Chapter 201: Chapter 201: She Doesn’t Appreciate It
Everyone instinctively looked in the direction of the voice.
They saw Warren Prescott, who had come down at some point, casually leaning against the stair railing, his handsome face full of mockery.
Warren has this kind of magic; a simple glance from him can make someone’s heart, liver, and lungs feel upset.
Claudia Jennings was the first to react, giving Warren a warning glare.
"You child, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"I shouldn’t have spoken the plain truth, my apologies, Aunt Holly."
Warren sincerely apologized, making Holly even more embarrassed and stifled.
"You guys, you guys..."
"Mom! Please stop." Rosalind Lynch, unable to bear it any longer, tugged at her mom’s sleeve and then apologized with a smile, "I’m sorry, my mom usually talks like this, but I can assure you, she definitely means no harm."
"As long as there’s no malice, it’s fine. Let’s just move on! Come on, everyone, let’s have some tea."
Claudia Jennings tried to ease the situation.
However, Warren didn’t intend to let it go so lightly, curling his lips into a half-smile and saying, "Whether there’s malice or not isn’t up to the speaker, it’s up to whether the listener felt any malice. Aunt Holly, don’t you think?"
Mrs. Lynch’s face turned completely dark.
But even if she had tremendous courage, she wouldn’t dare to contradict Warren, only inwardly regretting having said those extra words to Ashley Shaw.
She noticed her daughter constantly giving her signals and could only force a smile.
"I really spoke without thinking this time, I apologize. I’m sorry. I’m old, and my brain is muddled, please don’t take offense."
Warren said with a smirk, "You’ve apologized to the wrong person; the one who really deserves an apology is over there."
He said this while slightly nodding his chin in Ashley Shaw’s direction.
Mrs. Lynch’s smile immediately became even more awkward; if she apologized to Ashley Shaw, her dignity would be utterly lost.
"Warren! That’s enough!" Claudia Jennings said, unable to bear it, "Your Aunt Holly is your elder, how can you talk to her like that?"
Rosalind Lynch stood beside, tense, watching her mother appear to side with Claudia Jennings, quickly giving her a signal.
Mrs. Lynch understood the look, it was urging her to settle the matter quietly.
Making a fuss wouldn’t benefit anyone.
Warren usually had a tight-lipped nature, but once he started, he would hit where it hurt.
Ultimately, the ones who would suffer would be the Lynch Family.
Mrs. Lynch took a deep breath and grabbed Claudia Jennings’ hand, saying, "It’s fine, it was indeed my fault for saying the wrong thing."
She spoke, turning to Ashley Shaw, "Ashley, truly, Auntie meant no harm, I just feel sorry for you. But if you don’t like hearing such things, Auntie won’t mention it again in the future, will you forgive Auntie this time, okay?"
Ashley Shaw didn’t want to waste more words with her, just wanted this farce to end quickly.
The same thing, she was here for dinner, not for a fight.
With an indifferent expression, she said, "It’s not about forgiving or not; I’ll just pretend you never said anything."
After speaking, she handed the cake in her hand to Mrs. Chase.
"After dinner, could you please cut the cake, I brought it for Grandpa Prescott."
Elder Prescott had already decided in his heart that if Ashley pursued the matter, he would never let it slide.
But seeing Ashley herself intend to let this go, he didn’t want to make things uncomfortable, so he followed Ashley’s lead and said, "I asked Warren to bring me some before you came, but he didn’t bring it, and instead, you did."
"Yes, it’s low-sugar, you can eat a little more than usual."
"Low-sugar? Will it taste bad?"
"The taste should be about the same, try it after dinner."
Hearing that "the taste is about the same," Elder Prescott’s face lit up with a radiant smile.
"Great! I’ll look forward to the cake then."
"Weren’t you going to play chess? Shall we play a round with you first?"
"Let’s go, let’s go, you reminded me, I almost forgot. Ariana, would you like to go first?"
Ariana Grant was still simmering with the earlier anger, waved her hand, and said, "I’ll be the referee, my skills aren’t good enough, you guys play."
"Alright, Ashley, let’s go play chess."
With that, Elder Prescott led the two of them to the chess table.
It was as if the Lynch family mother and daughters weren’t there.
Warren stared at Ashley Shaw’s back, his expression unchanged, but his eyes darkened slightly.
It’s not like she didn’t have anyone backing her; he was there to support her, yet she let it slip so casually, forgiving the Lynch family?
He went out of his way to stand up for her, and she didn’t appreciate it at all?
He shouldn’t have bothered to speak!
Warren walked out with a dark expression, feeling like his sincerity was fed to the dogs.
Claudia Jennings saw Warren head out with an unpleasant expression, hurriedly asked, "We’re about to eat, where are you going?"
"To make a call."
Claudia Jennings felt slightly relieved, turning to Mrs. Lynch with some embarrassment and said, "That’s just how he is, don’t take it to heart. Don’t think he’s just like that with you; he talks to me the same way."
Mrs. Lynch, trying to appear magnanimous, said, "How could I blame Warren? He’s young and impulsive, speaking for those he shouldn’t, a moment of foolishness, it’s understandable."
Hearing this, Claudia Jennings slowly furrowed her brows.
"Who shouldn’t he be speaking for?"
"Who else could it be?" Mrs. Lynch gestured towards Ashley Shaw.
Claudia Jennings’ expression turned somber.
"No matter what, she once lived in our home and could be considered Warren’s sister. I don’t see anything wrong with Warren standing up for her. Besides, what you said was indeed inappropriate. Why bring up things that might upset her? Even if there was no malice, it shouldn’t be said. Her mother’s situation is something I wouldn’t dare mention casually. Moreover, her mother’s heart was donated to Elder Prescott."
Mrs. Lynch belatedly realized that Claudia Jennings was unhappy.
She thought Claudia Jennings was on the same page as her but didn’t expect her attitude to change suddenly.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No, I’m going to check on the kitchen now, you continue with your tea, I’ll be out shortly."
With that, Claudia Jennings headed to the kitchen without looking back.
Mrs. Lynch felt embarrassed and clueless, turning her gaze to Rosalind Lynch.
Rosalind now found her mother’s stupidity distressing, not bothering to explain, and went to the coffee table to sit and enjoy tea slowly.
Her mother probably didn’t know that, for Claudia Jennings, criticising anyone else was fine, even saying something against Chairman Prescott didn’t matter, but saying anything negative about Warren was unacceptable.
Yet her mother foolishly said Warren supported the wrong person, which indirectly meant saying Warren was blind and foolish, didn’t it?
Who knows if today’s incident would make Warren dislike her even more.
But thinking back, she hadn’t said anything earlier, even advised her mother not to speak, so Warren shouldn’t hold it against her, right?
Mrs. Lynch saw Rosalind Lynch not speaking, got even more upset.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ashley Shaw playing chess with Elder Prescott.
Elder Prescott seemed very focused, as if Ashley’s chess skills were remarkable.
Her eyes suddenly lit up, remembering her younger daughter had also won a national middle school Go championship, so she immediately pulled Jillian Lynch, who was heading to Rosalind Lynch, and whispered a few words in her ear.