"The goad doesn’t work on me, Miss Green. Adam’s tastes are quite selective; he doesn’t fancy just anyone who throws themselves at him."
She implied meaning with a scornful glance at Sophia Green from head to toe, imitating the way Sophia had looked at her at the beginning.
Ignoring the poise and grace that had collapsed in an instant, she continued:
"And while you’re at it, pass a message to Mrs. Green for me. I don’t care what she’s up to coming to see Adam now, but I advise her to rein it in. I’m not one for preaching filial piety, and if she crosses me, I won’t show her the pity a man might."
In Sophia’s mind, Elly Campbell should be humble and ingratiating towards her own mother-in-law, not contemptuous and disdainful as she was being now.
What gives this woman the right to be so bold?
Does she really think Adam won’t recognize his own mother?
Sophia looked at Elly’s indifferent face and suddenly broke into laughter.
"You dare speak , simply because you’re convinced that Adam won’t acknowledge his mother. But in the end, my mother is his biological one, and he will certainly recognize her when she comes looking for him. When that happens, what do you think would be his reaction if he heard about the disrespectful things you said today?"
Elly was amused by Sophia’s god-like logic and confidence.
"She comes looking for Adam, and you think Adam will just recognize her? I’ve come to see that you and Mrs. Green are indeed like mother and daughter. That kind of magical and bewildering self-assurance is not something everyone possesses."
"The reason I agreed to meet with you today is to hope you’ll convey a message to Mrs. Green. If she has any shame left, she shouldn’t come bothering my husband again. He’s quick-tempered and holds grudges, so I hope you both take that to heart."
"Elly Campbell, do you... do you believe I won’t tell Adam about what you’ve said today?"
"Sure, go ahead. Do you need me to repeat what I just said so you can record it? That way, you have evidence to make it more believable to him."
Seeing Elly’s fearless demeanor, Sophia was incredulous and felt a mix of jealousy and vexation.
Without further ado, Elly left the café, leaving Sophia seething and gazing after her with an increasingly darkened expression.
When Elly got home, Adam was in the living room playing with William and his sibling, the perfect image of a tender and wonderful father.
Hearing Elly’s voice at the door, Adam quickly tossed his youngest child towards William and strode towards Elly, as if the person who was just playing the doting father wasn’t him at all.
Seeing Elly’s expression wasn’t quite right, Adam asked with concern:
Elly gave him a sidelong look and couldn’t resist pinching his face hard, saying:
"This face of yours is nothing but trouble."
Facing this sudden accusation, Adam, startled, grabbed the hand on his face, laughing and asked:
"What happened? Who upset you?"
"It’s not so much that someone upset me, just genuinely disgusted me."
Elly walked past Adam, sat down on the living room sofa, and without intent to hide anything, recounted her encounter with Sophia to Adam.
Watching Adam’s face darken gradually, Elly chuckled and moved closer to him, sighing in a teasing manner:
"Ah, my dear Adam, what am I to do? With a whole crowd of women eyeing you, I’m starting to feel insecure."