Chapter 81

As their studio was newly opened, Julie and Amaya had to handle everything personally to save on expenses. So, in the afternoon, Julie carried a stack of newly printed leaflets out into the streets to promote their studio. She never imagined she would encounter Martha at the entrance to a shopping mall. She originally planned to pretend she hadn't seen Martha, but the other woman had already noticed her and was approaching.

“Did you block me?” Martha asked.

Martha still had an arrogant look, as if she were some lofty queen. She looked Julie up and down with her sharp gaze, taking in Julie's face, red from the cold, and her messy, wind-blown hair. There was absolutely no elegance to be found in such a woman. How was she worthy of marrying into the Peyton family and becoming her daughter-in-law? Martha's eyes revealed her undisguised disgust. It was as if she were looking at a dirty rat.

“I didn’t feel the need to contact you anymore,” Julie replied calmly.

Martha snorted, saying sarcastically, “Are you going to give up on dealing with your family’s situation?”

Julie shook her head firmly. “There’s no need to trouble you anymore. I’ve thought of something else.”

“Are you giving up on my son as well?”

Martha’s words rooted Julie to her spot. She hadn’t expected to hear such words from Martha, who had always viewed her with utmost disdain. She inhaled deeply before saying, “Zayn and I had nothing to do with each other in the first place. If you’re really worried that he’ll marry Megan, you can certainly step in yourself or find someone else to do so. I’ll no longer interfere in your family’s affairs.”

Martha sneered, saying mockingly, “How very short-sighted of you. It just proves you’re not suited to high society. As expected, it was a wise move not to let you join our family in the first place!”

Julie didn’t falter in the face of Martha’s ridicule and retorted, “Oh, but I wouldn’t dare attempt to get into a family like the Peytons. Feel free to wait for your precious son to bring home a dainty woman of noble birth as you’re hoping for!”

With that, she promptly brushed past Martha and left without looking back. Martha stared after her retreating back with a dark expression. She snorted, muttering, “Truly, what an uneducated woman. How dare she speak to me like that?”

She angrily took out her phone and called Zayn without hesitation. The first time she called, he didn’t pick up. Unwilling to give in, she called him again. This time, the call connected. Zayn’s rather impatient voice rang out from the receiver. “You’re so annoying, calling me incessantly like that.”

“I’m your mother, and you’re complaining that I’m annoying just because I gave you a call?” she asked snappishly.

Zayn inhaled deeply before asking, his voice cold as ice, “What do you want? Just be straight with me.”

Martha got straight to the point, asking, “What’s going on between you and Julie? She actually dared to speak rudely to me.” As she spoke, her eyes landed on a leaflet lying on the ground. She was absolutely certain it was exactly the same as the ones Julie had been carrying. So, it meant Julie had been there distributing leaflets.

Zayn was silent for a moment, then asked, “Did you go looking for her?”

“I was shopping with Elsa when I met her at the entrance to the shopping mall,” Martha replied, her voice heavy with disapproval. “Are things really over between the two of you, Zayn?”

Zayn didn’t reply.

Martha continued, “I was wondering what this woman would be able to do without you. It turns out all she’s capable of is handing out leaflets even on a cold day like this.”

Zayn was bewildered to hear that Julie was handing out leaflets outside. Was she already that poor? Logically speaking, it shouldn’t have been a problem for her to find a job with her educational background. How had she been reduced to handing out leaflets in the cold? “What exactly did you say to her?” he asked unhappily.

“What could I say? Nothing,” Martha replied, a little guiltily. “She, on the other hand, claimed that she had nothing to do with you anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Zayn was so angry that he immediately hung up. She had nothing to do with him anymore? How could she not?