Victoria almost blurted out a question. What brother-in-law?
Then she remembered. To convince Evelyn to take care of the family, she had lied about being engaged.
"We broke up!" Victoria answered directly.
Lies. You tell one, and you have to tell a hundred more to cover it up. It was exhausting.
"Broke up? But you were engaged!" Evelyn stared at her sister in shock.
"So what? People get divorced all the time these days!" Victoria sniffed.
"But... you just got engaged. It's rare to break up so soon." Evelyn pouted.
"We weren't compatible. What's so strange about that?" Victoria glanced at her sister and replied calmly.
"Sis, did he bully you?"
"Do you think your sister is the kind of person who lets herself get bullied?"
"Then... did you dump him?" Evelyn hesitated.
Victoria choked on her words. "Can't you think of something better? We got engaged, then realized we weren't each other's soulmates. So we parted ways peacefully."
"I always thought love and marriage were sacred."
"You're a kid who's never been in love. What do you know about love?"
"True," Evelyn nodded.
She really had never been in love.
She didn't know much about those feelings.
But it didn't feel as sacred as buying groceries with her sister.
She saw her mother in the living room. She wasn't playing mahjong. She was knitting a sweater.
Her mother looked happy to see her.
"Evelyn, no school activities today?" Amelia asked with a smile.
"Yes, I just joined in the afternoon. My sister passed by our school, so I came back with her." Evelyn smiled and sat down on the sofa beside her mother. "Mom, you didn't play mahjong today?"
Victoria went upstairs.
"I'm not going. I haven't been feeling well lately." Amelia turned her head and glanced at Victoria.
"What's wrong?" Evelyn asked.
"Nothing serious. Just didn't sleep well. I'm in a bad mood. If you'd told me you were coming back, I'd have had the cook make you something delicious."
"It's okay. I'll eat the same tomorrow. I'm full from dinner anyway."
"Are you stressed about your studies?"
"Not really," Evelyn replied with a smile.
Her mother had never cared this much about her before. It felt strange.
In the past, her mother's way of showing concern was simple. Give money. Give money. Give more money.
Other than that, she barely paid attention. It was a hands-off approach.
"You need to take care of your health too. How is Alexander treating you?"
"Very well."
"You two are married now. You should spend more time together. By the way, the Sterling family sent all the dresses and jewelry. You should try them on. If anything doesn't fit, we can get it changed." Amelia explained again.
"Okay," Evelyn answered.
"You don't want to get married, do you?" Amelia stopped knitting and turned to her daughter.
"No, I'll try them on tonight." Evelyn shook her head.
They were already registered. They had collected the ten million from the Sterling family. How could she not marry?
"Mom, Dad isn't home yet?" Evelyn asked.
"Your father has been busy lately. Ever since the money from the Sterling family came in, he's been lively again. He has parties every day. He doesn't come home until midnight."
"You know your father. He loves to be busy and show off. It's good for him to be busy. A while ago, I was afraid he'd get sick from boredom."
Evelyn nodded.
"Since your sister is back, you should try on the dress first. Ask your sister for her opinion later." Amelia added.
"Okay," Evelyn agreed.
So Amelia put away the half-knitted sweater and went upstairs with Evelyn.
Evelyn knocked on Victoria's bedroom door. "Sis, are you busy?"
Victoria was about to take a shower. She turned around. "What's up?"
"I'm going to try on the dress later. Can you give me your opinion?" Evelyn said.
"You idiot. The designer isn't here. You can't see the full effect. Didn't Mom tell you? The designer is coming tomorrow to help you try it on." Victoria replied flatly.
"Oh, no. Mom probably doesn't know that," Evelyn shook her head.
Victoria came over and led Evelyn back to her own bedroom. "Mom, I sent the dress over two days ago. Isn't the designer supposed to come tomorrow and help Evelyn try it on?"
"Did you say that? I heard them say that if something doesn't fit, we can get it changed after trying it on." Amelia said blankly.
"Mom, you always only listen to half of what people say. They said the designer will come and help Evelyn try it on. If there's a problem, the designer will know how to fix it. We don't understand."
"Oh, I see. Then we'll wait for the designer. When will they come?"
"Tomorrow. Evelyn doesn't have class."
"Good thing Evelyn came back today. Otherwise, the designer would have come for nothing tomorrow." Amelia said happily.
"Mom, you've been really forgetful lately. You didn't even remember Evelyn wasn't coming back this weekend. Luckily, I happened to pass by her school today and called her to ask if she wanted to come back. Otherwise, the designer would have wasted a trip tomorrow!" Victoria complained.
"Yes, I have been forgetful lately. Good thing you brought Evelyn back." Amelia nodded.
Since the designer was coming tomorrow, Evelyn would try on the dress then.
Later, her mother went downstairs first. Evelyn followed Victoria into her bedroom. She hesitated, then said, "Sis, why were you so harsh with Mom just now?"
"You don't know what Mom has been up to lately. She's driving me crazy." Victoria said angrily.
"What's wrong?" Evelyn didn't understand.
"Why do you think Mom hasn't dared to play mahjong lately? It's because she lost two million a few days ago. Think about it. When our family was going bankrupt, we couldn't even borrow two million. The whole family was worried sick. Finally, we had to sell you to raise ten million. And then Mom loses two million in two nights. Dad is so angry he hasn't spoken to Mom in days." Victoria sat down on the chair and said angrily.
"Two million!" Evelyn looked at her sister in disbelief.
She knew her mother liked to play mahjong. But she wasn't very good at it. At most, she'd win or lose tens of thousands.
How could she lose two million all at once?
"Yes, or did you think it was twenty thousand? A friend took her to a game. She didn't tell Dad. And she lost it all at once."
"Was she set up?"
"Who knows? I don't ask Mom. Anyway, the atmosphere at home has been really low lately. You wouldn't know since you haven't been back."
"Is Mom not feeling well? Is that why she lost so much?"
"Did Mom tell you she's not feeling well? She's fine. She just can't sleep because she lost the two million."
"Sis, the money is gone. Just tell Mom to stop gambling. Don't blame her. She must be in a bad mood now. If she gets sick, it'll be even worse."
Victoria looked at Evelyn for a long time. Finally, she sighed.
"Evelyn, it's a good thing you didn't inherit Mom's bad habit of gambling. Otherwise, even the Sterling family fortune wouldn't be enough for you."
"Haha, no. I don't like gambling. I've never even bought a lottery ticket!" Evelyn laughed.
Then she remembered.
She had bought one once. She spent over eighty yuan, dreaming of winning a few million to help her family.
In the end, she was depressed for a long time because she lost her eighty yuan.
"Sis, go take a shower. I'll go downstairs and keep Mom company." Evelyn said.
"Okay," Victoria answered, saying nothing more.
Evelyn went downstairs. She saw her mother sitting quietly on the sofa. She was all alone. The lonely figure made Evelyn feel uncomfortable.
"Mom..."
Amelia snapped back to reality as if shocked. She saw Evelyn and forced a smile.
"Evelyn, what's wrong?"
"Mom, I haven't had your pancakes in a long time. Can you make them for me tomorrow?" Evelyn replied with a smile.
"Okay. If you want to eat them, your mother will make them. I haven't made them in a long time. I don't know how they'll taste now."
"I want to eat them anyway," Evelyn said with a smile, holding her mother's hand.
Looking at her youngest daughter, Amelia's mood became more complicated. Her face grew more rigid.
"Mom, if the money is gone, it's gone. Don't think about it anymore. Dad will earn it back double in the future. Just don't gamble anymore." Evelyn said softly.
"Evelyn..." Amelia choked up. She hugged her youngest daughter. After a long pause, she continued, "I wanted to win that money back. I wanted to earn ten million. My friend said that place was the fastest way to make money. I wanted to pay back the Sterling family. Then if you didn't want to get married, you wouldn't have to. At first, I was winning. But then, I don't know what happened. I kept losing.
I just kept thinking I could win it back. The more I lost, the more I wanted to win."
"Mom, I'm fine. I already have the certificate with Alexander. Even if we don't have a wedding now, I'm still married. Besides, Alexander is very good to me. You don't have to worry about me." Evelyn comforted her mother.
Evelyn didn't tell her mother about the rumor that Alexander was gay. She was afraid her mother would feel even worse.
"Evelyn, don't blame your mother. At first, I was desperate. I was in a panic. I was so anxious to marry you off. I just wanted to keep our family from going bankrupt. But then I thought about it. You haven't even graduated from university. You have no emotional foundation with Alexander. I married you off. I don't know if you'll be happy. The more I thought about it, the sadder I felt. The more I wanted to pay back the money and redeem you," Amelia said, sobbing.