Chapter 93

Margaret thought, “Willow is the root of all evil. As long as she’s around, Eloise won’t ever turn her heart back to Athena. Everyone in the mansion is fawning over Willow, so what about my Athena?!”

Her words left everyone in the room stunned.

Eloise stood there like a statue, her eyes wide with horror as she gazed at Margaret. “Mother, even if Willow doesn’t share the Monson bloodline, she’s called you ‘Grandmother’ for over a decade. We raised her as our own child. How could you say such cruel words?”

Margaret snorted coldly, her wrinkles deepening with anger. She said, “Back then, I only let her stay because I pitied her. She was all alone, with such a tragic background."

“But look at you now! Every one of you seems bewitched, running around her as if she’s the center of your world."

“Don’t mistake my mercy for weakness. Since you all have no regard for dignity, don’t blame me for tearing off all pretense today!”

Margaret’s face was set with iron resolve, her tone leaving no room for debate. “Today, you have but two choices: either I go on a hunger strike and die, or you banish Willow from this house and cut off all ties with her from now on.”

Eloise’s face finally showed panic as she pleaded urgently, “Mother, this is all my fault. Willow has nothing to do with it. Please, if you must blame someone, blame me for not being thorough enough.”

As she spoke, her eyes reddened and tears streamed down her cheeks until she burst into tears. “Willow knows nothing about this! How can you blame her? She’s always shown you the utmost respect and has been nothing but kind to Athena. She’s truly innocent!”

The maids and elderly servants in the room all dropped to their knees as well. However, unlike pleading for Willow’s sake, they were begging Margaret to calm her anger.

At that moment, Nicolas entered with Fiona in tow.

As soon as he stepped inside, Nicolas dropped to his knees with a sweep of his robe, and Fiona immediately followed suit beside him.

In unison, they pleaded, “Grandma, please calm down.”

Nicolas’s face was filled with anxiety as he pleaded, “Grandma, you cannot do this! Our marriage alliance with the Osbornes is imminent. This concerns the honor of both great houses. Willow is to be their future daughter-in-law. If we banish her from our household now, what will the ton think of us? And what about the Osbornes? We’d become the laughingstock of the entire city!”

Margaret looked up, her gaze landing on the baby cradled in Fiona’s arms. For a brief moment, her stern expression softened, a fleeting gentleness flickering in her eyes.

Yet, unlike before, she didn’t invite Fiona to rise or take a seat.

The sharp-eyed Margaret saw through Fiona’s ploy. Bringing the child here now was clearly just a plea for Willow.

Margaret let out a heavy sigh and said to Fiona, “Take Cedric back to your room."

“He’s only three months old and still recovering from a cold. Did you really think bringing him here would soften my heart?”

Margaret’s gaze darkened as she looked at Nicolas. She thought, ‘Eloise is muddle-headed enough, but now even my own grandson is following with her. As Deputy Minister of the Justice Ministry, how could you fail to distinguish right from wrong!’

She said, “Enough talk! My decision is final. From this day forth, I will refuse all sustenance, not a single bite nor sip, until Willow is cast out from the Monson Family!”

Athena looked at Margaret in panic, tears streaming down her face. “Grandmother, why must you go to such extremes? I don’t want anything anymore, none of it matters, just promise me you’ll stay safe.”

Everyone in the room prostrated themselves on the floor, pleading in unison, “Please calm down, Lady Margaret!”

Yet they had all underestimated just how much Athena meant to Margaret.

No matter how desperately Eloise pleaded for forgiveness, Margaret refused to relent.

She was dead set on banishing Willow from the Monson estate.

Hearing the news, Willow rushed in, her face as pale as a sheet as she knelt in the courtyard. She never imagined the backlash would fall on her.

“It’s just a wedding gift. How could Grandmother be so heartless as to cast me out?” she thought, despair washing over her.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as her heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

Before Athena had returned to the estate, Willow had been the apple of Margaret’s eye.

Whenever there were delicacies or amusements, Margaret would always think of Willow first.

Yet, ever since Athena returned, everything changed.

Margaret gradually grew cold toward Willow, and no matter how hard Willow tried to win her favor, Margaret remained unmoved.

The icy, unyielding ground scraped against Willow’s knees, sending waves of bone-chilling pain through her.

With her forehead pressed to the floor, she sobbed toward the room, her voice trembling, “Grandmother, I’m your granddaughter too, how can you be so heartless…”

Before she could finish, her words dissolved into choked sobs.

Each desperate cry tore from her throat, raw and anguished, breaking the hearts of all who heard.

Eloise felt as if a thousand needles were piercing her heart; the pain was suffocating.

She thought, ‘My Willow, my daughter…’

Crawling forward on her knees, Eloise knelt before Margaret and pleaded, her voice breaking. “Mother, please have mercy! I beg you, reconsider your decision; this is all my fault. If you must punish someone, let it be me!”

Nicolas’s eyes were also red, his voice thick with emotion as he pleaded, “Grandmother, for the sake of all those mornings Willow rose early to collect dew for you, I beg you, please reconsider your decision.”

Hearing this, Margaret’s fingers gave an involuntary tremble.

Margaret had always cherished coffee, believing only morning dew could properly bring out its delicate flavor.

When Willow learned this, she began rising at dawn each day to gather the glistening droplets for her.

Yet her well-intentioned gesture ended up causing harm.

Young and naive, Willow didn’t realize Margaret was allergic to redbud blossoms.

The coffee she brewed with dew she’d collected triggered a severe asthma attack that nearly cost Margaret her life.

Gwen hesitated, then finally spoke up, “Lord Nicholas, why bring up old wounds? If it weren’t for that dew, Lady Margaret wouldn’t have had that asthma attack.”

Nicolas’s face darkened. He lowered his head and fell silent.

Outside, Willow’s broken sobs could be heard between fits of coughing, her distress palpable in the courtyard air.

Margaret’s brows furrowed as she listened. She thought, ‘If only Willow didn’t have such ambition to overstep her station, I might have truly liked this child. But perhaps she’s forgotten, she’s merely the adopted daughter of the Monson family. Now that she dares to usurp Athena’s place, I will not tolerate her!’

“All of you, leave,” Margaret commanded with finality. Eloise and Nicolas opened their mouths to protest, but one look at her face silenced them completely.

Athena’s heart ached with a bittersweet mix of gratitude and guilt. Margaret had defied the entire household for her sake.

‘How could I ever repay Grandmother for such devotion?’ she wondered.

Eloise led everyone out of the chamber, only to kneel in silent protest just beyond the threshold.

Gwen frowned disapprovingly. “Lady Eloise, why must you harass Lady Margaret like this?"

“You’ve already driven her to a hunger strike; what more do you people want from her?”

Eloise’s face was etched with sorrow as she stared into the chamber, refusing to even look at Gwen. “Mother,” she pleaded with quiet determination, “unless you revoke your decision, I shall remain kneeling here without rising."

At her side, Willow wept uncontrollably, her voice lost to heart-wrenching sobs.

Nicolas also kept his head bowed in silence.

Fiona stood beside them, her brow deeply furrowed. She thought, ‘Adults can endure this, but how could a child possibly bear it!’

The biting wind cut to the bone. Cedric was still sweating. If the wind hit him now, it would only worsen his condition.

Fiona had no desire to get involved in Willow’s affairs, but with Nicolas remaining silent, she didn’t dare leave with Cedric Monson.

Just then, Athena parted the curtains and stepped out. Turning to Fiona, she said firmly, “Fiona, Grandmother commands you to take Cedric back to your chambers at once.”

Fiona looked at Athena in surprise, her eyes lit up with barely concealed relief. Still, she cast a cautious glance at Nicolas, whose face remained dark and unyielding—it was clear he had no intention of letting her leave.

Athena added firmly, “This is Grandmother’s command.”