From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 278: Chapter 278

The elderly woman was Keeley and Zim's biological aunt. As for the young woman, she was the aunt's stepdaughter—their cousin in name. The eight- or nine-year-old boy was her cousin's son.
"What's the big deal? It's bound to happen sooner or later," the elderly woman said carelessly.
Keeley couldn't be bothered to argue with her. "Fine, just leave Tommy here. You two can go back."
The elderly woman was immediately unhappy when she heard that. "What do you mean? We just got here, and you're already telling us to leave? You're not even letting us stay for a meal?"
The young woman didn't say anything, but her expression made it clear she didn't want to leave so soon.
"Keeley, Mom and I really missed you and Zim," the young woman said after a pause, her eyes constantly darting toward the upstairs. "By the way, is Zim home?"
Keeley quickly blocked her line of sight. "My brother isn't home. He's at the company."
"It's almost Christmas. Why isn't he taking a break?" The young woman's voice carried a trace of concern.
But the elderly woman shot her a glare. "What do you know? Zim is capable and valued. Ever heard of 'the more capable you are, the more work you get'?"
The young woman pursed her lips, looking embarrassed. "Mom, you know I'm not very educated."
"Then stop talking. Seriously." This time, it was Keeley who spoke, clearly unimpressed with her cousin.
She found her cousin's demeanor completely unimpressive—small-minded and lacking confidence in everything she did.
Every time she spoke, she would emphasize how uneducated she was, acting as if she was always being bullied.
The young woman didn't dare to argue with Keeley. Even after being reprimanded, she could only swallow her grievances in silence.
Meanwhile, her son Tommy didn't even try to defend his mother. Instead, he excitedly ran up to Keeley. "Aunt Keeley, are you taking me out for a big meal today?"
"Mm, as long as you behave, you can eat as much as you want." Keeley looked down at the boy named Tommy and finally smiled.
"Yay! I'll be on my best behavior! But, Aunt Keeley, I don't just want a big meal—I want toys, lots of toys!" Tommy eagerly pushed his luck.
Instead of getting annoyed, Keeley agreed without hesitation. "When have I ever refused to buy you toys? Like I said, as long as you behave, you can have whatever you want."
With Keeley's promise, Tommy was overjoyed. In his excitement, his grip loosened, and the jade ornament in his hand slipped to the ground, shattering into several pieces.
Keeley let out a startled cry and took a step back. The second scream, however, didn't come from Keeley—it was from Tommy's mother, Keeley's timid and uneducated cousin.
She rushed over to the broken jade piece, her eyes filled with distress, as if something from her own house had been destroyed.
"What's there to worry about? The Godard family has plenty of these ornaments. If it's broken, so be it. Look at you, acting like a small-minded fool." Keeley was most annoyed by her cousin's petty behavior. If anyone from the Godard family saw this, they would definitely mock them.
Seeing the young woman still squatting there, looking heartbroken, Keeley snapped, "Get up! If the maids see this, they'll laugh at me and my brother."
Hearing that, the young woman quickly got up and stepped away.
Not long after, a maid arrived, having heard the noise.
When she saw the broken ornament, she didn't even look surprised.
They had already predicted the outcome when the boy named Tommy picked up the ornament and started playing with it.
The servants quickly finished cleaning up and left in a hurry.
"Alright, Tommy can stay. The rest of you should leave now," Keeley ordered the older woman and the younger woman once again.
Seeing that the elderly woman was still reluctant, Keeley had no choice but to take out her phone and transfer some money to her on the spot. "Is this good enough now?"
The old woman smiled happily after receiving the money but kept eyeing the jade bracelet on Keeley's wrist. "That bracelet looks quite nice. They say jade nurtures people, and my health hasn't been very good lately."
Keeley looked as if she had just swallowed something foul. That bracelet was something Josie had specially bought at a high price to make up for the fact that Keeley hadn't received Anna's jade bracelets.
She hadn't even worn it for a full day before the old woman set her eyes on it.
Though she was reluctant, Keeley still gritted her teeth and took off the bracelet, placing it in the old woman's hand. "Satisfied now?"
"Is that how you talk to your aunt?" The elderly woman happily put the bracelet on her wrist. "Alright then, my daughter and I will be leaving now. When it's over, just have someone send Tommy back to us."
"Got it," Keeley responded impatiently.
The elderly woman had already reached the staircase, but the younger woman still stood there without moving.
"Why are you still here? Do you want something too?" Keeley asked irritably.
The young woman quickly shook her head. "I understand. I'll leave now."
Before she left, she took one last, lingering look around the room before finally following the elderly woman out.
Not long after the two of them left, Josie returned. She had gone out for brunch with her girlfriends and then stopped by the company to check on Zim before coming back.
As soon as Josie walked in, she noticed that her favorite jade ornament was missing, so she immediately called a servant over to ask about it.
Upon learning that Tommy had broken it, she frowned slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable.
She didn't particularly like this child named Tommy, but since he was Zim's cousin's son—and both Zim and Keeley adored him—she had no choice but to go along with it and treat him kindly.
Even so, she had subtly expressed to Zim that she didn't want Tommy coming over too often.
Zim understood Josie's feelings, so after that, Tommy was rarely brought to the Godard family home.
Instead, Zim or Keeley would visit their aunt's house to see the boy.
Josie felt that Zim and Keeley were overly kind to the child, but she could understand why.
After all, she had already decided she would never have children, which meant that Zim would never have a child of his own. Naturally, he transferred his longing for a child onto Tommy.
That was also one of the reasons why Josie didn't want Tommy coming over too often—she didn't want to see the look of yearning in Zim's eyes whenever he was around a child.
Even so, she would never compromise and have a child.
She loved Zim—deeply, truly. But she loved herself even more. Above all, she would always put herself first.
Just as Josie reached the bedroom she shared with Zim, she saw Tommy standing there, his hand already on the doorknob, about to open the door.
"What do you think you're doing?" Josie's voice was sharp.
She could tolerate the child's brattiness, but she would never allow him to invade her personal space or privacy.
That was her and Zim's bedroom. Aside from the two of them and the servants who were explicitly permitted to clean, no one else was allowed to enter. Not even Keeley.
Seeing Josie, Tommy spat at her with an extremely nasty attitude. "None of your business."
Josie said, "That's my room. I won't allow you to go in."
Tommy stuck out his tongue and made an ugly face. "I want to go in, and you can't stop me. This is my uncle's room, and my uncle and Aunt Keeley said that one day, everything they have will be mine. This place is mine too, so I can go in if I want!"
Tommy thought, 'It's all because of this awful woman. Uncle and Aunt Keeley don't bring me here to play anymore.'