Chapter 217 Teaching The Clintons A Lesson
Oscar’s heart skipped a beat, but instead of doing as instructed, he hugged Amelia even tighter.
“I-I can explain, Amelia. It’s not what you think it is,” Oscar stammered. He had a sneaking suspicion that if he didn’t clear things up with Amelia, their relationship would never be the same again. Worst of all, she might never trust him again.
He had been through so much before he realized his feelings for Amelia. There was no way he was going to let a misunderstanding ruin what he had painstakingly built.
Amelia continued to ignore Oscar and stared at the ground. “Put me down, Mr. Clinton.”
Seeing how stubborn and standoffish she was, Oscar had no choice but to give in to her request.
Olivia glanced at Amelia sheepishly as she tried to find the right words to defuse the situation. “Amelia, this isn’t what you think it is. I’m not trying to hide the truth from you, nor am I deliberately covering up for Stephanie. But she’s still my daughter, and regardless of what she has done, I can’t bear to send her to prison. Now that you’ve found out the truth, I feel just as guilty. Please believe me when I say I’m only doing this for both you and Stephanie. It pains me to see either of you hurt.”
After hearing those words, Amelia felt even more overwhelmed with conflicting emotions.
She knew where Olivia was coming from, but that didn’t make understanding it any less difficult. And she could never accept the fact that Stephanie had single-handedly plotted the accident.
Stephanie’s lips curled with disdain as she said, “Mom, why do you even bother to explain to a nobody like her? So what if I plotted the accident? Guess what, Amelia? Even if you and your son had perished in it, this family would still have done everything in their power to protect me.”
Amelia was so overwhelmed by emotions that she laughed out loud bitterly.
Oscar’s face had taken upon itself an even graver expression as he warned, “Stephanie Clinton, if you so much as to say another word, I’ll make sure you never return to our family.”
Knowing her brother was a man of his word, Stephanie kept quiet.
“Stephanie, it’s true that I can’t do anything to you with the Clintons protecting you,” Amelia remarked as she glowered at Stephanie. “But from on, I’ll no longer treat you as my sister-in-law. No matter what happens to you in the future, I won’t get involved, and neither will I help.”
Stephanie was completely unbothered by Amelia’s threat. However, she had no idea that this would come back and bite her in the future. There would be such a day when she found herself having to beg Amelia for help, and Amelia, true to her words, would turn a deaf ear to Stephanie’s pleas.
Olivia furrowed her brows and tried to coax Amelia, “Don’t be like this, Amelia. You and Stephanie are both my favorites. You two…”
“Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to make peace with Stephanie,” Amelia interrupted with a bitter laugh. “It’s been five years, and I’ve done everything I can to please her. But when has she ever appreciated it? You’ve also witnessed for yourself how she doesn’t give a toss about me. If it had only been me who got injured in the accident, I could still be a saint about it and forgive her. But did she care that I was pregnant? Tony almost lost his life because of her. I can never, ever, forgive her for that.”
Olivia tried to reach out to hold Amelia, only to have Amelia swiftly avoid her.
“Mom, I’m tired. I’m going up to rest,” Amelia said with her eyes downcast.
“Amelia, you—”
“All right, I’ll be going now.”
As Amelia made her way up the stairs, she bumped into Tiffany, who had seen and heard everything. When their gazes met, Amelia’s eyes flashed with indignance.
Feeling sorry for her friend, Tiffany returned her gaze with an equally pained expression.
Oscar tossed another glare toward Stephanie before following Amelia upstairs.
As she saw how defeated Amelia looked, Stephanie couldn’t help but break into a smile.
The method that Cassie taught her had paid off well. By sowing discord, she could already see cracks forming in Amelia and Oscar’s relationship. With her plan off to a good start, Stephanie knew that as long as she continued to put in the effort, it’d only be a matter of time before she drove Amelia out of the Clintons.
Just as Stephanie was still feeling smug about herself, she felt another slap on her face.
Clutching her cheek, Stephanie looked at her mother in bewilderment. “Mom, why did you hit me?”
“Look what you’ve done, Stephanie! Are you happy now?” Olivia cried out, feeling even more disappointed in her daughter than before.
Before Stephanie could reply, Olivia had marched away in a huff.
Owen’s face was clouded with sadness as he gazed at his daughter. “Stephanie, why did you have to ruin the relationship you have with your brother? Your mother and I have tried so hard to cover this up for you and are even sending you away so you can learn to be independent. We’ve done so much for you, yet you don’t seem to appreciate any of it. As for what you’ve done today, I don’t even know where to begin. You’re on your own now.”
With that said, Owen turned and made his way upstairs.
Stephanie was now all alone in the hall, speechless and confused.
I did all these to get Amelia out and bring peace back to our family. I just want the best for us. What’s wrong with that?
Frustrated with the way her family was treating her but not knowing what else to do, Stephanie decided to return to her room.
Meanwhile, Tiffany had escorted Amelia into Tony’s nursery and stood at the door, blocking Oscar from entering. “Mr. Clinton, I think it’d be best if you slept alone tonight.”
Oscar frowned as he replied, “Let me in.”
“Mr. Clinton, after what your sister has done, do you think Amelia’s in the mood to see you?”
Oscar fell silent. Deep down, he knew Tiffany was right.
“Amelia’s your wife, Mr. Clinton. And now she has Tony too. As her best friend, all I want is for her to be happy. She loves you, so I won’t persuade her to leave you. But please, let me talk to her first. You going in now is going to make her clam up even more. If you trust me, please leave.”
Oscar gazed steadily at Tiffany, only to have her stare back with a firm, unwavering expression.
After about ten seconds, Oscar finally gave in. “Fine. Help me look after her. And please, tell her I do care about her. The only reason I didn’t tell her the truth was so she wouldn’t overthink and get upset.”
Tiffany merely nodded and reassured him with an “OK” gesture.
After taking another look inside the room, Oscar sighed and walked away reluctantly.
Tiffany closed the door and gingerly made her way toward her friend. Ever since stepping into the nursery, all Amelia had done was gaze at Tony sleeping soundly in his crib.
Tiffany felt a tinge of sadness well up in her as she tried to comfort Amelia. “Babe, cheer up. It’s Tony’s welcome baby party today. Let’s not imagine things, okay?”
Amelia caressed Tony’s fingers as she muttered, “Tiff, it hurts. I never thought Stephanie would harbor so much hate for me. She hired someone to knock me down and almost caused me to miscarry. I’ve always told myself to put up with her tantrums, but who knew she’d go to such extremes? Even just talking about it makes me shudder. How can she not care about her nephew’s life?”
Tiffany pulled Amelia into a tight hug and gently consoled her with a reassuring touch.
“Babe, let’s not overthink it. It’s her loss for not liking you.”
Amelia shook her head, her emotions running even wilder by the second. “Tiff, I can’t get over this. Even if she’s Oscar’s sister, there’s no way I can forgive her. And neither can I stop this growing hatred I have for her. Tony and I barely made it out of the accident, yet the Clintons are still protecting her unconditionally. If we had died, would Stephanie still be able to get away with it scot-free? Do you know how angry this makes me? I wish she’d get into an accident so she can have a taste of her own medicine.”
Tiffany cleared her throat nervously before replying, “All right, let’s not say things like that. You and Tony are very blessed and loved. Especially Tony—this little guy’s going to grow into a handsome man.
No matter how hard Amelia tried, she couldn’t even manage a chuckle.
“Tiff, who do you think Oscar values more? Tony and I, or Stephanie?”
What Amelia had asked was very much like the age-old question of who would one save if one’s mother and lover fell into the water at the same time.
It may sound simple, but it had stumped many people before.
“Come on, babe. It’s so unlike you to ask such a question,” Tiffany teased, trying to lighten the mood. Alas, Amelia fell to her knees as gut-wrenching sobs tore through her chest.
Flustered, Tiffany clumsily wiped the tears off Amelia’s face and tried to calm her down. “Amelia, why are you crying? It’s not worth wasting your energy on someone like her. There, there, stop crying. If you continue to, I wouldn’t know what else to do.”
Amelia stopped crying after a while, her makeup completely ruined from her river of tears.
As they sat on the floor, Tiffany decided to cut to the chase. “What are you going to do about Oscar? Are you going to leave him because of that piece of sh*t Stephanie?”
Amelia shook her head, knowing full well that Oscar wasn’t to blame. If she were in his shoes, she could only see herself severing ties with her sibling. Even she felt that it would be too heartless to send a sibling into jail.
“I’ve never thought about divorcing Oscar. It just makes me upset to see him tolerating Stephanie, so I’m going to need some time to get over it. Every time I think about how I could’ve lost Tony in the accident, it fills my heart with fear and hatred. I don’t understand why Stephanie hates me so much that she could hire someone to finish me off. In my opinion, you can hate someone however much you like, but you should never hurt an innocent child. And besides, the child we’re talking about is her nephew! How can she bear to lay her hands on him?”
The more Tiffany heard, the angrier she felt.
“She’s been spoiled by her parents her entire life, so of course, she can’t stand anyone going against her. And with others instigating her, it doesn’t surprise me that she did something so vile. You know what? I think the instigator is either someone from the Yard family or Cassie herself. The Yards have truly put in a lot of effort to ruin your relationship with the Clintons.”
Upon hearing that, a hint of resentment flashed in Amelia’s eyes.
“As long as I’m in the Clintons, Cassie can give up all hope on coming anywhere near Oscar.”
“Yes! That’s the spirit! As the Clintons’ daughter-in-law, your status isn’t beneath that of the Yards’. So what if your family background isn’t a fancy one? What matters is how people value your position in the Clintons. Who’s going to care about where you come from or what your family does?” Tiffany exclaimed.
After hearing Tiffany’s words, Amelia felt considerably better.
“Babe, don’t worry. Tomorrow I’ll teach her a lesson she’ll never forget. It’s what she deserves for being a bully.”
“Oh, no. Don’t do that, Tiff,” Amelia said with a frown. “This grudge is between Stephanie and me. I don’t want to drag you into the mess. More importantly, I don’t want to have Dad and Mom think badly of you. No matter what, Stephanie is still the Clintons’ only daughter. Compared to her, we’re merely outsiders.”
With the emphasis on the last word, it was evident that Amelia had come to a realization.
She knew that no matter how much Olivia doted on her, she could never measure up to Stephanie, who was Olivia’s flesh and blood.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be very discreet. I promise you, no one will ever find out. If we don’t teach Stephanie a lesson, she’s going to think she’s some bigshot to whom everyone has to give in to,” Tiffany replied with a snarl.
After a pause, Tiffany added, “That said, I don’t think you should forgive the Clintons anytime soon. We can’t have them thinking you’re a pushover. Why don’t you pack up tomorrow and bring Tony along to stay with me? You can return when they’ve apologized to you. You have to be firm with your principles and not easily give in to them. It’s about time they realize you’re a strong and clever woman and not one for them to lead by the nose.”
Without even giving it much thought, Amelia nodded.
Tiffany smiled, relieved that Amelia took up her suggestion so readily.
“Babe, follow my instructions tomorrow. Our family backgrounds may not be as illustrious as theirs, but that doesn’t mean we should let them have their way. We have to show them we aren’t pushovers. If they want their daughter-in-law and grandson back, they’ll have to take sides. If they continue to condone Stephanie’s actions, then you’ll gradually lose your say in the Clintons despite being their daughter-in-law.”
Amelia stayed silent, but everything that Tiffany said had resonated with her.
“Thank you, Tiff! No matter what happens in life, you’re the only one who’s always by my side.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t mention it. I think our friendship is already past that point.”
Amelia finally smiled, looking a lot cheerier than before.
