Mila Anderson, like all other noble and wealthy ladies, spent her days playing cards, shopping, and traveling with her peers. When had she ever truly accompanied her daughter, Adele Horne?

Adele Horne was the Horne Family's only daughter. While everyone supposedly doted on her, this affection, much like the old lady's, was largely materialistic. Spiritually, very few genuinely cared for her.

Hearing the old lady, Mila Anderson understood that she too was exasperated with Gian Horne and genuinely worried about their daughter's illness. This eased some of Mila's own resentment. She stood up and said to the old lady, "What about Julia? Wasn't she taking Adele to the doctor? Where is she now? Mom, I'll go upstairs and check on Adele."

"Julia went to the company," the old lady replied.

Disapproval immediately surfaced in Mila Anderson's eyes.

She just got married; why isn't she home spending more time with the elders? Why rush to the company so soon? It's not as if the Horne family is short on food or clothing because of her. Does she, the wife of the heir, really need to work? Besides, even if those subsidiary companies are under Julia's name now, their old management systems are still in place. The company wouldn't collapse even if Julia took a few more months off!

She clearly just didn't want to stay with Adele, so she ran off to the company! Mila Anderson fumed internally.

She didn't voice her thoughts in front of the old lady, knowing that the old lady doted on Julia.

Mila Anderson went upstairs.

Adele Horne's bedroom door was closed. Inside, she lay on the bed, listlessly watching television.

The heater was on in the room.

Her objective achieved, she naturally hadn't left the air conditioning on.

Hearing a knock, she called out irritably, "Who is it?" She had wanted to go out after returning from the hospital, but the old lady forbade it, insisting she rest due to her cold and drink more water. At the hospital, her fever had made her thirsty, and she'd already had two glasses of plain water. Now that her fever was gone, she wasn't thirsty and couldn't stomach any more tasteless water.

The old lady had a servant bring her a cup of warm water every hour, so Adele assumed it was the servant again.

"Adele, it's Mom," Mila Anderson said gently. Her well-maintained face betrayed no hint of her earlier resentment or anger. She didn't want to upset her daughter while she was ill.

"Mom!" Adele dropped the TV remote, jumped out of bed, and ran to open the door. "Mom, you're back so early? It's only a little past four! I thought you and Dad would be out until tonight. Staying overnight on the boat sounds quite romantic," Adele said, perplexed. She had only learned after returning home that her parents had gone yachting at the seaside.

Just knowing her parents were together made her happy.

"It started raining, and the temperature dropped. I got cold and lost interest, so I came back early." Mila Anderson entered Adele's room with a faint smile and immediately reached out to feel Adele's forehead. Adele allowed her. "Hmm, no fever. How are you feeling? Still very uncomfortable?"

Adele linked arms with her mother, leading her into the spacious and luxurious bedroom where they both sat on the bed.

"A little," Adele answered honestly.

"Colds are miserable," she muttered complainingly.

I can't go out, I have to get shots and take medicine... Even if it gets me out of work, it's not worth it. Mistreating my own body like this is just not worth it.

Orlando Evans's idea was terrible, Adele thought. If her methods were any good, she wouldn't have failed so many times trying to get into Big Brother's bed. She inwardly scoffed at Orlando's tactics.

"Silly child, who enjoys being sick? You're a grown woman, yet you try to act tough with a fever. Why didn't you call Dr. Lei to check on you? Instead, you wanted to go to the office with your brother. You did that on purpose, didn't you?" A mother knows her daughter best. Mila Anderson looked at Adele, her tone a mixture of love, pity, and reproach.

"I'm scared of doctors," Adele said petulantly, her full, red lips pouting. She was undeniably attractive, a true beauty. Her pouting lips gave her an air of naive charm, yet also a hint of allure.

Mila Anderson chuckled and gave her a knowing look. "Twenty-two years old and still scared of doctors. If you were that scared, you wouldn't have gone to the hospital. And don't you dislike your sister-in-law? Why let Julia accompany you?"

At the mention of this, Adele's anger flared. Even though she knew Julia Bluen genuinely cared, her resentment far outweighed her understanding. She immediately launched into a tirade, telling Mila Anderson how Julia had provoked her, forced her to the hospital, and then 'mistreated' her, embellishing every detail to slander Julia.

Hearing Adele's account, Mila's expression darkened considerably. However, she couldn't help but appreciate Julia's use of reverse psychology to get her daughter to the doctor.

"She really treated you like that? Your brother even came to the hospital to pick you up. Why didn't you tell him?" Mila Anderson asked, her face stern.

Could Julia Bluen have been mistreating their sick daughter behind their backs? Had she misjudged her all these years? Was Julia just a woman who appeared kind but was actually malicious?

"Mom, you know Big Brother. He's completely bewitched by those Bluen sisters; he only cares about them. He even warned me because of Julia Bluen, telling me to stay three meters away from her, as if I'd kill his precious Julia! If I complained to him, would he believe me? He'd probably get angry and force me to go back to the office, even though I'm sick. Mom, why do you think I got sick in the first place? Wasn't it because Big Brother upset me? I only slapped Ruby Bluen to help *him* vent *his* anger, and he said I was too idle and made me go to the company to do menial work, like serving tea!" Adele played the victim, seizing the chance to sow discord between Mila Anderson and her daughter-in-law, Julia.

"If Julia truly cared, she wouldn't have left with Big Brother when I was sick and needed someone. He doesn't care about me at all! He took Julia with him, had a bodyguard send me home, saying I needed rest, and then whisked her off to who-knows-where for fun! I was bored stiff at home all afternoon. I wanted Orlando to visit, but Big Brother forbade it. Mom, isn't he being unreasonable? Even if he banned Orlando from our house, he should have at least let Julia, his wife, stay and keep me company, right?" Adele said, her voice thick with grievance.