Chapter 187 Respectable
Dalton was seated to the right of Malcolm, so stopping him was just a reflex.
Dalton could have stayed out of it, but somehow, seeing Malcolm about to hit Meryl, he acted faster than he could think and instinctively intervened.
“Let’s talk this through. We’re all respectable people,” Dalton said, trying to calm things down.
Malcolm gave an awkward smile and pulled his hand back. He had really let his anger at Meryl get the better of him. Thinking about it now, it wasn’t dignified to lash out at Meryl in anger, especially with Dalton present; he needed to maintain his elder’s demeanor. Lashing out like that would make him seem petty and intolerant.
Lydia was stunned. She hadn’t expected Dalton to defend Meryl, leaving her with mixed feelings. She looked at Meryl, then at Dalton, and felt a surge of jealousy.
“Dalton, you protected Auntie Meryl from getting hit. I’m sure…” With the words “Auntie Meryl,” Lydia deliberately reminded him of the distance between him and Meryl now. This was a reminder that Meryl now belonged to Chandler.
As expected, Dalton was momentarily stunned by her words. He then lowered his gaze and fell silent, lost in thought.
Bianca hurried over to smooth things over. “Meryl, apologize to your dad. Look how upset you’ve made him.” For the sake of Malcolm’s dignity, if Meryl apologized, the thing could be settled. They were family; no one would hold a grudge. This was also a way to get Meryl to back off from claiming the house.
“I did nothing wrong,” Meryl said firmly. Her voice was unusually strong as she continued, “I’m just taking back what’s rightfully mine. How is that wrong?”
Bianca frowned. “What do you mean? The shares and the house, all belong to the Stone family.”
“Yes, Stone family property. But now it’s in the hands of Lydia. She’s an outsider with no blood ties! You all favor her, transferring the estate my grandfather left to me over to Lydia. I know Dad made that bet with me just to get me to give up the shares my grandfather left me. But don’t you think that’s too much? That was my grandfather’s gift to me. If you don’t care about me, why can’t he?
“Lydia took the man, the house. You’ve given her the dividends from the shares for years without my consent. Now, you’re all forcing me to apologize, calling me unfilial and rebellious. How exactly am I unfilial? How am I rebellious?
“If you don’t like me, you could just pretend I don’t exist. So why did you call me back? I know in your eyes, I’m just a burden. Only Lydia, the fake heiress, is your treasure.
“If that’s the case, let’s make it easy on each other. I won’t come back again. Just pretend I was never born!”
Thunder rumbled outside, one after the other, while the living room fell silent. Only Meryl’s voice echoed in the room.
A piercing pain shot through her ankle, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as the ache in her heart. She realized she was wrong to have harbored any illusions about family. She had come back partly to get her cello, but also because today was Bianca’s birthday. Meryl thought that since Bianca had given birth to her, the least she could do was come back and share a meal. Moreover, Bianca had suffered back problems from giving birth to her. As her daughter, Meryl couldn’t just ignore that.
But now, she had completely given up hope.