Joel glanced at the two of them.Then, he lowered his gaze and said, "Granduncle Samuel, Grandaunt
Sue."
Sue had married into the family after Samuel's first wife passed away.
There was a shrewd and capable look in her eyes.
Her eyes, which had a lot of life in them, glanced at Joel.
Then, she smiled and said, "Joel, we haven't seen each other for so long! I heard that there was some
trouble at home, so Samuel and I immediately hurried over to visit you!"
Samuel let out a cold laugh.Sue immediately prodded his arm, stopping Samuel from speaking.She
looked at the two women in the living room.Then, she went forward, held Nora's hand enthusiastically,
and said, "You must be Nora, right? You look just like a Smith! You're so pretty! I heard you're engaged
to Mr.Hunt?"
She looked at Justin cheerfully.
Justin, who was unaware of all the inner workings of the family, nodded politely at her.
Before Nora could say anything, Sue took off the bangle on her hand and stuffed it into Nora's hand.
"Even though you've returned to the Smiths, Grandaunt Sue has nothing much she can give you.Here,
you can have some fun with this bangle for now!"
Nora:"??"
She narrowed her eyes slightly and pushed the bangle back to her.
"I can't take this.It's too expensive a gift"
"Aw” Sue said, "What's so valuable about this? I have a distant relative in this line of business who's
very knowledgeable about antiques!"
"Nora, I know there was a bit of a misunderstanding between you and Samuel previously, but we are all
Smiths here.We're all still connected to one another no matter what happens.You won't hold it against
him, right?"
Nora: Sue was simply too eloquent! She coughed.
Just as she was about to say something, Sue stuffed the bangle back into her hand and turned to
Tanya.
The look in her eyes wasn't that humble anymore.
She said with a smile, "You must be Mia's mom, the one caught up in all that drama recently, right?"
The children had already been taken upstairs to play when the two of them were coming in.
Justin didn't want to reveal too much about his children.
Seeing Sue looking at her, Tanya nodded.
"Yes"
"Tanya, right? I met you before when you were a child!"
Sue was very enthusiastic.She held her hand and said, "I was visiting the Joneses at that time.When
you were pouring us water, you accidentally broke the glasses, so your mom punished you by making
you kneel on the floor.You were only five then.You were so small and looked so pitiful kneeling there!"
Her words were rather discomfiting.
However, what she said next was even worse.
"Who would have thought that you would become Cinderella and give birth to Joel's child one day? A
child with a high status elevates their mother's status, indeed!"
Tanya:"???"
Nora:"???"
Everyone in the room could hear the disdain hidden in Sue' s words.
What did she mean by saying that Tanya's status had risen because she had given birth to Joel's
child?! She was clearly refusing to acknowledge Tanya's status! Who would bring up someone else's
humiliating childhood events in front of other people? The look in Nora's eyes turned cold, and she
threw the bangle onto the coffee table, producing a crisp clang.
However, it was as if Sue hadn't sensed anything at all.
She went on and said, "Joel, I heard that the two of you started dating in junior high and only broke up
when you graduated from college? To think the two of you can still get together even after five years of
separation...and that you can still hold your daughter in your arms.Tanya, you must feel very blissful to
be able to live in such a big house, right?"
The look in Tanya's eyes turned even colder.
She wanted to pull her hand out of the woman's grip, but Sue kept holding her hand tightly.
"People mustn't forget their roots .Tanya, it was the Joneses who fed you and brought you up.Now that
you have married into a rich family...let's not talk about repaying their kindness anymore, but at the very
least, you mustn't be an ingrate, right?"
Tanya narrowed her eyes.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say, Mrs.Smith."
Joel also got up abruptly.
His expression turned cold and he said, "Tanya, why don't you go upstairs and take a look at the child?
Mia seems to be calling out for you"
Then, he looked at Sue and said, "Grandaunt Sue, how rare of you to visit us today.If you have
something to say, then why don't you speak with me instead?"
Joel was still smiling, but he had completely unleashed his powerful aura.
Tanya breathed a sigh of relief.She didn't want to argue with people from the older generation of the
Smiths.
After all, it was very awkward for her to be living here at the moment.
She and Joel weren't married, but because she couldn't bear to be apart from her daughter—besides,
she had only just been reunited with her—she could only stay at the Smiths'.
It was very embarrassing for her every time the nannies addressed her as "Ms.Turner’'.
Yet she couldn't be so hypocritical as to bring up leaving.
Karl was still in New York.
What if Jill got him to send people to take revenge on her? At the very least, before the DNA report was
out, there was no way she could leave the Smith manor.
However, in the eyes of outsiders, her actions were no different from how Hillary had so shamelessly
insisted on living with the Smiths back then.
Some people would undoubtedly look down on her! They would think of her as someone clinging
shamelessly to the Smiths as if what she was interested in was Joel's money.She couldn't be bothered
to explain, though.She stood up and got ready to go upstairs.
However, before she could go, Samuel let out a "hmph", looked at Joel, and said, "What's the problem,
Joel? Is your grandaunt not allowed to chastise your woman even a little?"
Joel's expression turned cold at once.
"Granduncle Samuel, perhaps it's because I haven't done the proper introductions yet, but Tanya is my
fiancee! She is also the future matriarch of the Smiths! May I know what Grandaunt Sue is planning to
lecture her about?"
Who would dare to lecture the matriarch of the family?! The only reason why they had the audacity to
go this far right now was that he and Tanya weren't married yet! Joel found Samuel very annoying and
bothersome, but unfortunately, he was the oldest in the family, so he couldn't casually refuse him an
audience or drive him out! When he said that, Samuel laughed and said, "Joel, you must be kidding,
right? Her? What gives her the right to be the matriarch of the Smiths? I was already disapproving of
your engagement to Hillary Jones back then.The Joneses are just a small nobody family.How can they
be worthy of you? Even the mention of it is an embarrassment to the Smiths! "
I was even thinking of introducing you to someone of suitable and matching status when you broke off
your engagement with her, but I didn't expect you to find yourself another woman with an even worse
background!
"The one from the Joneses is at least the young mistress of their family, but what about this one? She's
just extra baggage that that woman from the Joneses brought with her when she married into the
family!”
"Is there anyone who doesn't know that the Joneses have never liked her throughout her entire life?
On top of that, she has such a weird temperament that even her own mother loathes her.How can such
an unruly person be the matriarch of the Smiths?!"
Sue echoed him, "He's right, Joel.You'd better not let her trick you and talk you into being impulsive.If
you marry her, you will end up a joke in all the wealthy circles in New York! I'm saying this for your own
good.No one will say anything if you keep her as your mistress and have some fun with her, but you
have to be careful about who you give the identity of the matriarch of the Smiths to! I have someone
whom I can introduce to you.Not only does she have a good personality, but she also has a good
character.Why don't I introduce the two of you to each other?"
Seeing how they were crossing the line further and further with their words, the cold Joel said, "I
haven't reached the point where I need other people to dictate who I should be choosing as my
wife.Besides, Uncle lan has already approved of Tanya."
lan held great authority in the Smiths.
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