Gwen remained silent.
Aster took her silence as acquiescence to the warning and felt somewhat pleased with her compliance. Without further delay, she led Gwen inside.
To be honest, the old lady had been slightly displeased when Aster mentioned that Gwen might still be lazing in bed. But considering her mother-in-law was present, any embarrassment would reflect poorly on her own family, so she held her tongue. However, when Gwen walked in wearing rather inappropriate attire, the old lady’s barely smoothed brows furrowed again.
Gwen wore a woolen sweater beneath a trench coat—a perfectly acceptable outfit for the outdoors. But in the Stone family’s perpetually spring-like warmth, it seemed slightly out of place.
The old lady’s expression darkened.
Aster quickly intervened, explaining, "Mother, dear in-law, Gwen has been fighting a cold lately, so she’s bundled up a bit more."
Hearing it was due to illness, the old lady gave a slight nod, her expression softening marginally.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Castro narrowed her eyes. Slowly rising from her seat, she approached Gwen with a smile, only to abruptly seize her arm. Startled, Aster hastily stepped between them. "Dear in-law, what are you doing?"
Mrs. Castro replied coolly, "Nothing at all."
And with that, she continued her motion without hesitation.
Aster couldn't stop them in time. She watched helplessly as Gwen let out a pained cry while Mrs. Castro squinted and made her remove her trench coat, rolling up the sleeves.
Aster's face instantly turned pale.
The old lady seemed to finally grasp what was happening, her expression gradually hardening.
Then, with a composed tone, she asked, "What is the meaning of this?"
Mrs. Castro pressed her lips together, saying nothing at first. She lowered Gwen's arm and turned to the old lady. "Auntie, the reason I came today is because of this. A couple of days ago, Fanny went shopping and invited Gwen along, thinking it would be a good chance for sisters-in-laws to bond. But then she accidentally bumped into Gwen's arm, only to realize it was severely burned. After pressing for answers, Fanny finally learned what had happened and told me. I didn't believe it at first, but now that I've seen it for myself..."
The old lady's face darkened further.
Earlier, she had sensed the tension in the air but dismissed it as something minor.
After all, Mrs. Castro had been perfectly polite, and Aster had seemed well-behaved these past few days. But now, if she still didn’t understand, she might as well have never held her position as the family matriarch.
She fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, shifting her gaze to Aster, whose face had gone slightly ashen, she demanded, "What exactly is going on here?"
Aster forced an awkward smile. "There must be some misunderstanding, dear in-law..."
Mrs. Castro scoffed. "A misunderstanding?"
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