Chapter 87
Chapter 87
At this time, the chandelier in the living room was turned on and the place was brightly lit.
The front row seat in the living room was empty. It was a large mahogany upholstered couch that had been Grandma Richards' seat.
There were many masters and descendants of the Richards family sitting in the back row without any outsiders, not even Marissa's family or Claude's wives' families. Even when General Delia wanted to send Sabrina over, Grandma Richards turned him down.
Since Trevor couldn't come, Claude would naturally be the master. He was sitting in the middle of the back seat, and both of his wives were sitting on either side of him. Trevor was the eldest among his siblings in the Richards family, but because Trevor was bedridden and in a vegetative state, and also because Marissa was a woman, she had to sit behind Claude. Wives were valued by their husbands, and if their husbands were absent, they would naturally lose their positions in the family.
It was because of this that Marissa had some prejudices towards Jenna as she was the one who had put her husband in the hospital. Ever since Trevor was admitted to the hospital, whenever there was any family gathering, she never really had a genuine or happy smile on her face.
As for Grandma Richards' daughters, one was temporarily staying in the Richards Manor due to her husband's downfall and the other one was sitting in the back row with her husband.
The next row was the descendants of the Richards family. Norton was sitting on the left and Andrea was sitting next to Norton. The two main seats in the middle were for Hansen, but there was only one seat left as Aria occupied one as she waited for Hansen to come over.
Earl and Georgia were seated as the guests of honour. However, this was all because of Marissa, who wanted to make sure that Grandma Richards recognized Aria as her future granddaughter-in- law in front of everyone at the birthday celebration.
All the workers of the Richards family had arrived, but they were all standing without a sound in the side room connected to the living room.
When Hansen appeared in the living room holding Jenna's hand, almost all the eyes in the living room fell on them with all kinds of expressions on their faces. At first they were looking at their faces, but soon, their eyes fell on their interlocked hands. He held her hand tightly, determined and did not care about what people were saying.
Jenna felt very embarrassed and awkward under their gazes. There were all kinds of gazes such as contempt, indifference, disdain, resentment, calm, and inscrutable. However, none of them displayed any warmth or affection. Just like three years ago, she was still despised and unaccepted by those in the room.
The only difference this time around was that Hansen held her hand throughout, even when he saw Aria, he did not let go of her hand. He didn't take Jenna to his seat because Aria was sitting there and there was only one empty seat left. So he took her hand and sat down in a separate chair next to the couch.
Aria had been waiting for Hansen next to his seat. The moment she saw Hansen, her face lit up and she was overjoyed. However, her face soon darkened!
Her eyes were fixed on Hansen as he walked into the room. He held Jenna's hand tightly and his eyes were gentle and caring as he looked at Jenna. Aria's eyes soon filled with resentment and hatred.
She turned her head and looked at Norton, who had a tense look on his face and was glaring at Hansen's hand on Jenna's. His hands were on his knees, gripping his pants tightly and the veins on his hands had popped out. He gritted his teeth and did not make any sound, and no expression could be seen on his face.
"Coward," Aria was amused yet angry at the same time. Suddenly, she felt relieved as there was nothing to be afraid of. She was not the only one who did not want to see them together. She wanted to know how long they were going to last. Deep down, she despised Norton who loved Jenna but did not dare to openly pursue her and didn't want to think about how to win her heart. He kept his eyes on them and played tricks behind their backs. He was really a sinister and despicable sc*mbag.
Jenna felt a little uncomfortable at the others' gazes on her. If she had not promised Grandma Richards that she would come, she would have definitely turned around and bolted out. Hansen, on the other hand, seemed to have read her mind. He kept holding onto her hand as if he was afraid that she might run away.
Jenna thought, "He must be afraid that I would run away and he would break his promise to his grandmother, otherwise, why didn't he go over and sit with Aria? Instead, he's accompanying me." NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.
She had no interest in coming over to stick her nose into other people's family affairs in the cold and aloof Richards Manor.
Everything was just for show. After today, she might not need to come back here ever. She was just going to let other people think what they want to think and say what they want to say. Why should she care about them?
While she was thinking about it, Meroy came out.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to Meroy.
Meroy was wearing a red dress and looked lively. After she came out and greeted the masters, she informed everyone of Grandma Richards' request, "Jenna, please come in. Grandma Richards wants to have a word with you."
Everyone looked surprised, with incredulous expressions on their faces when they heard her words. Grandma Richards only wanted to see Jenna alone before paying her respects to the ancestors? What was the purpose of this?
They had all been sitting and waiting for a long time and Grandma Richards hadn't asked them to go in to talk even when Marissa informed her that the McAdams family was there to visit her. However, not long after Hansen came in with Jenna, Grandma Richards had requested to have a word with Jenna. What were her intentions?
Aria's face darkened. Initially, she had Marissa's permission to sit next to Hansen. Anyone with discerning eyes knew her intentions. However, after Hansen came in, he did not respond to her. Instead, he walked over to another seat and sat with Jenna. Now, Grandma Richards had even completely ignored her and her children and grandchildren and only invited Jenna in. Wasn't that a slap in the face?
What could this woman have done in order for Grandma Richards to favour her so much? Knowing that Hansen and her were already divorced and she was no longer part of the Richards family anymore, why was Grandma Richards still treating Jenna so well? Even with Aria's father by her side, it was not enough to make Grandma Richards accept her. She had lost her face and even Earl's face was lost and looked sorrowful and mysterious.
Even Hansen didn't understand it. He just turned and looked at Jenna blankly, who was sitting beside him.
Jenna herself was even more confused and did not understand why Grandma Richards would want to see her only. She knew that Grandma Richards liked her, but no matter how much she liked her, she was still an outsider. Moreover, she was no longer the daughter- in- law of the Richards family. Did Grandma Richards like her more than her own grandchildren? This was something that she wouldn't believe.
After Jenna left, Aria walked towards Hansen and sat next to him, full of grievances and tears in her eyes.
Hansen was still in shock and did not notice her at all.
Everyone in the living room was silent. Claude's second wife was discreetly laughing at Marissa and Aria. Marissa was in such a hurry to invite Aria's family over and everyone knew her intentions. However, it seemed like her efforts were in vain. Grandma Richards was not willing to accept Aria after all.
It seemed that Aria was longing to be the Young Madam of the Richards family. Hansen had not said anything and yet she was so anxious. She was really thick- skinned, but they just smiled in their hearts and didn't show it on the surface.
However, to everyone's surprise, Jenna stayed in the room for more than an hour. At first, they all waited patiently, but later, they all got impatient and started complaining.
Finally, as everyone waited, Jenna finally walked out from the room.
Her face was a little pale, and the light in her eyes was not clear and she looked a little absent- minded. She just stood there with her eyes looking down. She caught a glimpse of Aria sitting next to Hansen from the corner of her eyes. She did not walk towards them, instead she walked to a quiet corner and stood there alone. She was trying to hide herself, not wanting anyone to notice her.
Hansen took a deep look at her as she didn't walk towards him. In addition to being a little cold, her expression was indifferent, absent- minded, and distracted. He had no idea what Grandma Richards had said to her. However, he knew that it was more than a simple catch up since she had been in the room for more than an hour. He wanted to go over and ask her what happened, but Aria held his arm and it was unpleasant to push her away in front of so many people, so he had to sit down.
After a while, Meroy came out again and said loudly, "Grandma Richards wants to invite Mayor McAdams to come over and have a talk."
This time, there was an uproar again!
Everyone turned and looked at Earl.
Aria's heart perked up. Grandma Richards had finally invited them for a talk. It seemed that Grandma Richards had finally figured it out and was willing to acknowledge her the granddaughter- in-law of the Richards family. When Aria saw Jenna's blanched face, she immediately understood that the reason why Grandma Richards invited her in first was to inform her that she had been officially removed from the Richards' family tree and had decided to pass the title over to Aria. Otherwise why would Jenna look like that?
Wasn't it obvious now that Grandma Richards had invited her father to have a talk? She was so excited that her hands began to tremble.
Earl was very calm. He stood up and walked towards Grandma Richards's bedroom. When he walked past Hansen, Hansen was inexplicably worried and his eyes drifted to the corner again and looked at Jenna, who was standing there silently. She stood there alone and she looked lonely. There was a kind of inexplicable sadness in his heart. Did Grandma Richards break any bad news to her when she went in to talk with her? Did she really want to remove her from the Richards' family tree? Was Grandma Richards finally going to acknowledge Aria?
What's going on? Didn't he used to have his heart set on her leaving him? Didn't he want her name to be removed from the Richards' family tree? Then where did the feeling of fear of losing her come from now? What was wrong with him?"
He looked at her again, but she just stood there silently and did not even look at him. It seemed that she had forgotten him, and she seemed to have forgotten that he brought her here. For a moment,
he was exasperated, as if anything related to her would make him feel uneasy.