Revenge Against My Ex-husband
Chapter 95 Laying Her Cards On The Table

Sure enough, their guess was not wrong. After Lily put down the phone, Freya asked her in a flattering manner, "Is it your mother-in-law?"

Lily nodded and the smile on her face died down. She could not afford to lose the bid for the upcoming sports meeting. If that happened, Margaret would give her a hard time. Therefore, she had to replace a way to ensure her father Steven would not side with Irene.

Although Irene was eating her food quietly, her heart was beating fast. She knew very clearly what Margaret and Lily's intentions were. If it weren't for her, Edric would definitely have won the auction previously without any difficulties. This time, Steven would certainly be bound to be biased to Edric. She, on the other hand, would never allow Edric and Margaret to get what they wanted.

Eden was seriously ill and suffering in pain at such a young age. Therefore, how could she allow Edric and Margaret to have everything as per their plans. She had to fight for the auction of the upcoming sports meeting.

When Irene returned to the Cook family in the evening, everyone was waiting for her to have dinner. After she washed her hands, she sat down at the table. With a smile, Deborah picked up a spoonful of mashed potatoes for her. However, instead of accepting it with appreciation, she blocked it.

Nevertheless, Deborah was not infuriated. She continued to wear a smile on her face and continued to serve Irene. Inwardly, she was snickering. After all, Irene was such a young lady in Deborah's eyes. Irene would never know that her actions would only increase Steven's sympathy for Deborah. It showed him how hard it was for Deborah to be a stepmother. As long as she had Steven's sympathy, the guilt he harbored for Irene would decrease correspondingly. When that happened, Irene would regret her rudeness.

Sure enough, after Irene blocked Deborah for the third time, Steven couldn't help but cry out, "Irene!"

"What's wrong?" Irene looked at Steven innocently.

"Deborah is picking up food for you. Why are you..."

"I don't like the food she picked. What's more, why bothers others when I can do it by myself?" Irene asked in return.

After saying that, she turned to face Debora. Despite her grin, Irene's gaze was callous.

"So, Mrs. Cook, please don't do anything unnecessary. Such an act can only deceive the simple-minded. Even a dumb would know that a mistress will not treat the daughter of the master's wife well sincerely," Irene criticized.

She was blatantly accusing Deborah of putting up a show. Steven frowned slightly and his sympathy for Deborah disappeared at once. It was true that Deborah knew that Irene was unhappy but she still picked up food for the latter several times. That was a little fake.

"Irene, don't go too far!" Lily barked. She couldn't bear to see Irene humiliate Deborah like that.

"Did I?" Irene sneered. "Isn't Deborah a mistress? Aren't you an illegitimate daughter? Hmm, what do you think will happen if I tell an outsider about the relationship between you and our father? How will they judge you?"

Lily fell silent instantly. Although Deborah insisted that she and Steven had been madly in love and that they ended up being pregnant with Lily back then, Deborah could only deceive herself. Even a fool knew that a woman who slept with another woman's husband was a mistress. Lily, the so-called politician's daughter, was indeed born out of wedlock.

Deborah's face turned ashen. Her hand, which was holding the fork and spoon, trembled. It was unbearable for her to be humiliated in front of her own daughter. But in the end, she just kept her head down mutely.

Steven's face flushed in anger. It was not his intention to have an affair with Deborah. But, he knew he wouldn't be able to explain himself anyway. Nevertheless, Irene had misunderstood him for a long time. Hence, her barbed words were not the worst he had heard.

However, Steven must admit that he was rather content with Deborah's tolerance towards Irene. Since Irene was seething with rage at the moment, she certainly needed an outlet. As long as Deborah could swallow her pride, no matter how unruly Irene was, Irene would eventually be moved by their kindness and accept them as her new family.

Because of Deborah's toleration, the tense atmosphere in the dining hall finally calmed down a tad bit. After such a fiasco, Irene was not in the mood to have any more food. She put down her cutlery and went to the living room.

Steven, Deborah, and Lily were not in the mood to eat either, hence they ended the meal hastily.

However, Irene's agenda for the evening did not only include provoking Deborah and Lily. She didn't go upstairs. Instead, she sat in the living room as she wanted to have a talk with Steven. When Steven came out of the dining hall, she spoke, "I need to talk to you!"

"What is it? Let's go to the study to discuss it," Steven suggested. His implication was that Irene should not have an open discussion with him in the face of Lily and Deborah.

Nevertheless, Irene wasn't going to do as per his request. "No, here is a good spot."

At that moment, Deborah and Lily had come over. Originally, they were about to head to their rooms after suffering such great humiliation. However, when they heard Irene's words, they both reversed their direction and sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Steven glanced at Deborah and Lily, who were sitting opposite Irene, and asked, "What's the matter?"

Irene answered, "It's regarding the sports tournament. I hope you can continue to be fair and square in the auction. Don't be partial to any party!"

Lily couldn't help but blurt, "Dad, you've promised me. I've already told Edric and Aunt Margaret."

Steven hesitantly admitted, "Irene, I have promised Edric the project a long time ago."

"Mr. Cook, you are a funny person," jeered Irene. "Does San Fetillo belong to your family? Can you give a project worth tens of billions of dollars to anyone you want? Is what a politician ought to do?" "I'm not being partial to any party. It's just that the Myers Group is indeed capable..." Steven explained.

"Are you suggesting that other companies apart from the Myers Group are incapable of handling this project?" Irene interrupted him. "After the auction of the urban construction project last time, can you still be confident that the Myers Group is the one and only powerful company in San Fetillo?"

"I..." Steven was in a dilemma. Indeed, the strength of the Golden Age Group was not inferior to that of Myers Group. It was true that the Golden Age Group had clinched the urban construction project previously because the city was interested in attracting foreign investment. Besides, their bidding documents were indeed on par with those of the Myers Group.

"Irene, you can't be so greedy. Dad has already sided with you about the urban construction project last time. You can't do the same again this time," Lily interrupted.

"Miss Cook, you are mistaken. The previous auction was carried out fairly. The Golden Age Group won the project themselves. Of course, Mr. Cook, if you'd chosen to help Edric last time, the urban construction project would not fall into the hands of the Golden Age Group," Irene clarified.

"That's all because of you," Lily sulked.

Ignoring Lily, Irene looked at Steven, warning, "I hope that the sports tournament this time can be carried out fairly. Mr. Cook, if I replace out what other tricks you have done in this auction, I will surely report you!" Her words brought a drastic change to Deborah and Lily's countenance. Irene was not afraid at all as she had nothing to lose. After all, she was used to living a poor life and had never thought of living under Steven's care.

However, Deborah and Lily were different. If Steven was investigated for that matter, it meant that their good days would come to an end. They knew what would await them if the halo of Steven's position as a politician stopped shining on them.

"Irene, what do you mean by this?" Lily questioned as she couldn't bear Irene's undisguised threat to Steven. Fury was scribbled all over her face. "You are doing this on p-p-purpose, aren't you?" she stammered, enraged.

"Miss Cook, why would I do such a thing on purpose?" Irene looked at Lily mockingly.

"You are jealous because Edric is engaged to me. You refuse to see us live a happy life!" Lily yelled. She was so pissed off. After all, Lily had promised Margaret at noon that Steven would lend them a helping hand. She had even told Margaret the latter could rest assured. However, now that Irene had made such a statement, Steven would very likely not help Edric. What was Irene up to exactly?

"You're right. I don't want to see you guys live a happy life!" Irene sneered. "Do you really think that I will bless both of you? You two are but a pair of adulterous couples! I can't wait to see you guys go to hell!" Irene cursed.

Lily's face paled. She looked at Steven for help. "Dad!"

Nevertheless, Steven was solemn and silent. Watching Irene at the moment, he was reminded of her pathetic state when she had divorced Edric. Irene was his daughter, so how could he not feel distressed when she was being mistreated? The Myers family was indeed ruthless; it was common knowledge to all. Therefore, Irene's hatred was only reasonable.

"Dad, you can't let Irene have it. If she's doing this to us for the rest of her life, then are you going to stop dealing with Edric?" Lily asked.

"Lily!" Deborah, who had been silent all this while, stopped Lily. Then, she cast her gaze on Irene, saying, "Irene, your father will help the Reed family in this sports tournament. I will explain to the Myers later on. But after this time, Lily and I will no longer owe you anything. Let bygones..."

"Mrs. Cook!" Irene interjected. "I don't know what's wrong with your comprehensive skills. Did I ask him to help the Golden Age Group? I didn't, right?"

Deborah's face flushed red. Indeed, Irene did not say anything about needing Steven's help at all.

Irene simpered. "Let me make myself clear. I'm not a person who conducts shabby deals. Mr. Cook, I just want to remind you to be impartial in your dealings. Let the participants compete in the way they should in this bid. If there is any favoritism, I won't hesitate to report it!" Irene clarified.

With that, she got up and went upstairs. The living room fell silent. Steven stood up and said, "Irene is right. San Fetillo is not mine. I don't have the right to decide who to help. Everyone has to compete for it fairly."

Lily's complexion turned ash-white. "But I have promised Aunt Margaret. Dad, please help me. Just this one time will do," she pleaded.

"No way!" Steven refused decisively. "Just as I said before. If the reason Edric gets engaged to you is just because of me, there's no need for you to get married! I, Steven, won't accept such a shameless person to be my son-in-law!"

Lily wanted to beg Steven again, but Deborah grabbed her arm and pinched her. Lily shut up sensibly. Steven went to the study while Deborah and Lily headed to Lily's bedroom.

"Mom, this little b*tch, Irene, is so hateful!" Lily closed the door furiously before she let her mouth run loose.

"Well, can you hold it in if someone else takes away Edric from you?" Deborah retorted.

Lily replied, "Of course, I can't. I'll definitely make that woman's life a living hell."

"That's right! There's nothing wrong with Irene's actions. In fact, the more she does this, the further she would drive Edric away. Think about it, what kind of impact will it have if we relay Irene's words to him?" Deborah asked.

"Huh? You've got a point. If we let Edric and Margaret know that Irene is playing such a trick on us, they will hate her to her bone. And, I won't have to worry that Edric will fall in love with her anymore," Lily chirruped excitedly. "I will tell Aunt Margaret what happened tonight!"