Chapter 1511 A One Year Marriage Contract
In the end, Tillie never managed to say anything.
The love she had for him was a secretive, fearful one. She already had a lower status than him, and she was definitely not thinking of only helping out at the bar.
She was there because she had heard him cry out the name Sabrina upstairs on the day of her marriage.
Tillie went back to the Cooper family.
She did not return to the bar after that. The reason she gave to the others about her absence was how inconvenient it would be for her to go there with a twisted ankle.
Although she was not at the bar, the members of the family were quick to assign her to various tasks. While the condition of her twisted ankle was not too serious, ever since Violet came back from the hospital, she began ordering her around again.
“Tillie, get me chicken soup from the supermarket. Oh, get some supplements too. Buy more of them.”
Violet was not at all holding herself back from ordering Tillie around.
Of course, Tillie ignored her.
However, her mother-in-law soon began siding with Violet.
“Yes, Tillie, hurry on. Your sister-in-law has been in the hospital for too many days. She needs to be healthy soon. Hurry on and get the chicken soup and the supplements for her.”
Tillie was exasperated, yet she had no choice but to head out.
Tillie was on her way back from the supermarket after buying what Violet wanted when she encountered someone from her family.
That woman was her aunt. When her aunt saw how haggard Tillie looked, her heart broke, and she hastily asked, “Oh my god, Tillie, what’s the matter with you? Why do you look so pale? Are you all right?”
Hearing that, the feelings she had been bottling up over the months finally spilled over the brim, and tears sprang to Tillie’s eyes.
“Aunt—” Before she was even done calling for her aunt, she had launched herself into her arms.
Her aunt was dumbfounded.
The Zander family was somewhat related to Silas Zander.
Thus, when Tillie’s aunt heard the wails of her niece, she instantly figured out what had happened. Then, she began demanding Tillie to lead her back home to settle the score with the Coopers.
“Let’s go. Let’s go back to the Coopers. I want to see for myself what right they have to be so mean to my niece!”
Tillie’s aunt was a woman of a fiery temper, so she immediately wanted to head back to the Coopers to hold them accountable for Tillie’s miserable state.
However, Tillie stopped her in time.
She did not want things to turn ugly, for she was sure that Edmund would be mad if they were to have a falling out.
Thus, she convinced her aunt to go back home.
Nevertheless, what she did not expect was to hear Violet’s curses and insults about how late she was upon going home.
“Tillie, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Do you have any idea what time it is already? Are you trying to starve me to death?” Violet shrieked as she threw a cup at Tillie.
Thump!
A bruise instantly formed on Tillie’s wrist.
When the pain shot up her arm, Tillie’s eyes widened before they darkened. It was then a downright murderous look crept into her eyes.
Yet, at that moment, Edmund came home.
When he registered what was going on, he bellowed, “Do you have a death wish? Do you want me to blow your brains out right now?”
Just two sentences from Edmund made Violet shudder violently before stilling herself obediently.
Tillie’s eyes then flicked toward the man.
The murderous look, by then, had faded away and was replaced by joy and hope.
It did not matter even if that man never once glanced at her after his initial assessment of the scene.
Due to Edmund’s abrupt appearance, Violet temporarily ceased in her domineering ways. As it turned out, Gabriella seemed afraid of her stepson as well. As long as he was at home, she did not dare to order Tillie around.
For once, Tillie had a few peaceful days.
Nevertheless, what Tillie did not know was that these were the works of his older sister, Riley, who was living in Yorksland. She was the one who had convinced Edmund to stay in the same house as Tillie.
“Ed, I think you should stay at the Coopers as often as possible. Although you don’t want to sleep in her room nor get physically close to her, you have to remember that we’re using her right now. We can’t be too mean to her. I heard that Violet and Mom have been putting her in a tight spot quite often. At the very least, you should let her have a peaceful year with our family.” That was what Riley had told Edmund.
That day, when Tillie was bringing supper to Edmund, she heard his call with Riley.
After hearing their conversation, her mind went blank.
Tillie knew that he had a motive for marrying her. She knew it because she had kept telling her family that she wanted to marry into the Cooper family, but nothing had happened until that sudden one day.
She had known it back then, so she was not angry about being used.
But why a year? Is he going to get a divorce with me in a year?
Tillie did not know how she managed to get back to her room. She only knew that when she woke again, blood was everywhere on her table, and a razor blade was in her hand.
Then, she saw cuts all over her other arm.
Why? Edmund, are we not people of the same world? I’m not pretty, so the entire Jadeborough laughs at me for that. You’re an illegitimate child, and everyone looks down on you. Are we not people of the same world? Can’t we stick together?
