-“Well…” The staff member was at a loss for words at that moment.
Cody wasn’t a man they could mess with, but Andy wasn’t someone they could mess with either! One
way or another, the staff member would have to offend one of the men. What was he supposed to do?
“Fine. I know I’m putting you in a tough position by telling you to offend Mr. Nixon. I bet you don’t want
to do it. But rules are rules—since this person isn’t a member of the Calligraphy Association, you will
have to put the piece aside for now. You can store it somewhere else and take it out to put it in one of
the display cabinets once the artist receives her ranking. What do you think?” Tiana tried to come up
with a solution.
“That’s right, Miss Hill! That’s the perfect solution! Thank you for that idea!” The staff member nodded
before shutting the door to the display cabinet and storing the piece elsewhere. Cody didn’t want to
start any further conflicts, so he kept quiet and walked off. After they were a distance away, Cody
whispered a reminder into Tiana’s ear. “That old man, Andy, thinks he’s better than me and always tries
to step all over me in the association. So, Tiana, you’ll have to defend my reputation in the upcoming
Calligraphy Competition. You have to defeat that student of his! What was her name? Elise? Crush
her!”
Cody and Andy had never gotten along with one another—everyone in the association knew about it.
So, when Tiana didn’t respond to Cody after a long period of silence, Cody stopped in his tracks before
turning around to question her. “Tiana? Didn’t you hear what I said?”
She hadn’t been paying attention to his words and only returned to her senses when she heard her
name. “What? Oh. Yeah. Don’t worry about it, Mr. Carlson. I’ll definitely try my best.” However, she only
said those words to please Cody. Deep down, she had no confidence at all. Previously, when Tiana
heard that Elise had gotten into the finals, she had assumed that Elise wouldn’t be a threat to her.
But after hearing that Andy had rated Elise’s work as an S-Class piece, she lost her cool. Something
always goes wrong when I encounter Elise. Elise might not be better than me at drawing, but I’m sure
her calligraphy skills must be good if she received Andy’s approval. Will this incident be a repeat of
what happened during National Goddess? Is Elise going to be a dark horse who overtakes me once
more?! No. I have to find a way to win the title as the champion of the Calligraphy Competition. I can’t
always be in second place!
…
One morning, Elise was still fast asleep when the sound of a door knock awakened her. She turned
around and shoved her head under her sheets to pretend that she couldn’t hear anything. Alexander
was the one who got out of bed to open the door. Moments later, she heard his muffled voice. “Mom?”
Mom? Elise widened her eyes—she no longer felt sleepy at that moment. Whose mom is it? Is it
Jeanie, or… Elise pulled her sheets aside and sat upright to see Madeline dressed in a bright-colored
outfit.
When Madeline saw Elise’s messy hair, she knitted her brows in displeasure. Elise hastily lifted her
hand to comb her fingers through her messy hair. “What are you doing here?” Alexander hadn’t
expected Madeline to show up out of nowhere.
“This is my son’s house, isn’t it? Can’t I be here?” Madeline seemed to have forgotten everything that
happened in the past as she stuck her chest up and straightened her figure. “I’ve already prepared
breakfast. Come down and eat with me now.” Upon finishing her words, Madeline gave Elise a
thoughtful look before turning and heading downstairs.
Alexander shut the door before exchanging glances with Elise. He shrugged with a helpless look on his
face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would be here. You can continue sleeping—I’ll go down on my own,”
he offered.
“Forget it.” Elise sighed as she got out of bed and walked toward the washroom. Her voice was weak
as she shuffled her feet. “The ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her mother-in-law eventually. We can’t
avoid each other forever.” After they washed up, Alexander led her downstairs.
They were halfway down the stairs when they saw a slender figure sitting on the couch in the hall. It
was a conservative and intellectual-looking woman with glasses resting on her nose’s bridge.
The woman stood up when she heard footsteps, and she gave them a bow as her form of greeting.
Both Alexander and Elise froze for a moment before they nodded in response. When they got to the
dining table, Madeline was already in her seat. Alexander pulled the chair further away from Madeline
for Elise to take a seat before he took the spot next to Madeline.
They had just gotten seated when Madeline pulled out a jewelry box from her bag. She pushed it to
Alexander with an arrogant look on her face. Alexander was confused by her actions at first, but he
opened it to find a jade bracelet that had been passed down from the previous generations of the
Griffith Family.
He curled his lips into a smile before gazing at Elise with a sweet look. “Why are you looking at me like
that?” Elise felt rather shy to have him stare at her, and she raised her hand to touch her face. “Is there
something on my face?”
Alexander shook his head before speaking in a gentle voice. “Give me your hand, Elise.”
She reached her hand out obediently, and Alexander took the bracelet out of the box before slipping it
into Elise’s wrist. “This is my mother’s gift for you. It’s our family heirloom that only goes to the eldest
son’s wife.”
Elise was stunned for a moment. Does this mean that Madeline accepts me as her daughter-in-law?
Alexander knew what was going on in her mind, so he nodded in response to her. “Aren’t you going to
thank Mom?”
“Thank you, Mom!” Elise smiled as she spoke in a gentle tone.
There is nothing better than having the two most important women in my life come together, Alexander
thought. Elise was happy as long as he was happy—they were both willing to move on from the past.
“Ahem…” Madeline took this opportunity to play her role as the mother-in-law. She cleared her throat
before speaking in a stern voice. “You and Alexander may be married, but that doesn’t mean that you
have successfully obtained the Griffith Family’s daughter-in-law role. You’re still at school, so you don’t
know anything about caring for the family. I have sent my friend’s daughter over to take care of the
house, and you will have to learn from her. You need to know how to care for your husband,” she
uttered. “Come here, Sofia.”
The woman in the hall immediately strode over before standing next to Madeline and smiling at the
couple. “Do you remember me, Alexander? We were in the same school through primary and high
school.” Her admiration toward Alexander was painstakingly obvious.
He simply kept a poker face without responding to her while Elise exhaled air out of her nose to make a
scoffing sound. I thought Madeline really changed this time, but it seems like she hasn’t given up yet. Is
this a new tactic she’s trying? Is she trying to get Alexander to have a mistress?
“This is Sofia Hawkins. She used to be a reporter, and she is a double degree Ph.D. graduate. As long
as she’s here, your family will surely see huge improvements,” Madeline uttered in a pleasant voice.
Alexander was about to reject her offer when Elise spoke up. “Miss Hawkins, you’re so gorgeous and
sound like a capable woman. Are you sure you’re willing to be a caretaker in our household?”
“Every household comes with its set of challenges. One’s home needs to be cared for, and it takes a lot
of IQ and EQ to handle matters at home. It’s not a simple job,” Sofia beamed after responding calmly.
But, of course, her target wasn’t to be a caretaker but to win Alexander over.
She had known Alexander since she was young. If she had returned to the country a little earlier, she
would’ve been able to stop Elise from snatching Alexander away. But, this time, Sofia wanted to prove
that only a woman as elegant and sophisticated as her had the right to be with Alexander!
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