Chapter 7: The Ultimate Mother-in-Law

Dawn was just breaking when Emily Parker was woken up by the WeChat notification tone on her phone.

Last night, after sending a drunken Evelyn Hanson home, she stayed at Evelyn's small apartment.

Beside her, Evelyn Hanson was hugging a pillow, sleeping soundly.

Emily checked her phone, and early in the morning, it was another message from the old man.

Time: Good morning.

Emily thought, the old man really was elderly, sleeping late and waking early, requiring little sleep, it was just past six.

Emily smiled and replied.

"Good morning, remember to eat breakfast."

Then she remembered, she had promised to bring the old man lunch today.

She simply got out of bed and, using Evelyn's kitchen, made lunch.

It was the smell of breakfast that woke Evelyn up.

Wearing her nightgown, bleary-eyed, she had just picked up her phone when she suddenly let out a scream.

"Emily! I'm so awesome, I actually managed to drink Director Ross under the table last night? He agreed to give our hospital their unit's physical examination project."

Emily had just dished out the steak, she froze for a moment, then came back to herself, Director Ross was that greasy man from last night, it might have been her slaps that subdued him.

Evelyn hummed a song and sat down to eat breakfast.

"Evelyn, help arrange an abortion at your hospital in a couple of days."

Emily hesitated, but finally decided to ask Evelyn for this favor.

Physicians cannot heal themselves; she had been pregnant for over four weeks now and needed to arrange it as soon as possible.

"Your relative?"

Evelyn Hanson was eating the steak fried by Emily, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, dripping with juices, truly delicious.

"No, it's not a relative, it's for me."

Pfft—

Evelyn was drinking milk when she heard this and sprayed out a mouthful of milk: "Adam Willow's? Then why the abortion? Wouldn't it be wonderful for you two to be together because of this? I don't care; I'm considered the matchmaker for you two, if you're getting married, you have to give me a big red envelope, after all, it was me who let you go to that private cinema..."

"It's not Adam Willow's, that night, I was in a daze and slept with a stranger."

Clang—

Evelyn instantly turned to stone, the dining knife fell to the floor: "What!?"

After breakfast, Emily Parker went to work.

As she changed into her clothes and came out, she saw two young nurses whispering to each other.

"The Sophi Parker who was just with Doctor Willow must be Doctor Willow's girlfriend. They seemed so intimate."

"They say she's a female volunteer, still in university. It was Doctor Willow who introduced her."

"I thought Nurse Parker from the pharmacy was Doctor Willow's girlfriend. Turns out not."

"Doctor Willow is young and promising; how could he possibly be interested in us little nurses."

Seeing Emily Parker walking over, the two nurses fell silent.

Sophie Parker had come to volunteer at the hospital, and it was Adam Willow who had arranged it.

Emily had thought that she would be upset when she heard the news, but her heart only felt slightly uncomfortable, much better than before.

Early in the morning, the pharmacy was busy.

There were quite a few people lining up in front of Emily's window, and someone squeezed to the front of the queue and handed over a prescription.

"Little Emily, the medicine you prescribed for me last time is finished, can you get me a few more doses?"

The speaker was a middle-aged beauty in her early thirties with a fair face, somewhat resembling Adam Willow, it was his mother Grace Willow.

"Auntie, why are you cutting in line?"

Someone behind complained unhappily.

"Who's cutting in line? I'm just asking for a favor from someone I know. My son is a doctor at this hospital, and the Nurse Parker in the pharmacy is my son's girlfriend."

Grace Willow was very smug.

After having two children, Grace Willow's body had always been in poor health, needing to take medicine all year round.

Later, when Adam Willow met Emily, he brought her home. Emily mentioned that her mother was an old practitioner of traditional medicine who had left behind several prescriptions for regulating the body that were very effective.

Grace had been taking them for seven or eight years, and her health improved, her complexion was much rosier, and she looked much younger and more beautiful.

When she asked about the medicine, it cost a thousand yuan per dose, and she had to take it every other day.

Grace Willow was reluctant to spend on the medication herself, so she had Emily Parker prepare and send it over, taking the medicine for several years without spending a penny.

But these past few days, she had run out of medicine, and Emily hadn't sent over the new batch. So, Grace Willow had no choice but to go looking for it herself.

Seeing Grace Willow's self-righteous demeanor, Emily was speechless.

In the past, Emily supplied medicine to Grace Willow because she was Adam Willow's mother, and Emily dutifully respected her as her future mother-in-law. Grace took advantage of her, but Emily just put up with it.

But now she no longer had feelings for Adam Willow, so why should she continue to show filial reverence to his mother?

"Aunt Willow, you need to queue. This is a hospital, and if someone complains, it won't reflect well on Adam Willow."

Emily said this, glancing at the long line behind her, patiently trying to persuade her.

Upon hearing that her actions might affect her son's future, Grace Willow begrudgingly joined the back of the queue.

Half an hour later, when it was finally Grace Willow's turn, the person at the window had changed. She asked and found out Emily went upstairs to the VIP ward to deliver medicine.

"Why is Emily Parker so thoughtless? I don't care, tell her to come down and get my medication."

Grace Willow fumed, dominating the window, refusing to leave, clamoring for Emily.

"Aunt, if you don't leave now, we will have to call security,"

said the nurse, clearly annoyed.

The commotion caught the attention of Sophie Parker, who was wearing a volunteer armband and walked over.

Although Grace Willow's clothing and appearance had changed, Sophie recognized her at first glance.

In her dreams, she had seen her sister Emily Parker's mother-in-law, who back then looked every bit the distinguished lady.

Emily had said that her mother-in-law was easy to get along with.

"Adam Willow's mother looks so young, much better than that short-lived wretch of a mother-in-law of mine. If I were a man, I'd choose her too,"

recalled Sophie, aware that Adam Willow was a devoted son and that Emily Parker's married life was happy, owed to her fortune of having a great mother-in-law.

For Sophie to be accepted by Adam, she first had to make Grace Willow accept her!

"What's a little money in the grand scheme of things if it'll win over Grace Willow? It's just a drop in the bucket compared to becoming the wife of a billionaire in the future."

Feeling pleased with herself, Sophie approached:

"Auntie, can I help you with anything?"

On the other hand, Emily Parker didn't want to deal with Grace Willow. Right then, the VIP ward urgently needed medication, so she found an excuse to leave.

At the elevator, Carlos was waiting for his secretary Oliver Ross.

"Boss, your breakfast."

Oliver hurried over, handing over the freshly bought breakfast, wondering why his boss, who usually skips breakfast, was so keen on getting it today.

"To get my grandfather off my back."

Remembering how his "grandfather" insisted he have breakfast, Carlos took a big bite of his sandwich and casually took a stack of business documents handed to him by Oliver.

Sawyer Carter had grown old and was semi-retired, but since he founded the Carter Clan, important documents still required his signature to take effect.

"Boss, make sure to get a nurse to treat that wound on your face later,"

Oliver reminded him as the elevator doors closed.

By the looks of it, Carlos must have gotten into another brawl last night, Oliver thought; the Vice President would have a fit once he found out.

Carlos touched the wound on his face; he hadn't controlled his strength when he threw the bottle yesterday, and the broken glass had scratched his face. It was nothing serious.

The elevator dinged open and there was just one person inside.

Emily Parker, carrying several boxes of medicine, stepped in and froze upon seeing Carlos. Both were taken aback.

Emily was preoccupied with the impending abortion surgery days ahead. Seeing Carlos, for no reason, she felt guilty and instinctively took a step back towards the elevator door about to close on her.

"Be careful!"

Carlos quickly pulled Emily in. He was so strong that Emily was yanked into his arms, bumping into his sturdy chest.

As Emily fell into his embrace, Carlos frowned, about to push her away. However, the moment he touched her soft body, a ripple went through his heart.

Emily was also stunned.

Memories long dead assaulted her.

The dream in the movie theater, the man's muscles covered in sweat, how many were there?

By the time Emily came back to her senses, her hands had already climbed onto Carlos's shirt, her fingers confirming their reality.

"Had enough? You say you're not interested in me? Huh?"