Chapter 640
It wasn’t just Elissa; Janice was also starting to pick up on the bizarre undertones in the room.
At first, when the Wilkinsons arrived with a literal mountain of gifts, Janice assumed they were just aggressively expressing their gratitude for Elissa healing Suzanne’s legs.
But as she listened to the way they spoke and watched how fiercely protective they were acting, she realized something entirely different was going on.
This didn’t look like a casual visit.
It looked exactly like…
Like a bride’s wildly protective family showing up at the groom’s house to assert their dominance and demand she be treated like a queen.
Janice couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of happiness for Elissa, knowing the Wilkinsons genuinely cared for her this much.
But that happiness evaporated a moment later.
Old Mrs. Wilkinson stared at Janice for a moment before offering a pleasant smile. “And how are you feeling? Rex mentioned you twisted your ankle a while back?”
Thinking it was just polite small talk, Janice smiled warmly. “Yes, it was just a clumsy accident…”
She was about to add that it had already healed, but Old Mrs. Wilkinson slapped her own thigh, her face suddenly stricken with deep concern.
“Oh no, that won’t do at all!”
“An injury to the bones and joints takes months to truly heal. At our age, we simply must prioritize absolute rest.”
Old Mrs. Wilkinson sounded so desperately sincere that Janice was momentarily stunned. Before Janice could reply, the older woman turned her gaze to Elissa.
“With Elissa being pregnant, having her stay here means you’ll inevitably end up trying to take care of her, which is terrible for your recovery.”
“How about this,” Old Mrs. Wilkinson paused, pasting on a flawlessly sweet smile. “Why doesn’t Elissa move in with us at Zephyr Manor for a while? We have a house full of people doing absolutely nothing who would love to wait on her hand and foot.”
Janice sat there, completely utterly blind-sided.
Elissa was even more shocked. She instinctively looked over at the rest of the Wilkinson family.
She knew Suzanne was fond of her, but to have Old Mrs. Wilkinson show this level
of intense, suffocating affection was deeply overwhelming.
She couldn’t tell if this was Suzanne’s master plan or if the entire family was somehow in on it.
But the second she looked up, she realized every single member of the Wilkinson family was staring at her with breathless anticipation.
Seeing the blatant confusion on her youngest daughter’s face, Suzanne’s heart melted completely. She spoke in the softest most tender tone imaginable, “It’s entirely up to you of course. But your grandparents, your siblings-all of us would absolutely love it if you came to stay with us.”
“Exactly,” Rex chimed in, aggressively capitalizing on his best friend’s absence. “And if you don’t like it there, I can drive you right back here whenever you want.”
At a critical moment like this, his loyalty to Rowan was absolutely zero. Rowan walked back into the living room just in time to hear Rex’s blatant betrayal. His brow twitched. He stepped forward with a flawless, polite smile, his dark gaze locking onto Rex for a split second. “What are we talking about?”
He then casually greeted the rest of the Wilkinson family.
Under Rowan’s icy glare, Rex felt a brief flicker of panic—before immediately reminding himself that he was now officially the man’s older brother-in-law. Why the hell should he be afraid?
He just wanted his sister back!
It was actually infuriating when he thought about it. He had barely gotten to be her brother for five minutes, and Rowan had stolen her away.
Adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, Rex stared back without blinking. “We were just discussing how my grandparents, my parents, and us kids would love to bring Elissa to Zephyr Manor for a while.”
He intentionally name-dropped the entire family.
Everyone in the room was either Elissa’s elder or her sibling.
Elissa might not know her true identity yet, but Rowan absolutely did. And he
couldn’t afford to disrespect a single person sitting on those couches.
Rex fully expected Rowan to cave and hand her over.
Instead, Rowan let out a soft, effortless chuckle and looked
completely helpless. “It’s not that I’m against it. But I literally just walked
Mr. Blaine out, and he was very
explicit Elissa shouldn’t be traveling
or moving around right now.
“I know Zephyr Manor is only a twenty-minute drive, but we really can’t take any
risks with the baby.”
Without missing a beat, he turned his attention to Suzanne, perfectly polite and unshakeable. “How about this? Once she’s completely stable personally drive her over to spend a few days with you?”