Chapter 38 Hubert's Suggestion
Then Teresa replied to Leila that she would love to go over to dinner with Hubert in the evening.
After Teresa ended the call with Leila, Hubert asked, "You and the rest of the Heller family are not getting along?"
"No."
Teresa didn't hide or lie. She said, "My parents were both killed in a car accident when I was ten years old. And no one from my dad's family, nor my mom's family wanted to take care of me and Leila."
"But when we got my parents' compensation, they all showed up and demanded to take a share. Those uncles had no right to take a share. So, they instigated their parents to ask for money from us. My father was the fourth kid. My grandparents didn't care much for him. They like those uncles better."
"Seeing the compensation was a lot, in order to take more money, they agreed that they wouldn't need anything from me and Leila later. They took away $100,000 and signed an agreement. My parents had built a two-story house just before they passed away. And my shameless grandparents moved in, saying that when my parents were gone, the house was theirs."
"They said that Leila and I were girls and would get married when we grow up. So, our parents' house and land shouldn't be inherited by us. We were young back then. We had no one to rely on. So, the house was occupied by my grandparents. We only went back to stay for the long holiday in school. And those relatives never gave us a good attitude, as we were going back to take away the house from them."
"Leila said that the real estate license for that house is under my parents' name. And when the two old people are dead, we will sue them and get our house back. We won't let those uncles get our house."
Hubert said, "If you are going to sue them, I'm willing to help. I have many lawyers acquaintances."
He got a big legal department at the Donovan Group.
Teresa was grateful. "I'll come to you if I need your help then."
It looked like her grandparents would probably be around for a few more years.
And when she was going to sue them, she was not sure if she and Hubert were still married.
"Didn't your mother's family ever stand up for you?"
Generally speaking, maternal grandparents would love their daughter's kids more.
Teresa said astringently, "My mother's life was hard. She was adopted. And she had been given away to many different families before she was adopted by her adoptive parents. She was not their biological daughter. To them, my mother's death was a loss. They raised her. But they hadn't gotten anything back from her yet."
"They took $80,000 from the compensation and only left $20,000 for Leila and me. Who would think of us? Who would stand up for us? They all wanted the biggest interest for themselves. If not for the village administrators still had some conscience and declined their original proposal, my sister and I might not have a penny left."
Thinking of the past, Teresa turned her face away. She looked out the window. Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.
Fifteen years had passed. But she couldn't let go of it.
Her mother was adopted. So, she would let go if her mother's family wanted the best interest for themselves. But her father was a member of the Heller family by blood. But his family didn't have any family love for him at all.
After a while, Teresa calmed down. She said lightly, "Now that Astra is sick. Oliver said it is early-stage liver cancer. He said that they would send her to come to the hospital in the city. Oliver actually has the nerve to call me and ask me to make arrangements for them."
"And he asked me to pay for the medical expenses. Everyone knows that the money for cancer treatment will be a lot. Even if I had money, I wouldn't pay for her bill. They treated me and Leila so badly back then, I wouldn't be willing to pay the money."
"At best, I would give her two hundred dollars for some good food. And that's the best I can do."
Hubert said genteelly in a deep voice, "If you still feel aggrieved, do not give a penny. They won't be grateful to you if you give them money. And they will only accuse you of being stingy and unfilial. If you give more money, you will feel aggrieved. Since they won't treat you nicely, there's no need for you to do anything good for them reluctantly.
"They can talk about whatever they want. But they should pay for their bad deeds. Don't be morally abducted by them."
Hubert, who runs the big Donovan Group, certainly has a tough mind.
He thought Teresa shouldn't spend a penny on them.
Because she would be accused of being unfilial and ungrateful no matter whether she paid or not. So, he thought she had better not spend a penny on them.
When Leila and Teresa were both underaged, their relatives were cruel enough to leave them alone. Those shameless relatives not only took away the most of the compensation, but also occupied Teresa and Leila's real estate. The two girls would have an even harder life if it wasn't for Leila's timely arrangement.
Teresa thought Hubert had a point. And after thinking about it, she said, "Mr. Donovan, you're right. I'll listen to you. I won't pay a penny, no matter what they say about me."
They were not afraid of what people would talk about them when they did those horrible and shameless things.
What was she afraid of?
Whoever dare to say to her that Astra and Robert were old, or dare to say that she shouldn't be so harsh to her own grandparents, she would absolutely tell those people a good lesson. Whoever said that should have gone through what she had been through. If they still have the same saying and attitude toward those shameless relatives then, they might have the right to accuse her.
Without the same suffering, no one had the right to advise another person to be nice.
What she hated most was using the general moral standers to accuse others.
Soon, Hubert sent Teresa to the entrance of Watenll City School.
At this point, the students were already in the classroom. The shops near the school entrance were not busy at this time.
Gwendolyn was sitting at the cashier's desk playing with her phone. When she saw Hubert drop Teresa off, she got up and walked out.
"Mr. Donovan."
Gwendolyn said hello to Hubert.
Hubert didn't get out of the car. He just rolled down the window and swept a few glances at the store. Hearing Jayne's greeting, he nodded and forced himself to raise a smile in response to Jayne's greeting.
"Go ahead to your work. Send me a message when you get to the office."
"Okay."
Hubert nodded at the two girls and rolled up the window. He changed direction and drove away.
"Where's your electric bike?"
Gwendolyn asked in a teasing tone, "Or is your husband going to drive you to work from now on? I can see that you two are getting along quite well."
"Well, it's not bad."
When he did not touch her bottom line and she didn't seek him for trouble, they were getting along well.
"My electric bike suddenly stopped running last night. I don't know why. Luckily, I met your cousin. Ezra helped me find someone to take it for repair. And then he sent me home. I should invite him for a meal sometime. You should come too."
"It's not a big deal. You don't have to do that."
"Although it was a little favor, he helped me. I have to buy him a decent meal to repay his favor."
Gwendolyn wanted to say something to refuse. But then she realized that Teresa was married. Although Ezra was her cousin and she was Teresa's best friend, it was right not to owe anyone too much favor. So, she said, "Well, sure. Just tell me when you have done the arrangement. I will definitely go with you. I'd love to be a company for meals that I don't need to pay for."