The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 830 The Compromise

"What are you talking about, Mom?" Allen snapped. He made sure to show that he didn't agree with Peggy. Gripping Doris' hand, Allen declared, "Doris is already pregnant, and this baby is my flesh and blood. There is no other woman in this world whom I want to be my wife, except Doris. And you can be sure I mean that."

"You shut up! I don't want to hear that!" Peggy screamed. She was extremely offended and glowered at Allen to express her anger. Bringing him up, Peggy pampered Allen, and he was, for the most part, an obedient boy. He would always do what his mother asked knowing it would make her happy.

Besides, Peggy was the only person capable of convincing Sue to listen to her and for some reason, to never disobey what she said. Still, she never failed to show her full concern for Allen. She wanted to do everything to benefit her son, and Allen was well aware of this.

"Did you hear that, Allen?" Doris snapped. "Did you hear what your mother said?" she sneered while trying to suppress her anger. "Do you remember when we first decided to get into this relationship? Can you recall how strongly my parents, both of them, were opposed to it? At that time, I thought you were a good man and would be a responsible husband when we got married. So, I chose to sacrifice my relationship with my parents to be with you. I did my best to be with you, even in the face of such hardship. Now, I'm pregnant. But I don't feel like you're going to protect me, because you're acting as if this is none of your business. Tell me, is that how a responsible life partner should behave? Is this how you intend to bully me, by letting her humiliate me?"

"No, Doris! You know that's not true!" Allen defended himself. He was frowning, trying to think of a way to deal with such an awkward situation. Allen kept on holding Doris' hand to console her, "You know my mother. She doesn't mean what..."

But Peggy, voice dripping with disdain, was quick to cut in, "No amount of prodding will ever make me change my mind." It made her proud to hear her son pledge his loyalty to her. "Allen is my son, and he will listen to me and do whatever I want him to do unconditionally."

Trembling with rage, Doris said, "You..." She rolled her eyes in disgust. But no one had any idea what was going on inside her mind.

With a look of superiority, Peggy eyed Doris and said, "I know you're pregnant now, and this baby is not only your child but also my grandchild. I want to assure you that as long as you do as I say, I will treat you and your child well.

However, if you insist on aborting the baby, I won't stop you from doing it. If you believe Allen is not good for you, I won't convince you otherwise. If that's how you feel about my son, you may leave now." "Mom..." Allen was upset after hearing his mother's words. Anxiously, he started to coax Peggy to show a little mercy for Doris. "Mom, Doris is pregnant. She's fragile now and has nowhere to live. Where else can she go?"

"It's none of my business," Peggy snapped. She fixed steely eyes on Doris. When she spoke again, her next words were a veiled threat. "Listen, let me remind you that you will only be granted recognition if you give birth to this child. After all, this baby will be part of our family. It is the only way to show your worth in this family. If you do as I wish, I will spare no effort to provide whatever you need or want. But, if you opt to get an abortion, you will lose your worth here. You will not be welcome in this family. You will never enjoy a friendly atmosphere when with the family, and neither can you demand anything such as accommodation and money. Whatever you decide, it will bring significant changes to your life. So, if I were you, I would consider everything carefully," Peggy explained.

She didn't mind spending time with Doris to patiently negotiate with the pregnant woman because Peggy was anticipating the birth of her future grandchild. But if Doris ever chose to have an abortion, it was made clear by Peggy that she would lose any leverage for bargaining in this negotiation.

After Doris listened intently to everything Peggy said, the offer was a bit clearer for her. The key word for her was money, and hearing this, she darted a glance at mother and son. After a few moments of consideration, Doris responded tentatively, "Did you really mean what you just said now?" She looked intently at Peggy, waiting for her answer with apprehension.

"Of course, I absolutely mean it!" Peggy exclaimed. She forced a motherly smile on her lips. Looking Doris in the eye, she guaranteed, "Rest assured that as long as you give birth to my grandson, everything in the family will be yours. And even though the property ownership certificate for this house is not yet available, you don't have to worry about that. You can stay here for the meantime, and there will be no problem about that."

Blowing out a breath, Doris said, "Okay, I heard everything you said. But, I'm still not ready to agree." There were a few other things she wanted.

"So, tell me what else you want," Peggy urged her. Peggy was thrilled with her conversation with Doris. She believed they were close to striking a deal. She felt the girl was softening her stance. "I will do whatever I can for you," she offered.

"I can accept the pending property ownership certificate, but you have to pay my family an agreed sum of money beforehand without delay. Furthermore, I want to have the right to decide how the wedding should take place. If there's anything, even just one, that goes against my will, I won't marry Allen," Doris laid out her conditions. There was a smug look on her face as Doris continued. "Maybe you think I won't abort the baby because it's too dangerous at this stage of my pregnancy. And you're right. But while abortion is a tough choice for me, backing out of a wedding is not. If you do anything to displease me, I will leave Allen and move immediately after the baby is born. Then I will make sure you can never replace me, however hard you look for me or how much resources you utilize. I believe those conditions aren't difficult don't you think so?"

Slightly alarmed, Peggy quickly assured Doris of her good faith. "Please calm down. I promise to fulfill my end of the bargain." More than anything, she wanted a wedding for Allen and Doris. As long as the woman agreed to marry her son, and attend the wedding, Peggy would do everything she could to make good on her promise. But she was thinking of cheating Doris first in regard to the house. According to her plan, by then everything that should happen would have already happened, making it harder for Doris to leave. Believing in her scheme, Peggy said, "I just promised to meet your demands, so don't worry, I will treat you as well as I treat my son."

The other woman nodded and said, "All right." But she had more demands. "I know that Allen's house now belongs to my future sister-in-law, but once we're married, I don't want to see her in that house," Doris said firmly. "I hope she will be moving out," she declared, her eyes challenging Peggy to disagree.

"Well..." For the first time, Peggy hedged. Shaking her head slightly, Peggy knew this was not an easy request, because it wasn't a matter of simply kicking Sue out of her home. She could replace a way to do that. But the house was a property of Sue's company. Without her, there was no legitimate reason for Doris and Allen to occupy the house.

"What?" Doris said with a mocking tone. "I thought you just said that you would do everything I want, and follow all that I say. But you can't even grant me a simple request?" The pregnant woman was enjoying her advantage.

A worried Allen butted in, "What are you waiting for, Mom? Just say yes! Kick Sue out. How difficult can that be? Why are you still hesitating?"

"What the hell do you know?" Peggy retorted angrily. She muttered a curse under her breath.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at Doris and explained, "Doris, over this matter of Sue in the house... We need to rethink this. You must understand the house is under Sue's name. With no one to support her, where would Sue go? That's why it's complicated."

"It is precisely because the house is under her name that I want her out of there," Doris scoffed. "As long as she lives in that house, Allen and I will always be guests. We will never own it. I will make sure that she leaves that house, and learns the lesson that regardless of the name on that housing certificate, that house will belong to, and only to Allen and me," she said emphatically.

Before she continued with her outrageous demand, Doris' eyes looked sharply at Peggy. "The house isn't big enough and will be crowded after the baby is born. Think of it this way, once she moves out, we'll have more space."

"But..." Peggy still didn't feel comfortable. She understood that in this matter, Doris was never going to back down. But booting Sue out of her home was not something she had the power to do.

Running out of patience because of his mother's hedging, Allen suddenly agreed to do it on her behalf. He promised Doris, "No problem. I assure you that I will talk to Sue when we have dinner and ask her to leave by tonight. You will never see her face in the house again."

"Wait a minute! Calm down, Allen," Peggy quickly jumped in. Her son's interference irritated the woman.

He threw his mother a dissatisfied look. "I don't get it, Mom. Why is it so hard for you to agree? What's making you so hesitant? Doris is right. This house is too small for the three of us, four if we count the baby. And let me say this, can you imagine how inconvenient and embarrassing it will be if she stays with us? Okay, if you feel uncomfortable telling Sue to leave, I'll do it for you. I'll ask her to move out," Allen volunteered.

His mother brushed off the offer. "Never mind. It's my business. I'll settle things." She sighed before scolding her son, "How can a rash and rude person like you be able to talk at all? I'll talk to her later. All you need to do is keep quiet."

Her abrupt remarks delighted Allen and Doris. Finally, they were getting their way, and they smiled at each other to signify their plan was succeeding.

In the kitchen, Sue found Sheryl washing vegetables in the sink.

A frown showed her displeasure. "What are you doing here?" Sue asked.