Chapter 249 Messages
Chapter 249 Messages
A sharp ding echoed through the room.
Another voice message from Jonathan had arrived.
+5 Free Coins
Anneliese froze, her heart skipping a beat, unsure what he had said. She fumbled through her bag, pulled out her earphones, and gingerly plugged them in, bracing herself before pressing play.
“We are married. You can call me your husband. I need no explanation.”
A shiver ran down her spine, sending warmth and tingling from her ears to her shoulders.
Her fingers rubbed her ears instinctively. She hurriedly recorded a reply, her voice a mix of embarrassment and irritation.
“You’re still on the plane, aren’t you? How’d you even get the news so fast?”
She hesitated before sending it, and then immediately regretted the act. At the same time, her hand brushed the earphones off her head. They hit the floor, bounced twice, and tumbled down a short flight of steps.
Anneliese lunged forward to grab them, crouching low, her breath quickening.
Then a heavy foot slammed down on the earphones. Pain shot up her hand, forcing her to recoil.
Her fair, delicate hand swelled where it had been crushed.
“Oh my, this sidewalk is wide enough, yet someone still runs right into my foot,” a familiar, sharp voice mocked.
Anneliese looked up to see Lenora standing there, eyes flashing with dominance.
Next to Lenora were Melody, a refined young woman, and a group of rich wives.
Lenora tilted her head, feigning surprise.
“Well, if it isn’t my barren, ungrateful, harsh ex–sister–in–law who abused me and got tossed out of the family.
“Sorry about your earphones, but I assume you don’t expect me to pay for them. After all, you married my brother with nothing, and a divorce made you hundreds of millions.”
1/3
Chapter 249 Messages
45 Free Coins
Lenora slammed her silver glitter stiletto into the earphones, grinding it down with cruel precision, as if she were stamping on Anneliese herself.
“Lenora, stop. This is family business. She’s already divorced your brother. We don’t need to mak
things harder,” Melody said, her tone falsely gentle.
But the damage was already done. That was exactly what they were gunning for.
The rich wives had nothing but contempt on their faces, and they did not hold back with the mockery.
“Oh my! She walked away with hundreds of millions? The Shaws are generous.”
“Exactly. A woman with nothing and a reckless reputation shouldn’t get a thing.”
“She’s lucky to have married young, powerful Mr. Shaw. Even divorced, she comes out on top.”
Melody had grown up modestly and never fit in with the real elite housewives. Her circle consisted of lesser wives looking to climb social ladders.
They gathered around Lenora and Melody, pointing fingers and whispering cruelly at Anneliese, eager to join in the attack. And they did that even though they had no idea about the whole story.
Since Anneliese’s divorce, Zacharias had forced Coral to abort, thereby destroying any chance of Melody getting a grandkid and Lenora having a niece or nephew. And his actions drove a wedge between him and his family.
Zacharias hadn’t answered calls or come home to dinner for days.
All their anger had been unfairly placed on Anneliese, and now they had an outlet.
Lenora lifted her foot to leave, but a sudden, forceful tug yanked her ankle.
She stumbled and screamed.
Anneliese’s eyes narrowed, cold and sharp with fury.
She seized Lenora’s high heel and swung it with fierce precision.
“You blind, ignorant mutt. You yap on and on and on. Remember that one time when you nearly got yourself killed in a beating when you were a kid? Then you and your mother came to my place for sanctuary, and you hid there for days.
“Remember how my parents kindly paid for your tuition when you couldn’t cough up the
2/3
14:16 Wed, Sep 17 N
Chapter 249 Messages
money? And how your family used my dad’s survivors‘ benefit to pay off your debt?
38
+5 Free Coins
“You forgot all of that, of course, you did. You and your mother are all ungrateful. I don’t expect any virtue from you and your ilk.”
Anneliese’s accusations rang out as the high heel slammed into Lenora’s chest, back, neck, and head.
Lenora, missing one shoe and unable to dodge, screamed with every strike.
“Ow, ow, ow! Mom, help me! Nooo!”
“Anneliese, you lunatic! Stop this!”
Melody finally reacted, rushing forward to shield her daughter.
Others tried to pull Anneliese away, but she struck with precision, then retreated to the steps.
She lifted the heel like a weapon, her eyes cold and unflinching.
None had the courage to approach her.
She looked down at Lenora, who sobbed, her face red and bruised.
“Barren? Really? That’s the best you could do? We’re out of the middle ages. That word should be retired as an insult. And besides, even if you mean it as an insult, that’s a projection, at best. After all, you’re…”
“Anneliese!” Melody’s sharp voice cut her off, panic etched in every line of her face.
Even though Melody silenced her, the expressions on her own face and on Lenora’s pale, terrified face left no room for doubt about the truth behind Anneliese’s words.
