Chapter 166 Suspicions (II)
Chapter 166 Suspicions (II)
Edric got out of the car and went straight into the pharmacy. He saw Loraine and Tommy at the
prescription counter. Although Tommy was standing beside Loraine, his eyes were darting around the
store.
Tommy saw Edric the moment he stepped off the elevator. When he saw Edric, he distanced himself
from Loraine without thinking and took the initiative to approach Edric. "Mr. Myers!"
Tommy's greeting made Loraine, who had her back to Edric, turn her head. She was obviously shocked
when she saw Edric. Fortunately, Tommy was now talking to Edric so Loraine could use some time to
process the situation.
After a moment, she went back to having a neutral expression on her face. After calming herself down,
she marched over to Edric as if nothing had happened. "Mr. Myers, nice meeting you. When did you
return to San Fetillo?"
"I just came back today," Edric answered. "How is my mother?"
"She has recovered well, but her mood isn't doing too well. You could pay her a visit," Loraine
answered truthfully.
Seeing that Edric was discussing private affairs with Loraine, Tommy politely bid Edric goodbye.
"Mr. Myers, I'll be on my way then."
Edric nodded, his gaze followed after Tommy. Why did he feel like Tommy seemed to be a little
flustered? Was he overthinking? Seeing his eyes fixed upon Tommy, Loraine's heart beat faster. She
forced a smile and said, "Who is that man just now?"
Edric was stunned by her question. What did Loraine mean? Was she not acquainted with Tommy
already? However, the two of them had clearly chatted to each other at the entrance earlier before
coming in together. How could she suddenly not know who he was? What was going on here? Eric
wondered suspiciously.
Although he had doubts in his heart, he did not reveal them. "He is Mr. Cook's driver."
"Ah, so that's who he is!" Loraine responded in a monotonous way and explained, "I've been feeling a
little under the weather these days so I came to buy some flu medicine."
"You must've worked very hard lately! Thank you for your good work!" Edric knew of Margaret's temper.
In his absence, she would have definitely vented her anger on Loraine. Surely, Loraine would not
retaliate against Margaret; it was only expected for Loraine to be feeling a little ill. "I'll find two more
caretakers for her right away. So you can at least take a wee break in between."
"There is no need for that. I can take care of Madam Margaret," Loraine quickly said. Edric was indeed
one generous man. Although working for the Myers family meant she was often rebuked by Margaret,
her salary was quite high. For the sake of money, Loraine never had any complaints whatsoever, no
matter how much Margaret berated her.
Of course, apart from the money, she had another reason for working with the Myers family. Deborah
paid her handsomely as well for the work she did. She was basically getting paid twice as much for one
job. If Edric hired someone else to take care of Margaret, and that person gained Margaret's good side,
then that might jeopardize Loraine's position in the family.
Afraid that Edric might really hire a new maid, Loraine immediately stated, "I have stayed with Madam
Margaret for a long time and know her preferences well enough. She's more comfortable with me as
well. If you hire someone new, she might not like it."
What she said made sense. Edric nodded and remarked, "If it gets too much to bear, do let me know."
Irene waited in the car for a while before Edric came out of the pharmacy. Seeing him get in the car,
Irene couldn't help but ask him, "Is your mother alright?"
"Loraine said there's nothing worrying. She's recovering quite well."
"Go and pay her a visit." Irene looked out of the window.
"I will," Edric answered and started the car. He then asked Irene, "Loraine and Tommy greeted each
other at the door just now, didn't they?"
"Yes?" Irene felt a little strange. "Why?"
"Nothing, I'm just trying to make sure I didn't see anything wrongly."
After sending Irene back, Edric and John left together. On the way, he told John what he saw earlier in
the day. "The two of them clearly know each other but they pretended not to. There must be something
fishy going on. Run some background checks on Tommy."
John nodded after receiving the instruction.
Although Steven had told Lily to stay at home, there was no way she would abide by Steven's
order. Margaret was being warded at the hospital; she had to find a way to visit her. She wanted to test
and see for herself what Margaret's attitude towards her was like now.
Seeing that Steven was not at home, Lily went out to buy one of Margaret's favorite snacks and
headed to the hospital. When Margaret saw Lily coming to see her, she was delighted and pulled at Lily
to ask her all sorts of questions. Naturally, all of Lily's answers were all that Margaret wanted to hear.
They had a whale of a time chattering with each other. Margaret could not help feeling that Lily was
much better than Irene. "Lily, don't you have any good news for me?"
Lily smiled coyly. "My period hasn't arrived yet."
"Really?" Margaret was on cloud nine to hear that. "Have you gotten tested yet?"
"Not yet." Lily lowered her head, giggling.
"Do it quickly. If there's good news..." Margaret suddenly felt like she had hit the lottery. If Lily was
pregnant, any hopes of Irene getting back together with Edric would be completely crushed.
Lily returned home after visiting Margaret. Lily told Deborah about Margaret's reaction. While they were
happily chatting away, Steven had reached home too. As soon as he entered through the door, he told
Deborah to clean the spare room and set it up for a child.
Deborah knew that it was meant for Eden to move in. Her hatred for Eden was growing inside her like a
tumor, but she didn't show it. "Is Irene moving back in with her son?"
"Yes!" Steven replied curtly. "Decorate the room to make it a bit nicer."
Maisy was very excited when she heard this. "Mr. Cook, leave the room to me. I'll make sure it's well-
arranged."
"Alright, thank you." Steven sat down while Lily brought him some tea. Steven sipped the tea and
looked at Lily. "You've graduated for several years now. Do you have any plans?"
Lily was stupefied by his question. Apart from marrying Edric and being admired by all, she really had
no other plans. She hesitated and said, "I haven't thought about it yet."
Steven frowned. What kind of adult had no future plans? Was she really his daughter? Comparing Lily
with Irene, Steven began to feel the edge of irritation returning. Lily was his daughter too, but how did
they end up being so different?
Irene had always kept a low profile. Even when she married Edric and became part of a rich and
powerful family, Irene had remained humble. He had never seen her around in any posh areas.
However, Lily was different. All she did was frequent high-end restaurants and mingle with other rich
heiresses. It was as if all she knew what to do was to enjoy life. Feeling disgusted, Steven's eyes went
colder. "Since you have no thoughts on the matter, I've thought about it for you. Why don't I send you to
study abroad?"
"Send me abroad?" Lily was shocked. She was waiting for the chance to marry Edric. Sending her
abroad was obviously going to mess up her plans. "Dad, I don't want to go abroad."
"What do you want to do then if you don't want to study abroad? People of your age have already
started working for a living. Meanwhile, you do nothing all day, except eating and having fun. Is that
how you want to live for the rest of your life? Does it seem like a meaningful life to you?"
"I..." Lily was so dumbstruck by his question that she just looked at Deborah for help.
"Lily hasn't been doing nothing. She wanted to look for a job previously but she had to postpone it for
Irene. After that, she's been sick so she had to rest at home..." Deborah immediately stepped in to
defend Lily.
Steven said with a faint smile, "What happened before was our fault as parents. We have failed her.
Now I want to make it up to her by sending her abroad to study. As long as she works hard, I believe
that she can unleash a lot more of her potential."
"Why do you have to send Lily to study abroad? She's going to be all alone in a strange land. I can't
bear to see Lily suffer," said Deborah, rushedly.
"Suffer? There are people who would give anything for a chance to study abroad, but you call that
suffering?" It was unnatural for Steven to raise his voice.
"Dad, I don't want to go. I don't want to leave you and Mom," Lily begged.
"You don't want to leave us? What are you talking about? Do you want to stay at home with us all your
life?" Steven sneered. Lily bowed her head mutely. Deborah quickly interrupted, "Steven, if she doesn't
want to, don't force her. I'll ask her to get a job and start working some other day."
"It's not about work; it's about Irene. Irene and Eden will move back soon, and Edric will eventually
come over. If Lily is at home, then they'll end up meeting each other all the time. I don't think that's
appropriate, so it's preferable to send her abroad. It would be for everyone's good."
Lily bit her lip. "Dad, if that's what you're worried about, I'll move out."
"You still don't get what I mean, don't you? If you stay here, you will only make Irene and Edric feel
uncomfortable. So the best solution is for you to go abroad." Steven was being very straightforward.
Lily's expression changed almost immediately. She glimpsed at Deborah and said, "Mom, I am not
going. Over my dead body!"
Deborah felt her heart aching. Nonetheless, there was still a smile plastered on her face. "Since it's for
Irene, I'll persuade Lily to follow your plan. Steven, go ahead and make necessary arrangements. I will
talk to Lily."
Upon hearing that, Steven calmed down a bit more and his spirits were lifted. He ignored Lily, who was
crying, and stated, "I'll ask someone to get all the documents ready right away. You'd better prepare Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.
mentally over the next few days."
After Steven entered the study, Deborah and Lily also returned to their room. Lily's face was stained
with tears. "Mom, Dad is forcing me to leave just so Irene won't feel uncomfortable. I am also his
daughter. How could he be so unfair?"
Deborah didn't say anything. Steven used to treat her and Lily quite well; why did he suddenly have a
change in attitude? Was it because of Irene's return or was it because he had begun to suspect them?
Lily became more anxious when she noticed Deborah's silence. "Mom, why did you promise him that I
will leave San Fetillo just now? You should have come up with an excuse so I can stay."
"Button your lips!" Deborah frowned. "You are still in San Fetillo right now, aren't you? This is just a
delaying tactic. Don't worry. I won't let him send you abroad."
"You sure? What can you do now?" Lily was worried sick. "Mom, why don't we tell Dad that I'm
pregnant so he won't force me to go abroad?"
"Idiot!" Deborah glared at Lily. "If you tell him that now, you'll be dead meat. I know him; he'll definitely
force you to go to the hospital and get rid of the unborn baby."
"Then what should we do? We can't only tell him that after the baby is born, can we?"
"There's no need to wait that long. I'll find a way. Just stay at home for the next few days. Don't go
anywhere," said Deborah, her eyes glistening with a hint of vileness.
Steven frowned as soon as he entered the study. Lily's reaction to his suggestion was as clear as
crystal. After all, she was already used to getting pampered; there was no easy way to convince her to
accept his suggestion.
Deborah had spoiled Lily so much. However, logically speaking, she should have opposed his idea.
Yet, she agreed to him without much of a fuss. As a mother, her reaction was rather suspicious.
Although Deborah had always put him first in their marriage, why did he feel like something was out of
place with her reaction?
As he was lost in his thoughts, Maisy knocked on the door and came in to serve him tea. She noticed
that Steven was scowling and chimed, "Mr. Cook, don't worry. Miss Cook will definitely get over it after
a while."
Steven nodded. After pondering for a while, he suddenly asked, "Has everything been alright at home
recently?"
"I haven't noticed anything strange," Maisy responded.
Steven lowered his head slightly and spoke, "Do keep an eye on things."
Maisy nodded and said, "I will."