Old Madam Liu raised her eyebrows when Jeru hesitated to let her enter his house.
Jeru was caught off guard as he did not expect his grandmother’s visit at all. He opened the door fully to let her in while she instructed her assistant to bring inside all the souvenirs she bought for her grandson.
"I came back ahead of time because I was shocked when I saw the news about Field Marshal Chan’s daughter. She’s already married? To that wretched General? And you just did nothing?" Old Madam Liu reprimanded her grandson as she sat on the couch in the living room and dismissed her assistant.
She was alarmed by the turn of events while she was away. Who would have thought Keira Chan had married that pauper of a General in secret?
Jeru sighed and asked, "Grandma, do you want anything? Coffee? Tea?"
"No dear, I want you to sit down and talk to me. You know the Chans is the best family we can connect with. But what were you doing, Jeru!? I raised you to be a winner! Not a loser!" Old Madam Liu roared.
She really could not accept the fact that her grandson, who was a Liu, had been defeated by a commoner who grew up in a slum. It was deplorable!
"How could a mere slumdog win over you?" she scoffed, seeing how calm Jeru was behaving.
Jeru looked at his grandma and said, "Let them be, grandma... Zach is a good and hardworking man. The Chans cherishes him. And more importantly, he and Keira love each other."
"Pah! Love! Love? Love expires! Only our family’s name and wealth would last forever! Fine, if you’ve given up on Keira, then go for her friend! The daughter of the Huangs! I already checked everything about her, and even though Keira was a better choice, I think Lana would be a good choice too," Old Madam Liu commanded him.
Jeru kept his eyes on his grandmother as he straightforwardly declared, "I’m afraid that’s impossible, grandma. I’m already married."
Old Madam Liu’s face darkened. She glowered at Jeru. It took her a while before she finally spoke in a low and threatening voice, "What did you just say? You’re already married? Is this a joke? Don’t you dare push me because you know what I could do if you push me, Jeru..."
"Hon, what’s taking..." Thea said as she was walking down the stairs, but abruptly paused when she saw Jeru was not alone. "Oh, I’m sorry I did not mean..." She apologized and was about to turn around and head back upstairs, but Jeru interrupted her.
"Hon, come here... I will introduce you to my grandma," Jeru said.
Thea froze. No wonder the old lady looked familiar because she had already seen her on various photographs. Thea could feel the old lady’s piercing stare. If looks could kill... But she gathered her courage and walked to Jeru and stood beside him.
Jeru pulled her closer toward him and proudly introduced her, "She’s Thea Liu-Jones, my wife." Thea gave Old Madam Liu a warm smile as she extended her hand. But Old Madam Liu refused to take it. She only gave Thea a vague look and a half-smile as she said, "Hello, dear. I haven’t heard of your surname before. Please sit down. Now, why do you look familiar?"
Jeru smiled and answered, "Oh, it’s probably because you’ve seen her on TV, grandma. She’s the main anchor of CEC’s primetime news." Old Madam Liu could hear the pride and admiration in her grandson’s voice and she scoffed.
She observed Thea. She was displeased when she heard how his grandson introduced her. ’Thea Liu-Jones.’ She detested to have their esteemed surname being attached to this woman’s name. She didn’t know her yet, and she will certainly have her investigated.
"So, Thea, tell me about your family? Where are they, and what do they do?" asked Old Madam Liu frankly. The dominance in her voice made Thea cower.
"I’m an orphan, Madam, so basically I don’t have a family," she said in a low tone, clasping her hands tightly on her lap. Then she felt Jeru hold her hands as he smiled at her and said, "What are you saying? I’m your family now."
Old Madam Liu had had enough, so she abruptly stood and said, "I will leave now, Jeru. Come see me at the office tomorrow. We have a lot of talking to do."
Thea slightly bowed when Old Madam Liu gave her one final cold gaze as she murmured, "Goodbye, Thea."
Jeru escorted his grandmother outside while Thea drew out a long sigh of relief...
Obviously, Jeru’s grandmother was not pleased to meet her, and she bet she was even more upset upon knowing that her one and only grandson married a nobody like her.
"Please, grandma, let Thea alone because she’s pregnant. She’s carrying my child, and I really hope you won’t give her any trouble," Jeru pleaded as he opened the car door for his grandma. He knew how ruthless his grandma could be, so he tried to stop her from doing anything to Thea by mentioning her great-grandchild.
Old Madam Liu scowled and chastised him, "I’ll decide on that, Jeru. You have disappointed me tremendously."
Jeru sighed as soon as the car drove away from his sight.
Inside the car, Old Madam Liu seethed, "I want to know every single detail, even the tiniest ones, about Thea Jones!"
She was boiling inside. It was that low-born soldier’s fault that everything had become a mess. If he had not come into the picture, Jeru would have had his chance with Keira. She couldn’t accept it. She won’t allow it. Now that she had time to pay more attention to this issue, she would not sit still and let everything slip away from her hands.
She was Old Madam Liu. No one should ever cross her nor obstruct her plans. And now that things have turned this way, she would make sure that those obstructions would hit rock bottom. For getting in her way... Whether it was intentional or not...