Chapter 21: Have a Great-Grandchild Soon

Bertha said, “For serious offenses that cause significant losses, we will expel the person. But for minor errors, they can be given another chance.”

Before Ophelia could speak, she scolded Madeline, “Hurry up and apologize to Mrs. Pruitt. Fortunately, this time you only took a few flowers, which isn’t too serious. Otherwise, you would definitely be expelled.”

Madeline quickly said, “Mrs. Pruitt, I’m sorry. Please forgive me this time.”

Ophelia sneered slightly. Entering her room without permission and stealing her things, yet in Bertha’s words, it was merely “taking a few flowers.”

“Is the management of Sunset Vista so lenient?”

Bertha replied, “Mrs. Pruitt, if you don’t believe me, you can ask Mr. Winford and let him decide.”

Ophelia looked at Bertha with a cold gaze and remained silent. The living room was quiet, making everyone hesitate to even breathe loudly. The servants were secretly shocked. They had initially thought that Ophelia was just an ignorant young girl, but it seemed they had all guessed wrong. Ophelia’s commanding presence totally changed their idea that she was a pushover. They even thought she had a bit of Winford’s decisive presence.

“Alright, this time, I can give you a chance and not hold it against you,” Ophelia finally spoke after a long pause, her tone calm as she addressed Madeline. “But if there’s a next time, the consequences you’ll face will be more than just leaving Sunset Vista.”

Madeline suddenly relaxed and said, “Thank you, Mrs. Pruitt.”

She didn’t take Ophelia’s warning seriously. Ophelia stood up. She didn’t want Winford to be caught between her and Bertha. It was just letting Madeline off once; it didn’t matter. She had plenty of ways to deal with Madeline.

“Madeline, your bonus for these months will be deducted. You don’t have any objections to that, do you?” Ophelia said to Madeline before leaving.

Madeline’s face stiffened, but she forced a smile and said, “I see, Mrs. Pruitt…”

Inside, Madeline was seething with resentment. The bonuses at Sunset Vista were exceptionally generous, even more than the regular salary. Madeline had borrowed a lot of money and was relying on the bonus to repay her debts.

Ophelia left, and Madeline was pulled aside by Elva.

“Don’t worry, Madeline, you were punished this time entirely because of me. I will compensate you for the deducted bonus,” Elva said.

“Elva, thank you so much.” Madeline was touched, completely forgetting that the flowers she had stolen were all meant for Elva.

Elva said, “We’re good friends, right? But I think you won’t be sticking around Sunset Vista for too long. Ophelia won’t let this matter go easily. She just pretends to agree to let you off for now, but she’ll definitely find a way to kick you out eventually.”

Madeline’s expression changed. Seeing her reaction, Elva sighed, “You went through a lot of trouble, pulling many strings to get this job. It’s really frustrating to be dismissed just like that…”

Madeline’s eyes shifted, and she suddenly said fiercely, “Then let’s get her expelled first!”

Elva secretly smiled. The matter of the flowers wasn’t a big deal. Ophelia hadn’t mentioned it to Winford. He had so many things to manage; there was no need to bother him with such trivial matters.

Ophelia picked out the remaining half bouquet, intending to press them into a book. At the last moment, she realized she didn’t have any books. Her old books were left at the Greene’s villa, and her university books were in her dormitory.

She ran to knock on Winford’s study door. Graham opened the door and discreetly stepped aside.

“Mr. Winford, Mrs. Pruitt is here,” he announced.

Winford put down his work and looked at her, asking, “What’s up?”

Ophelia hid her hands behind her back. She asked politely, “Honey, do you have any books you don’t need? Can I borrow a few?”

She had changed into a fresh outfit, a light blue dress, which accentuated her straight and slender legs, bright eyes, and graceful posture.

Winford paused for a moment, then nodded. “Sure, come in and take them yourself.”

Ophelia walked in, and after a few steps, she revealed the flowers she had hidden behind her back.

Winford was slightly taken aback and asked, “You still kept them?”

Ophelia felt a bit embarrassed; the flowers were nearly wilted, yet she had kept them. But facing his slightly surprised gaze, she still said, “These are from you, so how can I throw them away? I want to keep them in books.”

Winford was stunned, his gaze at Ophelia becoming even more intense. During dinner, they ate together. Ophelia thought he had only agreed to eat with her once before, but now it seemed he intended to dine with her regularly, which secretly delighted her.

After eating, as they were about to leave the table, Winford’s phone suddenly rang. It was Glenda calling. Ophelia, standing nearby, vaguely heard Glenda’s voice saying that she had visited a temple and gotten a jade pendant for him, which she would send over tomorrow. She insisted he wear it to ensure safety and ward off disasters.

Winford responded gently, “Okay.”

Finally, Glenda tentatively asked, “The Greene family girl has moved into Sunset Vista, right? How is she?”

Winford paused, glanced aside, and his expression softened involuntarily as he replied, “She’s good.”

This was the first time Glenda heard Winford give a positive comment about a girl. Previously, he seemed dissatisfied with the girls she had introduced to him, mentioning them with a cold tone.

Glenda was overjoyed and said, “Good, good. I’m really glad you two get along well.”

She added, “I have a feeling that I’m going to have a great-grandchild soon.”

Ophelia hadn’t been deliberately eavesdropping, but she vaguely heard that last part, causing her cheeks to flush hotly. She awkwardly turned her head away, pretending she hadn’t heard anything.

Winford slightly turned his head, looking at her reddened earlobes with a deep, unreadable gaze. He didn’t answer Glenda’s last comment, just responded with a few words and hung up.

“Aren’t you supposed to finish making the bookmarks?” he said, reminding her. “Go ahead.”

She still had half of the bookmarks left from the daytime unfinished.

“Oh… okay!” Ophelia replied and ran upstairs.

At the stairway corner, she glanced downstairs and quietly touched her cars. Besides feeling embarrassed, she couldn’t help but feel surprised. She didn’t anticipate that before they had even met, Glenda already had a strong liking for her, speaking in a kind manner.

Reflecting on her past life, Ophelia remembered that Glenda had never treated her kindly; in fact, Glenda had always been extremely disgusted towards her. But it made sense. In her past life, she had fled her wedding at the beginning, and later, when she was sent back to Sunset Vista, she never showed any affection to Winford. She even disregarded his efforts and multiple times took his secret documents to give to Cullen.

Given that behavior, how could Glenda possibly like her? Not strangling her was already a sign of compromise for Winford.

The following afternoon, Glenda’s messenger arrived, but unfortunately, Winford had left Sunset Vista for an urgent matter just half an hour before. The messenger carefully held an old-looking box, first cautiously opening it to check before handing it to the servant.

“This is a jade pendant that Madam Pruitt personally chose for Mr. Winford. Be careful, don’t drop it.”

Madeline’s eyes shifted, and she stepped forward. “Then give it to me. I’ll take it to Mrs. Pruitt and tell her to hand it over personally to Mr. Winford.”

Chapter 22: Being Blamed