The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 108

Ethan clenched his tiny fists, seething with anger. “That old witch is way out of line! How could she talk about Mom like that?”

Noah shot him a warning look. “Keep your voice down, or we’ll get caught.”

Quickly, Ethan slapped a hand over his mouth and kept watching the scene unfold in the garden below.

Mrs. Austin had taken Garcia’s hand and was speaking earnestly. “Garcia, dear, I just want you and Dylan to spend more time together. When young people are around each other more, feelings will grow naturally.”

Garcia looked uncomfortable, her hesitation clear. “But Mrs. Austin, isn’t Mr. Austin already married to Rebecca?”

At that, Mrs. Austin’s face darkened instantly. She let out a cold, dismissive laugh. “Married? You think that woman is good enough to be called a wife? Rebecca is nothing but an ungrateful nobody.”

Garcia was startled by Mrs. Austin’s abrupt change in tone and asked cautiously, “Why do you say that, ma’am?”

Mrs. Austin’s voice grew sharper as her anger flared. “She’s damaged goods! She only managed to marry into the Austin family because she used her mother’s name as leverage. And if that weren’t bad enough, she brought four brats of her own into our family, but refuses to give us a proper heir. The Austins have a reputation to uphold! How can we tolerate someone as disrespectful as her?”

Garcia kept her eyes lowered, nodding along quietly, not daring to say anything more.

Mrs. Austin continued to vent, her words more venomous with each breath. “She has no sense of respect or family. I never agreed to this marriage in the first place. If it weren’t for Dylan’s grandfather interfering, I would have had Dylan divorce her long ago!”

“Ma’am, please don’t upset yourself,” Garcia said softly, trying to soothe her.

Mrs. Austin waved her off. “How could I not be upset? If Rebecca had just behaved herself and given Dylan a son, maybe I could have tolerated her. But no, she stubbornly refuses. She has no gratitude whatsoever!”

“That Rebecca, I’ll never accept her. If the Thomson family hadn’t been so desperate to marry her off and forced us to honor that stupid agreement, she never would have made it into our family—especially not with four kids in tow,” Mrs. Austin sneered. “Garcia, you need to step up and win Dylan’s heart. Give the Austin family a real heir.”

She gazed at Garcia with earnest expectation.

Garcia blushed, lowering her gaze. “I’ll do my best, ma’am.”

Mrs. Austin nodded approvingly. “That’s what I like to hear. As long as you do as you’re told, the Austins will treat you well.”

Meanwhile, perched atop the garden wall, Noah and Ethan listened to every word. Their little faces turned red with fury. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined their grandmother would say such awful things about their mom. Not only did she look down on Rebecca and the four of them, but now she was plotting to find another woman to give their father a child.