Grandma looked at Vera Xavier and nodded in satisfaction. "You’re such a gracious and kind child. The more you act this way, the more we feel we can’t let you suffer this injustice. Your father, your grandfather, and I just discussed it, and we’ve decided to send Cara back to the Xavier Family."
Vera Xavier was a little surprised. ’After all, in my past life, the Preston Family never even suggested sending Cara back to the Xaviers. This life is truly different from my last one.’
She said softly, "Cara grew up here and is very close to Mom. I’m afraid Mom will never agree to let her go."
At Vera’s words, Grandma frowned. Just then, Rona Langdon walked in, helping Cara Preston.
The mont Rona Langdon returned, she pointed at Vera Xavier and snapped, "You’ve gone too far today! You knew Cara was coming, so you deliberately hid from her. You wanted her to fall in the water, didn’t you?"
Grandma’s temper flared, and she shot back, "What? So if you know soone is trying to push you into the water, you’re not allowed to get out of the way? Rona Langdon, where did you learn that kind of reasoning?"
Rona Langdon’s face flushed beet red. "Mom, you’re favoring Vera Xavier too much! She’s rotten to the core! The way I see it, she and Aaron Cheney cooked this up together. Their goal was to fra my Cara!"
Grandma snorted. "Rona Langdon, you’re hopelessly biased! Even if Vera and Aaron Cheney did set this up, would Cara have fallen in if she hadn’t been trying to kick Vera into the pond in the first place?"
"Grandma, I wasn’t trying to push my sister in," Cara Preston said pitifully. "I was just playing a joke on her. That Aaron Cheney... he’s lying!"
She had fallen into the water and still hadn’t changed out of her wet clothes. Her lips were purple from the cold, her face was ashen, and she suddenly let out a massive sneeze.
Rona Langdon complained, "Mom, you all ca back ahead of us, and you didn’t even heat up so water for Cara to take a bath? She’ll catch a chill at this rate!"
Grandma sneered. "This is the countryside. We don’t have showers, only a big, filthy bathtub. I was worried soone might turn their nose up at it."
Cara Preston had once spent a few days of a sumr vacation at Grandma’s and had been endlessly critical of the bathing arrangents. After that, she simply stopped coming altogether.
Rona Langdon’s expression turned sour. "Mom, you hold such a grudge. That was years ago, and you still rember it."
"Shut up!" Zachary Preston finally snapped, unable to listen anymore. "Is that any way to speak to Mom?"
Rona Langdon bit her lip. Ultimately, she didn’t dare say anything more in front of Zachary Preston and went to heat up water for Cara’s bath.
Zachary Preston said in a grim voice, "I’ve made a decision about what happened today. Since Cara can’t seem to coexist with Vera, and since she was never our child to begin with, I’m going to send her back. Cara, go change your clothes. I’ll take you back in a bit."
Cara Preston’s face filled with astonishnt. ’Go back to the countryside? Do farm work every day, with no showers and no pretty clothes to wear? Absolutely not!’
She imdiately burst into tears. "Dad, are you getting rid of ? I’ve been by your side since I was a little girl. In my heart, I’ve always thought of you as my real father!"
"I won’t allow it!" Rona Langdon cried, panicking. "I raised Cara with my own two hands since she was a little girl! If you send her away, you might as well be taking my life! Are you trying to drive this mother and her daughter to an early grave?"
In her panic, not daring to throw too big of a tantrum, she resorted to the old tricks she used to get her way as a child. Hugging Cara Preston, she plopped right down on the floor. "If you send Cara away today, I’ll kill myself right here!"
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