Pregnant?
Could it be... Sienna Johnson wondered, looking at Ashley Hopper with a surprised expression. Hadn’t they just gotten married? How could they already have a child?
Sienna’s eyes, filled with doubt and inquiry, turned towards Bryant Robertson.
Bryant Robertson’s gaze inadvertently t his sister’s. Both understood the unspoken aning in each other’s eyes. Bryant Robertson’s face flushed crimson, feeling too ashad to face his sister.
"Milton, are you okay? Where does it hurt? Tell your sister quickly," Ashley Hopper said, her eyes welling with tears as she examined her brother. Milton Hopper, seeing soone defending him, grew bolder.
He cried out, whimpering, "Sister, it hurts so much! They want to beat to death! Sister, they’re ganging up on because there are more of them!"
"Milton, don’t worry. Your sister won’t let anyone hurt you."
"Sister, I want to marry Samara."
"Milton..." Ashley Hopper looked troubled, her brow furrowed.
From the expressions of the Robertson and Johnson families earlier, it seed there was absolutely no room for negotiation regarding Milton marrying Samara. Samara was beautiful, gentle, and from a good family. If Milton truly married her, it would be a wonderful match. It was just a pity they looked down on her brother. In Ashley’s eyes, her brother was perfect in every way. She couldn’t comprehend why the Johnson Family disdained him so. Her brother was so good; why couldn’t they see it?
"Sister, I *must* marry Samara!" Milton Hopper insisted, like a stubborn, willful child.
Ashley Hopper looked at Bryant Robertson, her eyes filled with hopeful expectation. "Marvin, he’s my only brother. Ever since he was little, I’ve agreed to all his requests. What do you think..."
"What do I think?" Bryant Robertson cut in, his voice sharp. "Weren’t my earlier words clear enough? Don’t you understand your own standing? You should retract what you just said before you further embarrass yourself."
Bryant Robertson was furious. He had never expected Ashley Hopper to be so utterly clueless.
Ashley Hopper started to cry, her voice thick with indignation. "Marvin, what do you an by that? What’s so wrong with my brother? Why do you despise him so much?"
...
"So, your sister is a treasure, while my brother is just a blade of grass? You can’t bully people like this!" Ashley Hopper exclaid, her voice a mixture of hurt and anger.
Sienna Johnson found the escalating drama pointless. She turned to Rose Collins and said, "Mom, it’s getting late, and Curly is tired. I’ll take her to bed. Please, take your ti."
Rose Collins replied kindly, "Go on, dear. You’ve had a long day too. Besides, you’re pregnant; you need more rest."
"I know, Mom. You should also go to bed early; you’ve been tired all day."
Rose Collins gently patted Sienna’s hand, her expression full of warmth. "About what happened earlier, please don’t take it to heart, for my sake. It’s Marvin’s fault. I’ll teach him a lesson."
Sienna Johnson smiled faintly, stood up, and excused herself from the table.
Once Sienna Johnson left, the other mbers of the Johnson Family also made their excuses to leave. When Milton Hopper saw Samara, who looked as beautiful as a fairy, preparing to depart, he grew anxious.
He’d heard that Samara lived in a large villa in the City Center, a long way from here. It was a drive of several hours. If she left now, he had no idea when he might see her again.
"Samara, don’t go! I have sothing to say to you!"
...
"Samara, I’ve set my heart on you! Marry , and I promise I’ll treat you well."
Sienna Johnson held her younger sister’s hand, struggling to contain her fury. If not for the need to show respect to the Robertson family, she would have already ordered soone to teach this insolent fool a lesson.
"Sister..." Samara whispered, frightened and wronged. Her eyes were red, and her face flushed with humiliation.
"It’s okay, your sister is here. They won’t dare to hurt you."
Samara looked at her sister with complete trust and quickly left. The Johnson Family had initially planned to stay overnight, but after this incident, they departed that very night.
When Rose Collins heard what had transpired, she slapped her son hard across the face. She couldn’t bring herself to strike her daughter-in-law, so she vented all her anger on her son.
"You’ve really brought a wonderful wife!" she said sarcastically.
"Mom..."
"Don’t call Mom! You’re grown now; I can’t control you anymore. From now on, you two live your lives, and I’ll live mine. I don’t expect any filial piety from you; just try not to embarrass any further."
Jenny indignantly interjected, "Aunt, what do you an by that? My sister just married into your family, and you imdiately slap her face and humiliate her? Do you think our Cooper Family is easy to bully?"
"Jenny, stop it," Ashley Hopper interrupted, feeling trapped between her husband’s family and her own.
"Sister, why shouldn’t I speak? Your mother-in-law is so high and mighty! On your very first day, she tried to intimidate you like this. If you tolerate it now, who knows how she’ll mistreat you in the future?"
Bryant Robertson shot to his feet, roaring, "How are we being high and mighty? How did my mom try to intimidate her? How is my mom mistreating her? You better explain yourself clearly!"
Jenny was the type who wouldn’t back down when she believed she was right. She was already harboring a bellyful of resentnt from not being able to go to the City Center. Now that soone had practically served themselves up for a tongue-lashing, she wasn’t about to be polite.
"Fine, I’ll make it crystal clear for you! Your mother thinks she’s all that just because she has a rich adopted daughter, right? Thinks she doesn’t need her son and daughter-in-law to support her anymore?
"Your own mother can’t stand staying in this small rural backwater! She’s planning to run off to her adopted daughter’s place in the City Center in a few days. If she hates this poor place so much, and I want to go to the city too, why am I the one everyone’s criticizing?
"I want a better life! I want to marry soone from the city! What’s so wrong with that? Why are you all ganging up on ?"
...
"And then there’s my brother! Here in Blackwood, reciprocal marriages are a tradition! You married my sister, so my brother wants to marry your sister. How exactly did that offend any of you? And you actually had the nerve to say he’s ’a toad lusting after swan at.’ Well, I spit on that! So your sister is a swan, and my brother is a toad? Is that how you insult people?"
Jenny’s words hit like machine gun fire. Rose Collins was incandescent with rage. She looked at the Hopper family, her heart growing cold. "Marvin, this is all my fault.
"One should marry a virtuous wife; it’s not sothing to be rushed. I didn’t dare to keep pressuring you to marry, and as a result, you’ve brought ho soone this... clueless."
"Mom, how can you say that about ?" Ashley Hopper retorted, indignant.
Rose Collins gave Ashley Hopper a disappointed look, felt there was nothing more to say to them, and turned to leave Bryant Robertson’s ho.
Seeing his mother go, Bryant Robertson also left with her.
Ashley Hopper was stunned. "Marvin, where are you going?"
"Clearly, we’re not cut from the sa cloth. I’m not part of your family! When the child is born, I’ll provide child support. As for the rest, do whatever you damn well please."
Ashley Hopper understood Bryant Robertson’s implication. "What are you saying? Are you planning to leave ?"
Jenny interjected, "If you want to divorce my sister, you have to compensate her! This three-story house will be hers too."
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