Chapter 75 Terrible Relatives Coming to Door
Back at the store, Teresa found Ezra was also there. With a smile, she greeted him and asked, "Ezra, you're not working today?"
With adoration hidden in his eyes, Ezra looked at her and replied, "I worked overtime last night, so I can go to work late today."
"How come you come so late today?"
Ezra sounded casual but was trying to probe the current situation between Teresa and her husband.
According to Gwen, Teresa's husband contributed to solving the trending topic issue. He had gone to her hometown and collected evidence with her. Teresa was very grateful for his help.
Ezra thought to himself. He had also wanted to help, but she hadn't given him a chance. He had called her the other day, but she hadn't answered her phone.
He had only received a message later that said she was fine.
"I ran into a lady in distress on the road. I helped her out and thus came late. It smells so good. Gwen, what are you eating?"
Teresa was going to sit at the cashier's desk when she smelled an aroma and headed to the small kitchen instead.
Following behind her, Ezra itched to catch up and hold her. Only he didn't dare to do that. His decency forbade him to be so reckless. That was called molestation.
Love called for respect. He had to suppress the urge to get close to her, hold her, and even kiss her because she was married.
It broke his heart to think about that. Teresa just saw him as a brother and had never considered marrying him.
"I brought Gwen and you some food."
Gwendolyn gave no response. It was Ezra who told her.
He brought them breakfast. The Porter family was a rich one. The chef at their house used to work in a five-star hotel. His cooking skills were amazing. They had known each other since their childhood, so he knew the preferences of the two ladies.
"The gourmet's luck."
Teresa happily enjoyed the delicacies with her friend.
They ate it with relish. Ezra watched and could not help smiling.
"Teresa."
Ezra asked with a smile, "When is the convenient time for you to treat me to dinner?"
"Let's make it Saturday at noon. Got an idea of the restaurant? Gwen, you'll come along. There aren't many customers on weekends anyway. It's fine to have a day off. Eating out with us is better than staying at home and getting pressured by your mom to get married."
Gwendolyn readily agreed, "Okay."
She was indeed afraid that her parents would nag her on the weekend if she stayed at home.
Her mother had always wanted her to marry into a rich family and enjoy affluence as her aunt did. Gwendolyn found it hard to bear. Her dad, who was not that relentless, thought that it was better for her to marry a match.
"There is a restaurant next to Violet Café. The food there is not bad. Not upscale, it's affordable and popular among diners. After the meal, we can go next door to have coffee. Violet Café is the most high-end in the city."
Teresa had been to Violet Café with her friend who was having a blind date. In her view, the environment was quite good, but she hadn't paid attention to the store next door. Then again, this was Ezra's suggestion. She was more than glad to take it.
"Okay, it's a deal."
Teresa replied readily.
Ezra was satisfied.
He wished that Saturday would come sooner.
Several cars suddenly stopped at the entrance of the bookstore. Ezra said, "I'm going to take a look."
With that, he headed out.
He soon came back and said, "Teresa, those terrible relatives of yours are here."
Satiated, Teresa pulled out the tissue, wiped her mouth, and said, "It's okay. They won't scare me."
It was not surprising that they could find her.
The netizens had dug out the occupations of her uncles and cousins. They were doing quite well, and the matter had been on trending topics twice. It was easy to find her sister and her.
"Teresa."
The group of seven or eight people was led by Oliver. Dressed in brand clothes, each of them had car keys in his hand. From time to time, they ostentatiously shook the keys as if they were made of gold.
But they looked tired. It seemed that Teresa's countermeasures had given them a heavy blow, and the criticism from the angry netizens had overwhelmed them.
Teresa hadn't deliberately inquired about her grandmother's situation in the hospital, but there were people kindly telling her through messages that the old lady was not in peace. Many people had gone to the ward and criticized the grumpy old lady, and the latter had been pissed off.
These so-called filial sons and grandsons couldn't protect a patient in the hospital. What a joke!
"What a surprise! You're all here."
Her male cousins all arrived. Her female cousins hadn't come downtown but had spread false rumors on the internet too. Those unsuspecting netizens had been used as pawns. In short, in the big family, no one was on the side of Teresa and her sister.
Teresa walked to the cashier's desk and sat down in a chair. A set of tools and materials she had prepared were taken out. She started to weave a Malabar chestnut. Along with a fortune cat, this was what she had promised to give Hubert as a gift.
"I won't invite you to sit since there aren't so many stools. Go ahead with what you have to say. I'm listening."
Teresa said while weaving the craft. Her arrogant attitude pissed her cousins off.
After taking a few deep breaths, Oliver said gently, "Teresa, we are bound by blood. Our dads are siblings. Can you not be so ruthless? About that matter, it was our fault. We're sorry, but they are your grandparents too."
"They're too old to stand this. It's fine if you're reluctant to pay for Grandma's medical bills. We will split it, but you should at least go and visit her in the hospital. What you said on the internet made her upset. She has cried many times, and that will make her condition even worse."
"Delete that tweet, and this is it for the matter. We're a family. Won't it trouble your conscience to see us suffering?"
Teresa heard the man out, looked up at him, and said amusedly, "I have no hard feelings. I was stating the facts rather than making it up and slandering you."
"Visit grandma in the hospital? Actually, I wanted to visit her and give her some money. Of course, I would not pay for her medical bills. Over a decade ago, the two seniors said that they didn't need my sister and me to provide for them in their remaining years. My life is not easy, and I don't make a lot of money. After paying off the credit card each month, I don't have much money left."