"Henry, how could I think so? Ruby is also your daughter, and you shouldn't be partial to Irish. She is a shrewd woman, and her actions made Ruby pass out."
"Auntie, I think Irish is a good woman, and you shouldn't say things like that." Lilith felt guilty about it but couldn't help contradicting her.
Henry pointed at Lilith while his eyes gazed at Shirley. "Do you see that? Even Lilith is more sensible than you. How can you accuse my daughter?"
Shirley sobbed but didn't say anything.
"Don't interrupt us. Go back to your room," said Kelly, after keeping silent for most of the conversation.
Lilith rushed upstairs angrily. Then Kelly leisurely began to take a sip of the tea.
"Shirley, I know you very well since we've been married for so many years. So, don't think I know nothing at all. You took Ruby and threatened Isabel when she was a child. And you know why Rachel left without saying goodbye? It's my fault, but you were awful to her. Now she's gone, and I want to make it up to Isabel so the Lake family can accept her. Am I wrong? I never required you to treat her as your own child, but I have made a will, and nobody can change it. She will hold my shares of the company, whether you accept it or not."
Shirley wiped her tears and said severely, "But she doesn't want the shares."
"It is none of your business." Henry roared and turned to William and said, "You are also a member of the Lake family, you won't object to my decision, will you?"
After drinking his tea, William put down the cup and stood up. "You are the leader of the family. I will respect your decision."
Finishing his words, he went upstairs but winked at Kelly as he passed her.
After getting the hint from her husband, Kelly took a sip of tea and said, after thinking for a while, "Brother, I know you're doing this for Irish, and she is also a member of our family, so it's normal that she holds the shares. But I want to know Joseph's opinion on this matter. After all, the company also belongs to him."
"Joseph has agreed with me. He is a reasonable man." Henry replied as he suppressed his anger.
"Well, that's fine since he is the manager of the company. That will make matters easier." Kelly twirled the cup in her hands and showed a faint smile.
But Shirley was not as calm as her sister, and after hearing this, she became even more irritated. "Reasonable? He's just infatuated with that woman. I bet he's willing to give all of the shares to Isabel."
"You are an elder member of this family, how can you still act like this? If you can't act like a proper member of this family, I will remove you from it."
"You..." Shirley stood up from the couch abruptly and gazed at her husband. She never expected he would say such a cruel thing to her.
Henry did not say anything to her and went upstairs directly.
"You're a heartless man. I have raised a lovely family for you, how could you say something like this to me? I've done so much for this family and at least deserve some recognition for my efforts. I know you can't forget Rachel...." Shirley began to cry again, but this time no one came to comfort her.
Kelly was annoyed by her crying, and finally, she also stood up. When she passed by Shirley, she said, "If you didn't insist on getting married to Henry, you wouldn't be so anxious about personal gains and losses. People always lose something when another gains it."
Shirley was irritated by her words and shouted at her, "You've hated me for many years because you think I steal your shining moment, isn't that correct?"
Kelly didn't respond to her at all, and she just walked away directly.
****
It was raining outside when she woke up.
Opening her eyes, Irish looked at the raindrops falling against the window, and she felt that all the unpleasant emotions from the previous day had vanished.
Joseph wasn't in the room, but she could smell his faint scent in the air. It seemed that he had just left.
When she went into the dining room, she saw him sitting there. There were no razors in her house, so she could see the shadow of a beard on his face, which made him look very resolute. He was dressed in the same shirt as the night before, but it was still clean and neat. Before she got close to him, his fresh fragrance floated to her. He was reading the morning newspaper, and when he saw her, he smiled and said, "Come and eat."
Irish took a glimpse at the time and found it was already ten in the morning.
It was raining cats and dogs outside the window, occasionally punctuated with lightning and claps of thunder. A bird flew dangerously close to the window, but when it nearly hit the glass, it turned and flew back into the heavy rain. Irish couldn't help but think that if she were the bird, she would fly away as well.
They all ate quietly without speaking to each other. After the meal, Joseph applied some cream onto her wounds, which had already recovered significantly from the previous night.
The rain didn't stop all day, and the entire area was thick with fog.
After finishing, Irish leaned on the couch and said to him, "I never thought you would find me."
"Daisy is a capable assistant," Joseph replied briefly.
The image of Daisy appeared in her mind, a talented and capable woman. She must have called Joseph as soon as she left her office. Irish sighed slightly and said, "Do you want to say something to me?"
Putting the ointment aside, Joseph looked at her for a long while and said, "Promise me something. Don't hurt yourself anymore, no matter what happens."
Her fingers trembled, but he caught her hands in his palms.
"That's it? I thought you might have wanted to punish me."
"Isabel"
"After all, your wife is in the hospital because of me."
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