Chapter 26
At a high–end beauty center, two women in white robes were lying on beauty beds, enjoying their skincare treatments.
Hattie Reese ended the call and sighed in frustration. “My son is completely clueless when it comes to women. Since he was a kid, there hasn’t been a single woman around him. Now, he’s almost 30 years old, and Robert is practically losing sleep over it. We even started to wonder if he’s not into women at all.
“Last time, Robert almost gave up and said that even if my son chose a man, we’d just accept it. If only my rebellious son were half as capable as your Lucien. Lucien became a CEO at such a young age, and he’s also already married.
“By the way, when are you finally going to let me meet your daughter–in–law?”
“Don’t even mention her. Just hearing her name gives me a headache,” Wendy said.
If she weren’t wearing a face mask, she would’ve scowled right then. “Since the day she married into the Fenwick family, she’s been nothing but trouble. If it hadn’t been for Serena insisting on accepting her, that woman wouldn’t have had the slightest chance of becoming part of this family.”
Hattie said, “You shouldn’t be so harsh. Bring her over so I can take a look at her for you. Your son’s an amazing catch, and if Serena picked her as a granddaughter–in–law, she can’t be that bad. I think your standards might just be too high.”
picked
Wendy scoffed. “My son has already divorced her.”
Hattie was shocked. “What? Haven’t they only been married for three years? How did they end up divorced already?”
“She brought it on herself. If she had simply behaved and followed the rules, the Fenwick family would’ve treated her well. But instead, she runs to Serena over every little argument with Lucien. Serena is old. So, how can she handle all that drama?
“That woman has no sense of propriety. That adoptive mother of hers clearly didn’t raise her right. Taking her out is nothing but an embarrassment,” Wendy complained.
When Ophelia had just graduated and started working at Fenwick Group as Lucien’s assistant, the two of them attended a banquet together. Out of nowhere, Calista stormed in wearing a cheap–looking dress that she probably bought at a bargain store, utterly disgracing the Fenwick family in front of everyone.
Fortunately, Ophelia stepped in and claimed that Calista was just a housekeeper from the Marchand family, preventing the Fenwick family’s reputation from being completely tarnished.
Hattie grew even more intrigued after hearing all that. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of woman the Fenwick family had once accepted as their daughter–in–law. All this time had passed, yet she still hadn’t met her.
Lucien was the Fenwick family’s firstborn heir, and he was set to take over the family’s entire legacy. Even if he remarried, it wouldn’t diminish his status in the slightest.
Back then, Hattie had been vacationing overseas. The wedding had happened so quietly, and no outsiders were invited. If Wendy hadn’t told her, she wouldn’t have known about it.
Hattie was an orphan adopted years ago by Otis. Wendy’s marriage into the Fenwick family was mainly because of Hattie’s help. Naturally, they had a fairly close relationship.
Given Hattie’s background, even as an adopted daughter, she could have easily married into a well–off family. But she ended up falling for Robert Lester, an ordinary surgeon, and they had a son together.
Their son, who had also earned a master’s degree, had followed in Robert’s footsteps to become a doctor. He took after his father in every way, always quiet and never one to draw attention to himself.
Hattie was already getting on in years, yet somehow she still had to worry about her son’s love life.
After their skincare sessions, the two women headed to the Fenwick estate.
Alexander rarely took time off, but when Robert came to fetch him in person, he had no choice but to get in the car and go to the Fenwick estate.
The family dinner was held close to Serena’s birthday, giving everyone a chance to share a meal and discuss plans for this year’s celebration.
By 6:30 pm, everyone but Lucien had arrived.
It felt odd that Serena hadn’t come downstairs yet. Usually, she’d already be in the main hall, waiting to greet the younger ones.
Upstairs, Lydia quietly reminded Serena, who was resting with her eyes closed. “Mrs. Fenwick Senior, everyone else has arrived. Mr.
Lucien will be here in about 30 minutes.”
Serena asked, “Have all the arrangements I told you to make been taken care of?” Lydia replied, “Don’t worry. Everything was done exactly as you asked.”
