Eleven Years All to the Wrong Man novel Chapter 166

Noticing the other woman’s strange mood, Emma couldn’t help but glance back after entering the kitchen. As she looked, she asked Mrs. Hayes, “Mom, what did you say to her just now? She looked so upset.”

“Hmph, what could I have said to her.”

Mrs. Hayes scoffed, not pausing in her dishwashing.

“It was the usual. She tries to play peacemaker, talking bad about your aunt to me, acting like she’s on my side and helping me vent. Then, in a couple of days, she’ll run over to your aunt’s house and say I’m the unreasonable one who didn’t raise you right. She always wants to be the one in the middle, putting on this act of being the nice, neutral party…”

Mrs. Hayes pursed her lips. She truly disliked her sister-in-law’s competitive nature, but she detested this other woman’s two-faced pettiness even more.

Having lived in Riverside Millford for over a decade, Emma was well aware of her two aunts’ personalities. Hearing this, she just smiled and patted Mrs. Hayes’s back comfortingly. “Alright, don’t let them get to you. Come upstairs with me in a bit. I brought back a lot of things you’ll love!”

Hearing that her daughter had brought gifts, Mrs. Hayes instinctively frowned, her lips forming a pout of disapproval. “Hey, you have too much money? Why are you bringing things to your own home?”

She said that, but inside, Mrs. Hayes was happy that her daughter had thought of her.

“I don’t have too much money, but I have enough to buy my mom presents!” Emma said with a placating smile.

There was no lasting animosity between mother and daughter. No matter how tough or sharp-tongued Mrs. Hayes had been before seeing Emma, once they were together and talked things out, any conflict simply melted away.

The woman used the excuse of clearing the tables outside to leave, but in reality, Mrs. Hayes’s words had embarrassed her, and she no longer wanted to help in the kitchen.

There were a lot of dishes that night. Seeing Mrs. Hayes working alone in the kitchen, Emma wanted to help, but her mother stopped her. “You go sit and rest. I can handle this!”

The look on Mrs. Hayes’s face, as if terrified Emma might overexert herself, almost made Emma wonder if she knew about the pregnancy. But then she remembered that no one except Mrs. Alvarez knew. The fleeting thought was quickly dismissed.

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