.
“How did I end up having a daughter as worthless as you? Every matriarch of an affluent family has experienced this-see how everyone in this circle turns a blind eye to it?
“Have you seen things ending well for any of the women who clamored for divorce? Take Elaine, for example. She made her husband leave the marriage with nothing and kicked him out, but so what?
“He made a comeback after just a few years of suffering, and he’s still happily with his mistress! Everything Elaine had worked so hard for in her youth went down the drain and turned into something that someone else now enjoys.
“All she ended up with was a reputation for being a jealous woman and having a short life. Do you want to follow in her footsteps and do the stupid things she did?”
The “Elaine” Heather was talking about was Beverly’s late mother. So, it turned out that nothing mattered more to Heather than the dignity of the lady of an affluent household. She had no qualms about manipulating and using her daughter’s-feelings,
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let alone Beverly’s.
Elaine had always considered Heather her best friend, yet the latter had secretly been disdainful of her the whole time and even thought she was dumb.
Elaine’s strength and decisiveness were worthless to Heather.
Beverly absolutely couldn’t tolerate her mother being slandered and looked down upon. More importantly, she could no longer endure Heather’s continued manipulation of everyone.
She pushed the study door open and strode to Christina’s side, helping her up. She met Heather’s shocked gaze, but her words were directed at Christina. “Don’t be scared, Christina. I support your decision to divorce Lance.”
