His Coy Lover

Charles said coldly, “The one living with her is me. I don’t mind her current temperament. What does it have to do with you? She’s not being the daughter-in-law of The Winston; she’s being my wife. Whether she’s suitable or not, I have the final say!”

“What did Grandma tell you?”

Charles asked coldly, “Don’t think I don’t know. Just now, you and Nina were standing with Grandma watching me and my wife from afar. Did Grandma say she wants to send Zelda away?”

“Charles.”

Lucas didn’t know how to respond.

In this family, Grandma was the matriarch, and big brother was the head of the family. Lucas didn’t want to offend either of them.

The best way was to keep silent.

“Your sister-in-law is a work in progress. Give her some time, and she’ll prove herself to you.”

“Even if she can’t make you change your opinion of her, it’s not her fault. It’s your eyes that have the problem. Anyway, now that I’ve married her, she’s my wife. She doesn’t mind me, and she won’t leave me. I won’t abandon her! Lucas, I hope you all can respect Zelda as you respect me. She’s your elder sister-in-law.”

Lucas shuddered, saying seriously, “Charles, as long as you approve of her, then she’s my elder sister-in-law.”

Charles had someone to protect now!

“But, Charles, her attitude has changed too much. Aren’t you afraid she’s using you? Or trying to get something from you?”

Charles remained silent for a moment before saying, “Whatever she wants, if I can give it to her, I will.”

Lucas stayed quiet.

Charles glanced at his brother and self-deprecatingly said, “Lucas, in my current state, even Zelda, I’m not worthy of her. She married me, but it should be said that I’m dragging her down.”

“Who else would Grandma expect me to marry? Who else would be willing to marry me?”

“Charles, you will get better.”

Charles smirked. “If Grandma intends to drive Zelda away, I might as well stay like this. If I’m like this, it’s clear that I’m not worthy of Zelda. Even if Grandma knows that she and I are married, she won’t make things difficult for her. Instead, she’ll be afraid that she’ll leave me.”

Lucas hesitated, unsure of how to respond. He knew his brother cared too much about Zelda and was worried that Grandma would drive her away, which led him to say those words earlier.

“Lucas, since you’re not going out today, accompany me for rehabilitation. I want to stand up again soon.”

This way, whenever Zelda encounters danger, he’ll be able to rush to her side as quickly as possible.

Though, it seems, she can handle everything herself.

“Alright.”

Lucas didn’t refuse. Charles doing rehabilitation was the best thing for their family.

Zelda didn’t know what the brothers had talked about after she left. She asked the driver to take her to the hospital to visit Alan’s mom.

Alan’s mom was recovering well, probably because her biological daughter had been with her for a few days, and her spirits were high.

Zelda walked into the hospital room carrying a bouquet of flowers and many nutritional supplements. Alan’s mom was holding her son’s phone, scrolling through TikTok and occasionally laughing.

Alan was peeling an apple for his mother.

When they saw Zelda enter, both mother and son stopped what they were doing.

Alan’s mom placed the phone on the bedside table and smiled, “Zelda, you’re here.”

Her gaze wandered behind Zelda, disappointed to see no one else.

Zelda knew she was hoping for Elle’s company, so she explained, “Mom, I didn’t come from home, so I didn’t come with Elle. We both attended a banquet last night and had quite a bit to drink. She’s probably staying home to rest today.”

Alan’s mom sighed, “Why did she drink so much? Drinking too much hurts the stomach. Zelda, what about you? You always liked drinking. In a situation like last night’s, you probably drank freely.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

After calling Alan “big brother,” Zelda handed the bouquet to Alan’s mom and placed the supplements on the bedside table before sitting down by the bed.

She smiled and said, “Mom, you know my alcohol tolerance. Don’t worry, I won’t let myself get drunk. Dad told me that when women drink outside, they must control themselves and not get drunk to avoid trouble.”

She had been drunk before.

On her eighteenth birthday, one night, her foster father and two brothers took her to a bar, telling her she was an adult now and allowed her to drink freely for once.

So, she drank freely until she got drunk.

The next day, her foster father told her how many glasses she had drunk and then told her solemnly that when women drink outside, they must have limits, know how much they can drink before getting drunk, and control themselves before getting drunk to avoid trouble.

In this dangerous society, especially for women, what would happen if they got drunk outside without any relatives around could be guessed with just one guess.