Elly Campbell didn’t take Sophia Green’s words, her lips tugged into a smirk that seemed intentionally designed to embarrass the other woman.
And Sophia Green seemed to realize just then the inappropriateness of her own behavior and quickly smiled apologetically as she explained,
"I am very sorry, you may not know, but my stepmother is President Jones’s mother, so nominally, I should call him ’brother.’"
This explanation disgusted Elly Campbell even more than Sophia’s initial address of "Brother Adam."
Elly looked at Sophia with a smile that seemed to acknowledge her statement, nodded and said,
"I truly wasn’t aware of when Mrs. Green became my mother-in-law. After all, my husband Adam told me his mother died when he was six."
Watching Sophia Green’s facial expression shift subtly, Elly Campbell set down the coffee she had been holding, and continued in an unhurried tone,
"Miss Green, could you please relay a message to Mrs. Green for me? Tell her not to think she can impersonate relatives just because my husband no longer has parents."
"Also, a piece of friendly advice for you, Miss Green. Don’t casually call someone brother, especially since we aren’t actually siblings. Randomly calling people ’brother’ could lead to wild speculation, especially since you’re a public figure. It wouldn’t do for you to undermine your own status."
Sophia Green had not expected Elly Campbell to speak so sharply, each word stepping on her face.
Before meeting her, Sophia had only thought of Elly Campbell as an incompetent debutante raised in luxury, who married Adam Jones purely out of luck and was certainly eager to please everyone close to Adam to curry favor with him.
Considering that Daisy Thompson was Adam’s mother, which made her Elly’s mother-in-law, she didn’t expect Elly to be so direct and scathingly sarcastic instead of currying favor in a submissive manner.
Elly Campbell had no intention of sparing Sophia Green any dignity. She rose from her chair and said,
"If Miss Green has no further business, then please excuse me."
After speaking, she got up to leave but was stopped by Sophia Green calling out, "Miss Campbell."
Upon hearing Sophia Green’s address, Elly’s lips curled slightly. Just a moment ago she was being called Mrs. Jones, and now it had changed to "Miss Campbell?"
Her instincts were spot on; another vixen had set her sights on her husband, like a piece of delicious meat.
This time, Sophia Green wasn’t feigning politeness towards Elly Campbell as before, and instead examined Elly with a critical gaze from head to toe.
Whether it was because she couldn’t find fault or for some other reason, Sophia subtly furrowed her brow, then gave Elly a faint smile and said,
"I simply wanted to help mend the mother-son relationship between my stepmother and Brother Adam. Even though I’m her stepdaughter, she’s always been kind to me, and I just want her to be happy. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?"
Elly raised an eyebrow, deliberately ignoring the reference to "Brother Adam."
"Yes, Miss Green, you are very filial, but being filial doesn’t mean you can arbitrarily identify relatives for my husband, nor should you bring it up with me."
The remaining trace of mirth disappeared from Elly’s eyes.
The thought of Daisy Thompson abandoning a six-year-old Adam Jones, taking off with the vast Jones family wealth during turbulent times, and now shamelessly seeking recognition,
It was the first time in her life Elly had ever sworn like that. Compared to the shamelessness of Daisy Thompson, Melody Baker and Sophie Baker didn’t even count.
Thinking of how pitiable her husband had been as a child made Elly so heartbroken she felt like lashing out, making her even less inclined to show a pleasant face to Sophia Green.