Chapter 273
At the thought of Alex and his mother, Yuri, Belle was seen with tears welling up in her eyes. "When
Brian was in his senior year in high school, I was gued with a serious illness that nearly took my life
away. However, Yuri saved my life and paid the hospital bill for me when she traveled a long way from
Dusktown to Sanguine Mountain to visit me…"
"What are you talking about, Mom?" Rachael was seen with a gloomy look on her face as she shook
off Belle''s hand. "Mom, Brian''s colleague is busy with his work now, so spare him all the boring stories."
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In the meantime, Brian nervously tried to appease his mother, his forehead covered in a cold sweat.
"Mom, can we talk about this when we get home? I''m sorry for what I did. It was all my fault, and I
should have been more concerned with you and Alex. When you get home, you can do whatever you
want to me, but please just put a stop to all this farce here." Deep down, Brian was embarrassed
enough with Mack hearing everything from his mother. Thus, when Belle made a scene about their
domestic issue in front of a crowd of outsiders, he was overwhelmed by his sense of shame. As the
commotion drew the attention of more of his colleagues, Brian could feel goosebumps running all over
his scalp, wishing he could die rather than suffer from the humiliation.
"Both of you don''t have a heart at all. So, it''s not going to change anything either if we talk about this
when we get home." Belle coldly chuckled. "Didn''t your wifein about my unfair usation?
Well, I suppose we''re going to be stuck in this stalemate forever if neither of us isn''t going to open up.
Thus, let''s discuss your dissatisfaction here and let everyone be the judge of that. After all, I want to
see how dissatisfied she is."
Rachael, who was seen with a sour face, bitterly replied, "Mom, these people are not in a good position
to be the judge of our domestic issues since they are subjective. Moreover, everyone is too busy to
listen to our story, so let''s not waste their time. Come home with us, will you?" Deep down, she didn''t
expect an outrageous reaction from her mother-inw, who had been living in Sanguine Mountain all
the while without once visiting them in Dusktown. How could she do this to her son? Is she trying to
embarrass Brian? Isn''t she worried about ruining her son''s future? Is she out of her goddamn mind?
"Yeah, these people may not be in a good ce to judge our issues like you said, but you''re no better
either." Belle looked askance at Rachael in contempt. "I only met you once before Brian married you,
but ironically, this is only our first meeting in the five or six years since you both got married. You know
what''s more ironic? I haven''t even gotten the chance to meet your children. So, tell me—are you in any
position to judge?"
While there were a lot of people working in the research institute, it didn''t take long for a few of them to
be surrounded by a crowd of bystanders who were curious about what had happened. At the same
time, they were all murmuring gossip about Brian and Rachael, having their eyes fixed upon them.
On the other hand, Rachael, who was beginning to find herself at the end of the rope, finally broke her
silence and reacted in a cold manner. "I was pregnant not long after I married Brian. So, how do you
expect me to travel so far to Sanguine Mountain, not to mention the bumpy roads? As much as I
wanted to pay you a visit, I decided I should only do that when my child grew older. However, I was
quickly pregnant with my second child shortly after. Over the six years of my marriage with Brian, I was
pregnant twice, and we have two children, but they weren''t in good health. For that, I had to frequently
take them to the hospital, so how do you expect me to visit you in the mountains?"
"You might not have been able to make it, but what about Brian?" Belle questioned Rachael. "You and
Brian have been married for six years, but he only came back to see me once. In fact, it was when I
forced him toe back so that he could take Alex to a school in Dusktown. Thus, he had no choice
but toe back. Now, I understand that your pregnancy might have made it hard for you to travel
here to visit me in the mountains, but what about Brian? Couldn''t he have made it instead?"
"Oh,e on. Do you have any idea how busy Brian was with his work?" Rachael said, "Whenever he
was assigned a project, he was upied for months. Because of that, I was usually left alone with our
sickly kids at home. Do you know how tough that was?" Thedy tearfully added, "I don''t know what I
have done to piss you off so much that you want to make a scene right here, Mom? Please stop this.
I''m begging you—please juste home with us. Okay? This is the department where Brian works,
not a bazaar where people bandy words with each other. So, you messing around right here is only
going to ruin his career, so can we please talk about our problems when we get home?"
"You''re pretty good at feigning your innocence, aren''t you?" Belle chuckled coldly. "I know it was true
that Brian would usually be upied for a few months straight once he was assigned a project
because I have heard of that myself. However, I''m also aware that he would be given approximately 40
to 50 off days by his department should his projectst over a period of 5 months. So, couldn''t he have
come back to visit his sickly and dying mother, as well as his motherless son, in those 40 to 50 off
days?" The olddy then seized Alex''s hand and rubbed his head, sympathetically saying, "My poor
grandson lost his mother not long after he was born, only to be abandoned by his father, who married
another woman not long after. He then left him in Sanguine Mountain for about 4 to 5 years without
even bothering to pay him a visit."
Meanwhile, the crowd set their eyes on the olddy and the child, whereupon they turned their
attention to Brian and Rachael in disbelief. After all, Brian had a good reputation around the research
institute, as he was the youngest and most handsome deputy dean there. Nevertheless, it was
precisely Brian''s healthy image, coupled with his attractive looks and pleasant gentility, that made
everyone find it hard to believe what they had just heard about him. Because of his righteous and kind-
hearted reputation, he was thought to be a filial son, which was why no one had thought that he would
abandon his mother and son in the mountains without visiting them. Therefore, the crowd was
disappointed with Brian, deeming him a heartless man with no conscience at all while giving him and
Rachael evil stares.
In the meantime, Brian''s pride waspletely devastated by the utter humiliation with so many pairs of
doubtful eyes fixed upon him. Deep down, only he knew that he was always bothered by something
that came up at thest minute whenever he wanted to visit his mother, Belle. I really wanted to visit
you, Mom, but there was always something that came up in the end. Despite the thought of that, he
knew his exnation wouldn''t change anything because it would only be treated as an excuse to justify
his mistakes by the others. Fine, my words will only be met with contempt and disdain instead of
sympathy and understanding.
On the other hand, Rachael was surprised at how far Belle would go to humiliate her son, Brian,
showing no signs of holding back, even in front of the public. For that, she was sure that Belle was out
of her mind, or she wouldn''t havee to Brian''s workce to ruin his reputation. How could you do
this to Brian, Mom?! He is your son, not your enemy!
Angry with Belle, Rachael felt her finger turning cold as she stood up for Brian. "Mom, you
misunderstood Brian. He wanted to visit you, but every time he wanted to do that, something always
came up. It was either me or the children who fell sick. Thus, even when he was finally free after
finishing the project that had kept him busy for months, he had to look after our children so that I could
rest. Don''t you think it would have been unforgivable if he had left the children to me instead? Anyway,
that was the reason he didn''te back to visit you. Mom, I know we could have handled the situation
much better, but I''d be so grateful and happy if you could show us some consideration and
understanding. After all, it was really an uphill task for both of us to raise our children, considering Larry
and Lucy''s poor health, but I swear we didn''t leave you in the cold on purpose."