CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: I HONESTLY WISH HE’D CHEAT ON YOU AND DIVORCE YOU!

He acted as if he didn’t see her, brushing past her and striding towards the hall entrance.

He left her with an indifferent silhouette and a faint bitter tobacco smell.

Elias Crowe stopped, "Madam, President Kane needs to rush back to the company to handle follow-up PR matters. You can tell he’s feeling quite complicated right now, so don’t take it personally."

"I’ve called the family driver for you. Would you like to go home and rest first?"

Vera Sheridan nodded, "Thank you."

Elias Crowe reminded her once more, "It’s best to keep your phone on silent or off for the next few days. Reporters will be all over you like flies. If you do answer, the best response is: No comment."

Vera indicated that she understood.

On the way home, Old Man Coleman received a call and changed course to the Kane Residence, saying that her mother-in-law, Jean Crowe, had requested her presence.

...

Kane Residence, a single villa in the northwest corner.

Vera Sheridan stepped over the threshold and was greeted by the maid, Nanny Hale.

"Young Madam, the old lady is taking a nap upstairs. She wants you to pray and recite scriptures for Ian, to help him get through this ordeal."

Vera nodded, limping to the desk, lighting three incense sticks, and looked devoutly at The Jade Goddess of Mercy Statue, silently praying before offering the incense.

Then, she knelt on the rattan mat, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes to recite the scriptures.

When one stick of incense had burned, she prepared to stand up. At that moment, a stern female voice came from the stairs, "Keep kneeling!"

Vera looked in the direction of the voice.

Her mother-in-law, Jean Crowe, stood on the mahogany stairs, wearing a deep green modernized cheongsam, clutching a string of Buddha Beads. The old house was in retro Chinese decor, dimly lit, and barely visible was her gloomy face.

Vera didn’t listen, enduring the pain in her knees as she stood up, "Mom, I’ve finished reciting the scriptures."

Jean Crowe’s expression grew more somber, her fingertips tightening around the Buddha Beads, as she strode down the stairs, "Vera, my son pursued you for six years, almost lost his life for you, and after marriage, he has to tolerate your illness, voluntarily sleeping in separate rooms. He didn’t mind your limp! But now you’re all skeptical, suspecting he’s keeping a woman outside!"

"Ian was kidnapped by his father’s mistress when he was eight, and he hates homewreckers the most! Suspecting him of infidelity is like rubbing salt into his wounds, insulting his sincere heart!"

Vera felt a surge of emotion in her heart.

"Vera, you’re supposedly an intelligent woman, but you don’t even use your brain. If that woman surnamed Sullivan was really Ian’s mistress and carrying his child, wouldn’t he have kept it? Considering he can’t have children, what pressure has his grandfather put on him?!" Jean Crowe’s hatred for Vera deepened at the thought of the child lost from Nina Sullivan’s belly!

She also didn’t expect Ian Kane to personally remove that child!

But she understood her son’s pain as well.

As an eight-year-old child, Ian survived a kidnapping, called his father for help, but his father thought he was pretending and told him not to disturb his brother’s birthday party with cold words.

Listening to her mother-in-law’s accusations, Vera didn’t retort, turning to leave instead.

"Even if my son didn’t cheat, with a wife like you who refuses intimacy, shouldn’t he?" Jean Crowe glared at her retreating figure, "I truly wish he’d cheat and divorce you!"

Vera paused, turning, "Mom, Ian Kane knew about my condition when he pursued me, and he said he didn’t mind."

"You’ve experienced marital betrayal yourself, so how can you say such things?"

Hit where it hurts, Jean Crowe’s eyes reddened with anger, grabbing the brass candlestick from the desk, and charged towards Vera aggressively, "I’m not like you! After marriage, I didn’t refuse intimacy with my husband, nor was I selfish, unwilling to undergo IVF!"

The words fell, and the candlestick in her hand was hurled viciously at Vera’s cold, perfect, flawless face—

Jean Crowe used all her might, intending to shatter her son’s beloved treasure!

But a tall figure suddenly rushed in and pulled Vera aside, spinning to protect her. The candlestick landed solidly on his back and then clattered to the floor.

The one firmly shielding Vera was her devoted husband!

The back of his white shirt rapidly soaked with blood.

Jean Crowe felt a dull pain in her heart, short of breath, filled with both anger and hatred.

"Mom! What are you doing?" Ian Kane turned to question her.

Only then did Vera realize he had suddenly returned.

She sighed slightly with relief but still felt a lingering shock.

Her mother-in-law truly despised her!

Jean Crowe propped one hand on the edge of the offering table, the other clutching her chest, lips purple, "I, I just wanted to smash this troublemaker dead!"

The words were from the heart.

The more Ian Kane protected Vera, the more Jean Crowe resented her.

Previously, he was obedient to her as his mother, but after Vera, it was evident that his heart was split in two—

Pleased both sides!

"Mom, Vera was misled by Nina Sullivan. I will minimize the negative impact of this matter, so don’t worry about it." Ian Kane’s tone carried a hint of helplessness, his expression angry.

Jean Crowe pounded the table with her fist, "It’s not just this issue! She refuses intimacy with you and even won’t do IVF. Ian Kane, why do you want a wife who only thinks of herself and holds you back?"

Hit where it hurt, Vera felt as if her pride had been broken, losing even the courage to refute.

From her mother-in-law’s perspective, having a daughter-in-law like her was indeed distressing.

Ian Kane’s heartbeat was strong against her, above her head was his voice of helplessness and fatigue, "Mom, I will handle my own affairs properly."

As his words fell, he held her and prepared to leave.

Jean Crowe, "If you could handle it properly, you wouldn’t keep running to me in the middle of the night!"

"Vera, if you still have feelings for Ian, then have a child through IVF to shut up the old master! If you’re unwilling, quickly divorce my son. Ian can’t be hung on your tree!"

Vera’s breath caught.

Her mother-in-law seized the moment to morally coerce her, pressuring her to have a child.