Mysterious Woman is So Gentle by Mila Chan
Mysterious Woman Is So Gentle By Mila Chan Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Neither Shandie nor Cindy did anything. Likewise, Cindy no longerbegged Henrick to shorten Shandie’s punishment. Cindy even tookincreasingly good care of Arielle, which Henrick approved

That incident with the venomous snake was explicitly banned. No onewas allowed to utter a single word about it. Hence, the manor’sinhabitants resumed their following days as if

nothing happened.

Likewise, Henrick returned to his and Cindy's bedroom after five days ofsleeping in the

study.

By the sixth day, Henrick headed out with a bounce in his step; evenCindy had a glowing and cheery expression. It wasn't hard to guesswhat happened the night before.

Things became so amiable that Cindy offered an entire drumstick toArielle during

dinnertime.

At this, a delighted smile crept onto Arielle’s face. She responded in asweet tone, “Thank you, Aunt Cindy.”

“Call me Mom from now on.” Cindy beamed back as she continued, “I'lllook after you as my own child. Just like Shannie. She's not mybiological daughter, but I've always cared for her like

she is. So, don't hesitate to ask me if you ever need anything.”

Arielle scoffed inwardly. Not your biological daughter? I don't believe itone bit.

Shandie is only a couple of months younger than me, which means thatHenrick had an affair with Cindy during my mother's pregnancy.Henrick obviously won't allow this scandal to leak.

Cindy must be up to something. Why else would she suddenly suggestthat I call her “Mom*? Still, she’s got some nerve asking me to call herthat.

I only have two mothers: my biological mom and my adoptive mother.No one else is worthy of that title.

Skeptical, Arielle looked at Henrick for help. “Dad. I-it's too soon. I'mnot used to calling her

that...”

She flashed a pair of puppy—dog eyes at him. Her eyes rounded andbecame slightly moist as she put on a pitiful act.

If this were an award show, Arielle believed that she would have wonthe title of Most Convincing Actress

True enough, Henrick's features softened after glancing over at her. Noman could resist Arielle’s puppy dog eyes, not even her own dad.Henrick cleared his throat and consoled, “That's quite alright. Take itslow and go at your

own pace. There's no need to rush into calling her Mom.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Arielle then cast an apologetic look whilst saying, “AndI'm really sorry, Aunt Cindy. I'm sure I'll eventually ease into your newtitle.”

Anger welled in Cindy's chest. This wretched brat! How dare she refuseto call me Mom!

Even so, Cindy was better at tamping down her emotions compared toShandie, so she feigned a kind smile. “I understand that this must bedifficult for you. Please don't apologize. I should be sorry for pressuringyou. Don't worry, dear, take all the time you need to adjust. After all,we've got the rest of our lives as a family for you to do so.”

“Thanks, Aunt Cindy.” “It's nothing, child.”

The two played out a harmonious pretense as if they were happilygetting along at the

dining table.

Henrick’s spirits instantly improved; the exhaustion he felt from workfaded away at the

sight of this merry atmosphere.

As the saying goes, a family in harmony will prosper in everything; I'mcontent as long as they don't pull any more stunts against one another.Just as Henrick thought so, Cindy parted her lips to speak. “There'ssomething I have to tell

you, dear. It's about Shannie.”

The mention of Shandie’s name ruined Henrick’s mood. He slammedhis spoon onto the

table and thundered, “Let me guess, you're trying to put in a goodword for that brat?

Considering how grave her actions were, I've been more than mercifulby grounding her for

only a month. So forget it! Don't bother defending her.”

Arielle threw a suspicious glance at the woman. How uncharacteristic ofher to blurt out.

She's normally good at gauging situations before speaking. Surely sheknows that this isn't the

best time to defend Shandie?

What exactly is Cindy playing at?

At that moment, Cindy's face scrunched up in distress. “I'm notpleading on behalf of her, dear. It's about something else. I'm just notsure if I should tell you...”

Henrick’s frown lifted slightly at this. Regardless, he still growled at adangerously low pitch, “What's the matter?”

Cindy sighed dramatically, then pulled out a sheet of paper from herpocket. She stated, “I

just received a notice letter today. Remember the Crown CoffeeAcademy's competition? Well,

Shannie won it. She's the champion.”

“What!” Henrick exclaimed.

He obviously knew about the competition. Its winner would obtain abrand ambassadorship

contract with Soir Coffee—the internationally renowned coffeefranchise.

Henrick was overjoyed. He snatched the letter from Cindy and wentthrough its contents

thoroughly. When he noticed that Vinson would be an honorary guest,greed flitted across his

eyes.

He clutched the letter with trembling hands whilst his voice quakedwith excitement.

“That's great news. Well, why didn’t you tell me earlier? The awardceremony is tomorrow

afternoon!”

At once, Cindy's shoulders slumped exaggeratedly in dejection. Sheexplained, “It's because

of that rash mistake that Shannie made. When I told her about theceremony earlier today, she wasn’t keen on attending. She wanted tostay home and reflect on her actions.”

“That's absurd!” Henrick protested.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to mingle with influential figures!How can she not go?

Has she lost her mind?

When he finally broke out of his thoughts, he happened to meetArielle’s innocent gaze. It

was as though she saw right through to his calculative schemes.Flustered, he cleared his throat and said, “Shandie seems like she'srealized her mistakes

w

and is taking responsibility for her actions now. So I don't think we haveto ground her any

longer. What do you think, Sannie?”

Arielle sneered internally. That's my biological dad for you. Truly aloving dad, isn't he?

Nevertheless, Arielle wasn't one to reveal her true feelings. She flasheda gentle smile and spoke in a considerate manner, “Dad, I meant to tellyou a while ago; it will do no good to ground her for as long as amonth. We should let her off early. Besides, she’s not a kid anymore.She'll know how to discern right from wrong after making a mistakeonce. Plus, you can always enforce stricter punishments if she regressesto the making the same mistakes.”

Cindy, who sat opposite them, gnawed so hard on her lips that shealmost drew blood. Arielle, that brat! When she puts it that way, itmeans Henrick will never let Shandie off the

hook if she messes up again!

It was just as Cindy predicted. Henrick’s brows knitted taut as hedeclared, “That's right,

there won't be a next time. Cindy! Pass the message to her: she'll bedisowned from this manor if

she pulls another stunt again!”

Anger sizzled in Cindy's chest, yet she had to play along. “I'll relay it toher, don't worry. She knows that she’s done wrong. Sannie, thank youso much for forgiving her.”

Arielle looked at her with a smug smile. “We're all family, after all. Andcompromise is a crucial part of being a family, even if Shandie wantedto kill me.”

Cindy's smile tensed. She couldn“t handle Arielle’s not-so-subtle jabsany longer. Shooting onto her feet, she then announced, “Ill go packmy things for the journey to Norham tomorrow.”

With that, she paced over to the stairs but quickly stopped halfway.Then she extended a friendly offer, “Tomorrow's a weekend, dear. Youwon't be going to the office. Why don’t you and Sannie come along?”Henrick immediately nodded as he thought about Arielle and Vinson'srelationship. “Absolutely! Could you pack Sannie’s things as well? Andget her some new clothes for the trip to Norham, if you can.”

“Yes, dear.” Cindy finally let out a victorious smile.

Hmph! Just wait and see, Arielle. My daughter will become the star ofthe award ceremony.

Then, you'll be left standing in her shadow.