From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 257: Chapter 257

Tyson didn't spare Florence a glance. His gaze remained locked on Edmond, exuding an undeniable pressure. "Edmond, how do you intend to handle this?"
Edmond glanced around. Aside from the Godard family members, there were also plenty of servants pretending to work or pass by—when in reality, they were watching the drama unfold.
Edmond knew Tyson was deliberately humiliating him. Edmond's gaze shifted to Bella, who was sobbing and gasping for air in Christopher's arms, her mouth still covered.
Edmond swallowed his frustration and said to Tyson, "Tyson, this is just a minor issue between children. There's no need to make a big deal out of it—it'll only cause unnecessary hurt.
"Besides, Bella didn't mean any harm. She's been the only child in this house for so long, and now, suddenly, there's someone else. She just needs time to adjust."
Paisley, standing quietly to the side, raised an eyebrow. She thought, 'Was he throwing shade at me?'
Tyson let out a cold laugh. His gaze toward Edmond grew even icier. "So what you're saying is, my daughter and granddaughter don't belong here? Hmm?"
That final "Hmm?" carried an unmistakable chill.
Edmond's face stiffened, and he quickly backtracked. "Of course not! Paisley is my niece, and her daughter is my grandniece. I care about them deeply."
Edmond knew that if he didn't give Tyson a satisfying response today, this wouldn't just blow over.
"What are you standing there for? Tell Bella to apologize!" Edmond yelled at Christopher and Florence.
Florence hadn't seen Edmond lose his temper like this in a long time. His shouting startled her, making her body tremble.
At first, Christopher just thought it was a minor squabble between kids and women. He didn't take it seriously. But now, he finally realized how serious this was—and how important Paisley was to Tyson.
Even though he felt bad for Bella, Christopher had no choice but to compromise. He coaxed Bella, "Be good, Bella. Apologize to Serena."
But the moment Christopher took his hand off Bella's mouth, she started wailing, "I won't apologize. I did nothing wrong. This is my house. Everything here belongs to me! Kick them out! Get them out!"
"Bella!" Christopher panicked and quickly reached out to cover her mouth again.
But Bella had gotten smarter. She knew her dad wouldn't hurt her, so she dodged and kept shouting.
Christopher didn't dare to look at Tyson's expression. In the end, he steeled himself, tightened his grip on Bella, and finally managed to clamp his hand over her mouth again.
Tyson smirked without a hint of warmth, "Edmond, your granddaughter is really well-mannered, huh?"
Edmond's face turned red. Bella had completely embarrassed him today.
Florence, standing to the side, felt torn. She hated seeing her daughter treated so roughly, but at the same time, she was overwhelmed with anxiety.
Just now, Tyson's words had clearly been a jab at her. He was throwing her earlier comment—about Paisley's daughter being ill-mannered—right back at her.
Florence felt like he was holding a grudge against her now.
Edmond was furious, but there was no way around it—their side was in the wrong.
If Bella had just apologized earlier, it wouldn't have been such a big deal. But not only did she refuse, she also blurted out such outrageous words.
Still, at the end of the day, this was just a minor conflict between women and children. As an elder, he thought he couldn't personally apologize to Paisley, who was his junior. So, he turned to Paisley, who had been silent ever since Tyson arrived.
He had assumed that, once she saw someone standing up for her, she would immediately start complaining. But surprisingly, she stayed composed. In that regard, she was better than Florence.
Thinking this, Edmond looked at Paisley with a deliberately softened gaze, even though it wasn't genuine. "Paisy, Bella was in the wrong today. But she's just a child, spoiled by us since she was little.
"For your second uncle's sake, let's not make a big deal out of it. A peaceful family is a happy family, don't you think?"
They had been delayed by the shareholders' meeting, which was why they returned late.
Meanwhile, Paisley and Serena had arrived early, so they had already met with Anna by now.
Edmond thought Anna had probably already spoken to Paisley and asked her to maintain peace with their side. He had counted on this. Since he couldn't get through to Tyson, he decided to work on Paisley instead. After all, he thought she was a woman and easier to persuade.
Sure enough, after hearing Edmond's words, Paisley's lips curled into a slight smile. "Alright, for Second Uncle's sake, I won't hold a child accountable."
"That's the spirit. I knew Paisy was the reasonable one," Edmond said with a relieved smile, taking the chance to throw a subtle jab at Tyson.
"Paisy." Tyson assumed Paisley was compromising for his and Anna's sake—so things wouldn't get too tense.
He was just about to reassure her that she didn't need to worry, that he would stand up for her no matter what. But then, Paisley spoke again.
This time, Paisley's gaze landed directly on Florence. "Second Uncle, you misunderstood. I said I wouldn't hold a child accountable. I never said I wouldn't hold an adult accountable."
Florence immediately realized Paisley was talking about her. "You... What do you want?"
Florence's heart clenched for a moment, but she quickly calmed down. She thought she was still a daughter-in-law of the Godard family. She thought, 'My husband and father-in-law are both here. Even if Paisley wants to go after me, what could she really do?'
Paisley lifted a hand and pointed at the broken gold jewelry still clutched in Bella's hand. "That jewelry was a gift from Grandma to my daughter. Now that your daughter broke it, she should compensate my daughter with her own."
Florence pressed her lips together, clearly unwilling. But she had no excuse. She could only go along with it.
"Give Bella's jewelry to Rena," Florence said to Lily, who was taking care of Bella, her face pale. Then, she shot an irritated glare at Max.
She thought Max must have told Lily to bring Bella's locket here on purpose—just so they'd have to use it as compensation for Paisley's daughter.
Florence was furious at Max, but she didn't dare glare at him openly. She could only glare at him in secret, cursing him in her mind.
Paisley took the locket and examined it closely. After confirming that it was flawless and identical to Serena's, she finally smiled in satisfaction and put it around Serena's neck.
"Is it enough now?" Florence asked.
"Of course not," Paisley replied matter-of-factly, looking at Florence. "We're not done yet."
"The lock's been replaced. What more do you want?" Florence was starting to lose her patience. She thought, 'Do they expect me to bow down and apologize to that child?'
"Yeah, cousin, at the end of the day, it's just a jewelry, isn't it? If you think it's not enough, I'll get you another one, even bigger than this one. Would that work?" Christopher's emotions flared up as well. He felt that Paisley was just being unreasonable.
Christopher thought, 'Looks like Dad was right. She really is just a poor girl who suddenly got rich. She sees something valuable and treats it like treasure. Such a greedy woman.'