I Slept with My Boss and Ran Away

Julian hadn’t really expected Stella to go to Thornfield Gardens; he had the housekeeper make the suggestion to provoke her, while also making his approval of his daughter-in-law clear.

Stella was so upset that she lost her appetite for dinner and called Julian.

At Thornfield Gardens, Julian saw Stella’s incoming call, chuckled, and promptly hung up, commenting to Terrence, “That’ll get your mother all worked up.”

Terrence chose not to comment.

Upstairs, Grandma Sterling mysteriously produced a large, elegant box. “Charlotte, guess what this is?”

Meredith shook her head, “Grandma, I don’t know.”

Grandma Sterling opened the box with a flourish and handed it to Meredith. “This is for you. It’s a wedding gift for you and Terry.”

Inside the box was a jade brooch, which left Meredith’s eyes wide with astonishment. It was a genuine jade brooch, deep red like blood jade, unlike the fake ones she had seen on TV.

“Grandma, this…” Meredith touched it gingerly, its coolness and exquisite beauty evident.

Although unfamiliar with jade, Meredith could guess that this blood jade might be worth more than the entire Thornfield Gardens villa.

Grandma Sterling’s face showed a hint of regret as she reminisced, “This was a gift from your grandfather when we got married. I’ve kept it for over fifty years. I still remember him at our wedding, crying his eyes out. This jade brooch was originally his engagement gift to me, but it ended up as my dowry.”

Meredith was slightly confused by Grandma Sterling’s words, which shifted between dowry and engagement gift. It seemed Grandma Sterling was mistaken about whose grandfather she was speaking of.

As Grandma Sterling held Meredith’s hand, peering closely into her eyes, her cloudy, aged eyes seemed to look through her at someone else.

“Charlotte, you really resemble your grandfather, especially those eyes. Your grandfather had such tender, passionate eyes when he looked at me. He risked everything for my sake. To have a man like that in a woman’s life means living without regrets.”

Apparently, Grandma Sterling was referring to Joy Chaucer’s grandfather, mistakenly thinking she was Joy Chaucer.

In truth, Grandma Sterling didn’t recognize her as Joy Chaucer, but as a daughter from the Chaucer family. Even standing right in front of her, Grandma Sterling wouldn’t recognize her relative.

In her mind, Terrence Sterling had married a daughter from the Chaucer family.

Despite her dementia, sometimes not recognizing her own son, she held a clear and fond memory of Mr. Chaucer.Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

Meredith wondered about the kind of man Mr. Chaucer was and the story he shared with Grandma Sterling, surely a poignant and dramatic tale.

After much conversation, Grandma Sterling and Meredith finally went downstairs for dinner.

This was Meredith’s first time dining with the Sterling family. As an orphan, she had never experienced a family meal like this, and she found the experience quite pleasing.

Suddenly, Julian asked with a smile, “Meredith, would you pour me a cup of tea?”

Catching Terrence’s eye signal, Meredith understood and stood up with a cup of tea, handing it to Julian, “Dad, please have some tea.”

It was Meredith’s first time calling someone ‘Dad,’ and it felt a bit awkward.

“Ah,” Julian responded with a smile, taking a sip of the tea. He then transferred money to Meredith, having her bank details from a previous transaction.

Julian generously transferred eight million dollars to Meredith this time, showing his approval, unlike Stella who still did not accept her.

Meredith’s phone chimed with the notification of the transfer. She was deeply moved, finally understanding why so many sought to marry into wealthy families; a casual gesture from her in-laws could provide enough to splurge for a lifetime.

Meanwhile, Fiona, who had also dreamed of marrying into a wealthy family, was at Justin’s, packing up her last belongings. Learning that Meredith and Terrence Sterling had registered their marriage, she was astounded, “Justin, are you joking? How could Terrence Sterling marry Meredith?”