Chapter 3 She Was an Outsider

"Thalia, it's windy outside. Hurry and wheel your sister... Ah, Adam, you're here as well." Mrs. Cloude noticed that Thalia and Agnes had not come into the house. She was worried that Agnes would catch a cold after being discharged from the hospital, so she couldn't help but come out to check on her.

But the moment she saw Adam Matthews, she rolled her eyes at Thalia and said, "Thalia, why didn't you tell me in advance that Adam is coming with you?"

"Mom, I..."

Thalia was about to explain herself, but Agnes interrupted her.

"Mom, Brother Adam is here to see me. If you keep standing at the door and block his path, he is going to assume that he's not welcome!"

Mrs. Cloude snapped out of her reverie. She couldn't bother with the formality at this point, so she quickly ushered them into the house.

Thalia froze and watched Adam wheel Agnes into the house. The two of them were speaking to each other in low and gentle voices. She was suddenly at a loss for words.

She smiled sadly and said, "Mom, I'm feeling under the weather. I can't have dinner with you. I'm heading home."

Mrs. Cloude's facial expression darkened slightly. "Thalia, can you stop making a fuss?"

Thalia thought, 'Making a fuss?'

Was she making a fuss?

Her eyes suddenly reddened and became teary.

"Mom, Adam is my husband, not Agnes'!"

She was also her mother's biological daughter, yet her mother always favored Agnes and ignore her feelings.

Mrs. Cloude looked at her. She sighed and said, "Thalia, I know you are upset, but Agnes' has lost the ability to walk. Besides, she hasn't seen Adam for three years. Can you take pity on her?"

"Take pity on her? Mom, who will take pity on me then? Adam is my husband. Why should I let her steal him away?" Thalia bit her lip and retorted.

"Let her steal him away?" Mrs. Cloude's voice suddenly became sharp. "If it weren't for you, Agnes and Adam would be married by now!"

Thalia looked up at her own mother in disbelief. "Mom, what are you talking about? I have been with Adam for a long time. If you hadn't helped Agnes hide the truth, why would I have to..."

"All right, all right!"

Mrs. Cloude interrupted her angrily, "I don't know why you keep talking about these petty things all the time! Agnes has finally come home today. If you have something else to say, you can say it after dinner. Get into the house!"

Before Thalia refuted, Mrs. Cloude turned around and left.

Thalia looked at her mother as she walked away. She bit her lip and stepped into the house anyway.

She thought, 'Fine, whatever...'

It was her last visit. After this, she did not have to put up with them anymore.

When she walked in, she saw Agnes and Adam sitting on one side of the dining table while her father and mother sat across them.

They looked like two couples.

Thalia thought, 'What about me then?'

She slowly walked over and sat at one end of the dining table by herself. There wasn't even any eating utensil in front of her.

"Ms. Weigh, grab an extra pair of chopsticks and bowls."

Agnes asked the housekeeper to grab some eating utensils. She then looked at Thalia apologetically. "Big sister, you haven't been home for three years. Everyone assumes that you won't be back this time. Don't be upset, Thalia. Here, eat this. It's your favorite food, braised carp."

Agnes put a piece of fish into the bowl in front of Thalia.

Thalia looked at the fish and felt like crying. "I don't like to eat fish."

She had never liked fish. When she was a child, her parents favored Agnes, and Agnes' favorite food was the braised carp.

To please their parents, Thalia also told them that her favorite food was fish, just like her younger sister.

So the Cloude family had fish for meals every day.

However, she didn't know how to handle the fish bones. Therefore, after every meal, she would hide in the bathroom and dig out the fish bones stuck in her throat with tears all over her face.

After all these years, she had gotten tired of putting on an act.

As she recalled her childhood memories, she realized that it was really not worth the trouble to curry favor with her parents by pleasing Agnes. It was not worth it at all!