Chapter 5

Alas, Shelly didn't care about the truth at all. So what if Annie had badmouthed Amelia behind her back?

In her eyes, Amelia, despite being her daughter-in-law, wasn't even as worthy of respect as an outsider.

"So what if they said a few things? It won't kill her." Shelly's face was full of disdain, her tone contemptuous. "Did she really have to make such a big deal out of it and disrupt the peace of the entire household? Besides, Annie is old. Can't she even show consideration to someone her age? She has no grace or generosity at all."

Ryan stared at Shelly in disbelief. "Grandma?"

"Enough." Shelly impatiently cut Ryan off before turning toward Amelia in displeasure. "Go make dinner. Don't you know what time it is? Why are you still standing here?"

Annie knew she had managed to keep her job. She still waited to the side, looking pitiful, but she kept stealing glances at Amelia out of the corner of her eye, her gaze filled with malicious satisfaction and mocking contempt.

The other household staff also looked at Amelia with varying degrees of scorn and derision.

It went without saying that Amelia was perfectly aware of that. She'd had more than her fair share of dirty looks and mocking stares from them. But it didn't affect her, and as long as she didn't care, no one could hurt her.

She remained seated on the couch and asked nonchalantly, "Oh? Did the family go bankrupt and can't afford the help anymore? Or have all the household staff died off? Is there no one left to cook?"

"What did you say?" Shelly thought she'd misheard. Amelia had never spoken to her in that tone before.

Amelia glanced at her coolly. "Are you losing your hearing?"

"Amelia Stone!" Shelly roared. "Annie told me you speak like an uncouth woman, with no manners or upbringing. I didn't believe her then, but now I see she was telling the truth. Do you have any respect for your elders at all? Is this how you speak to your mother-in-law?"

"Why are you getting so worked up?" Amelia leisurely picked an orange from the fruit tray and glanced at Shelly. "Didn't you say a few words wouldn't kill anyone?

"Besides, you're so much older than me. Do you really need to hold a grudge against someone younger? You have no grace or generosity at all. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if people found out? You'd only make the Chapman family look bad."

Shelly clutched her chest in fury. "You! You—"

Annie was quick to read the situation. She immediately rushed off to find the emergency heart medication and fed it to Shelly.

In the past, Amelia would have immediately fussed over Shelly. This time, she simply peeled the orange and handed it to Ryan.

Shelly finally managed to breathe easy again. With a trembling finger, she pointed at Amelia and barked, "Go to the family chapel and kneel as punishment!"

In the past, Shelly had never been short of excuses to make Amelia kneel in the family chapel. Her attire wasn't tasteful enough. Her way of making tea was wrong. Her posture at the dinner table was improper. The food she made was too salty.

In short, any trivial little thing could earn her a lecture, followed by the inevitable accusation that she was embarrassing the Chapman family, and a command to go kneel in the family chapel.

Every time, Amelia obeyed the command. She had always thought she simply wasn't good enough, wasn't perfect enough, and couldn't live up to Shelly's expectations of what a daughter-in-law should be.

Whenever she was punished, she reflected on herself and tried to do better the next time. She tried to appear more dignified and composed, more like a proper daughter-in-law in a wealthy family, until no one could find fault with her.

Even when her knees got bruised and ended up so badly damaged that they ached whenever it rained, Amelia endured it all in silence. She refused to put Jason in a difficult position. She also wanted to live up to her status as a daughter-in-law of the Chapman family.

However, things were different now. She wasn't going to let anyone manipulate her or control her anymore.

Chuckling lightly, she remarked, "Are we still living in the olden days? Who punishes others by forcing them to kneel these days? Are you some barbaric feudal lord who time-traveled? Is that why you like making people kneel so much?"

Shelly was outraged. The nerve of Amelia to call her a barbaric feudal lord! Her face turned crimson. Her chest heaved violently, and it looked like she was about to have trouble breathing again.

The maids rushed around her, one rubbing her back, one bringing water, and one more fetching more medicine. The entire living room descended into chaos.

While this was happening, Amelia simply watched like an uninvolved bystander.

Just then, Jason came out of Elmer's study. Hearing the commotion in the living room, he came over and asked, "What's going on?"

When Jason appeared, Ryan thought he'd found his ally. He ran over, grabbed Jason's hand, and explained what had just happened. Although he was only five years old, he spoke clearly and logically.

Everyone looked toward Jason, waiting for him to speak.

After a moment of thought, he looked at Amelia. "Mia, you shouldn't speak to Mom like that. Apologize to her."

"Daddy!" Ryan frowned at him.

Jason rubbed Ryan's head and explained, "I'm just dealing with the facts, Ry. Your mommy was in the wrong this time. Your grandma is her elder. Didn't your teacher teach you that we should respect our elders?"

Ryan immediately turned Jason's argument back on him.

"But my teacher also taught us to be considerate and gracious toward those younger than us. Grandma lacked the judgment to tell right from wrong, and she even wanted Mommy to kneel as punishment. What did Mommy do wrong?"

"What did she do wrong?" Shelly snapped icily. "As a daughter-in-law of the Chapman family, she represents the entire family. Did you not hear how your mother spoke just now? She was crude, vulgar, and completely lacking in manners or upbringing. She makes the entire family look bad.

"When you go to school in the future, your classmates will mock you and say that your mother has no class. One must be strict in order to instill the right manners in someone. If I'm not strict toward her, she won't learn her lesson. I'm just helping her."

Amelia had to admit that Shelly had a glib tongue. She'd smoothly twisted the entire situation around, but it only made Amelia feel even more disgusted with the entire Chapman family.

She didn't want to stick around any longer.

Amelia looked at Ryan. "Ry, do you want to come with me? I'll take you out for some fun."

Once Ryan nodded, she took his hand and started walking out.

"Mia!" Jason frowned and grabbed her hand.

"Let go!" Amelia said coldly.

"You need to listen to me, Mia! Stop causing a scene."

Jason tightened his grip. Pain shot through Amelia's wrist, as though her bones were about to be crushed.

She let go of Ryan and swung her other hand at Jason, but he was prepared this time. He caught her wrist and pulled her closer, lowering his voice to whisper into her ear.

"Mia, it took so much for the family to finally agree to let us have the wedding. Just give in this once and endure it, okay? Think of it as doing it for our wedding. Haven't you always wanted a perfect wedding? We agreed that Ry would be our ring bearer."

Amelia couldn't help remembering Gary's findings. Back then, after Maria had been sent abroad, the Chapman family had done everything they could to stop Jason from going overseas to visit her in secret. They had not only confiscated Jason's passport but had also pulled strings to restrict his ability to travel abroad.

But in the second year of Amelia and Jason's marriage, shortly after she discovered she was pregnant, Jason suddenly proposed expanding the company abroad.

At the time, Amelia hadn't understood why.

She was pregnant, after all. If they pushed into the overseas market now, Jason would be incredibly busy, and the pressure on the research department would increase tremendously.

The Chapmans had opposed the idea strongly as well, and she didn't know why either. Maria was a forbidden subject in the family, and Amelia knew nothing about Jason and Maria's history.

In the end, Jason had signed a pledge. If the family allowed him to expand the business abroad, he would make sure the Chapmans became the richest family in Julesbury.

Naturally, the Chapmans would love to see the family's fortune flourish, so they finally relented.

At the time, the explanation Jason had given Amelia was the wedding.

"Mia, you're the reason why I'm working so hard. Once I have control of the family, I'll give you the grand wedding ceremony you've always wanted. Don't you want a perfect wedding? When the time comes, we'll have our son be the ring bearer."

For the promise Jason had dangled in front of her, Amelia worked herself to the bone, leading the research department while pregnant.

Meanwhile, Jason flew all over the country, so busy he barely had time to breathe. He was hardly by her side throughout her entire pregnancy.

She couldn't eat because of the nausea and morning sickness, eventually becoming so malnourished that she fainted. She worked such long hours that her back and legs ached, her legs swelled, and her chest felt tight.

In the middle of the night, she would get leg cramps and struggled to turn over in bed. She could barely sleep then.

But to avoid distracting Jason, she never told him.

Thinking about everything that had happened, Amelia could only laugh. She'd thought she was being considerate, making sacrifices for their shared future.

In the end, she was the only fool who had sacrificed everything. Jason had been so desperate and worked so hard, but it had never been for her.

The memories kept replaying in her mind. She recalled the hardships of pregnancy, the pain of childbirth, and the arduousness of postpartum recovery.

None of it seemed to hurt as much as this moment.

Amelia looked at Jason's seemingly devoted expression. Nothing could make her sicker. She was disgusted beyond words.

The fury inside Amelia suddenly ignited. She grabbed Jason by the collar and violently yanked him down, then bent her leg and drove her knee upward with all her strength.

It was a direct hit.

Jason hadn't expected it. The blow landed squarely between his legs. Pain shot through him, and his face went deathly pale as all strength immediately left his body.

Amelia tore herself free, grabbed Ryan, and strode toward the door.

Jason had been hit right at a spot that was of supreme importance to a man and his dignity. Even the continuation of the Chapman family's bloodline hinged on it.

Shelly couldn't spare the attention to bother Amelia. She immediately helped Jason sit down and anxiously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Has Amelia lost her mind? What is she trying to do? Don't think that just because I agreed to let you have the wedding, she can rest easy. I can cancel the wedding at any time," Shelly snapped.

"Mom, you can't cancel the wedding!" Jason exclaimed.

"Why are you still defending her? Just what spell did she cast on you that you're so adamant about marrying her? The only thing she has going for her is her face that looks like—"

Shelly stopped herself before finishing her sentence. The thought only made her angrier.

When Jason first told her he wanted to marry someone, she assumed he meant the White family's daughter and happily gave her consent.

Instead, he came back with Amelia. The family had demanded that he divorce her, but he refused and moved out with her.

When the family pushed him even further, he simply gave them an ultimatum. Either they cut him off, or he would take his own life.

In the end, the Chapmans stopped pressuring Jason and began targeting Amelia instead. They had never acknowledged her as their daughter-in-law. Shelly constantly found fault with her and punished her, hoping she would eventually be unable to take it anymore and divorce Jason on her own.

That way, Jason could marry the White family's daughter, who still had a thing for him.

But Amelia was simply too good at enduring such mistreatment. She bent over backward and obeyed their every word, doing whatever she was told.

Shelly did everything in her power to humiliate Amelia and torment her. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that even a stray dog off the streets received better treatment from the family than she did.

Yet Amelia acted as though she had no pride at all, never once complaining. Shelly realized that Amelia truly loved Jason more than anything. Otherwise, she never could have endured so much.

Eventually, Amelia gave birth to Ryan. For Ryan's sake, Elmer finally ordered Shelly not to go too far.

Amelia and Jason had been married for seven years now, and their relationship seemed stable. It was impossible for Jason to divorce Amelia and marry the White family's daughter.

Some time ago, Shelly had seen the news that Maria had won another award abroad. Elmer mentioned that the Ludwig family's business had been growing rapidly in recent years. Sooner or later, Maria would return to Candoria.

Maria was Jason's first love. Over the years, she had only grown more beautiful and radiant. She was obviously talented, too.

The Chapmans were genuinely worried that Jason would fall for Maria all over again. That was why Elmer had ordered Jason and Amelia to hold their wedding as soon as possible and officially make Amelia's position as Jason's wife public.

That way, once Maria returned, Amelia would at least have the standing to compete with her.

Shelly had thought that Amelia's family background was lacking, but she was obedient, devoted to Jason, and completely in love with him. She was willing to grudgingly accept Amelia if it meant that the wretched Maria wouldn't end up becoming her daughter-in-law.

However, she hadn't expected that the moment she'd finally relented, Amelia would start pushing her luck and revealing her true colors.

"It goes to show that people from the countryside truly have no class. Despite having been exposed to the family for so many years, she still can't act with any semblance of propriety!" Shelly ranted.

"Mom!"

Seeing Jason defend Amelia, Shelly felt a headache coming on. She huffed angrily, declaring, "Fine! Do whatever you want. I'm done with you. I'm going to check on your brother."

Justin was being cared for at home. The family had even maintained a dedicated medical team solely to care for him.

Still, before Shelly left, she couldn't help worrying. After all, Jason had been hit in a very sensitive place.

She suggested to him, "Why don't you go to the hospital and get yourself checked? Amelia hit you pretty hard. If something's damaged, you need to get it treated right away. While you're there, you should get a thorough checkup. It's been five years. Why is it that Amelia hasn't gotten pregnant again?"

Jason waved her off. "I'm fine, Mom. Go check on Justin."

Jason had never suspected anything was wrong with him. After all, he'd always been perfectly capable in that department. There was no reason for him to get checked.

Amelia would probably laugh her head off if she heard him. She would be grateful for his confidence. Otherwise, if the Chapmans found out about Jason's severe asthenozoospermia, she would never be able to gain custody of Ryan, let alone get his last name changed.

Now that Justin was comatose and had no children of his own, Ryan was going to be the only Chapman child of his generation.

Meanwhile, Amelia was about to get into the car with Ryan when Wyatt Chappell, Elmer's attendant, stepped in front of them and firmly blocked their way.

"Madam Amelia, Mr. Ryan still has his evening lessons. You can't take him away right now."

"Can't I take the night off, Wyatt? I promise I'll make up the lessons tomorrow," Ryan said.

"You have other lessons tomorrow, Mr. Ryan," Wyatt said flatly. "Have you forgotten that you shouldn't put off until tomorrow what you can do today?"

Elmer was extremely strict with Ryan. He arranged countless classes for him and hired renowned teachers and experts to educate him.

He even hired an educational specialist to design a scientifically structured schedule specifically for Ryan. The schedule was revised every month according to the season and Ryan's progress. Every hour of every day was planned down to the minute.

Amelia had always believed that childhood was short and that there was no need to push a child so hard or turn everything into a competition. A child's physical and mental well-being was what mattered most. So when she'd first seen the schedule, she'd argued against it.

However, the Chapmans rebuked her for being short-sighted and lacking in refinement before chewing Jason's head off as well.

She hadn't wanted to put Jason in the middle. Besides, she knew the Chapmans would have a hard time producing more heirs. She and Jason might only ever have one child. So she decided to accept the Chapmans' insistence on strict discipline in Ryan's upbringing.

However, that no longer applied. She was going to divorce Jason, so naturally, she had the right to decide how Ryan's education would be conducted.

She didn't have grand ambitions to turn Ryan into a prodigy. All she wanted was for him to grow up healthy, both physically and mentally, and become a law-abiding citizen.

Amelia crouched down and looked at Ryan. "Ry, do you want to do your lessons instead?"

Ryan hadn't forgotten seeing Amelia throw up earlier. He remembered what Annie had said about her and how Shelly deliberately ignored the truth to punish Amelia. He also remembered how Jason refused to help Amelia.

And right now, he could see the exhaustion in Amelia's eyes, as well as the dark circles beneath them. Feeling bad for her, he shook his head. "I want to keep you company, Mom."

"Okay." Amelia took his hand and looked at Wyatt.

"Kindly inform Grandpa about this."

Wyatt frowned. He felt that Amelia was being rather foolish and had clearly lost sight of her position in the family.

He offered what he considered a well-intentioned warning.

"Madam Amelia, it took a lot for your wedding ceremony with Mr. Jason to finally be arranged. I advise you not to do anything that will anger Mr. Chapman Senior. I'm saying this for your own good, and for Mr. Ryan's sake."

There was an unmistakable air of condescension in Wyatt's supposed concern, as if he were doing some charitable act.

Amelia rejected it coldly. "Save it."

Her refusal to appreciate his concern made Wyatt think she was unbelievably foolish. A mocking look appeared on his face.

"Madam Amelia, pardon me for overstepping my boundaries, but—"

Amelia cut him off without the slightest courtesy. "Since you know you're overstepping your boundaries, you should just shut up."