"Oh? Leena can cook too?" It was obvious Shannon was taken aback by this. She understood that Leena was from a rich family. Nathan had told her that. But rich girls had everything done for them, so how did she learn to cook? Shannon was impressed that she didn't act spoiled at all. In fact, she was polite, humble, and sweet. On the other hand, Claire, who was also from a wealthy family, behaved totally differently. In comparison, Shannon liked Leena even more.
"I'm sorry, mom. I'm not a good cook and I've turned the kitchen into a mess." Leena tried to give a smile, but for the first time she found it hard. Her conversation with Kevin was still fresh in her mind. She felt like a big rock was pressing down on her chest.
"It's good enough. Claire can't even cook half as well as you." Most parents thought their kids were the best, no matter what. However, in Shannon's eyes, her daughter-in-law was much better than her kids. Leena could have acted like a princess, but she didn't. Shannon felt lucky to have her as a daughter-in-law, because she was convinced that Leena could do better.
"Mom! Seriously?" Claire shouted angrily. Not only did her mom trash talk her, but she did it in front of Leena. She believed that Leena must have told something to her mom. Hence, her resentment towards Leena grew deeper. She'd teach that little bitch a good lesson!
"What? It's the truth. You should try what she's cooked up here. It's really good. I'll reckon with you later about something else." Shannon looked at Claire, full of disappointment. She didn't understand why Claire and Leena were so different. On the surface, they were both young, beautiful and from rich familes, but on the inside, Leena was much better cultivated than Claire. Maybe it was her fault how she was raised. Leena's family obviously did a better job bringing her up.
Humph! Somebody must have said something about me when I wasn't around." Claire cast a contemptuous glance at Leena. She thought Leena must have talked about her behind her back to her mom. That was enough for her to start holding a huge grudge against her.
"Don't be silly. Nobody said anything about you. Learn from Leena. Be polite and humble." As a mother, Shannon didn't want to scold Claire in front of others, but she was too angry about what she said. She was being very rude.
"Mom, I'm your daughter. How could you talk about me to an outsider like that?" Claire stomped her feet in anger. She rolled her eyes at Leena resentfully, thinking that she had started it and that she turned her mom against her.
"I wouldn't have said anything if you had acted like a grown-up. Now leave the kitchen. Stay out of the way." Shannon treated her daughter-in-law and daughter equally. She wouldn't be biased in favor of her daughter.
"No problem. I don't want to be here anyway!" Claire glared at Leena and turned on her heel. Ever since Kevin's wife got here, Claire did everything wrong. Her mom wouldn't stop harping on her. This had never happened before. It must be because of Leena. She would get back at her if it was the last thing she did.
"Mom, maybe you were a little harsh. I think Claire's feeling a little upset," Leena said hesitantly, a little worried. She didn't mind Claire's hostility. She just bore it with grace. She felt better knowing her mom-in-law didn't hate her, at least.
"Don't worry. She is always like this. She'll forget it in a while." Shannon let out an exasperated sigh. The one thing that soothed her was that her son turned out to be a wonderful man, although her daughter's behavior still bugged her. She was always proud of him.
"That's right. I can prove it. Everything's okay. Now scoot, both of you! I'm good here." Knowing that Leena didn't like kitchen chores, Kevin booted his mom and Leena out of there so he could work on cleaning up.
"Leena, let's go. Since he wants to do all the work, let him. That doesn't happen every day, believe me." Kevin seemed to be quite familiar with the work, so Shannon had no worries there. He'd get that mess cleaned up in typical orderly military fashion. She left the kitchen hand in hand with Leena.
Worried that Kevin might need some help, Leena turned her head to look at Kevin before she left. Sensing what she was thinking, Kevin gave her a comforting smile. Although he didn't like doing chores, especially cleaning up, he liked cleaning the mess Leena made. It made him feel manly. He enjoyed being her rock.
Claire's eyes were filled with disdain when she saw Leena come out of the kitchen with her mom hand in hand. The first thing that came to mind was that Leena was trying everything to please her mom so that she could turn her mom against her and make her life miserable. But Claire didn't think Leena would get what she wanted, because at the end of the day, she was her mom's daughter; no matter how terribly wrong she was, her mom would be on her side.
"Why are you both just sitting there? Come and eat. Aren't you hungry?" Shannon said to Nathan and Claire in a sullen tone. The doting atmosphere in the family had turned Claire into a willful and self-centered girl. Her uncles and aunts spoiled her even more. Luckily, they didn't live together. Otherwise, Claire would think herself a queen. When Shannon said something, Nathan looked up at everyone, and set the newspaper aside, folding it back up. Not a single word came out of his mouth as he walked towards the table and finally took a seat.
"Have a taste. Leena did all this. It's cold now. Millet porridge will warm you up. It's very sweet." Shannon put a bowl of millet porridge in front of Nathan and then started to fill a second bowl. Leena looked at Nathan nervously, secretly praying that he would like the warm cereal.
"Duh. My brother helped her. She should be as honest as I am. I have never lied about the things I couldn't do, let alone taken credit for other people's work." Claire shot a disdainful look at Leena. She had expected to see how embarrassed she would be in the kitchen. However, all she had gotten was that her brother had ruined her plan and her mom had scolded her in front of Leena. Thinking of this, she made a sour face again in Leena's direction.
"I..." Claire's words humiliated Leena so much she looked at Nathan nervously, worried that he'd hate her for it, but sadly, she couldn't come up with anything to say back. She just stood there, all flushed with embarrassment.
Claire, that's your sister-in-law you're talking about. Show some respect! You are too spoiled. I haven't talked to you about Maud yet. And you're one to talk!" Shannon said sternly, eyes filled with deep disappointment.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Nathan suddenly put in. Obviously, he couldn't stand Claire being blamed for anything. He seemed so stately and serious to Leena that she was stunned to see how much he indulged Claire.