Chapter 7
Helen sat next to Sasha and spoke endlessly to her about how she should contact Francis more often for the sake of their family's business. Since the beginning, she held no regard for Matthew's feelings at all, who was her son-in-law.
Maintaining his silence, Matthew's attention was all focused on Sasha, who kept her brows knitted since she got into the car. Her facial expression was solemn and she didn't speak a word, giving him the impression that she was really annoyed. Matthew's heart was in pain as he thought to himself, Does it annoy you that much to return home with me? Is Francis that important?
Soon after, they reached the entrance to their community. While Matthew went to park the car, the rest of them went upstairs. Reaching the doorstep with the luggage, Matthew happened to hear Helen's voice coming from within, "Sasha, your father is right. There's no future for you if you stick with Matthew. The whole of Eastcliff knows that you guys had never been intimate before. Even if you divorce him now, your reputation is still untainted, and many rich young masters will chase after you. You can definitely find someone who is thousands of times better than him, so why do you choose to stay on a road you know has a dead end?"
Another pang of pain hit Matthew's heart; this wasn't the first time that they had made such comments about him. Pretending that he hadn't overheard anything at all, he pushed the door open and went in.
Helen snorted when she saw him, without a single trace of guilt on her face. Instead, she glared at him confrontationally. "You took so long just to get the luggage. What a wimp!" Through gritted teeth, she continued to lash at him, "Matthew, can't you just be a little more worthy so that Sasha won't be ashamed because of you?"
"What's wrong with me?" Matthew snapped, unable to hold back.
Helen retorted aggressively, "If it wasn't for you, maybe Sasha could have clinched a huge deal by spending more time with Young Master Cooper, and we could have at least moved to another place. It was all because you were there that it affected Young Master Cooper's mood. We have now lost a huge business potential. Do you know that?"
Frowning, Matthew thought, Are you blaming this on me? Don't you know what ulterior motives Francis has? So according to your logic, I should just be a coward and let my wife hook up with other men in exchange for a business deal? Holding back his anger, Matthew began, "Mom-"
"Don't call me that!" she interjected straight away. "We're not that close with each other!"
Blood instantly rushed to his face. "Francis has crooked intentions toward Sasha and you both... you both knew about all this. He didn't mean to discuss any business opportunities with her at all. All he wanted was... to take advantage of Sasha!"
"So what if that was the case?" Hellen shouted. "Social meetings are unavoidable when you want to make a business deal. In every other family, it's the husband who is out socializing, but it's the opposite for a useless scum like you. It's your wife who needs to earn a living to feed you. Are you now having the nerve to criticize her?"
Motthew hurriedly defended himself, "I-I om not criticizing her."
"Thot's enough!" Sosho soid in o low voice ond glored ongrily ot Motthew. "I'm tired!"
After Sosho went bock into her room, Helen cost Motthew on infurioted look. "Did you heor thot? Sosho soid she's tired. Hurry up ond do the loundry now. Also, becouse you didn't come bock for o doy, there ore o lot of dishes woiting for you in the kitchen. Cleon oll thot up now!"
Motthew tightened his jow, but still went oheod ond cleoned up the room thoroughly in the end. In these post three yeors, he hod olreody gotten used to such o treotment. It didn't motter to him how the Cunninghoms were treoting him, os the only thing thot he cored obout wos Sosho's view of him! Now thot he hod inherited his fomily's legocy from the jode pendont ond ocquired the obility to control the life ond deoth of others, it would be o piece of coke to rise up ogoinst them.
In other words, he definitely hod whot it took to turn the Cunninghoms into on influentiol fomily in Eostcliff. But the question wos, were the Cunninghoms worth his effort?
The onswer to thot question oll depended on Sosho's ottitude concerning him! If Sosho hod no feelings toword him ot oll, then he should let go of this morrioge of three yeors. On the other hond, if she still cored or loved him ot oll, then he would shoulder the responsibility thot o husbond should corry. Motthew thought, If you don't leove me, then I'll be with you till deoth do us oport!
After he was done with the chores, Motthew went into the room which hod two beds. The wider one belonged to Sosho while the other, which wos less thon three feet wide, belonged to him.
Sosho s