Filed To Story: The Scarlet Vengeance: Justice of a Framed Beauty Novel (Grace & Jason)
“If… it’s just me being presumptuous, then Mr. Reed can just treat it as a joke.” Nancy tried to remain calm.
After a moment, Mick’s voice sounded in the lounge, “You’re not being presumptuous. I did intend to help you apply the medicine.”
Huh?
Nancy stared at him in a daze for a while before hoarsely saying, “Then I’ll do it myself.”
As she spoke, she reached out to take the ointment from Mick’s hand.
But Mick didn’t seem to want to give it to her. “What if I insist on helping you apply it?”
She bit her lip and her eyelashes trembled slightly before slowly lowering her eyes. “Then I’ll trouble Mr.
Reed.”
She looked completely obedient and respectful.
Mick raised an eyebrow slightly, seeming a little surprised by her obedience.
He applied the ointment to her swollen check with his fingers.
It was strange that he was giving medicine to someone outside of his family for the first time.
Even though she was a stranger, he still did this kind of thing.
Was it because this woman always got slapped in front of him but never asked for help, that made him so impressed?
Or was it because the swelling on her face was so glaring that he wanted to give her medicine?
“Do you want me to help you?” he suddenly spoke up.
Nancy was stunned, “What?”
“I can help you, so your sister won’t dare to treat you like this again,” he said.
“Why do you want to help me?” Nancy was puzzled.
“No reason, you can just think of me as having a moment of kindness,” Mick said.
Of course, for him, it was indeed a moment of kindness. In the past, he had never shown such kindness to a stranger.
Nancy was silent for a moment and said, “Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Reed, but it’s not necessary.”
Her refusal made Mick’s face slightly sink, “Nancy, my kindness is not something that happens often.”
“I know, Mr. Reed, but I really don’t need it,” Nancy said calmly,
“Relying on others for help is only temporary, not permanent. I would rather rely on myself to solve the problems between me and my sister.”
Mick stared at the person in front of him, “Is that so? Alright, I understand. Nancy, my kindness to you is only this once, and there won’t be any more in the future. Take care of yourself!”
After speaking, he left the lounge on his own.
Nancy looked at the ointment left on the coffee table and the places on her face where it had been applied, as if… there was still a lingering sensation where his fingers had touched her cheek just now!
Thinking of this, her face suddenly became hot, even hotter than when she was hit earlier.
Kindness… people like Mick, even if they do have a moment of kindness, it’s only temporary.
And once someone becomes too dependent on others for help, they will gradually become unable to break free from this dependence, just like her mother…
Thinking of her mother, Nancy’s heart sank again.
Although she had moved out of the Schultz family, her mother was still there, which meant that she couldn’t completely cut ties with the Schultz family.
Today, Clarissa lost face in front of Mick, and when she returns to the Schultz family, she might take her anger out on her mother.
Although her stepfather had a good relationship with her mother, this relationship was nowhere near as strong as his love for Clarissa, his own daughter.
Therefore, even when Clarissa yelled at her mother, acted unreasonably, and even resorted to physical violence, Francis would turn a blind eye.
Nancy couldn’t help but worry.
The next day, she took some time to visit the Schultz family.
As soon as she entered the house, she saw her mother’s face swollen and even had gauze taped to the corner of her eye.
“Mom, what happened?” Nancy hurriedly ran up and asked, “What happened to your face?”
“It’s nothing, I accidentally bumped into something,” Eileen avoided her daughter’s gaze.
Nancy felt a bitter taste in her heart.
This kind of injury was not caused by herself, but… by being beaten.
“Did Clarissa hit you?” Nancy asked.
“No… you’re thinking too much!” Eileen quickly denied, “She…
she never hit me. Just avoid her when you see her at the hotel, so she won’t get angry. She’s interested in the young master of the Reed family, so don’t get too close to him and let her misunderstand.”
Seeing her mother’s submissive appearance, Nancy felt even more pain in her heart.
Since her mother married into the Schultz family, although they were financially secure, this security was obtained through repeated mental humiliation.
Sometimes, she would rather live a poor life with her mother, at least they were happy back then.
“Nancy, promise Mom that you won’t have anything to do with that young master of the Reed family anymore, okay! That’s the man Clarissa likes. If you want to fight for him, have you ever thought about how sad and upset Clarissa would be? Have you ever thought about the impact on the Schultz family?”
“Mom, I haven’t!” Nancy said, “I don’t know what Clarissa has told you, but I really don’t have anything with that young master of the Reed family.”
“Then swear to Mom that you won’t fight with Clarissa for any man or anything else. Without the
Schultz family, we would still be living in a broken little house after all these years. How could we have such a good life now?” Eileen said.
Nancy smiled bitterly. A good life… was it really a good life?
She understood that her mother might have been scared of poverty before, so… she thought it was a good life, but it really wasn’t for her!
“Mom, if one day, I really fall in love with a man, but Clarissa also likes him, do you want me to give up?” Nancy said.
“Of course!” Eileen said without hesitation.
Nancy’s smile became more bitter. “Why, why do you want me to keep giving in? From childhood to now, no matter how Clarissa hits me, scolds me, humiliates me, I always give in because you said that the Schultz family is raising me, and Clarissa is the true lady of the Schultz family, so I should give in.”
She took a deep breath and looked firmly at her mother. “But… just because I keep giving in doesn’t mean I have no bottom line. Mom, I am also a person with emotions and thoughts. I am not an object, let alone a slave of the Schultz family!”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t you have any sense of gratitude?” Eileen said.
“Then how long do I have to show my gratitude? Do I have to give my life to the Schultz family?” Nancy said sadly.
A hint of heartache flashed across Eileen’s face.
She knew her daughter’s pain all too well.
However, her husband loved Clarissa the most, his biological daughter. Although Clarissa was the nominal lady of the Schultz family, she had always relied on her husband financially.
Every month, she only received some pocket money from her husband.
If she left the Schultz family, what kind of job could she do at her age after years of living a comfortable life?
As for her daughter, she was only working in a hotel and not earning much.
Therefore, she just hoped to endure and let herself and her daughter live a slightly better life in the
Schultz family. What’s wrong with that?
Just as the mother and daughter were facing each other, suddenly another voice echoed in the hall of the Schultz family.
“Who do I see coming back? It’s my sister!” Clarissa said sarcastically.
Nancy took a deep breath and turned to Clarissa. “I just came to see my mom and I’m leaving soon.”
After speaking, Nancy was ready to leave.
Upon seeing this, Clarissa immediately stood in front of Nancy and said, “Where do you think you’re going? You were so pleased with yourself after watching the play yesterday. Who do you think you are?
Do you really think Mick would be interested in you?”
Nancy was about to retort, but seeing the worried look on her mother’s face, she swallowed her words and said, “I didn’t watch any play, and Mick and I have no relationship. Can I leave now?”
However, her words were obviously useless. Clarissa didn’t move aside and said, “If there’s no relationship, then why did Mick speak up for you? Nancy, do you really think you’re a Miss of the
Schultz family just because your mother married into it? You’re just a dog of our Schultz family. Do you think Mick would be interested in a dog?”
The merciless insult made Nancy’s eyes turn cold. “Clarissa, I never thought of becoming a Miss of the
Schultz family. I don’t know if Mick likes me, but at least I know he won’t like you!”
This sentence obviously provoked Clarissa. She raised her hand and slapped Nancy.
Nancy took the slap head-on.
Actually, she could have dodged, but she didn’t choose to. She knew that if she dodged, her mother would be the one to take the hit.
She shouldn’t have impulsively retorted just now. Maybe if she had endured it, it would have passed.
But after the slap, Clarissa became even more ruthless. She directly slapped Nancy several times and even kicked her to the ground.
It hurt!
The feeling of pain spread throughout her body, but Nancy told herself to endure it!
If she didn’t endure it, then her mother would have to endure the pain.
Eileen saw this scene and could only plead with Clarissa, “Clarissa… please don’t hit Nancy anymore.
Whatever she did wrong, I’ll make her compensate you!”
“So what if I want to hit her? Since she’s a dog, she should recognize her own identity!” Clarissa said fiercely.