Reborn as Mr.CEO's Fat Wife-Chapter 829: Where is Alice’s Dad?

Alice, walking ahead, noticed her mother hadn’t kept up, and turned back suddenly and shouted, "Mom, hurry up!"

Catherine came back to her senses, looking at her daughter’s face still bright and cheerful despite everything they had gone through, and had a sudden realization: who says material things are everything? Perhaps what some consider as wanting the best for her is just another form of selfishness.

Having understood this, Catherine no longer obsessed over other matters. She had been graced by Benjamin’s favor, and if there was a chance to repay the kindness, that was enough; she wouldn’t be greedy for more.

After sorting out Alice’s issues, Catherine took her to take the bus to buy groceries.

When they returned at one o’clock, and just after she had prepared lunch for Alice, her phone began to ring. Glancing at the caller ID, she hesitated for a moment then reminded Alice to eat her meal well before going off to her bedroom.

As soon as she answered the call, Mrs. Ford started berating loudly, "You shameless wretch, you’ve lost all face for the Ford family. Is Alice really not a Newman child?"

"Did Foster come back?" Catherine had blocked Foster’s number, but she’d gotten calls from several strange numbers these last few days, guessing that Foster probably couldn’t let go.

"That bastard seems decent on the surface, but he’s just heartless. Tell me the truth, what’s really going on with the child?" Mrs. Ford scolded softly and then asked.

Catherine didn’t know how to respond, just then she heard her brother shouting from the side, "Sis, there was a funeral in the village today, and that bastard Foster came back and knelt in front of Dad asking our family to persuade you not to divorce. He said even if the child isn’t his, he wouldn’t mind, and his heart belongs to you. Now the whole village is talking crazy!"

"Shut your mouth," Mrs. Ford snapped at her son before pressing Catherine for answers, "With what he did today, our Ford family’s reputation in the village is completely ruined. Tell me straight—is the child really not his? If it’s false, I’ll fight them to the end today, and you’re no peace of mind either; divorce is not that simple of a matter..."

As Mrs. Ford went on grumbling, Catherine’s mind had already drifted far away. It took her a while to come back to reality and interrupted her mother, "Mom, Alice is indeed not Foster’s daughter."

One moment cursing the Newmans, the next nagging at Catherine, Mrs. Ford suddenly fell silent at that statement, like an engine cut off, before suddenly shouting, "Catherine Ford, have you gone mad? What nonsense are you talking about? Can you just spout nonsense like that? You married Foster in good condition, even if I wasn’t fond of you, I know your temper, how could you ever do such a disgraceful thing!"

"Mom, I was already pregnant when I married Foster, and he knew," Catherine knew this was hard for her family to accept, but there was no point hiding it anymore.

Mrs. Ford clutched her phone in silence for a long while, with Gabriel urgently calling out ’Mom’ on the side, wanting to understand what was going on.

Mrs. Ford, her complexion pale from the shock, finally found her voice, "You’re saying Foster knew the child wasn’t his when you got married? Why would he marry you then, and whose bastard child is it? Is it Kyle Carter’s child? I’ll go and fight him right now..."

Mrs. Ford’s voice choked as she spoke, and tears started to fall. Although she valued sons over daughters, her daughter was still a part of her, and though she scolded, it was mostly for her daughter’s sake. She never imagined her daughter wouldn’t confide such a big matter to her.

Tears also filled Catherine’s eyes, and she shook her head while holding back the tears, "Mom, don’t look for him. The child isn’t his."

"Then whose child is it?" Mrs. Ford asked in shock, but after waiting a long time without an answer from Catherine, the possibility in her mind made the tears flow even harder.

On the side, Gabriel was listening to the phone call and, seeing his mother like this, he too thought of the same possibility, his eyes reddening as he choked out a call to his sister.

Catherine didn’t know how to explain to her family, and eventually gave up, wiping the moisture from her eyes with the back of her hand, "Mom, Foster and I had a fake marriage arrangement from the start. He gave my child a rightful home, and I helped him to cover up..."

Phew!

When they made that agreement, Catherine was grateful to Foster. Alice’s smooth delivery was also largely thanks to Foster. Sadly, nobody foresaw that it would end up like this between them.

"What are you covering for him?" Mrs. Ford pressed on.

"Nothing. Mom, Foster Newman abused me. I have video evidence and a medical examination report. You go talk to the Newman family, tell him to stop bothering me and Alice, or else I’ll sue him for intentional injury. At that point, he’ll get at least three years." Catherine Ford still swallowed her words as they reached her lips. She had promised Foster Newman to keep that secret for him. Now that things had come to this, he could threaten her with her child’s paternity, but she couldn’t do the same. However, she wouldn’t let Foster Newman bully her or her family any longer.

Mrs. Ford had vaguely heard from her son that Foster Newman hit her daughter, but it was all hearsay. She thought someone with Foster’s refined appearance couldn’t possibly do that, but now, hearing it from her daughter’s own mouth, she trembled with fear over the phone, her voice shaking, "Catherine, you... you’re telling the truth? That bastard really hit you... "

"Mom, I’ve divorced him, it’s all in the past now," Catherine Ford didn’t contradict but softly comforted her mother.

"That bastard!" Mrs. Ford sobbed, tears streaming down as she watched her husband, who was sitting on the bed silently smoking, suddenly stand up and rush out.

Mrs. Ford didn’t have time to continue speaking with Catherine Ford; she hurried to catch up with her husband, and Gabriel Ford followed as well.

Catherine Ford listened to the chaotic noises on the phone, called out several times but received no response, then heard a series of beeping hang-up tones.

Holding the phone, Catherine Ford felt worried. She thought about it and decided to call a cousin at home, asking him to stop her parents from confronting the Newman family.

Knock knock knock...

Just as Catherine Ford hung up the phone, still filled with worry, the sound of gentle tapping at the bedroom door rang out. She knew Alice had finished eating and hurriedly composed herself before opening the door.

Alice threw herself onto Catherine Ford’s legs, "Mommy, can Alice watch Little Dinosaur for a bit?"

"Half an hour," Catherine Ford purposively put on a stern face.

"Deal," Alice cheerfully responded before scampering on her tiny feet to turn on the TV.

Once Alice was gone, Catherine Ford picked up the phone and dialed home again. This time Mrs. Ford answered after a few rings but didn’t give her a chance to speak, "You don’t need to worry about this; mom has it under control."

Having said that, she hung up again with a snap.

Catherine Ford was anxious but helpless. Thinking of the dinner she had to prepare for Benjamin Jones that night, she could only proceed to get the meal ready.

Since the dinner was specially to thank Benjamin Jones, Catherine Ford bought a lot of groceries, including an old hen. She had been in touch with Benjamin quite a bit recently due to the lawsuit and knew how busy he usually was, barely resting even on weekends. She was too busy during weekdays to make soup, but today was different. It was only two o’clock now, and she had plenty of time to fuss over it.

She started by stewing the old hen using the Ford family’s secret recipe, then chopped meat, washed lotus stems. This season was already past the best time for eating lotus roots, but she saw fresh white lotus roots at the market that morning and decided to make stuffed lotus root.

This was one of her signature dishes, at which she was particularly skilled. Because it was rather troublesome to make, she seldom prepared it, but today was an exception. She could make it not just for herself but also to satisfy Alice’s craving.

In addition, Catherine Ford prepared other dishes: blanched okra, homemade tofu for the vegetarian options; scream-back pork, tri-color stir-fried shrimp, pearl meatballs, and steamed bass for meat dishes. She prepared matcha green tea mochi cakes and strawberry panna cotta for dessert, knowing that Alice was not fond of rice. She made rainbow dumplings, especially for her little girl.

After she was nearly done with the preparations, she sent a message to Benjamin Jones.

Receiving no reply and wearing an apron, she poked her head out the door to see if Benjamin’s car had returned, only to find that it was already there. Guessing he hadn’t seen the message, and with food still cooking in the pot, she didn’t want to leave, so she simply stood at the door and directed Alice to go call him.

Alice happily agreed with an "Okay", put on her little cotton jacket and hat, and then bounced off. Catherine stood at the door shouting for her to slow down, and seeing that the child had entered Benjamin’s yard, went back to tend to the fire.

Alice, who took on the task of inviting guests, was just about to knock on the door of Benjamin’s villa when the door opened ahead of her initiative.

She looked up curiously and didn’t see her beloved Uncle Jones, but was instead greeted by the kindly smiling face she had seen that morning, which lit up her eyes, and she cheerfully called out "Grandma".

Mrs. Jones was so elated that her eyes crinkled into a smile, and pointing to Mr. Jones beside her, she said, "Alice, this is Grandpa."

Alice looked towards Mr. Jones, tilted her head, thought for a moment, and asked, "Grandpa, are you Uncle Jones’s dad?"

Before the visit, Mr. Jones had some doubts about his wife’s words, thinking she might have been overly eager for grandchildren, thus seeing a resemblance between the little girl and Benjamin. Plus, their son’s peculiar behavior had spurred his wife’s imagination. But after hearing Benjamin’s explanation, he was reassured, until he saw Alice.

Hearing the little girl’s childish and sweet voice asking if he was Uncle Jones’s dad, Mr. Jones, despite his age, nearly failed to contain his amazement and looked towards his wife.

Mrs. Jones gave her husband a triumphant look that seemed to say, "See? Didn’t I tell you so?"

It took Mr. Jones a while to compose himself. Observing the three-year-old girl’s innocent gaze, he tried to force a benevolent smile, "Yes, I’m your Uncle Jones’s dad, you can call me Grandpa."

Alice happily called out "Grandpa" and then looked at Benjamin with envy.

Mrs. Jones couldn’t resist asking, "Alice, why are you looking at your Uncle Jones like that?"

"Uncle Jones has a dad, he’s so lucky." The infantile innocence in the girl’s milky voice startled all three adults present.

Almost simultaneously, Mr. and Mrs. Jones glared at their son, then Mrs. Jones cautiously asked, "Everyone has a dad, where is Alice’s dad?"

"Foster Uncle is a big baddie, not a dad. Mommy says my dad is a superhero protecting the Earth and will come home once I grow up a bit more," Alice replied with her big, beautiful eyes, but then her little face fell and she sighed, "But I know Mommy is lying to me. She still thinks I’m a two or three-year-old kid."

The hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Jones shattered, their eyes on their son now flaming.

Benjamin felt quite uncomfortable under his parents’ glare. What were they staring at him for? He wasn’t Alice’s irresponsible dad.

"Poor little Alice." Mrs. Jones hugged Alice affectionately.

But Alice wriggled free, looking up at Mrs. Jones who had knelt down, with a mature expression, "Alice has the best mom in the world, I’m not pitiful."

Mr. and Mrs. Jones, unfamiliar with such situations, felt their hearts breaking, wondering why the little girl was so pitiable.

Alice was baffled why Uncle Jones’s parents seemed so upset and looked towards Benjamin for an explanation.

Benjamin was even more puzzled and reminded his parents, "Dad, Mom, it’s getting late. Weren’t you going to head back?"

That certainly was a rather explicit nudge for them to leave.

Mrs. Jones was already not in the best of moods with her son, and upon hearing his words, she became even more upset. She completely ignored him and asked Alice, "What did you come to find your Uncle Jones for?" freewebnσvel.cøm

Alice then remembered her mission and hurriedly called out to Benjamin, "Uncle, Mommy’s dinner is ready, please come over quickly to eat."

Mr. Jones gave his son a complicated look after hearing this, but Mrs. Jones took the opportunity to ask, "Alice invites Uncle, but not Grandpa and Grandma?"

Benjamin shifted his gaze, disbelievingly looking at his mother.

The Jones family is an established nobility in Swallow City, with his mother being a professor at Swallow University, who rarely attends any social gatherings or dinners, hardly ever accepting invitations. But today they were actively looking to mooch a meal from someone else; what were they thinking?

Did his earlier explanation fall on deaf ears?

Benjamin’s head hurt from the hassle and heard Alice, tilting her head and thinking for a bit, "Since Grandpa and Grandma are Uncle Jones’s parents, I invite you too, then."

Before Benjamin could intervene, he was left speechless...

Who said this little girl was clever? Not at all.

In fact, Benjamin had already seen Catherine’s message, but as he was worrying about how to get rid of these unwelcome visitors at home, he hadn’t replied. Just as he was about to speak up, Alice had arrived.

Watching Alice speak, and his parents seemingly ready to head over, Benjamin was filled with question marks – what was going on with his parents?

If it were only his mother creating a scene, he could understand, but why was his father, at his age, also acting foolishly with her?

Benjamin’s typically cold and stern face was beginning to show cracks as he cast a complex glance at his parents, "Miss Ford invited me to thank me, there might not be food prepared for you."

"It’s fine we’ll just say hello, we won’t eat much," his mother replied with a smile, seemingly oblivious to her son’s expression.

Alice looked up, "Grandma, I can share my rainbow dumplings with you and Grandpa."

Mrs. Jones’s heart melted, holding Alice’s little hand, "Our Alice is so thoughtful, Grandma thanks you, Alice. Tell me, what delicious food did your mom make?"

"Mommy made a lot of yummy things! There’s strawberry milk jelly, rainbow dumplings, little pig buns, meat..." Alice followed Mrs. Jones, counting on her little fingers as she listed the treats, so earnest and serious it could melt anyone’s heart.

Listening, Mr. Jones’s face - usually seen on television as a stern politician - softened with a rare gentle and affectionate expression, but noticing his son still confused, his gaze suddenly hardened and he huffed, "What are you standing there for? Follow along."

Benjamin was just speechless... How many years had it been since his father spoke to him with such a commanding tone?

He began to suspect his parents were perhaps a bit too eager for him to marry and start a family!

And yet, with the two seniors and the child already heading towards Catherine’s place next door, Benjamin had no choice but to follow. Watching their retreating figures, he sighed lightly – had he known that a simple act of kindness would cause so much trouble, he would not have interfered.

Indeed, no good deed goes unpunished.