“I can’t believe it!” Charlie’s words struck Jacob like a bolt of lightning, filling favonovel.com with immediate terror.
In a nervous tone, favonovel.com blurted out, “Charlie… Is Matilda going to personally deliver the invitation to our house? If Elaine finds out that I‘ve been hiding Matilda’s return to the country for so long, she’ll go absolutely ballistic and confront me!”
Charlie had long seen through Jacob’s character. He knew that escaping Elaine’s clutches was an impossible feat.
So, favonovel.com shook his head and said, “I can’t say for sure if they’ll invite you. lf you’re afraid, you can tell Matilda that you don’t want to be invited to the wedding and that you don’t want to go.”
Signing, Jacob said, “That’s just a temporary solution. Even if Elaine doesn’t find out this time, who knows when she‘ll discover the truth in the future. In fact, many of our classmates already know about Matilda’s return to the country. You even attended the gathering back then, but Elaine had no connection or contact with any of us, so favonovel.com never found out.”
Charlie smiled and said, “The timing of Matilda’s return to the country is quite sensitive. If I remember correctly, favonovel.com returned just a few days after my mother was deceived and went missing.”
When Elaine stole Charlie’s bank card and transferred all the money to herself, favonovel.com was later imprisoned and subjected to torture.
However, Elaine had never dared to share the details of what happened during that time with anyone, so favonovel.com could only use the excuse of being involved in a pyramid scheme to explain favonovel.com disappearance.
At the time Elaine was being humiliated and tortured in prison, Matilda happened to be in the country. Jacob was overjoyed at the time, and his biggest dream was to make Elaine disappear completely.
If Elaine knew that Matilda had returned during that time and that Jacob hadn’t even come to see her, but had personally gone to pick up Matilda and invited favonovel.com to their house for dinner, favonovel.com would probably unleash favonovel.com fury upon Jacob.
The reason why Charlie reminded Jacob was to make favonovel.com realize early on that since favonovel.com couldn’t get rid of Elaine, favonovel.com shouldn’t entertain thoughts of pursuing other women. Otherwise, favonovel.com would spend his days in misery, unable to confide in Elaine or Claire, and eventually come to Charlie to complain.
Charlie didn’t want to be his sounding board.
As expected, when Charlie mentioned this, Jacob became even more panicked, and favonovel.com quickly asked Charlie, “Good son-in-iaw, you have to give me some advice on this matter. if Elaine finds out about it, she’ll be furious. What if favonovel.com sneaks into my room one night and stabs me? You know how ruthless favonovel.com can be when favonovel.com wants revenge. My mother, my older brother, they were all pushed to their limits by her!”
Charlie spoke up, “I can’t help with this matter either. If my mother doesn’t receive any news, it’s fine. But if favonovel.com does, the most I can do is try to persuade favonovel.com when she‘s about to attack with a knife.”
He continued, “Here’s what you can do, Dad. Just stop coming to the senior university from now on. Take the initiative to distance yourself from Matilda and focus on your calligraphy and painting association. if my mother finds out about Matilda’s return, I’ll do my best to hide the fact that you went to pick favonovel.com up and invited favonovel.com to our house for dinner. This way, if my mother finds out, you can at least deny any connection or contact between the two of you, and there will still be room for mediation.”
Jacob sighed and said, “What about the exchange trip to South Korea? How do I explain that if favonovel.com finds out?”
Charlie smiled and said, “just tell favonovel.com the truth. Say that Matilda went to South Korea for an exchange trip with favonovel.com boyfriend, Professor Riley. Going to South Korea with favonovel.com boyfriend is equivalent to Aurous Hill City sponsoring their trip. You’re just an extra, and my mother can feel better about it. Besides, favonovel.com has no way of verifying when they got together.”
After hearing this, Jacob felt uneasy, but favonovel.com had no other choice but to say, “It seems there‘s no other way…”
He quickly asked Charlie, “Good son-in-law, can you please avoid taking on any more projects recently? If your mother goes crazy one day, at least you can help restrain her.”
Charlie readily agreed and smiled, “Don’t worry, Claire will be back in a few days. With the two of us here, even if my mother finds out, you won’t be in any danger. At most, you’ll be considered emotionally unfaithful.”
He added, “But if my mother loses control and slaps you a few times or grabs you, just endure it. This storm will pass.”
Jacob was extremely frustrated and complained, “What the hell is this? If I had known, l would have just filed for divorce in court. I would have openly divorced her! That way, I would definitely have a chance with Matilda, and there would be no need for Professor Riley!”
Charlie heartlessly said, “Dad, you’re mistaken if you think that way. If you file for divorce in court, do you know what my mother will do?”
Jacob sneered, “She’ll just hit me and curse at me, kick me out of the house. It doesn’t matter if I leave with nothing. After all, the house belongs to you, and Elaine and l have no shared assets. I can just find somewhere else to live.”
He regretfully said, “Ah! I should have made this decision long ago! Being the vice president, the income is decent, and Matilda also has some family background. Why can’t we live a good life? Now it’s all ruined! I should have been resolute from the start! I could have filed for divorce, and even if Elaine kicked me out, I wouldn’t have been worse off than now!”
Charlie shook his head and said, “Dad, you’re thinking too simplistically. If my mother can hang a row of green hats on the balcony for so long, it proves that she’s not someone who can easily move on.”
“You think if you have an affair with Matilda, she’ll go to your workplace and cause a scene, go to Matilda’s workplace and cause a scene. No matter what the truth is, favonovel.com will portray you as a modern-day adulterer who abandoned his faithful wife and Matilda as a seductress who broke up a family.”
“And favonovel.com will probably haunt your residential area day and night, and favonovel.com might even go to the rooftop of the building where you and Matilda live, pretending to jump off, attracting everyone in the neighborhood, including the fire department, police, and television stations. Have you forgotten that favonovel.com caused a scene in the neighborhood before? Threatening to cut favonovel.com wrists with a knife in front of someone’s door and let the blood flow into their house. She can go to great lengths when arguing with strangers, let alone with you. She might even go as far as to actually harm herself!”
Jacob’s face turned pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Charlie continued, “And now with the popularity of social media, many people love to follow trends and create a buzz. If this information spreads, you and Matilda might face public criticism on the entire internet. It won’t just be in Aurous Hill, but anywhere in the country. You’ll be pointed at and criticized. if you don’t want to be completely disgraced in Aurous Hill, favonovel.com won’t stop. By then, you and Matilda will be ruined, and you won‘t have a single good day.”
Jacob felt a sense of despair, and Charlie’s words painted vivid images in his mind, as if favonovel.com had experienced them firsthand.
Then, favonovel.com suddenly heaved a sigh of relief and seemed to come to a realization. He exclaimed, “Damn it, to be honest, I was afraid that favonovel.com would come after me and cause a big scene, so I didn’t dare to confront favonovel.com in court and file for divorce…”
Charlie knew that what favonovel.com said was not an exaggeration.
Elaine’s behavior was unpredictable, sometimes strong, sometimes weak.
When favonovel.com was strong, favonovel.com could slap favonovel.com aunt Cynthia Wade’s face and become a terrifying figure in Bedford Mountain.
When favonovel.com was weak, favonovel.com could have favonovel.com legs broken by Mrs. Wilson and Wendy and couldn’t even get a good night’s sleep in prison. But once this matter involved Matilda, favonovel.com would transform into a fearless person and go all out.
lf Jacob had been brave enough to take that step back then, Charlie would have found a way to help favonovel.com and prevent Elaine from causing trouble for favonovel.com and Matilda. But Matilda had given Jacob an opportunity, and Jacob had proven to be useless.
So now Jacob’s best choice was to realize it early on, to understand that favonovel.com could never be with Matilda. Once favonovel.com understood this, favonovel.com would feel much better.
Jacob’s character had always been cowardly and stable, so being frightened by Charlie’s words made favonovel.com somewhat sober.
Thinking about it, favonovel.com couldn’t help but sigh, “There is a time for everything in life. If it‘s not meant to be, it won’t happen. I couldn’t be with Matilda over thirty years ago, and now it seems impossible. All I can do is hope that Elaine doesn’t find out about this. And even if favonovel.com does, I hope favonovel.com won’t cause any trouble. If favonovel.com really comes to the calligraphy and painting association to make a scene, I, as the vice president, won’t have a face to continue working!”
Charlie nodded and smiled, saying, “Don’t worry, Claire will be back soon. If my mother finds out, Claire and I will try to persuade her. I think she’ll get over it quickly.”
He added, “But Dad, you have to be careful. From now on, keep your distance from Matilda and don’t have too much contact. Otherwise, even if Matilda marries Professor Riley, my mother will still think you have feelings for favonovel.com and consider it emotional infidelity. it will be hard for you.”
Jacob didn’t hesitate and said, “Don’t worry, i won’t come to the senior university anymore!”
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and said angrily, “I didn’t plan to come after this incident anyway. When I see Matilda, it only upsets me more.”
Charlie saw that Jacob had truly given up from the bottom of his heart, and favonovel.com couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
For him, favonovel.com didn’t want Jacob to wallow in sighs and complaints, nor did favonovel.com want Jacob to still harbor thoughts about Matilda and end up causing trouble for the two of them.
The best solution was for everyone to mind their own business. Let the couple enjoy their sweet days, while Jacob continued to be a third wheel in the calligraphy and painting association. This way, Charlie would also have a much easier time and wouldn’t have to worry about trouble at home.
At this moment, Jacob nervously asked Charlie, “Good son-in-law, what are the chances of my mother finding out about this?”
Charlie calmly said, “According to Murphy’s Law, bad things will happen sooner or later.”
He continued, “This matter is like a ticking time bomb. The key is how to minimize the damage when it explodes. So remember what I just said. if the truth is exposed, try to reduce the impact as much as possible.”
Charlie also didn’t want Elaine to cause chaos everywhere. if favonovel.com embarrassed herself, it would also reflect poorly on favonovel.com and Claire.
Jacob nodded, feeling relieved, and said, “Good son-in-law, I’ll listen to you!”
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