NovelEnglishAurelia patted Avery's shoulder, offering a smile and echoing, "Avery, you're spot on." Perla was embarrassed and angry, clearly insulted by the insinuation that they were mocking her precious son, Ritchie.
"Our Hawthorne family isn't exactly bursting at the seams with kin," Perla said with a huff. "We've got just three youngsters in this generation, and Ritchie is your only cousin. No matter his faults, you should stand by him." Avery snorted, "Come on, Perla. How could you be so ungrateful? Aurelia paid off your mortgage, hired three nannies for Margot and Bella, and even footed the bill for that posh preschool. Ritchie's the kids' father, and you're the grandmother. Have you chipped in a dime for children support?" Perla glared at him, "Ritchie's out of work, and we're just scraping by on our pensions. How could we possibly have extra cash?" "Aurelia lined up job after job for him, but he'd rather spend his days living it up," Avery retorted.
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Perla resorted to playing the victim, "With all your money, what's feeding one more mouth to you? You might as well consider it charity. You can afford to keep pets, so why not support your cousin Ritchie?" Belinda rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed, "Stop your wailing, Perla. Ritchie is nothing but an ingrate, biting the hand that feeds him. He's even turned against Aurelia. She didn't hold a grudge and cleared your debts, millions of them. You ought to be grateful. It's your warped morals that spoiled Ritchie, lawless and disloyal. Where is he anyway, out causing trouble again?" Perla's face twitched in irritation as she burst into tears and shouted, "Ritchie is set in his ways, beyond changing. That he hasn't caused a disaster is a miracle. | can't force him to change his life. Remember, you were there defending his antics in his youth too. Now you just want to live in peace, leaving him to fend for himself.
Isn't that a bit harsh?" Belinda's temper flared, and she slapped the table with a loud whack, "This is my celebration, and you're crying? Trying to jinx my day? Ritchie's a wastrel, lazing around and not even caring for his children. Do you expect Aurelia to finance his frivolities? Frankly, him being broke is for the best, and he'd squander a fortune otherwise." Perla felt wronged. She too yearned for the high life.
"You've got it easy, surrounded by servants, while I'm at home slaving away, aching all over," Perla complained, "How about you lend me one of those servants so | can get a taste of the high life?" Aurelia could see through her. All that talk, and she just wanted a servant of her own.
How could she make such an unreasonable request? Belinda scoffed, "These servants are here for me, hired by Aurelia. Why should | lend them to you? Have you forgotten how you treated Avery's parents? We've already done you a favor by settling your mortgage. Don't be greedy." Perla felt like there was a bone stuck in her throat, unable to swallow or spit it out.
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"That's all water under the bridge. Why bring it up again? You weren't exactly kind to Avery's parents either," Perla shot back.
Belinda glanced at her dismissively, "Even so, I'm the mother who brought them into this world. I'm Aurelia and Avery's grandmother. Can you, an outsider, compare to that?" She touched her face, adding with a hint of vanity, "The kids got their good looks from me. Back in the day, | was a knockout, the belle of the ball. They used to call me the Helen of Troy in these parts."
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