usatvline Chapter 291: Not a taint
Chapter 291: Not a taint
"You are mistaken, Aunt Camille." Joanna’s voice rang sharply in the gazebo, cutting off the old lady from chiming longer."It is true that I am married to a humble bloodline. But never once did I ever feel ashamed of that fact." Joanna’s tone of voice was stern, though her demeanor remained gentle with grace, as she always kept in mind to respect the elderly, as had been taught so far in her life. "And my child..." Joanna impulsively touched her flat abdomen, where no life had settled yet. "My child is not a taint, Aunt Camille." Joanna locked the older lady’s eyes with hers as she talked more.
"To tell you the truth, I haven’t had myself examined, not because I am ashamed to know the truth if I happen to be pregnant. But because I am afraid of my expectation turning out to be wrong. I am afraid of being disappointed." It was a lie. What she claimed to be a truth was not a truth at the moment, but it would surely be a truth if she happened to get pregnant in reality.
"I will never be ashamed of being pregnant with my child. Instead, I will become an utterly happy and proud mother, and I will raise my child with my whole heart for the rest of my life." Joanna was aware of what she was doing and what she was saying. It came from the deepest of her heart. She would protect her child with her own life, even though her child now only existed as an imagination. She would love her child. She would never allow her child to be disrespected.
"I am legally married. I have my husband, and my child has him as their father. Why should I be ashamed of that fact?" Joanna decisively spoke, somehow feeling warmth and pride twirling inside her heart as the words were conveyed. And the corner of her eyes caught Valerie, who remained silent with her hand still wrapped in her mother’s.
"A child that every woman conceived is too pure to be seen as a taint," Joanna added in a lower yet emphasizing tone. "As a mother, you should know that better than me, right, aunty?" A small smile adorned her face, covering the real turmoil she felt in her heart at the moment. It was really painful for a pure soul to be regarded as a taint. "I believe no mother would not love her own blood and flesh."
"Well, you just don’t know, dear." Aunt Camille interrupted impatiently. "You are just too young to know there are so many unfortunate things happening out there," she responded lightly with a chuckle, not bothering to beat around the bush. She even looked like she was mocking Joanna’s simple and innocent mind, not affected at all by the heartfelt words she uttered.
"It seems that my view is too narrow," Joanna remarked with a small smile, feeling agitated with the realization of how cold her mother’s stepsister turned out to be. "But I believe it doesn’t happen in our family. Don’t you agree, Aunt Camille?" She calmly countered the cold opinion, staring straight into the old lady’s unfriendly gaze.
"Of course, it is not, dear. A precious life should be loved." Aunt Camille’s statement was complemented with a kind-looking smile as she softened her composure. She seemed to belatedly realize that her gesture was in contradiction with the soft nature of the de Laras and the Mitchelsens. And she could not grow any suspicion.
"Glad to know that, aunty." Joanna nodded her head as an appraisal, becoming more aware that what was performed before her was just a pretense, as she was not blind, which made her fail to notice a hint of a grim expression marring Aunt Camille’s face. "And I’d like you to know that I sincerely respect you as my family," Joanna stated firmly. "But I will respect you more if you give your respect for my husband and my child because they are my family now, and I keep their presence dear in my life."
She did not care for all the pretense. She would just protect what she should protect. Therefore, she would not feel bothered with the temper of Aunt Camille, which seemed to be her true character that was hard to change.
She had considered it useless to defend anyone that the older lady saw as lower than her. However, when the older lady easily said her child was a taint, she could not accept that.
She was definitely not pregnant. How could she conceive when she and Canillas had not yet consummated their marriage?
She was just insane and had come up with an insane idea—to pretend to be pregnant. But she did it with one ultimate goal, which was to unfold the essence of her dream.
So far, the good thing about her having a period that was not over yet was that it was convincing if she created an excuse that she was not feeling well due to the role that she was currently playing.
Her physical appearance supported her for that role. And it was the reason that an insane idea grew in her head when she was deep in thought about how to unveil the real reason for her mother’s stepfamily to suddenly be at her home.
It was one way to verify whether her dream was a mere dream or not without her mother’s stepsister, whom she knew not only as a loose-tongued person but also as a sharp-witted person, knowing that she was lying.
And her suspicion seemed to get deduced. Yet even though a conclusion could not be made yet, as she had to confirm a few more things so that she would not falsely accuse an innocent, her mind was running in havoc. She felt bizarre.
She was confused and panicked, but she had to remain calm, as she could not let Valerie off her hook. There was more she wanted to observe, not only from Valerie but also from her mother. And she had to pretend that she did not catch the oddity from the mother and daughter, who might be playing their roles to invade her family.
Not wanting to prolong the point that was already clear, as she had shown her stance, which somehow had put relief in her heart for being able to do something to protect her family, Joanna stood and made her way to take a box in the cabinet that stood behind her.
Under the scrutinizing gaze, Joanna was back to the table and then opened the box, revealing a cake in it. Slicing it, Joanna put each slice on two small plates and served it for both mother and daughter. As she played a generous host, serving the guests all by herself, her eyes captured Valerie’s hand that was still in her mother’s hands.
What was that loving gesture for? Was it to console her daughter’s disheartened feelings, like the mother just mentioned? Or to make her daughter stay to diminish any suspicion? Joanna questioned in her mind.
"What is this, Ann? W-What is this cake for?" In a split second after the cake was served and her mind was still occupied, she was questioned by the young lady, who looked tense with her blue eyes quivering.