Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law

Chapter 403: It’s Hard To Keep The Truth Hidden (4)_1

Glades and Adele Horne had already rushed to the hospital to see Marcel Horne.

However, Julia Bluen dared not tell her mother-in-law the truth. She smiled sheepishly and said, "Adele is working overtime. Glades... I think he went to a social engagement."

Mila Anderson just said, "Oh," and didn’t press further.

But the old lady furrowed her brow.

She somewhat believed Adele Horne was working overtime, but she didn’t believe Glades Horne was out socializing. Glades was always focused on his work and rarely attended social engagements. Julia’s recent smile had also seemed sheepish, as if she were lying.

The old lady was a shrewd woman. She slowly pieced together the recent actions of Glades, Adele, and Julia. Glades was known for doting on his wife, but in the past six days, he had often been out. Even when at home, he was constantly on the phone, busy with who knows what. His care for Julia remained the same, but the time they spent together had more than halved. She didn’t believe her precious grandson would have an emotional rift with Julia.

She also recalled how every time she mentioned Marcel Horne, Julia, Glades, and Adele would try to change the subject or repeat the same phrases to placate her.

Could it be that something happened to Marcel, and those three know about it but are hiding it because they don’t want to worry me?

"Julia." The old lady tilted her head to look at Julia beside her, her gaze becoming exceptionally sharp, like Glades’s when he handled business matters—as piercing as two swords. To be watched by her felt as if one could be physically wounded.

Julia’s heart leaped at the old lady’s gaze.

She had experienced firsthand how astute and calculating the old lady could be.

"Grandma, what is it?"

Julia tried her best to appear as if nothing was amiss.

"What are you all hiding from Grandma?" The old lady’s voice was very soft, yet it carried an undeniable authority, her gaze intently fixed on Julia.

"Grandma, we’re not hiding anything from you," Julia replied, blinking her almond-shaped eyes innocently. I hope Glades and Adele come back soon, or I won’t be able to hold out much longer,

she thought.

"That’s right, Mom. We haven’t hidden anything from you," Mila Anderson chimed in. The old lady’s "you all" had included her, so she naturally defended herself as well.

"Julia, hand Grandma the phone. Grandma wants to make a call." When Julia didn’t speak, the old lady, remembering she wanted to make a call, repeated her request. Seeing Julia still hadn’t moved, she turned to Aunt Mei beside her and said, "Aunt Mei, go get the phone for me."

Aunt Mei quickly agreed and went to fetch the phone.

Julia wanted to stop her but was afraid that doing so would only make the old lady more suspicious.

What should I do? she wondered frantically. Pretend to vomit again?

Aunt Mei returned with the phone very quickly. In that short minute, Julia had already thought of more than a dozen plans.

"Madam, here’s the phone."

Aunt Mei handed the cordless extension to the old lady.

The old lady took the cordless phone and began pressing the numbers on its keypad.

Growing increasingly anxious as she watched, Julia decided to take drastic action: she closed her eyes, let her legs go limp, and feigned a faint, sliding from the sofa to the floor.

"Julia! Julia, what’s wrong with you?"

Julia’s ploy scared both the old lady and Mila Anderson out of their wits.

The old lady dropped the phone and hastily bent down to help Julia.

Julia had merely slid to the floor, her back still leaning against the sofa, which was somewhat more comfortable.

Mila Anderson rushed forward and frantically helped Julia lie down on the sofa. Aunt Mei quickly picked up the phone the old lady had tossed aside, called Dr. Lei, and then called Glades Horne to tell him the Young Mistress had fainted. She then ran outside to find Uncle Ying, intending to have him drive Julia to the hospital immediately.

"Julia, Julia, what’s wrong? Don’t scare Mom like this!" Mila Anderson was panic-stricken, frantically shaking the feigning Julia. Honestly, Julia thought miserably, even if I weren’t already ’faint,’ my mother-in-law would shake me unconscious!

"Mila, don’t panic! Pinch Julia’s philtrum." The old lady, remaining relatively composed, forcefully pinched Julia’s philtrum.

Oh, for crying out loud, Grandma! Do you have a vendetta against me? Julia thought even more miserably. She’s pinching so hard; it’s agony!

"Madam, Mrs. Anderson, we should take the Young Mistress to the hospital first!" Aunt Mei and Uncle Ying exclaimed, rushing in with several servants.

I can’t go to the hospital! Julia thought in alarm. What if Grandma bumps into Brother Marcel there?

"Mmm..." At this thought, Julia "came to" under the old lady’s continued pinching of her philtrum. She deliberately let out a weak groan, making it seem as though she had just regained consciousness after fainting.

Seeing Julia awake, the old lady and Mila Anderson breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"What are you all still standing there for? Hurry and help the Young Mistress to the hospital! That Dr. Lei is getting slower and slower," the old lady ordered the servants, already complaining about Dr. Lei’s slowness.

Dr. Lei doesn’t live at the Horne residence, Julia thought. This only happened a few minutes ago. Even if Dr. Lei flew here by plane, it would still take time!

Julia silently felt that Dr. Lei was being unfairly blamed.

"Grandma, I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m just a little dizzy, probably from a lack of nutrition due to the pregnancy. Haven’t you seen it on TV? Pregnant women faint when they lack nutrition. I guess..." Oh, heavens, what kind of ridiculous excuse did I just make up! she thought, inwardly cringing.

Julia belatedly realized she had just dug a pit for herself to fall into.

They’re already making me drink cup after cup of nourishing broth every day, to the point where I dread the very sight of it. And I actually made up an excuse about being malnourished? Am I not just condemning myself to even more broth?

Sure enough, Mila Anderson immediately picked up the now-lukewarm bowl of nourishing broth and, spoon in hand, prepared to feed Julia personally. "I’ve told you before, you need to eat more nutritious food during pregnancy. Here, let Mom feed you. Drink this broth, and your head won’t feel so dizzy."

"Yes, yes, Mila’s right. Drink this broth quickly," the old lady chimed in. Julia’s fainting spell had completely scared away her intention to call Marcel Horne. "That Dr. Lei must have misdiagnosed. Saying your health is excellent... if it were so excellent, would you have fainted? It seems we need to have Glades find another doctor. This isn’t something to be taken lightly."

The old lady once again shifted the blame onto Dr. Lei.

Hearing this, Julia felt even more apologetic toward Dr. Lei.

"Grandma, this has nothing to do with Dr. Lei. A person’s physical condition can change at any time; it’s really not Dr. Lei’s fault." To maintain her lie, Julia took the bowl of nourishing broth from Mila Anderson’s hands and drank it all down in one go.

"Julia!"

Glades Horne’s anxious voice finally reached Julia’s ears.

Glades Horne and his sister, Adele, were already on their way home when they unexpectedly received a call from Aunt Mei saying the Young Mistress had fainted. Glades was so frightened his heart nearly leaped out of his throat. He immediately ordered the bodyguards to accelerate, and they raced back home at breakneck speed.

"Julia!"

Glades reached Julia in a few quick strides, bent down, scooped her into his arms, and said urgently, "I’m taking you to the hospital."

"Glades, I’m fine," Julia said, feeling a flush of embarrassment. It’s been so hard trying to keep the news of Marcel’s accident from Grandma, she thought wearily. And now I have to keep up this pretense for my own lie. This is exhausting!

Glades, still holding her, had already dashed like the wind into the courtyard, moving with incredible speed. Julia tugged his tie, making him look at her, then whispered, "Don’t worry, I was pretending."

Pretending? Glades thought, bewildered. She was perfectly fine, so why pretend to faint? Didn’t she know she could scare him into having a heart attack? His heart was still pounding.

Meeting his questioning gaze, Julia complained with a hint of helplessness, "Well, who asked you and Adele to rush off to the hospital and insist I come home alone? Grandma kept asking about Brother Marcel and even wanted to call his supervisor. I was terrified she’d find out about Brother Marcel’s accident, so I had to find a way to distract her. Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for me to keep this charade up?"

Hearing her explanation, Glades’s expression deepened, his eyes darkening. He had already carried her to the car.