Bianca was so close to storming off to confront Christopher in her high heels, but she was stopped by Jessie.
"Having two models is enough, if he doesn't want to, then let it be," Jessie said calmly.
"It's not about whether it's enough or not, it's that brat being too much," Bianca huffed.
"These years, haven't you been through this before?" Jessie hit Bianca's sore spot.
Bianca's expression stiffened, and she made a gesture of slitting her throat with her hand.
Seeing Bianca deflate, Jessie's slight annoyance from being falsely accused earlier disappeared without a trace.
Because these children didn't just bully her alone.
The three children had completely different personalities, were smart and cute, and looked good too. Her cousin really knew how to raise them.
...
In the corner where the three little ones were having their meeting.
Eleanor asked, "Big brother, what do you want to discuss with us?"
"Yeah, if there's nothing else, I want to ask that beautiful sister to show me the clothes at the fashion show," Christian, being lively as usual, trailed off.
Christopher coughed lightly, his expression turning serious, and said in a not very happy tone, "You've all forgotten the main point. Don't you want to match mom and dad anymore?"
"Hehe, we haven't forgotten, but mom and dad are already living together," Christian obviously had a broader perspective.
Christopher gave Christian a disdainful glance. "Living in separate houses counts as living together?"
"Big Brother is right. On TV, all mom and dad sleep in the same bed," Eleanor agreed with Christopher.
Christian had obvious merits; he knew when he was wrong. He scratched his head and looked at Christopher. "So, big brother, what's your idea?"
Christopher stood with his hands behind his back, looking like a little old scholar. He looked solemnly at Christian and said, "This matter still depends on Elle ."
"Me?" Eleanor pointed at herself, not quite understanding what Christopher meant.
Christopher nodded and said seriously, "On the day of the fashion show, you should invite dad to come and see your modeling performance."
Christian, who was already clever, instantly understood Christopher's meaning. He nodded eagerly, "Yes, let's continue to let dad see mom's good points. Dad likes Elle the most. If Elle invites dad, dad will definitely agree."
"Okay, I'll go find dad later," Eleanor agreed immediately after hearing the words of her two brothers.
Meanwhile, Jessie, having secured Alessia's agreement to be a guest, left Forest Hill feeling relaxed. When she returned home, it was already 8 p.m.
As soon as she parked the car in the garage and before she even entered the living room, she ran into Margaret in the courtyard.
Ever since Nolan was sent abroad, Margaret had been a bit irritable. Now, seeing the lingering smile on Jessie's face, she exploded, venting her anger at her. "What are you smiling? Your brother has been sent abroad, and you still have the nerve to smile?"
The smile on Jessie's face froze instantly, and she felt a stifling sensation in her chest.
Although she had grown accustomed to her parents favoring her brother over her since childhood, her heart was still made of flesh. Even though it was already riddled with wounds, another stab would still make it bleed.
Jessie pursed her lips and looked up, "Mom, my brother going abroad is to recuperate. He was involved in illegal street racing, what does that have to do with me?"
"You brat, how dare you talk back? Are you trying to hog the family fortune, that's why you can't bear to see your brother doing well?"
As soon as Margaret heard Jessie talking back, she didn't hesitate at all and slapped her across the face.
"Snap!" A palm print immediately appeared on Jessie's cheek.
Jessie covered her face, looking stubborn and uncomfortable as she stared at Margaret.
She had endured Margaret's casual beatings and scolding before she had a job. Since she started bringing economic benefits to the Ramirez family, Margaret hadn't hit her in a long time.
However, tonight, just because she spoke a few truths about Nolan, Margaret lashed out at her again.
Was she really her daughter?
"You'll regret this," Jessie bit her lip, glaring at Margaret with resentment.
"What did you say?" Margaret's eyes were about to pop out.
"I said you'll regret it." Jessie stubbornly repeated, her beautiful eyes fixed on Margaret's, as if trying to see through her.
Margaret couldn't help but feel a little guilty. After the guilt came anger, a hundred times stronger than before.
"You little brat! You think I'll regret it? Let me tell you, I've regretted it a long time ago. I regretted not drowning you as soon as you were born, so you wouldn't have the guts to threaten your mom here."
Margaret immediately began to beat and kick Jessie.
Jessie stood still, allowing Margaret to beat and scold her.
It was as if she wanted Margaret to get it all out in one go.
Just as Margaret was about to grab Jessie's hair, someone finally appeared.
Ava pulled Jessie away, shielding her.
Ava looked at Margaret, who seemed to be going mad, and said, "Are you crazy? This is Jessie, the one you carried for nine months."
Margaret glared at Ava with resentment. "Ava, stop pretending to be a good person. I know exactly what's in your heart. You're just itching to stir up trouble in our family. If it weren't for you, my Nolan wouldn't have been sent away."
Margaret brought up this issue again. Ever since Nolan was sent away, Margaret could relate everything to him.
Ava sighed and made a gesture as if she didn't want to argue with Margaret, pulling Jessie out of the courtyard gate.
The warm evening breeze blew gently.
On the main road of the neighborhood, Ava looked at the handprint on Jessie's face with distress. "You silly girl, why didn't you dodge? Does it hurt?"
Jessie turned her head away from Ava's hand and sniffled, pushing back all her grievances. "I'm fine."
"You've always been stubborn. If you had just said a few soft words to your mom, it wouldn't have escalated like this," Ava shook her head.
"She hates me. No matter how many soft words I say, it won't work," Jessie didn't believe it at all.
"No mother would hate her own child," Ava said.
Jessie suddenly smiled, staring at Ava's face. "Really? Then, why did you abandon Alessia back then? Did you really like her?"
Ava was stunned, not expecting Jessie to lead the conversation to her.
Not sure what she was thinking, her gaze became somewhat scattered, with tears in her eyes. "I never wanted to abandon her. What happened back then was an accident. If I could go back, I would definitely make it up to her."
Jessie frowned. "Auntie, what do you mean 'if you could go back'? You have already found her. As long as you treat her sincerely, she will definitely feel it."
"You don't understand," Ava became even more desolate after hearing Jessie's words.
Jessie lowered her brows, a hint of mockery in her smile. She really didn't understand. The Ramirez family always calculated everything, so how could they possibly treat anyone sincerely?
"Jessie, your show is coming up soon, right? Have the guest list been finalized? If not, I can introduce you to some big names in the fashion industry."
Ava suddenly changed the subject.
Jessie didn't expect Ava's topic to jump so suddenly. After a moment of surprise, she said, "It's okay, Auntie. I've already negotiated with the guests."
"Negotiated? This is your first independent show as the director. You can't afford any mistakes. Who did you invite as a guest? It can't be someone with too little influence."
Looking at Ava, Jessie said, "Auntie, rest assured, the guests are definitely influential. The person I invited is the international designer Al."
"Al? She's back in the country?" Ava was shocked.
"That's right, she's back." Jessie nodded, not giving any hint that Al was actually Alessia. In her opinion, Ava, as Alessia's mother, didn't even know what was going on with her own daughter. Besides being a failure, she was also indifferent, not much better than Margaret.
If you had to say what was better than Margaret, it was probably that she was less hypocritical.
"Jessie, it's great that you were able to invite Al as a guest!" There was a flash of something in Ava's eyes, but she quickly relaxed again, speaking in a softer tone. "Jessie, can you introduce Auntie to Al? Anyone in the fashion industry would want to meet a designer as outstanding as Al."
***