CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: FACE-SLAPPING! THE PENCE FAMILY TEARS OFF THE MASK (PART 2)

"This is what I call crazy!"

Holly Crowe flipped the fruit plates and snacks on the table one by one.

She stepped closer, "Already cheating before getting married, Zion Pence is the real scumbag, isn’t he? A second-hand man who comes with infidelity and cheating; I wouldn’t take him even if he were free!"

"It’s a common saying that men making mistakes is justified, while women are supposed to just grin and bear it? You’re protecting your son so much, are infidelity and cheating the traditional style of the Pence family? Don’t worry! I’d rather stay single all my life than be with a man who can’t control his lower half!"

Florence Ford’s face turned beet red, her finger almost poking into Holly Crowe’s face, "You... you..."

Holly Crowe sneered and knocked her hand away.

"What are you even saying! The angrier you get, the more you curse me, the more it shows how pathetic your son is! You’re at your age and still cleaning up your son’s mess, you really failed as a mother!"

She grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and tossed them at Florence Ford’s face, "Aren’t you the one who loves nibbling on seeds and gossiping the most? Keep munching! If you’ve got the guts, keep cursing, open the door and let everyone inside listen to how Zion Pence cheated and had a child with his mistress, and see whose face gets shamed in the end!"

Florence Ford was hit by the seeds and couldn’t open her eyes, retreating step by step.

She wiped the seeds off her face, glaring at the person in front of her. Holly Crowe used to endure silently in the Pence family, as if anyone could boss her around—who had seen her like this before?

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t say a word, "You... you have no manners! It’s shameful for your parents, being teachers, to raise a daughter like you!"

"Manners?" Holly Crowe sneered, "Manners are for people worthy of respect. My parents taught me to distinguish right from wrong, to have integrity, unlike you all, who seem to think your son’s infidelity is something to be proud of! The Pence family’s reputation has been thrown to the ground by you all!"

"You...." Florence Ford clutched her chest out of anger, gasping for breath on the sofa, and Old Mrs. Pence, who had been listening to the entire affair, was also furious, banging her cane on the ground, "Outrageous! Outrageous!"

"The ones being outrageous are you!"

Holly Crowe walked towards Old Mrs. Pence, who was dumbstruck, looking at the Buddha Beads in her hand with a cold sneer.

"Madam, I usually respect you, but now I need to ask, after chanting scriptures your whole life, did you produce such an unvirtuous grandson? Do you even deserve to wear those Buddha Beads?"

Old Mrs. Pence was trembling with rage.

Her grip loosened, the Buddha Beads fell to the ground.

The string snapped.

The beads scattered everywhere.

And the Pence family’s hypocritical mask shattered along with them.

Holly Crowe didn’t want to waste any more time here, picked up her bag, and turned to leave.

As she reached the door, she saw Zion Pence rush over.

He stepped into the living room to see his mother’s hair comically flecked with sunflower seeds, bent over, comforting his grandmother.

The floor was a mess.

The sofa bore visible tea stains, the ground was littered with fruits and seed shells, and in the corner, Buddha Beads still rolled and bounced.

"Holly Crowe...."

"Zion Pence," Holly Crowe shook her hand dismissively, with a cold smile, "It’s over between us!"

Seven years of suppression, today she finally got her satisfaction!

At the corner of the door, Mia Chapelle leaned against the railing, her hand gently stroking her belly.

Seeing Holly Crowe come out, she immediately put on an overly intimate front and approached.

"Don’t come any closer, stay there and don’t move!" Holly Crowe swept her with a cold glance, stepping back to keep a five-meter distance, "I’m afraid you’ll try to frame me."

Mia Chapelle stopped with a smile, a hint of innocence in the curve of her lips: "Sister Crowe, you must be joking. I wouldn’t do something so foolish."

She tilted her head, "I am just a bit surprised. This is the first time I’ve seen Sister Crowe scold someone, quite refreshing. Turns out, Sister Crowe is quite the master of insults."

In the company, Holly Crowe always treated everyone kindly, and even when someone made a serious mistake, her tone at most might become stern, but nothing like what just occurred.

Who would have expected someone like her to turn the Pence family upside down today.

It seems she has been hiding deep in plain sight!

But it was well-deserved, she hadn’t liked them for a long time.

Holly Crowe looked at Mia Chapelle’s finely crafted face. Today, the tight-fitting dress accentuated her pregnancy bump even more, as if fearing others might not know she was carrying the ’dragon child.’

These years working around Zion Pence, and constantly being manipulated by him, had gradually suppressed her own personality.

But when pressed down long enough, one eventually rebounds!

No one is made to be bullied!

"Enjoy eavesdropping, did you?" Holly Crowe said coldly.

"Oh, I was merely passing by," Mia Chapelle chuckled, her fingertips tracing small circles on her belly, "But the Pence family did go too far; I’m angry on your behalf, Sister Crowe!"

Hypocrite!

She wasn’t about to waste any more breath and turned to leave.

"Sister Crowe!" Mia Chapelle called out to her.

Lowering her eyes, she put on a pitiful look, "Actually, I’ve always admired you a lot; if not for this child....."

"Stop right there!"

Holly Crowe turned back, her eyes narrowing as she spoke calmly, "If you want to meddle in the Pence mess, go ahead, but don’t pollute my path."

With that, she turned and left.

Behind her, Mia Chapelle silently watched her back disappear, the smile on her lips replaced by cold malice.

She had heard not only those parts earlier—the things Old Mrs. Pence said were all overheard.

She touched her belly.

"Keep the child, abandon the mother?"

There was no such good fortune!

Especially knowing Zion Pence still harbored feelings for Holly Crowe—she couldn’t just sit by.

After a while, she took out her phone, found a contact, and sent a message.

The cool glow of the screen reflected her twisted smile.

"Holly Crowe, don’t blame me for being ruthless..." she murmured softly.

Only by ruining you can I sever Zion Pence’s longing.

The next day.

Evening.

The sunset spread a golden light through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Holly Crowe recounted the events at the Pence’s to Celia Stiles, which made Celia put her hands on her hips, pacing around the store in circles, her short hair fluttering like an agitated rabbit.

"Scumbag! Scumbag! Scumbag!" she was about to burst with anger, finally pointing at the door, shouting, "Who cares! If they care so much about this child, who knows if it’s even theirs!"

Stomping her foot, she added, "I just wish Zion Pence, this scumbag, infertility yet a house full of descendants!"

Holly Crowe hadn’t expected the usually mild-mannered Celia Stiles, who usually blushed and stammered when speaking to others, to say something like that.

After venting the frustrations of seven years last night, she was in high spirits.

She planned to visit her parents in a few days to inform them of breaking off her engagement with Zion Pence.

Just as she was pondering this, she heard the bell at the door chime.