My Mute Wife

Watching her back, her Grandma’s heart ached.

The night was getting darker.

In the bedroom, Edith was on the phone.

“Tina, today when your cousin saw that mute, he was so angry at first, if Kevin didn’t come out to defend her and help her explain, I think she would have been kicked out tomorrow.”

“And then what?”

“Then even when Alan found out it was me behind the scene, he didn’t blame me at all, as I said, he didn’t take that mute seriously at all.”

On the other end of the phone, Tina let out a laugh, “Congratulation then, it looks like you are one step closer to becoming my cousin’s wife.”

“That’s actually …”

The door to the room opened abruptly from the outside and Edith was startled, “Dad.”

She then hung up the phone.

Peter gripped the door handle, his face sullen, “What have you been doing today?”

Edith’s face stiffened, “Nothing, nothing …”

“I just heard it, and John told me all about it. You’re too bold for this today!”

“Dad …”

Edith was so scared that her face turned white, “Dad, I can explain, I …”

“Next time, you need to think before you do something like that.”

Hearing these words, Edith’s expression stalled and she looked at Peter in surprise, “Dad, you don’t blame me?”

Edith felt it unbelievable.

She originally thought that her father would scold her when he found out that she had schemed against Lexie again.

Peter’s face did not change, “Lexie can’t be replied on anymore.”

“Dad, what do you mean by that?”

“I didn’t expect her to rely on the Howard family and now she won’t even listen to me. If I had known this, I shouldn’t have married her to the Howard family in the first place.”

“I told you to be guard against her, she’s scheming.”

“But you shouldn’t have taken such liberties,” Peter glanced at Edith, “Like today, if Alan hadn’t not bothered with you, you wouldn’t have been in suffering.”

Edith smiled cheekily, “Dad, Alan is really quite good to me, look, for today’s mess, not only did he not blame me, he even accompanied me to dinner tonight, which means he doesn’t even put Lexie in his eyes.”

“Dad, how much better it would be if I am the one married into the Howard family?”

Peter frowned and looked relieved.

Recently Mitchell Pharmaceutical Group had been subjected to successive spot checks by the market surveillance department, several batches of drugs had been withheld, orders from customers had been delayed, plus investment losses on the property …

Thinking of this, Peter patted the back of Edith’s hand, “I don’t oppose you getting in touch with Alan, but you have to promise me one thing.”

Edith was overjoyed, “Okay.”

“Edith, you have to find a way to get a copy of the inside information on the bid from Alan.”

At the words, Edith froze.

In the following day, Lexie went to see Flora.

They met at the usual place, and when she arrived, Flora ordered a pot of tea as usual.

Lexie put down her bag, [Where is Myles?]

“He’s got a case in court today, so I don’t think he’ll be able to make it over in time.”

Lexie nodded in understanding.

Flora asked, “So eager to ask us out, is there any progress on yesterday’s matter?”

[Yes.]

Although Edith knocked her out yesterday, before she fainted, Lexie clearly remembered the picture and name she saw on the tombstone.

She never imagined that the name that was so taboo in the Mitchell family would have anything to do with her mother.

Lexie deliberated for a while, [You mentioned to me before that you suspected that the deaths of Daphne and Alfie back then were related to Peter, is that true?]

“It’s true, but so much time has passed that there’s no way to trace it back, Alfie’s car fell off a cliff and Daphne disappeared at sea, there’s suspicion, but none of it is proven.”

“What’s wrong? Why the sudden mention of them both?”

[I followed Peter yesterday to the cemetery].

Seeing Lexie looking like she wanted to say something, Flora realized that something wasn’t quite right, “And then? ”

[You said the person he went to offer to on the Ghost Festival was my mother, but I saw the person he went to offer yesterday].

“You know that person?”

Lexie nodded.

“Who is it?”

Lexie’s gaze was complicated as her fingers lightly traced a few strokes on the table.

Flora was stunned, revealing an incredulous look, “Are you sure? How could it be her?”

Lexie nodded solemnly.

What she scratched on the table was the word ‘Daphne’.

She was sure of it, and the picture on the headstone was exactly the same as the one her Grandma had once given her, the same one inside the darkroom, in black and white, with the woman in it smiling brightly.

Lexie’s hand trembled slightly as she held her cup of tea, her mind in a state of confusion.

After all these years, she surprisingly never knew that her mother was actually Daphne, the adopted daughter of the Mitchell family back then.

“Wait, let me sort it out,” Flora fiddled with teacup on the table, “The Mitchell family only had Peter and Alfie in his generation, plus his father adopted Daphne back then, and, Peter and Daphne are your parents?”

“That’s not right, Daphne was just the adopted daughter of the Mitchell family, if she wanted to be with Peter, there was no reason for the family to disagree, why would she have to leave J City?”

[I don’t know.]

“Daphne … Peter … Alfie …”

Flora recited the names of these three people and suddenly raised her head, “This can’t be, Daphne disappeared at sea back then, you …”

“Lexie, is it possible that your mother was forced to do that back then?”

Lexie’s face stiffened, [Why do you say that?]

“According to my understanding, Daphne was extremely accomplished in pharmacology back then, and in those days was one of the few female university students who had gone abroad to study. Her father loved her, and at that time, half of the Mitchell family’s pharmacy was managed by her.”

[By my mother?]

“Yes, we’ve been looking into these for a long time too, and then for some reason, the Mitchell family suddenly kicked Daphne out, when she was pregnant with you.”

[If she was forced, there was no need for the Mitchell family to kick my mother out after conceiving me].

Flora frowned, “Unfortunately, almost everyone from back then is gone, and you don’t remember anything from your childhood, so this is really not easy to investigate.”Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

Lexie suddenly remembered something, [There is one person who might know.]