Chapter 916 Old Mrs. Fuller’s Motive
“I understand.” Toby nodded.
Rose thumped on her chest. “So, once again, after your father fainted from overdrinking because of your mother, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I went to look for your mother and asked what she wanted. Why didn’t she keep her word? Since she looked down on my son so much, why didn’t she agree when the Fuller Family asked to cancel their marriage?
Why did she have to marry into our family? Didn’t we give her a chance? Yes, we did. After canceling the marriage, she could be together with Connor, and the Fuller Family would also help the Johann Family, but she disagreed. After she got married, she enjoyed the Fuller Family’s contribution to the Johann Family, and still treated my son like that…”
No matter who it was, it would be intolerable, no?
Toby lowered his eyes and did not respond. As a son, he knew that his mother’s behavior was wrong, and even immoral. However, he couldn’t say that directly. Even though he didn’t have much affection for her, she was still his mother.
Rose had always been a reasonable woman. Hence, though she knew the reason for Toby’s silence, she never blamed her grandson. After all, it was his duty as a son to not talk about his mother’s mistakes. If he had said something, she would’ve thought that he was in the wrong instead.
“But, Grandma, did you never ask them to divorce?” Toby pursed his lips and asked suddenly. “With your personality, if you see Dad living in such pain and watching as Mom keeps thinking about another man, you should’ve asked them to divorce for everyone’s good.”
“Of course I did.” Rose sighed. “When I was talking to your mother, I suggested a divorce. Although your mother was already pregnant with you at that time, I also told her clearly that she could abort the child and pursue her love. But…”
“My mom still refused?” Toby guessed.
Rose nodded. “That’s right. Although your mother was a little stupid in love, she still possessed a sense of responsibility. She rejected my suggestion and said that because she had promised to give birth to an heir for your father, she couldn’t go back on her word and thus wouldn’t abort the child. Also, she told me that she wouldn’t divorce for the time being, and that only after her child had grown up and could understand that there was no love between their parents would she divorce your father and leave.
She told me this very seriously, and I did want a grandson really badly. Besides, your mother was already pregnant with you, and I couldn’t bear to let her get rid of the baby. I just didn’t want to see her and your dad torturing each other anymore, which was the only reason I endured the pain and allowed her to abort it in the first place. But since she said she wanted to keep the child, I naturally stopped trying to persuade her.”
“What happened next?” he asked.
She took a sip of her tea before continuing, “After that, I told your mother that as long as she didn’t regret it, then it was up to her. That time, your mother smiled and touched her stomach, saying that she didn’t regret it, and that although she could only be with Connor many years later, he would wait for her, and still protect his chastity just like she had. She and Connor had made an agreement, and I already found out about this when I looked into her, but I didn’t tell her that. Even after she told me, I deliberately pretended to be surprised and said good for her.”
Saying that, she scoffed mockingly. “Although I said that at the time, I thought it was ridiculous. How could she believe that a man would actually abstain for her sake? She had really overestimated Connor’s feelings for her. If that man really loved her so much, why did he never stand up against her engagement to the Fuller Family or the fact that she was about to get married?
He didn’t even make his relationship with your mother public. On the contrary, it was your mother who declared it before she got married. If that man really loved her so much, would he not object to her marrying another man, and would he hide his girlfriend’s status? Hence, I never thought that Connor had loved your mother, but she… Sigh…”
Rose heaved a long sigh. “It turns out that what I thought back then was right. Connor even has an illegitimate daughter, and she’s about the same age as Sonny. This obviously shows that he had broken his promise on his own when your mother hadn’t even been married for more than two years. If she found out about this, she might rise from her grave in anger.”
“Just keep it from her,” Toby said indifferently, lowering his eyes.
Amused by his words, Rose burst out into laughter. “You have a point. But, although your mother was despicable, she was also really pitiful. If she had really left Connor behind and stayed with your father, she would’ve definitely been living a happy life now, and Jean wouldn’t have come into the equation.”
Toby trusted her words as Rose said before that his father used to love his mother. If it weren’t for Valerie refusing to reciprocate Homer’s affection and kept pushing him away, he wouldn’t have fallen in love with Jean. However, although Jean was crude and not up to par, she was indeed a good person. Because she felt that she was the other woman and that she had caused the death of his mother, she treated him completely like her own son.
It was also because of this that even though Rose didn’t like Jean, she still recognized Jean as her daughter-in-law.
“Perhaps, Dad wasn’t destined to be with Mom, and his real fate was with stepmom.” Toby looked at Rose and said, “Besides, Grandma, don’t you think that after Dad got together with stepmom, he has become so much happier?”
Rose huffed. “If I hadn’t been sure that the two of them did have feelings for each other and Jean was also kind to you, even if your father had accepted punishment, I wouldn’t have allowed Jean to marry into our family.”
He chuckled. “Grandma, even if you don’t like stepmom, you still give her enough recognition. You just don’t like her personality, but it doesn’t mean that you didn’t acknowledge her as the daughter-in-law of the Fuller Family.”
She sighed. “Yes, she’s gaudy and uncouth, and I can’t find anything about her to like. She still wouldn’t change after I’d tried for so many years and gives me a headache, but I can’t find any problems in the way she treats you. In the end, she’s unqualified to be the daughter-in-law of the Fuller Family in terms of family ties, but I have to admit that she’s a good wife and mother. Still, I didn’t hold high hopes for her in the first place. As long as she did her duty well as a wife and mother, I wouldn’t ask for anything more.”
Saying that, she waved her hand with a disdainful look.
Toby laughed for a moment before his expression returned to a cold look. “Right, Grandma, you still haven’t told me how you realized that Mom raised me to have Connor’s personality.”
When Rose heard that, her face darkened. “I really didn’t know at first. When your mother said that she wanted to foster your character personally, I didn’t think much about it because I thought that it was normal for a mother to raise her son. I couldn’t deprive her of her rights as a mother, so I went along with her words.
It was only until you turned eight and I went to Westsanshire for your grandfather’s fellow comrade’s 80th birthday that I met Connor there. The moment I saw him, my first impression of him was like Sonny’s, as you’ve said. In an instant, I understood your mother’s actions, and I was angry. How could your mother be so foolish to raise her son into her lover’s replacement? Was that something a mother should do?”
Her face flushed red from anger.
As though suddenly recalling something, Toby raised his head and looked at her. “No wonder you suddenly asked me to come and live with you after coming back from Westsanshire. You just wanted to prevent my mother from continuing to brainwash me and fully turn me to have Connor’s personality.”
