Chapter 657

Margaret, who always had a poor appetite, ate more than half a plate of shrimp ravioli. This was enough to prove how delicious the shrimp ravioli was.

In the end, Melody had to stop her. “Grandma, if you like it, I’ll make it for you again. Eating too much seafood will cause gout.” Only then did Margaret put down her fork reluctantly.

The funeral was held at Wendell’s residence. They only needed to arrive before 10:30 a.m. Seeing that it was still early, Margaret said to Melody, “Melody, come and chat for a while in my room. I have a gift for you.”

“Alright.” Melody nodded and left the dining table. When she got up, she noticed that Ken was looking at her. She gave him a reassuring look and helped Margaret upstairs. Astrid was furious and started to resent Mabel for being unresponsive. Not only did Mabel fail to get any advantages for her in Margaret’s presence, but she also made her feel even more clearly Margaret’s favoritism toward Melody. Among all in the family, only Melody received a gift.

‘Did she think I’m dead? Not only did she not bring me a gift, but she also ignored Mabel. Rightfully, this’s the first time a girl officially meets the elder, so shouldn’t she at least give her something?’ thought Astrid.

She had deliberately mentioned to Margaret that Mabel was Ulric’s girlfriend, but Margaret ignored Mabel after taking her seat. Wasn’t this looking down on her? It was not the gift she cared about; it was her pride. But Margaret obviously had no intention of giving her that respect. ‘Damn it!’ cursed Astrid in her heart.

Astrid vented her anger on Mabel. After Margaret went upstairs, she said coldly to Mabel, “Aren’t you the Best Celebrity? Why didn’t you even know how to socialize?”

Mabel lowered her gaze with a pale face, her eyes full of displeasure. ‘How could you blame me?’ However, she could not flare up and could only say in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Swanson…”

“Hmph!” Astrid snorted coldly and went upstairs without giving her any respect. Mabel instinctively sought help from Ulric, but he did not even look at her and asked his subordinate to push him to the elevator.

Mabel felt sad and unwilling, almost on the verge of tears again. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of Ken out of the corner of her eyes. Seeing him still in his seat eating the remaining shrimp ravioli, she had a thought.

After the elevator door closed, she sat back and asked Ken gently, “Ken, do you like shrimp ravioli? Or do you like seafood?”

Ken did not seem to hear her. He lowered his head and focused on eating the shrimp ravioli. He could not waste any bit of the delicacies that his wife had spent more than an hour preparing.

Seeing no response from Ken, Mabel thought that her voice was too soft and she mustered up the courage to repeat herself, “Ken…”

“Aren’t you annoying?” Ken looked up at her. “If Miss Mabel doesn’t have anyone to talk to, there’s a Pekingese in the garden.”

Mabel was stunned. Her cheeks quickly turned red from embarrassment and anger. “I’m sorry…” She hurriedly stood up and awkwardly walked toward the guest room on the second floor.

‘How could it be? How could it? Am I really inferior to that ugly freak?’ Mabel cried silently as she walked away.

Mabel silently cried all the way. It was not until she returned to her room that she realized her makeup was completely ruined and she needed to redo it. But what frightened her the most was that she realized the fine hair she shaved off the night before had grown again.

She screamed and quickly covered her mouth. ‘No one should have heard it, right?’ After confirming it was quiet outside, she heaved a sigh of relief, but she felt even more devastated. She felt that soon she would go crazy.

In Margaret’s room; it was not the first time Melody entered the room.

Margaret had been away traveling for more than a month. Although the room was cleaned every day, it still had a musty smell due to the recent rain.

As soon as Melody entered, she opened the window to ventilate the room and asked the servants to prepare a pot of hot coffee.

“Decaffeinated coffee is better for the stomach,” said

Melody. “Yes.” The servant took note of it seriously and turned around to make coffee.

Seeing this, Margaret felt even more guilty for suspecting Melody earlier and said, “Don’t make yourself so busy. Come and see the gift I’ve brought you.”

Margaret asked the servant to take out a rosewood box from the suitcase. There was a ruby inside. At a glance, Melody knew that it was valuable. “I can’t accept such a valuable gift…” She hurriedly waved her hand and refused to accept.

It was not that she deliberately rejected the gift, it was because she felt guilty. Although Cadence deserved the death penalty, she was indeed lying to Margaret. It was a separate issue.

“Since I’m giving it to you, just accept it,” said Margaret. Margaret firmly stuffed the box into her hand and said, “I came across this at an auction during my travels. When I saw it, I thought it would be perfect for you. This is a raw gemstone; you can take it to a jewelry shop and have them turn it into a piece of jewelry.”

Melody could not refuse so she could only accept it. After chatting for a while, Margaret asked casually, “We’re about to attend Cadence’s funeral. I wonder if you interacted with her while I was away? She has a little bad temper, but she’s kind-hearted. If you two know each other, you two will definitely get along well.”

Melody shook her head apologetically. “I don’t have much contact with Miss Hunter, but I know she is a very famous model. However, from the one time I interacted with her, I felt we didn’t really get along well, so we didn’t have much interaction after that. I’m really sorry.”

Margaret listened to Melody carefully. For Melody to say so directly that she and Cadence did not get along well meant she did not do it. Therefore, she did not have to avoid saying it at all. Margaret stopped probing and started chatting casually with her again.

They were talking about trivial matters, but Melody listened attentively, making Margaret even more satisfied. At her age, not many young people would listen to her sincerely. Before they knew it, it was almost time to set off. Margaret particularly reminded her, “Ride with me in the same car; let those few squeeze themselves.”

When they reached the Hunter family residence, she did not know if Wendell would go crazy again, so she wanted to be together with Melody. Melody knew what Margaret was thinking but did not show it on her face. She only smiled and nodded. “Alright, I want to spend more time with you. My grandma has returned to the Fox family residence. It’s good to be by your side.”

“Is that so? Why did she suddenly go back?” Margaret asked. “Well… I’ll tell you next time,” said Melody. “Okay,” Margaret responded.

The two of them chatted as they got into the car. Astrid’s heart ached when she saw this. Usually, she and Margaret would ride in the same car, but as soon as Melody came, even that seat was taken away from her.

She did not like to flatter Margaret, but not wanting to do so did not mean she was willing to let someone else take her place.