The meal went fairly smoothly.
Perhaps because of the incident that happened at the commencement of the meal, Khloe shut her mouth afterward. Apart from essential utterances, she was virtually mute for the entire time, fearing that Old Mrs. Stone would cause her trouble.
Yet, Khloe was oblivious to the fact that Old Mrs. Stone had no intention to make things difficult for her. The older woman had simply appreciated her initiative.
Thus, one could say Khloe shot herself in the foot.
After dinner, people naturally fell into casual conversation. Ariana and other women surrounded Old Mrs. Stone, while Uncle and others kept Old Mr. Stone company. For some reason, Old Mr. Stone was in high spirits and directly invited Lambert to play a game of chess with him.
Faced with so many onlookers, Lambert didn't want to let Old Mr. Stone down, so he agreed.
Eventually, Ariana and Lambert were separated.
But it was all good.
Ariana didn't mind keeping Old Mrs. Stone company. She felt that the old lady genuinely liked her. Ariana had always been gentle with people who were kind and sincere to her.
Old Mrs. Stone held Ariana's hand, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
Khloe and Aster took opposite seats on the sofa.
After staring at Old Mrs. Stone and Ariana for a while, Aster finally erupted in laughter. "It seems that Mom is truly eager to meet her great-grandson. She's been smiling all night. Our sister-in-law looked healthier recently. I'm also feeling a bit affected. Thinking about when I will finally get a chubby grandson from Finely and Gwen."
Gwen, who had been quietly sitting on the side, didn't expect the conversation to switch on her suddenly. She instantly blushed.
Sure enough, the Old Lady's focus was drawn away.
She looked at Gwen with a hearty laugh, then said, "Hmm, just by looking at this girl, I can tell she has a good character. It's perfect since Finely tends to be a bit careless, having a girl like this to keep him in line will do him good."
Upon hearing this, the blush on Gwen's face deepened even more.
Beverly listened as they casually chatted about children and Gwen, she felt her expression turning grim.
This was her first New Year with the Stone family, and logically, she should be the center of attention.
However, she was aware of the things she had done prior... She believed that being pregnant was not her fault because she was forced by Vincent, that bastard. She was completely unaware of how the child came to be. She couldn't take all the blame, but guilt was inevitable.
Seeing them ignore her completely, Beverly felt a little upset.
But she wasn't the only one who wasn't pleased.
Khloe strained to keep the smile on her face from turning stiff.
She cast her heavy gaze at the laughing Aster and Jolene, who were always gently watching Ariana. Unaware that she was almost digging her fingernails into her palm.
She felt extremely repressed.
She felt that the old lady was giving her a hard time again.
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