Mrs. Charlotte Evans Is Harassed

Back at the Evans Family side, Mrs. Green had suffered a major setback at Lily Evans's home, returned fuming, and started picking fights with Helen Parker just to vent her anger.

Helen Parker was so stifled with anger she could barely breathe. She thought about all those years humbling herself to serve Grandma Evans, finally earning her place as the matriarch. But ever since Mrs. Green joined the household, she’d been butting heads with her every single day. Honestly, what sort of daughter-in-law dares to defy her mother-in-law like that? Helen was about ready to cough up blood from sheer frustration!

Smoldering with resentment, Helen Parker finished her chores and went to sit in Grandma Evans's room for a while. Both women had been ground down by Mrs. Green lately, and now found themselves united by a common enemy.

"Mom, what kind of person is Mrs. Green anyway!" Helen Parker fumed, feeling like she was about to explode.

Grandma Evans let out a string of sighs. "Isn’t that the truth! Mrs. Green, that shameless woman—her skin’s thicker than city walls, and her tongue sharper than a knife. Honestly, when someone’s low enough, nothing can beat them! We care about our reputation, so we just can’t win against her. Look, even the silver in my hands has been scraped away by Mrs. Green. One of us is the matriarch, the other the grandmother, and we both have to beg that woman for spending money—what kind of humiliation is that!"

Helen Parker slapped her thigh in frustration. "If she hadn’t got Arthur Evans in her grasp, would we really have to be so afraid of her? Ugh!"

The two women poured out their grievances to each other, nearly hugging and sobbing in shared misery.

Helen Parker remembered spotting Mrs. Charlotte Evans on the Evans Manor carriage recently. "Mom, you wouldn’t believe it! I saw Mrs. Charlotte Evans, riding in Lily Evans’s carriage, dressed head to toe in silk and satin. The hairpin she wore could feed our whole family for half a year!"

Grandma Evans’s eyes went wide with envy. "That woman’s luck is just outrageous! She married Arthur Evans, who turned out to be a gold mine, and now she’s living the good life in Evans Manor. If only our side of the family had a bit of that fortune, we’d be able to hold our heads high in the village!"

Helen Parker gritted her teeth. "If only Arthur Evans hadn’t been so bewitched by Mrs. Charlotte Evans, maybe he’d remember his old family and do something for us!"

Grandma Evans snorted. "Hmph! Mrs. Charlotte Evans must have cast some spell on Arthur. Now he listens to no one but her—and Lily Evans. The rest of us are just shadows in that house."

Helen Parker’s voice trembled with resentment. "If only Arthur Evans had a bit of backbone and stood up for us, maybe Mrs. Green wouldn’t dare bully us so much!"

Grandma Evans let out a long sigh. "That’s just wishful thinking. Arthur Evans is completely under Mrs. Charlotte Evans’s thumb. We’re lucky if he even remembers we exist."

Helen Parker was so angry her hands shook. "If things keep going like this, we’ll be the laughingstock of Clearwater Village!"

Grandma Evans shook her head. "It’s all fate. Mrs. Charlotte Evans has the Evans Manor, Arthur Evans, and Lily Evans on her side. We’re left with nothing but scraps!"

Helen Parker’s eyes reddened with frustration. "If only we could turn things around and show Mrs. Green her place!"

The two women sat in silence, each nursing their grievances and dreams of revenge as the sun set over Evans Old Manor.