"Don't worry. Just take it from me." Cynthia said with a kindly smile. She treated Daisy like her own daughter, so if the couple ever had a quarrel, she would not take sides with either of them. They had to work it out themselves. In a battle between siblings, you don't favor one over the other. That didn't mean she couldn't give pointers.
"Are you sure that it's the right thing to encourage your daughter-in-law to act like this?" Suddenly, Jonathan's voice came from behind them. They both turned and saw him standing not far away, fixing them with a stern look. Sometimes he felt that he just couldn't take Cynthia too seriously. She was the love of his life, but he now became increasingly and helplessly certain that this woman took pleasure in stirring up trouble.
"If you have a problem with that, you can teach your son to fight back. I'm extremely OK with that," Cynthia replied, giving him a sly smile and looking him in the eye provocatively. She had no fear of this ruthless man who turned up out of nowhere. In fact, he had learned to adopt a relatively mild manner after all this time, but only in front of his family. To everyone else, he was still the high and mighty Jonathan.
"No offence, but unlike you two, I've got more important things to attend to," Jonathan said coldly. He glanced at both of them before directing a meaningful look at Cynthia. Then a sneer of evil passed fleetingly across his face. How bold she was to challenge him, he thought to himself. Fine, she would have to bear the consequences soon enough. He knew just how to punish her.
"I think he's mad at us," Daisy whispered. Being caught red-handed when they were plotting against his son was embarrassing enough for Daisy. And now she grew absolutely ashamed of herself, taking his sarcastic words to heart. She was afraid that he might think of her as a scheming woman. Feeling quite uneasy, she decided to talk to Cynthia about the situation hastily once Jonathan was out of earshot.
"He would not get angry that easily. But it seems that I am doomed no matter what," responded Cynthia. After Jonathan left, her arrogance melted into frustration. Because she caught sight of the slyness in his eyes, and knew clearly what would be waiting for her.
"How come? He adores you and has heaped so much love and affection on you. He wouldn't beat you, would he?" asked Daisy with a concerned look on her face. She had lived with them under the same roof for a while, and it was obvious to her that Jonathan was very much in love with Cynthia. It was impossible for him to hurt her in any possible way.
"Silly girl, you're married, you know how it is. There are a lot of ways he could punish me apart from spanking. You know what I mean?" answered Cynthia, winking at Daisy. She was pretty forthright and unabashed when she was talking about sex with her daughter-in-law. She wasn't bashful at all in explaining the problem to her. In contrast to Cynthia, Daisy blushed the moment she figured out what Cynthia meant. She hurriedly excused herself, and went to the kitchen to calm down. Edward would definitely laugh at her innocence if he ever found out about what happened just now, she thought to herself. That could mean the end of her dignity.
They enjoyed a wonderful dinner despite all the little accidents. But after that, Daisy was again occupied with all kinds of chores. Edward spent all night almost talking to her. But every time the words were on the tip of his tongue, he paused, not knowing how to begin. He did want to be frank about his meeting Leo today, thinking that honesty was the best policy.
"Out with it, Edward. I know you got something to tell me." Being a woman of keen perception, Daisy had figured out that Edward had been behaving strangely. She waited for him to explain himself, but decided to ask him directly after he kept hemming and hawing around almost the whole evening. She didn't have that much patience.
"I went to see Leo today." He bit his lip as soon as he finished, and read her expression from the corner of his eye, avoiding any eye contact with her.
"Oh, I see." Daisy replied after a brief silence. She appeared to be indifferent, though her heart missed a beat when she heard what he said.
"Don't you want to know why he approached me?" Edward was totally surprised by her calmness, and asked in confusion.
"Why?" Daisy asked him back with the same kind of casual air, as if they were talking about things that she didn't care about.
"I think you know the answer to that," Edward replied hesitantly. She seemed to be dodging the question by giving vague responses. He began to regret meddling in their affairs, for now he wondered if he could solve the problem, knowing that Daisy was not a bit happy about it.
"How should I know? You met with him, not me." To be honest, she was upset at hearing Leo's name. But whatever happened, nothing could sever their blood ties, and it was up to her whether to accept him as her father or not.
"He wants to see Justin. Do you agree?" Edward asked with a frown, thinking that he should never have expected her to take this matter rationally. It was easy enough to tell from her reaction that Leo, her father only in name, was the last person she would like to talk about. But from Edward's point of view, running away from the problem would not help things, and someone must try to sort it out. Whether she forgave him or not in the end, it was unwise to bury her head in the sand from the very beginning. It would only complicate things further.
"You should ask Justin. If he wants to see his grandfather, I won't stop him. It's his right anyway. And of course, if he says no we can't force him." It was true that Daisy could not forgive Leo for what he had done to Grace and her, but since she was a reasonable person, she would not force other members of her family to cut all ties with him, either. After all, she thought it inappropriate to make others follow her lead.
"Are you angry with me for having my finger in the pie?" Edward had been worried, and you could see it on his face. There was a coldness in her eyes that seemed to be pushing him away. It was the same kind of chilliness she displayed when they first met.
"Not at all. You're overthinking it. I'm not a domineering person. Justin can make his own decision, if Leo really wants to see him. What's more, though it pains me to accept it, I am an Ouyang, and there is nothing I can do to change that. I really want Leo gone and out of my life, but I won't prevent you or Justin from contacting him. I'm not going to lose myself to hatred. That would drive me nuts,"
Explained Daisy, closing her eyes to calm herself when she was done. She was getting a tension headache, and felt herself getting tired. This had been troubling her day and night. To be honest, she knew that she had to let go and forgive Leo some day, but she just couldn't do it now. All she could do was to let time do its work, hoping that they might bury the hatchet as time passed.