Before dawn broke, Chris Whitaker was already up and preparing for the day.
Veronica yawned lazily while Maria looked relatively energetic. Chris was heading to Elizabeth’s family home, a rare occurrence that only happened about once a year. Since he was going to bring Elizabeth and Scarlett back, he couldn’t show up empty-handed. But Chris was so broke that his pockets were as dry as his face. The matriarch managed to scrounge up some gifts for him to bring—a bag of sugar and some noodles that William had brought over previously. The noodles were already eaten, but the sugar was still untouched, and now Chris was tasked with bringing it back to Wellwater Village.
This kind of gift exchange wasn’t uncommon at the time. Families often passed the same items around, gifting and regifting the same packages of sugar, noodles, or snacks. People were used to it. However, returning the exact same gift someone had given you—intact—was considered incredibly disrespectful.
To take it a step further, withholding part of the gift and returning only a portion? That wasn’t just disrespectful—it was downright miserly.
But the matriarch was exactly that kind of person, and Chris didn’t think twice about it.
With the bag of sugar in hand and after eating two steamed sweet potatoes, the trio set off for Wellwater Village before dawn. The journey was long. William had taken three hours to travel there, and Chris, along with Maria and Veronica, trudged on in silence. By the time they reached the village, it wasn’t yet 8 a.m.
Coincidentally, Scarlett was just about to leave for the day. She had already gathered some eels and was preparing to head to her next destination when she opened the door and found Chris standing there with Maria and Veronica. Her face immediately darkened.
“Scarlett, eat something before you go. You’ll get hungry on the road,” Elizabeth called out as she stepped out of the house, holding an enamel mug filled with dumplings. She had made them to ensure Scarlett wouldn’t go hungry on her trip. But when Elizabeth spotted Chris and the others, she froze, her words catching in her throat and her hands fumbling.
Scarlett sighed. All the theoretical training in the world couldn’t prepare someone for this kind of confrontation.
“Oh, Elizabeth, are you so happy to see us that you’re in shock?” Veronica sneered, her tone sharp as she stepped forward. Her eyes lingered on the enamel mug in Elizabeth’s hands, and she couldn’t help but salivate. The aroma of pork and green onion dumplings wafted through the air. Dumplings like these were a luxury for most rural families, especially when it wasn’t a holiday or special occasion.
No wonder Elizabeth and Scarlett didn’t want to return to the Whitaker family—living with William, they were eating this well!
Veronica licked her lips. The sweet potatoes she’d eaten earlier hadn’t filled her up at all, and the smell of the dumplings made her stomach growl.
“Elizabeth, you made dumplings? Perfect timing—we haven’t eaten yet!”
Scarlett didn’t intend to let the Whitaker family freeload, not even a little. Aunt Amanda, hearing the commotion from inside the house, stepped out and immediately saw the three Whitaker family members blocking the doorway.
“Oh, I see now. Early in the morning, and you’re already here causing trouble? Let me tell you something: the Miller family may be small, but this isn’t Larkspur Village. We won’t let you push us around for free!”
Aunt Amanda stood with her hands on her hips, her fierce demeanor effectively keeping the Whitaker trio from stepping inside.
Scarlett quickly parked her bicycle. She needed to deal with these people and get them out of the way. She had business to attend to—collecting the eels she had promised to Hughes Lawrence at the Harborfield municipal reception center. Breaking that promise wasn’t an option.
“Aunt Amanda, let them in,” Scarlett said calmly. “But please call Uncle William too. If we don’t settle this matter today, they’ll just keep causing trouble in the future.”
It was rare to find someone sleeping in on a rural morning, and by 8 a.m., many of the villagers had already noticed the Whitaker family standing at the Millers’ doorstep. Scarlett wasn’t bothered by the attention—she didn’t feel embarrassed in the slightest. But she knew her mother, Elizabeth, might be uncomfortable, so she tried to be considerate of her feelings.
Maria, standing at the back of the group, secretly observed Scarlett. Despite still seeing her as “improper,” Maria had to admit that Scarlett carried herself with a calm confidence now that made her seem more poised and capable.
Ever since Scarlett had survived her brush with death, she had changed.
Maria felt a growing sense of urgency. If Scarlett was allowed to remain independent for too long, no one in the Whitaker family would be able to control her anymore.
