Ruth was sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and eating snacks. When she heard footsteps, she looked up and instinctively frowned upon seeing Thelma.
Thelma immediately had a bad premonition, and her smile stiffened for a moment. She adjusted her breathing and stepped forward respectfully to greet her, “Auntie, hello!”
Ruth looked at her as if struck by lightning, staring at her for a moment. When she saw Thelma’s natural expression, realizing she wasn’t intentionally trying to provoke her, Ruth paused for a long time before rubbing her goosebumps and said, “What did you just call me? Auntie?”
Thelma bit her lip, suddenly realizing that she was now Sam Noah’s wife, so she should call his mother “Mom.” However, she found it a bit difficult to say.
But calling her “Auntie” also seemed inappropriate. Thelma gritted her teeth and said, “I’m sorry, Mom. I was rude just now. By the way, have you eaten? If not, I can ask Mrs Smith to make something for you.”
Ruth looked at her in disbelief, her gaze filled with a hint of fear as if Thelma had truly gone mad. “You… you need to act normal! Don’t call me ‘Mom’ to irritate me; just call me ‘old lady’—that sounds more comfortable.”
Thelma: “…”
Old… old lady…
Isn’t it a bit too disrespectful for a junior to call an older “old lady”?
Thelma suddenly realized that her previous self seemed to have really been self-destructive.
Ruth’s fearful gaze scanned Thelma from head to toe as if she thought of something and tentatively asked, “Could it be that you really have amnesia?”
Thelma: “…” Thelma didn’t dare to speak carelessly.
For Ruth, even if she suspected Thelma might have amnesia, her expression didn’t improve much. This obedient and gentle Thelma made her feel at a loss, and more than that, she felt panic.
However, as an elder, she thought that showing her panic too obviously would undermine her authority, so after glancing at Thelma with a hint of fear for a few seconds, she quickly returned to normal. She pretended to be calm, took a sip of tea, and secretly glanced at Thelma, who still had her head slightly bowed, standing there obediently as if waiting for her to give orders.
It seemed that Josie was right; she really had amnesia and remembered nothing. However, she looked quite pleasing in this state, and Ruth was too lazy to make things difficult for her. After thinking for a moment, she took out a card from her bag, placed it on the coffee table, and pushed it toward Thelma, saying, “I heard you weren’t feeling well recently. There’s some money in here; take it to buy something to nourish yourself.”
“Ah?” Thelma was a bit confused.
The plot was developing in an unexpected direction.
From her earlier words, it seemed that their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship wasn’t very good. Why was she giving her money?
Thelma didn’t dare to accept the money and hurriedly said, “That wouldn’t be appropriate.”
Ruth replied, “I’m your mother-in-law; you don’t need to be so polite with me.”
She had a strong aura similar to Sam Noah’s, so after she said that, Thelma didn’t say anything more, obediently nodded, accepted the card, and said, “Thank you, Mom.”
Ruth felt extremely uncomfortable being called “Mom” by her. She took a sip of tea and replied, “You’re welcome.”
Just then, someone opened the door and came in. The two instinctively looked over and saw Sam Noah’s tall figure appear at the door. He had a hint of urgency in his eyes and a worried expression on his face. However, upon seeing the situation in the room was not as bad as he had imagined, his expression relaxed slightly.
He walked over, stood in front of Thelma, and intentionally or unintentionally shielded her behind him before casually asking Ruth, “What brings you here?”
Ruth, seeing this, teased, “I just arrived, and you came right after. Are you that precious about your wife? Afraid I’ll cause her trouble?”
Sam Noah didn’t answer but turned to Thelma and said, “You go upstairs first.”
Thelma was very perceptive and obediently took her leave. As she walked up the stairs, she heard Ruth say, “Don’t worry, I’m not here to cause trouble for your wife. I came to ask you how you plan to solve the issues at the winery.”
From Sam Noah’s mother’s tone, could it be that there were problems at the winery in Maplewick?
Later, Thelma went upstairs and didn’t hear Sam Noah’s words, but she guessed that the problems at the winery in Maplewick were significant; otherwise, his mother wouldn’t have come in person.
After returning to her room, Thelma soon heard someone knock on the door. When she opened it, it was Sam Noah. Thelma hurriedly asked, “Um… your mother…”
