Chapter 340
Shirley waited all day, but by the time night rolled around, she still hadn’t heard a word from Davina. That silence started to make her question herself. Based on everything she knew about women like Davina, this should have been Davina’s moment. Finally married into a rich family, flaunting her new status—Shirley expected her to be showing off at every chance. She’d even texted first, practically handing Davina the perfect opportunity, but there was just…nothing. Maybe she’d misread her. Maybe Davina wasn’t as shallow as Shirley thought.
If that was true, Shirley would have to come up with another way to get close to her.
But honestly, Davina hadn’t ignored her on purpose. She was simply too overwhelmed to even check her messages.
The mess from catching her husband cheating had exploded online and was still dragging on. She’d barely had a moment to herself since getting out of the Carter estate, and now she had to go back for some sort of family training session. To top it off, the relatives who’d just gotten out of the police station were back, crowding at the gates of the Carter estate. They wouldn’t leave. Instead, they huddled there in the freezing cold, shouting and demanding that Davina take care of them.
Calvin and Barnard were totally swamped, caught up in bidding against Golden Horizon Enterprises and fighting off the mess on social media. Laura, with her soft heart, couldn’t handle the Blair family’s wild bunch. So, Davina was left to deal with all of it by herself.
It was enough to drive her crazy.
The group had made a pact before coming—they wouldn’t budge until they got what they wanted. It didn’t matter how cold it was, they’d wrapped themselves up and camped out right at her doorstep, refusing to even step aside for shelter. Having her relatives dragged off by the cops again was out of the question. With the family’s image at stake, the Carters couldn’t afford another scene. The only way forward was to settle things quietly.
So Davina spent the whole night outside, trying to reason with her relatives, begging them to go home. Nothing worked. They ignored every word, determined to break her down. No matter what, they refused to eat or sleep, and they kept Davina up alongside them so she couldn’t rest or sneak a bite either.
Without Calvin around to take charge, Laura was nervous and had no idea what to do. She was too kind-hearted to let the relatives actually freeze or starve, so she arranged for food to be sent out and handed over some unwanted warm clothes as well.
The Blair relatives, already used to surviving on next to nothing as farmers, thought it was no big deal. They could handle a little cold if it meant free meals and a warm coat. Honestly, they had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
The days blurred together with nothing changing.
Davina was the one who finally started to crack, sneezing and coughing after staying up all night in the cold. She broke down, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded with her parents. “Please, Mom, Dad, I’m begging you. Can’t you just go home p>
“Davina, we already told you. We missed out on so much work because of your wedding. Now the fields are all behind, and who knows if we’ll have any harvest this year. You can’t just let us starve. You’re family p>
“Yeah, you were the one who promised us a little something. You’re not planning to back out now, are you p>
“Davina, just look at it. We’re your real family. The Carters live in this giant house with more staff than relatives. You think they care about giving us a little spending money? Instead of wasting time arguing, just go inside and ask them for it already p>
“Seriously, we’re not even being greedy. We just want a few thousand each to make up for missing the harvest. Then we’ll head home for the holidays. If we go back empty-handed, how are we supposed to face anyone? Really, if you won’t help, we’ll have to stay right here with you for the New Year. But you just got married. You don’t want to spend it with all of us crammed in here, do you p>
The threats just kept coming. Davina had heard it all a thousand times, but hearing it again only made her feel more helpless.
They were even more shameless than she expected. She knew the truth about the harvest—that there wasn’t any urgent work right now, that nothing in the fields would change if they were gone for a few days. She’d grown up in that same village. They were just making excuses. What really made her furious was her own family joining in, her parents and brother ganging up with the rest to force her hand, completely ignoring how much they were hurting her. She was about to lose it.
The worst part? They knew she wouldn’t call the police or risk a fight, so they acted like there’d be no consequences.
Finally, her patience snapped. She shot a glare at Carmen, who was lurking in the group. “No one invited you all to my wedding. If you want someone to pay, go bother whoever dragged you here. It’s none of my business. I’m telling you, you’d better leave now. Laura’s only being nice because she’s home alone. Once Calvin comes back, things won’t end this peacefully p>
She meant to scare them a little by mentioning Calvin, but that only made things worse. Davina’s aunt piped up, “That’s even better for us. Calvin’s not around, so just go ask Laura. We’ve said it already—give us the money and we’ll leave. It’s simple. What’s so hard to understand p>