Chapter 257:
To Carrie, Freya had embarrassed the Shaw name.
“Standing up for what’s right,” Kristian answered calmly.
Lionel nodded. “Exactly.”
Isaac and Melinda also agreed. “Kristian’s right.” Everyone else looked stunned.
Carrie couldn’t hold back. “Grandpa, that’s biased! Blaine gets scolded, but Freya is praised for doing the same thing?”
“If a few ladies hadn’t stopped her, she would’ve gone upstairs to sleep with those men!”
Her voice rose with frustration.
She hated that Lionel favored Freya too. It was bad enough that Kristian and Liam got most of the attention—now Freya was included? Carrie believed she, as Lionel’s granddaughter, deserved that spot.
“Say that again,” Kristian said suddenly, his voice icy and cold. His eyes were sharp, full of warning.
Edgar quickly pulled his daughter back. He didn’t want to get on Kristian’s bad side.
“If your eyes don’t work, get them checked. Freya isn’t someone you can insult,” Kristian said, cutting straight to the point.
With those few words, everyone understood Freya’s place in this family.
Other than the occasional holiday gathering, they rarely saw her and knew little about her. That was why they couldn’t understand why Kristian had chosen her.
“That’s enough. This was supposed to be a peaceful evening. You’ve all turned it into a shouting match. Why can’t you be as quiet as Freya?” Lionel asked firmly, putting on a serious tone.
Freya’s words faltered, trapped in her throat as Lionel unexpectedly threw her name into the conversation.
The room’s mood soured instantly, as evident from the uneasy grimaces painting a few people’s faces.
gⱯ𝗅𝗇0ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.𝗰𝗈𝗺´ 𝘾𝒽𝓮𝒸𝓀 𝒶𝓾𝓉𝒽 𝓬𝓸𝓹𝓎
Edgar deliberated over his choice of words before speaking up, maintaining an objective tone. “Dad, if I may speak frankly, the favoritism you exhibit is rather glaring. Blaine and Carrie are your biological grandchildren. Yet, you’ve never shielded them with the same enthusiasm, have you?”
“Humph.” Lionel expelled a dismissive scoff, his face twisting with annoyance.
“Why should I shield them?” he declared brashly, tossing aside any semblance of respect for the room’s decorum as the family’s patriarch. “They are your own flesh and blood.”
Undeterred, Edgar pressed on, his voice firm with resolve. “Can you truly say it’s common for a grandfather to show more affection towards his granddaughter-in-law than to his own grandchildren?”
These words cast a ripple of complex emotions across the room, sparking glints of agreement and skepticism in their eyes.
Edgar’s words dripped with a deliberate intent to embarrass Freya, making it clear she would always be seen as an outsider.
“Am I supposed to care more for you ungrateful brats over Freya?” Lionel’s temper flared, his demeanor chilly and uninviting. “From childhood days to now, when have Blaine and Carrie shown any concern for me that wasn’t tied to their own needs? I’d say even Kristian and Liam don’t hold a candle to Freya.”
Lionel’s bluntness cut through the air, his words dismissing any concern for the feelings of others.
Just like children, the elderly crave companionship and care. Though Kristian and Liam would show fleeting concern during their visits home, their presence was always brief. As for Carrie and Blaine, they might as well have been shadows, appearing only when they needed something from him.
“Carrie is still too young to know how to express her caring for you,” Edgar attempted to justify, struggling to defend her. “As for Blaine…” He trailed off, defeated. There was no justifying Blaine’s behavior.
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