She’d never felt this humiliated in her entire life.


    In Vera’s moment of helplessness, unsure how to respond to them, Natalie suddenly spoke up with a


    smile. “Ladies, please don’t bother Mrs. Harding with all these questions. Laney and I are very good


    friends, and I happen to know a thing or two about the issue.”


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    Upon hearing Natalie’s words, Vera’s heart skipped a beat.


    She knew that Natalie was going to take the opportunity to reveal everything, including how Kailee had


    instigated her to force Laney to leave. It was going to be aplete humiliation for Vera.


    At that point, Vera kept silent, and waited anxiously for Natalie to reveal the truth.


    All thedies looked at Natalie with teeming anticipation, hoping that she’d divulge some shocking


    secrets to satisfy their intense curiosity.


    Natalie smiled softly at them and said, “The truth is, Laney and Garrett just had a small argument, and


    decided to live separately for a while. It had nothing to do with Mrs. Harding.”


    Mrs. Lee then asked skeptically, “Really? That’s not what people have been saying.”


    The otherdies were equally doubtful of Natalie’s ount.


    The hot topic of Vera mistreating her daughter-inw had been making the rounds in their circles, with


    everyone discussing it into great detail. To them, it was highly unlikely that the situation was as simple


    as Natalie had made it out to be.


    It was difficult for them to believe that Laney had left with her child because of a minor disagreement


    with Garrett.


    How could that be?


    Vera was equally confused, wondering why Natalie was speaking up for her.


    Did she have some trick up her sleeve?


    Natalie smiled and continued, “As you all know, rumors travel faster than true stories. Laney told me


    everything. Mrs. Harding even helped them reconcile with one another.”


    Natalie spoke in a very convincing manner, so the gossipydies started to believe her ount of the


    scandals.


    Johanna then also nodded in agreement and added, “Mrs. Harding has been enduring these negative


    assumptions about her in order to take the pressure off Garrett. She is just being protective of her son.”


    Thedies were skeptical of Natalie’s ount at first, but after Johanna’s reassurance, they


    immediately became convinced. They then felt a unique mixture of sympathy and respect for Vera. “I


    see. That makes perfect sense.”


    “I didn’t realize that Mrs. Harding had quietly been tolerating so much.”


    “Next time I hear anyone spread these rumors again, I’ll definitely stop them.”


    Thedies all remarked one after another.


    Vera’s long-standing worry was finally put to rest.


    In spite of that, she was still puzzled as to why Johanna and Natalie had decided toe to her aid


    and defend her.


    With Johanna’s and Natalie’s exnation, the group of wealthy women began to feel that Vera was


    actually a great mother-in-w.


    And they decided to help scotch the rumor for her.


    Johanna smiled while persuading Vera, “You don’t need to worry about the children anymore. They


    have their own life. I used to worry about Natalie and Brandon as well, but they’re managing their lives


    so well!”


    Vera finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “You’re right. I was probably worrying too much about


    them.”


    “That’s right. If you get worried again, you can have afternoon tea with us just like you used to,”


    said Johanna with a smile while pouring Vera a cup of ck tea.


    Completely rxed, Vera took a delicate sip of her tea, and her smile was bing more sincere.


    “You’re right, Mrs. White.”


    Johanna smiled and said, “I think I should invite you more often to our tea parties in the future, and I


    hope Mrs. Harding would honor us with your presence.”


    Although Vera wasn’t sure of Johanna’s ulterior motives, she could only nod and agree because of the


    ladies surrounding them.


    “I would be honored to join you.”


    The otherdies also moved onto other gossip and let go of the Harding family’s scandals.


    After finishing their tea, thedies left one by one, while Vera remained seated.


    Once other women had all left, Vera looked at Natalie in confusion and asked, “Why did you help me?


    It did not benefit you in any way.”


    Natalie smiled and said, “I didn’t want to harm your reputation. I only argued with you earlier so that


    Laney could live a peaceful life without any disturbances for a while.”


    Vera’s anger had already faded away when Natalie spoke up for her in front of thosedies.


    Now that Vera was calm, she thought about it from Natalie’s perspective and realized that what Natalie


    had said was right.


    After all, she was manipted by Kailee. If Laney continued to stay in Barnes, she and her baby could


    likely be subjected to serious harm.


    “But… The baby…” Vera hesitated, unwilling to let go of her misgivings.


    She hadn’t had many chances to see her granddaughter before Laney took the baby away.


    Natalie sighed and said, “I know you’ve always cared about your granddaughter, but a good family


    environment is essential for her growth. You don’t want her to grow up without her mother’s care and


    love, do you?”


    Vera knew Natalie’s words was reasonable, so she had no choice but to nod and said, frustrated, “I just


    miss the child too much.”


    “I understand how you feel.” Natalie took out her phone and showed Vera a photo. “This is your


    granddaughter, and Laney is taking very good care of her, so please rest assured.”


    The baby in the photo was cute and had chubby cheeks, innocently and adorably sucking her thumb.


    Atst, Vera saw her longed-for granddaughter, and even though it was just a photo, it brought tears of


    joy to her eyes.


    She kept ncing at the picture, t*ouching the baby’s cheeks through the screen, and said, “She’s


    really cute. She looks just like Garrett did when he was young.”