Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Are You Crying?
A line saying "If you’re not as skilled, you have to accept it" caused Jillian’s fragile shoulders to tremble, and her face instantly turned red to the roots of her neck.
Being told this by Warren made her feel really humiliated...
Ashley looked at Warren in shock.
He wasn’t looking at her, instead, he was looking at Jillian with dissatisfaction and reproach.
Ashley felt bewildered.
Wasn’t he and Jillian...
Right, Jillian is still a student now, he hasn’t stooped to that level yet.
Moreover, his muse is still here, hasn’t disappeared yet.
Ashley glanced over at Rosalind and unexpectedly met her gaze as she sat on the sofa.
That look seemed poisoned, sending a chill down her spine.
Ashley expressionlessly withdrew her gaze, pretending Rosalind was just air.
At this moment, her phone vibrated again.
She glanced at it; it was a message from Claire Xavier.
Ashley stood up from her chair and said, "I’m going to make a call, you all chat."
After speaking, she let Ariana sit down to play a couple more rounds with Grandpa Prescott, and she took her phone and walked straight to the entryway.
Jillian also felt embarrassed facing Warren’s displeased look, so she found an excuse to go to the bathroom, pulling Mrs. Lynch along to leave the scene.
In the bathroom, Jillian couldn’t hold it in and said, "Ashley is clearly capable of beating Grandpa Prescott, so why did she pretend to be a novice just now? This is obviously a trap! She’s just a bitch!"
Mrs. Lynch was also in a rage.
"You were foolish too. When you felt something was off at the start, you should have found an excuse to pause. Why did you insist on playing to the end and losing so miserably?"
Jillian glared resentfully at her mother.
"You talk about me, but you were the one who told me to show off in front of Grandpa Prescott. I only did it because I listened to you. Otherwise, how could I lose to that country bumpkin? I wouldn’t have gone over to play with her at all!"
Mrs. Lynch was choked up, momentarily at a loss for words to rebut.
Because it was true.
"If I had known, I should have listened to your sister and done nothing."
"It’s all your fault! Now Warren also hates me like he hates my sister!"
"What are you saying? Warren doesn’t hate your sister; they are just having a temporary conflict."
"Do you still think I’m a three-year-old? I’m going to high school next year. Anyone can see that Warren doesn’t even care about my sister. Did he say a word for her from beginning to end? He was supporting Ashley from start to finish. My sister is a total loser; she’s not worthy of Warren..."
"Smack—"
Mrs. Lynch gave Jillian a harsh slap across the face.
Jillian was stunned, covering her face and looking at her mother in disbelief.
"You hit me?"
Mrs. Lynch had struck in a fit of rage, and now calming down, she hurriedly apologized to her younger daughter.
"Sorry, Jillian, Mom didn’t mean to hit you, it’s just that what you said..."
"I don’t want to talk to you anymore!"
Jillian opened the bathroom door to leave, but saw Grandpa Prescott standing there, looking shocked.
Jillian was instantly frozen in place.
"Grandpa Prescott..."
Grandpa Prescott looked deeply at Jillian, his eyes filled with disappointment.
He was worried that Jillian, being young, wouldn’t understand, and feared she’d lose her confidence in Go after losing to Ashley, so he specifically came over to see if she was crying and to offer some comfort.
He hadn’t expected to overhear the conversation between mother and daughter.
He realized that the Lynch family women were all the same.
He had believed Rosalind and Mrs. Lynch weren’t good, but young Jillian should have upright character.
But after hearing what she said, calling people "bitch" and "country bumpkin", her words were as harsh as they could be, he truly saw her in a new light.
The two sisters were practically carved from the same mold.
Mrs. Lynch had initially feared Jillian might act rashly and had quickly followed out, only to see Jillian still standing at the door, not leaving.
She was puzzled why Jillian suddenly stopped, and in the next moment saw Grandpa Prescott standing at the door, her face instantly losing color.
"Elder Prescott... you, when did you..."
Grandpa Prescott said with a dark expression, "I heard everything."
Jillian and Mrs. Lynch both wavered in their stance at the same time.
Grandpa Prescott continued, "You wonder why Ashley, with her level, would lose to me?"
"I was too happy at the time and didn’t realize it, but now I understand, she let me win on purpose, to make me happy."
"She’s leaving for Aethelgard soon, and probably won’t have time to play Go with me for a long time. So today she let me win. It wasn’t the trap you imagined."
"Only petty people see everyone as petty."
Petty people...
Jillian’s face went completely pale.
Grandpa Prescott was calling her a petty person.
Grandpa Prescott had never said this to her before; since she could remember, he had always been kind and loving.
But this time, his gaze, though deeply fixed on her face, was cold and devoid of affection.
"Jill, you’ve really disappointed me. I thought you would be different from your sister, but I was wrong."
He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly remembered something and said, "You’re Kimberly’s guests, so for her sake, I won’t make you leave, but I won’t agree to your coming here again."
After saying this, Grandpa Prescott finally turned and walked away, not giving Jillian even a last glance.
Jillian was still young and fright seized her to tears, tugging on Mrs. Lynch’s sleeve, crying, "Mom, what do we do now?"
Mrs. Lynch was also flustered, not knowing what to do.
After a while, she suddenly remembered she had another daughter, and quickly said, "Go, quickly bring your sister here."
...
Meanwhile.
Outside the living room.
Ashley stood and looked up at the sky; it was already completely dark, with a faint round moon visible on the horizon.
It seems like tomorrow will have bad weather.
She took out her phone and dialed Brooke’s number.
While playing Go with Jillian, she had sent Brooke a message, inquiring after her state, as she grew bored waiting for Jillian to make a move.
Only after the game did Brooke finally reply, saying everything was fine.
But Ashley still wanted to make a call and ask, as the assistant manager seemed so tense then, surely something had happened demanding Brooke’s attention at the Xavier Family.
After two rings, the call was picked up.
"Hello?" Brooke’s voice sounded hoarse.
Ashley was startled.
"Ms. Grant, were you crying?"
"No..."
"You’re lying, your voice is hoarse."
"That’s because..." Brooke tried to make an excuse, but thought better of it, acknowledging: "Yes, I cried earlier this evening."
"What happened?" she hurriedly asked.