Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 107

Ethan frowned, "Ever since my mom lost her marbles, she gets terrified every time she sees my dad. Why on earth does he keep visiting her?"

His bodyguard remained silent, not knowing what to say.

Janice had been mentally disturbed for over twenty years. Although Nathan was dating Madeleine, he never divorced Janice, his first wife. They still lived together, which made Madeleine green with envy. She saw Janice as a thorn in her side.

Every time Nathan visited Janice, Janice would go berserk. Nathan was the head of the Blue family. Janice was his wife and they had never divorced. Who had the right to stop a husband from seeing his wife? Even if Ethan was in the room, he couldn't stop Nathan from seeing his wife.

Ethan knew his bodyguard couldn't give him an answer, but he instinctively asked the question anyway.

His mother was going off the deep end again. Ethan rushed to the mansion, with his bodyguard trailing behind him. The moment he reached the door, he could hear the sounds of things being smashed and shrieks from inside. He hurried inside.

It was the same old story. A bunch of servants were trying to restrain Janice, who was clutching a doll in one hand and throwing anything she could grab with the other. The servants had been warned by Ethan, so they didn't dare to rush her like before.

"Janice." Shirley felt both anxious and sympathetic. She tried to approach, soothingly saying, "It's me, Shirley."

"Stay away, don't take my baby!"

Janice picked up a vase with one hand, raised it high, glaring at Shirley. It looked like she was ready to throw it at Shirley if she came any closer.

"Don't go near her. That vase is a precious antique of mine!" Grace shouted, preventing anyone from approaching. She was worried that they might provoke her mentally disturbed daughter-in-law into smashing her beloved antique vase.

Accompanying the old lady were the daughters-in-law of the Blue family. Though they nervously watched Janice, there was a hint of delight in their eyes. It seemed they hoped Janice would throw the vase at Shirley, hurting her and breaking the vase too.

Grace used to adore Janice and treated Lucinda like her own, but was always cold towards her other daughters-in-law, Kayla and Ashley. It was only many years after Janice became mentally disturbed that Grace started to detest her.

If the mentally disturbed Janice smashed Grace's favourite antique into pieces, Grace would definitely kick her out of the city in a rage. That place was far from the city centre, and it would be convenient for them to do their thing.

Nathan stood at the top of the stairs, looking complexly at his raving wife. He found himself unconsciously at the door to her room, recalling the warmth of the past. Unable to control his steps, he walked in. He didn't do anything to his wife. As soon as he entered, he saw his wife clutching a doll, dozing off in a luxurious chair, which reminded him of the time when their daughter was still around.

His wife used to wait for him at home in the same way, holding their child. He approached, intending to carry her back to bed, but she woke up, panicked, pushed him away, and ran off with the doll. Nathan couldn't understand why his wife was so afraid of him.

What had he done to her… Nathan's eyes were filled with regret, pain, but mostly helplessness.

When he saw Ethan walk in, his complex expression vanished, replaced by indifference. "Ethan."

Upon seeing Ethan, Shirley felt like she had seen her saviour, "Ethan, quickly, calm Janice down. Don't let her smash that vase. It's Grace's favourite." Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"All of you get out," Ethan commanded sternly.

"Ethan, quickly, get your grandma's vase back. It's expensive, that mad woman…"

"That’s my mom!" Ethan retorted coldly. "If your vase does get smashed, no matter how much it costs, I'll pay you back."

No matter how expensive the vase was, can it compare to his mother? They all despised his mother for being mad. Who made her this way?

It was his father. It was the Blues. Because his sister went missing, they all blamed his mother for not taking care of the child. They all knew it was his father's mistake that led to his sister being taken away. They still had the nerve to blame his mother. His mother lost her daughter and faced blame from the family; how could she not go mad?

Grace frowned, "Ethan, I'm just afraid that if the vase shatters, it might hurt your mom."

"Exactly, Ethan, you need to know your place. She's your grandmother, your elder. Is this the way to talk to your elders?" Ashley started lecturing Ethan. Now that Grace was favouring her family, her eldest son Pete, who was only half a year younger than Ethan, held the same position of vice president as Ethan in Blue Corporation. Pete was eager to take Ethan's place.

Ashley's youngest daughter Molly, Ethan's youngest cousin, was only ten and somewhat resembled a young Grace. Everyone knew Grace used to dote on Lucinda because she inherited the old lady's beauty. Grace felt Molly was a replica of her, so she was particularly fond of her.

Molly only had a hint of resemblance, and the old lady already adored her beyond measure.

Before Ethan could say anything, Nathan, who had been standing at the top of the stairs, said, "Ethan is my son. If he's not doing well, I'll discipline him. I don't need you to do it for me. Although Ethan's mom has gone mad, I, as his father, am not."

As he spoke, he started walking down the stairs.

Ashley was quick to say, "I don't mean to step on your toes in disciplining Ethan."

"Ethan, get that vase out of your mom's hands. Take her out for some fresh night air, let her cool down a bit," Nathan instructed.

Ethan remained silent. He approached his mother gently, his expression soft, and used a tone as if soothing a child, saying, "Mom, give me the vase. Don't hurt the baby, okay?"

Janice immediately looked down at the doll she was holding, genuinely worried that the vase might hit the baby. She loosened her grip on the vase.

Ethan pounced, catching the vase before it could fall. Not that he cared about the vase. He just didn't want his grandma to use this as an excuse to send his mother away to a countryside mansion.

After putting down the vase, Ethan supported his mother, saying, "Mom, let's go outside for a walk to relax."

"Honey, should we bring the baby too?"

Despite Ethan's repeated corrections, Janice still referred to him as 'honey'.

Ethan replied softly, "Yeah, let's bring the baby. If you get tired, I can carry her."

"I won't get tired. You're so busy all the time, handling stuff at work and at home. I can't add to that by making you carry the baby. That'd just wear you out more."

Janice stared at Ethan tenderly, her voice filled with maternal love, "I'd feel bad if you're tired."