Very simple.” Thelma smiled lightly, gentle and harmless, “You took my child and slapped me twice. Now that the child is back, I won’t hold it against you, but I have to settle the score for those two slaps.” She lightly tapped her chin with her finger, “Since it’s tenfold, you can slap yourself twenty times.”
Ruth looked at her as if she were crazy, and in her anger, she said sharply, “I see you’re really insane. I should send you to a mental hospital to see a doctor.”
Thelma said unhurriedly, “If you don’t want to slap yourself, that’s fine. I can send these materials to the newspaper tomorrow. There will definitely be people wanting to dig into the secrets inside. If they really uncover something unfavorable to Sam Noah, it won’t just be a matter of moral condemnation, will it? Unless you kill me today, I can ruin Sam Noah’s reputation tomorrow! You decide how to choose.”Ruth was pushed to her limits, her anger turning to laughter, “Alright, very good. How did Noah marry a woman like you?!”
Thelma remained unfazed, giving her a look that urged her to make a quick decision.
Ruth closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and indeed raised her hand to slap herself. Then she slapped herself again.
Seeing this, Thelma coldly laughed, “Hit a little harder. You weren’t this gentle when you slapped me.”
The sound of the slaps was indeed louder this time. After twenty slaps, Ruth’s face was slightly swollen. This confident, dignified, and elegant lady now looked somewhat disheveled.
“Are you satisfied now? Shouldn’t you give me the materials?” Perhaps she was pushed to her limits, her voice had changed.
Thelma handed her the materials, but when Ruth looked at them, her expression changed, “What is this?”
Thelma leisurely replied, “This is my thesis material.”
Ruth’s eyes seemed to spit fire, “What do you mean by this?”
Thelma shrugged, “Sam Noah has always respected me, so I respect him too. I wouldn’t sneak into his study to rummage through his materials. Everything I said is based on what he usually chats about with his assistant and the materials I accidentally glimpsed. But it seems my imagination is quite good; even if it’s not 90% true, it must be 70% true, right? Otherwise, why would you look so guilty, slapping yourself?”
“You—” Ruth took a step back in anger, almost wanting to kill her, “You venomous woman!”
“Venomous woman?” Thelma nodded with an indifferent expression, “That’s not a bad title.”
“Noah must be blind! What kind of sin did the Sam family commit to marry a woman like you?!”
Thelma looked unconcerned, “If Sam Noah is blind, as his mother, you should advise him more to divorce me sooner.”
“You—” Ruth clenched her fists, her face slightly twisted, but in the end, she said nothing, snorted coldly, and turned to leave, slamming the door behind her, scattering the stack of review materials all over the floor.
Thelma leisurely picked up the materials, one by one.
A smile slowly crept up the corner of her mouth; it felt good to be the bad guy.
The next day, while Thelma was doing her listening exercises, she heard someone calling her name downstairs. Recognizing it was Norah’s voice, she could tell from the tone that the visitor was not friendly. She smiled and put down her headphones.
Before going downstairs, she deliberately chose a clean dress, a-style long dress. After giving birth, the flesh on her stomach hadn’t gone down yet, and the dress not only concealed the flesh but also accentuated her chest. She looked in the mirror and was very satisfied.
When Thelma went downstairs, Norah was sitting on the sofa drinking coffee. After taking a sip, she picked up a small pastry and took a gentle bite. She was wearing a white long suit, with a fitted dress underneath, exuding the demeanor of a young lady.
Thelma had never had a good impression of Norah. Since marrying Sam Noah, she had seen Norah a few times, and each time Norah would say something to subtly mock her. However, Thelma didn’t mind; as long as it didn’t harm her interests, she didn’t want to waste time calculating.
When Norah saw her come down, she stood up, crossed her arms, and walked over to her with a cold smile, “Have you been spoiled by Noah? You have quite the nerve to even hit my Ruth.”
Thelma replied, “I didn’t hit her; she slapped herself.”
Norah was momentarily taken aback by her response. She looked Thelma up and down and asked disdainfully, “How did Sam Noah even fall for you?”
“He must be blind.”
Norah initially wanted to provoke her, but not only did she fail, but Thelma’s calm self-deprecation made her uncomfortable. Norah continued, “Getting pregnant before marriage and using the child to marry Sam Noah, what kind of despicable means did you use to get into bed with him? A girl from a family like yours can only use such lowly means to marry into a wealthy family.
