Revenge Against My Ex-husband
Chapter 140 Seeing Things From A Different Perspective

Steven glanced at Lily. Being kind, gentle and understanding was a mask Lily always put on. However, he didn't like that. Compared to Irene's outspoken attitude and ignorance, he preferred Irene more. He liked how she was always honest and blunt.

Steven was a man who had been in politics for many years. Although he wished that Lily would change her ways, deep down, he knew that such a tremendous change in her attitude was highly suspicious. Edric was also surprised when Lily was smiling from ear to ear at him. The person who was trying to get into his pants the previous night was now being such a composed state. This was all very puzzling to him. This further confirmed his intuition of Lily not being an innocent person.

"Let's talk inside," Steven invited them in. Steven shared the same couch with Deborah; Irene and Edric on another. Lily plopped down alone in a single chair.

Irene couldn't help feeling that the entire scenario looked odd. After thinking about it for a bit, she recalled how she used to be the one sitting in that single chair, but now it was Lily.

Seeing Steven talk to Edric as if nothing had happened, and how Deborah and Lily were trying to put on an act, Irene felt all this was extremely ironic. This entire family deserved Oscar awards for being such great actors; their acting skills were really top-notch.

Maisy set the dishes on the table before she beckoned for everyone to have dinner. Surprisingly, the atmosphere at the dining table was good. Lily actually scooped some dishes for Irene and Edric, and so did Deborah. Seeing how hospitable she was to Edric, Irene felt nauseated.

At first, she did her best to resist that sickening feeling in her stomach. But when Deborah tried to put some salad onto her plate, Irene couldn't hold it in any longer. She pulled her plate away. Seeing the look of disgust on Irene's face, Steven remarked, "It's okay, we're a family. There's no need to be so courteous. Just let her be!"

On the surface, the whole dining experience seemed to be a happy one but deep down, it was far from being a joyful occasion.

After dinner, Steven called Edric into the study. After closing the door behind him, the smile on Steven's face faded away, and it was replaced by a gloomy expression.

"Edric, I am starting to see you from a different perspective! What's so good about you? Both of my daughters... they're amazing in their own ways, so why did they have to fall for you? Sigh... If news of this breaks out, it'll tarnish my family's reputation! My name will go down the drain too!"

Before this, Steven was all smiles. But seeing how his face changed immediately, Edric was positively amazed by him. He had to give it to Steven, to be as skilled at being this two-face, for it must've taken years of practice.

But wasn't Steven the one who told him to seduce Lily? Why was he turning around and blaming it on Edric now?

Finally, Edric understood why Irene despised Steven so much. He said lightly, "About Lily, please accept my apologies. It was my mom's doing. If she didn't want a grandchild so badly, none of these would have happened."

"Yes, if your mom hadn't treated Irene like that back then, then everything would not have happened. It's all your mother's fault," Steven echoed.

As that, Edric chuckled faintly. "It's true that it wasn't right for her to be selfish and snobbish, but it wasn't right for you and Mrs. Cook to set me and Lily up either. If we're going to bring up the past, clearly you and Mrs. Cook had a part in it too."

Hearing this, Steven's face turned red. He never expected Edric to be so straightforward. All he could do now was to titter in embarrassment.

With a weary smile, Steven stated, "The things parents do to protect their children... I didn't think things through... But the past is the past; there's no point regretting it now. The reason I invited you over tonight was to discuss Irene and Lily. So how are you planning to deal with all this?"

"That's also why I'm here." Edric looked at Steven. "I'm planning to break off my engagement with Lily and marry Irene."

Steven slammed his hand onto the table, but continued to remain silent.

Edric went on to say, "Although I'm engaged to Lily, we haven't done anything inappropriate. What Irene and I have is special; I hope you will give us your blessings!"

"There's nothing I can do since things have turned out this way. As long as Irene says yes, I won't object to your proposal. However, it pains me to see Lily in such a state!" Steven sighed deeply. Trying to ease his broken heart, Edric replied, "If Lily needs anything, I'll compensate her with money!"

Steven's eyes lit up when he heard the word 'compensate'. He pondered for a moment and said, "There's no need for that, as long as you and Irene are happy, I'm sure Lily will be happy for you two too." Seeing that Steven was on the same boat with him, Edric felt more relaxed.

After Steven and Edric entered the study, Deborah and Lily pretended to rinse and prep the fruits in the kitchen. Irene knew they didn't want to be with her alone. Well, neither did she want to stay in the same area with them. Thus, she walked into the living room alone to watch TV. She wasn't paying to the show, instead, she was wondering what Steven and Edric were discussing in the study.

After a few moments, Lily and Deborah marched into the living room with a plate of fruits. Placing down the plate in front of Irene, Lily said with a bright smile, "Irene, please have some fruits."

Smiling politely, Irene responded, "Thank you, but I don't feel too well, you can enjoy it yourself, Miss Cook."

"Oh my, I'm sorry!" Lily apologized sincerely. "It's my fault for not being thoughtful enough. Please forgive me!"

Irene scoffed, "Miss Cook, cut that off." This meant that she didn't accept Lily's apology. The smile on Lily's face vanished immediately while she stared at Irene with her big, pitiful eyes.

"Irene, I know what I did previously was wrong. This is all Freya's fault. She chose to abandon me when I was at my weakest. I was so mad that I went along with her plan... Deep down, I really feel bad for it. After all, we're sisters, and blood is thicker than water..."

As Lily said this, she started choking on her words. Tears started streaming down her pretty face. Frankly, Irene was astonished at her flawless performance!

She wanted to give Lily a round of applause for her marvelous acting skills. If she remembered correctly, after the whole thing in the past, Lily was the one who stood her ground and argued with her. Even a child could tell that such a change in her attitude was questionably suspicious!

"Miss Cook, don't cry. I didn't even touch you," Irene stood up and stepped aside in disgust.

"Irene, your father and I have already taught Lily a lesson. She really wants to turn over a new leaf! You need to give her a chance to change!" Deborah chimed in.

"Irene, please give me a chance!" Lily cried aloud, "I won't fall for someone else's words anymore. I've cut all ties with Freya already!"

Lily called this an apology, yet all Irene could hear was her pushing all the responsibility onto someone else. There wasn't an inch of sincerity in Lily's words. Irene felt utterly broken at Lily's pretense. "Miss Cook, you really don't have to do this. Everything is in the past. We all know what really happened back then; none of us are that stupid. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Does this mean you're not willing to forgive me?" All of a sudden, Lily got onto her knees in front of Irene. "Irene, I'm begging you!"

As Lily knelt down, coincidentally, the room of the study swung open at the same time. When Steven saw this, he frowned and asked, "Lily, why are you kneeling on the ground?"

"I... I'm apologizing to Irene. If she doesn't forgive me, I... I won't get up!" Lily sobbed. Her eyes were beaming with tears as if Irene had just beaten her up.

Hearing this, Steven quickly walked over. "You two are sisters and you've gone through so much together! The key here is to realize your mistake and don't repeat it." After saying this, he turned to Irene. "Lily's still a young girl; it's normal that she will make mistakes as such. Why can't you just forgive her this once?"

Didn't Lily say that she wouldn't get up if I didn't forgive her? Seeing how Steven was defending Lily, clearly, he thought that he could resolve this entire situation that easily.

Irene smirked playfully. She didn't show any intentions of helping Lily to her feet, neither did she say anything. All she did was just stared coldly at Steven and Lily. When she finally had had enough, she said, "Mr. Cook, did you ask me to come back just to watch her put on an act?"

"What are you talking about?" squealed Steven.

"Impressive. I have always seen actors on TV begging for mercy. Little did I know I will have the honor of seeing such a magnificent act when I come over for dinner tonight."

Irene stood up as she spoke, "Mr. Cook, thank you for your dinner. I had enough of her acting. However, all of you have better practice more. Maybe then, you'll gain my sympathy the next time!"

With that, she turned around and left without even noticing the horrid look on Steven's face. Seeing Irene leave, Edric knew it was his cue to leave too. After muttering something to Steven, he quickly left the house.

Watching Edric and Irene disappear from their lines of vision, Steven's face suddenly turned cold. When Irene mentioned the word 'act', he was reminded of something.

If Lily really wanted to apologize to Irene, then she wouldn't have chosen a time like this. He turned his head and looked at Lily, who was still kneeling on the ground. "What are you still kneeling for? Wasn't it embarrassing enough?"

Deborah quickly reached out to help Lily up. Lily's eyes were twinkling with tears. "Dad, I really wanted to apologize and ask for her forgiveness."

"Regardless of whether it was sincere, don't do anything like this in the future. You're not the brightest, and those around you aren't dumb," Steven said and went back into his study.

Back in the car, Irene couldn't help sneering when she thought about what had happened a while ago. She wondered if Lily was putting on this show for Steven or Edric. "Edric, do you think I'm taking things too far?"

"Irene, no matter what happened, I'll always support." Edric didn't know what exactly had happened earlier, but he was sure that Irene would never force Lily to kneel. They'd been married for three years; he knew very well what kind of person Irene was. Regardless of how cruel Lily could be, Irene would never make such a ridiculous demand.

"You'll support me? Edric, Lily was your fiancee after all. This reply of yours would disappoint her," Irene teased.

"Irene, she's no longer my fiancee. I've already made it clear to Mr. Cook that Lily and I have broken off the engagement." Edric reached out and held her hand. "Irene, you told me that you'd give me another chance if I rid myself of all the troubles. Now that I've done that, we can start over again, right?"

Irene did recall saying this, but she never said they'd start seeing each other again. For her, Edric's problem didn't end with Lily; he also had a demanding mother. With Margaret in the picture, there was no way Edric and she would make it to the end. With that being said, now wasn't the right time for her to reject him. Forcing a smile on her face, she said, "Yes, we can start over again."