Norah looked her up and down and said, “How rare; I didn’t expect you to come here. I thought you would live your whole life without any connection to this place.”
Thelma’s smile stiffened a bit. It seemed she had indeed met Norah before, but their relationship wasn’t good. After all, if she couldn’t get along with her own mother-in-law, how could she expect to get along with her mother-in-law’s stepdaughter?
“By the way, I heard you lost your memory,” Norah said with a smile, her gaze lingering on Thelma’s face for a few moments. “It seems you really have lost your memory. No wonder you came here, and your gaze towards others isn’t as venomous as before.”
Thelma frowned. No matter how poorly things had gone between her and Norah in the past, saying such things in front of so many people was either incredibly self-righteous or just lacking in emotional intelligence.
Thelma felt Sam Noah’s grip on her hand tighten, seemingly offering her comfort. Then she heard him say, “Thelma is my wife, and this is also her home. She can come here whenever she wants. As for your comment about her gaze being venomous, I know her better than anyone. She looks at people according to who they are.” Sam Noah spoke slowly, his tone even carrying a hint of laziness as he glanced at Norah. “Do you have any other questions?”
His expression was smiling, appearing amiable and cultured, but as soon as he finished speaking, the air around them seemed to freeze. Sam Noah did not hide his favoritism towards Thelma; seeing his attitude so direct, the neatly standing servants around them didn’t dare to breathe, let alone provoke the authority of the head of the family.
Norah’s expression darkened a bit. Sam Noah’s words were indeed disrespectful to her. She forced a smile and said, “Noah is quite partial to Thelma.”
Sam Noah remained unchanged, “She is my wife. If I don’t favor her, who will?”
Norah was about to say something, but Ruth frowned and interrupted, “Alright, Thelma rarely comes here, so let’s not talk about those depressing things.”
Norah: “…”
Blocked by this, Norah realized that both heads of the Sam family had already made their stance clear. Even if she was willful, she didn’t dare to continue making trouble. Marco timely pulled his sister back a step and approached Thelma with a friendly demeanor, “Norah just likes to joke. If her joke was out of line, I apologize on her behalf.”
Thelma didn’t want things to get too awkward on her first visit, so she said, “It’s fine.”
Seeing the atmosphere finally lighten a bit, Josie stepped forward and linked arms with Thelma, saying, “Thelma, come on, we made a lot of dishes you love at home.”
Thelma was a bit surprised. When she first met Josie, she could clearly feel that Josie didn’t like her. Now, however, she was acting so warmly. Was this for the elders’ sake, or was there another reason?
But in front of so many people, Thelma couldn’t refuse to give her face. Being pulled along, she had to let go of the hand she was holding with Sam Noah.
Now that Sam Noah was the head of the family, there were many rules for dining at the Sam family. As the head, Sam Noah sat at the top, with Thelma and Tyler on his left, and Ruth, Josie’s father, Marco, and Norah on his right.
Josie’s father and Josie could actually dine with the Sam family, and from the seating arrangement, it seemed that their family held a high status in the Sam family, not merely a boss-employee relationship.
The Sam family had prepared everything very thoughtfully, indeed making many dishes that Thelma loved, and the service was also very satisfactory. During the meal, Thelma went to the restroom, and as she passed the kitchen, she overheard several cooks discussing.
“Make more of this dragon beard candy; the lady loves it.”
“Yes, yes, yes, we’ll make it right away.”
“The lady is the Boss’s treasure. You all need to observe more; anything the lady likes must be prepared well. If the lady is satisfied, the Boss will be satisfied, and if the Boss is satisfied, we will have bonuses at the end of the year. Understood?”
Immediately, several people responded in unison, “Understood.”
Thelma: “…”
Thelma was a bit speechless. She shrugged and was about to leave when she turned around and saw Norah standing not far away; she must also be going to the restroom.
Her expression seemed to carry a hint of mockery as she slowly walked over with her arms crossed. “People in this world are all good at adapting to the wind.
You probably don’t know, but when my father was the head of this place, these people were all trying hard to curry favor with me. Now that my father is gone and Sam Noah has become the head, they immediately changed direction and are now trying hard to curry favor with you. But don’t be too happy; the world is unpredictable. Who knows when this place will have a new Boss again? You, who are currently being flattered, might just become the most inconspicuous one.”
