Fabian’s mom, Heather, had always been upset about how Fabian married Hannah. She thought that Hannah was not worthy of her incredible son, who was in a noble family. She wasn’t actually a mean person, but her way of thinking was more traditional, so she believed that only people of the same social status should get married. To her, Hannah was nothing but a lowly journalist.
Hannah was aware of all that as well. She knew that Fabian was out of her league, but she was forced to marry him, too. That got her to sigh internally. The never-ending soap opera of a rich family.
“Um, of course not. Sit, please,” said Fabian as he forced a smile onto his face. He was secretly displeased with his mom’s attitude, but what could he do? The person standing in front of him wasn’t some business tycoon or political leader. That was his mom!
Heather walked to the sofa and sat down, but her expression remained hostile and brimming with discrimination.
Hannah looked a little off as well. She knew that Heather’s grouchy expression and hostility were directed at her, but she refused to butter Heather up. She felt like doing all that would just make herself seem even smaller.
Fabian nudged Hannah and signaled her with his eyes.
Hannah read the social cue and took a deep breath before she spoke politely and sweetly, “Mom, you’re here.”
Heather rolled her eyes at Hannah. She didn’t like her, but the social rules dictated that she needed to be polite. Hence, she responded with a half-hearted “Hmm.”
Hannah didn’t really know what to do after greeting Heather, so the situation turned awkward. Fabian tried to keep both sides happy.
“Mom, this is Hannah. I told you earlier about her. Sorry, I’ve been busy at work lately, so I didn’t go and visit you.”
They were forced to get married, so Hannah and Fabian simply signed their names on the paper without having a reception. Fabian didn’t want his mother to butt into his love life. Hence, he had been dragging his feet, and that was actually the first time Hannah and Heather met.
Heather secretly examined her own son. Naturally, she knew all about what her son had been doing lately, but Hannah was present, so Heather didn’t feel right talking about it. She simply complained bitterly, “Yes, you have been busy. So busy that you don’t even take the time to visit your own mother.”
Fabian started sweating upon hearing those words. His mother had been spoiling him since he was a kid, and he frequently visited her even when he was busy at work. That was no longer the case after he married Hannah. He felt guilty about his marriage with Hannah and was worried about his mom interrogating him because he wouldn’t know how to answer her questions.
He could get away with dismissing her questions once or twice, but if he kept doing that, his mother would undoubtedly become suspicious. Hence, Fabian stopped going home altogether to prevent any unwanted issues from arising.
Fabian honestly didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry at his mother’s childish stance. He understood that his mom needed someone to coo her at that moment, so he cleared his throat and spoke up.
“Mom, we were just about to go visit you. See what Hannah is holding? That’s rose tea. She knows about the health benefits of tea and went out of her way to get it for you. You know that she is a journalist and that she doesn’t have much free time. She had been feeling guilty about not visiting you earlier, so she asked for some time off from her senior editor just to go visit you.”
Fabian was making things up because he didn’t want Hannah to feel awkward.
Hannah couldn’t help finding everything funny. The way Fabian lowered his stance… Haha, who would’ve thought that the renowned Mr. Norton has a side this cute? He can tackle economic storms and squash competitors. Yet, he turns into a sweet house pet that butters its master up when faced with a harmless, elderly lady.
Fabian signaled to Hannah once more to get her to hand the tea over. To his surprise, Hannah stood there without responding. She had a silly grin on her, and that got Fabian irritated. Seriously, woman. You are so dumb that you should be hospitalized. Can you not get distracted at a crucial moment like this?
Hannah suddenly felt a sting on her foot. She instinctively shifted her gaze down because she felt like heavy lead had suddenly landed on her foot. It didn’t matter how hard she tried. She simply couldn’t lift it.
Soon, Hannah realized that Fabian’s foot was right on top of hers. She turned to Fabian fearfully. Turned out, she was better off not turning to him, because what she saw was his murderous gaze. Hannah had completely rendered Fabian speechless. I am trying to get you back to reality, woman. Why are you having a battle of strength against me?
