Chapter 8: Anna's Bitchy Cousin

"Alice, get over here and check this out!"

Alice was busy making her beauty tea, barely looking up, her hands still moving.

"What's the big deal? What mess has your troublemaker son gotten into now?"

Cedric put down his newspaper and strolled into the tea room. As he walked, he said, "Charles just announced he's getting hitched through the company's social account!"

Alice gave a nonchalant "Oh," not really paying attention.

But then it hit her what Cedric had said. Her hand shook, spilling tea all over the table.

Ignoring the mess, she put down the teapot and quickly looked at Cedric.

"What did you say? Marriage? With who?"

Three questions, rapid-fire.

Cedric handed her his phone, "Anna Howard."

Hearing the name, Alice quickly scrolled through the screen. When she saw Anna's face on the marriage certificate, her well-maintained face visibly relaxed. All her anxiety turned into pure joy.

Cedric looked at Alice, a bit puzzled, "You're happy?"

Alice confirmed once more that Charles's bride was the girl she liked the most, then tossed the phone back to Cedric. "My son is finally getting married. Of course, I'm happy."

Alice was genuinely thrilled. As she wiped the tea off the table with a tissue, she even hummed a little tune.

Cedric was super confused. He decided to sit across from Alice, planning to talk about this 'daughter-in-law' situation.

"Honey, don't you know this girl has deep ties with the CEO of the Tudor Group?"

Alice glared at him, super protective.

"I don't care what her deal was with that Michael guy before. Now that Anya is my daughter-in-law, she's part of the family, end of story!"

Wasn't this a bit farfetched?

"But that guy is from the Tudor..."

"The Tudor what?" Before Cedric could finish, Alice cut him off. "Are we, the Percy family, supposed to be scared of the Tudor family?"

Alice slapped the table and stood up, making a declaration right there, "The Percy's legal team will handle anyone who dares to talk trash about my daughter-in-law!"

This was one protective mother-in-law! The daughter-in-law hadn't even moved in yet, and she'd already this protective.

Cedric, the so-called head of the family, suddenly realized his status in the family was about to drop another notch.

Alice tossed the tissue, grabbed Cedric's phone, and dialed Charles's number. When the call connected, before Charles could speak, Alice directly ordered, "Bring my daughter-in-law home tomorrow."

Charles chuckled helplessly, "Got it, Mom."

Alice snorted, then said disdainfully, "Hang up, your voice annoys me."

Hearing this, Charles tapped the steering wheel, "How about my wife goes to the house tomorrow, and I don't?"

"Don't you dare." With that, Alice hung up the phone.

Turning to see Cedric still sitting across from her, Alice put down the phone and started brewing tea again.

Looking down at the green tea leaves floating in the water, Alice didn't lift her head and said, "You don't approve of Charles and Anya's marriage?"

After being married for so long, Cedric could easily detect the chill in Alice's tone. The dignified chairman of Apex Holdings Group, now without any leader's demeanor, quickly said, "Of course not! I approve!"

Alice looked at him.

"Anya comes from a prestigious family. Her father, Wesley Howard, and mother, Odette Stewart, were top physicians in the country, with immense contributions admired by countless people. Anya herself is talented and beautiful, and she is already a big name in the medical field in her twenties. Charles marrying a girl like that is a stroke of luck," Cedric blurted out, not daring to pause, fearing he'd end up kneeling on a keyboard tonight.

Hearing this, Alice finally relaxed. She took a sip of tea and started thinking about what dishes to whip up for their first meeting tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Anna and Aurora were chatting about recent events in a café when Aurora got a call, saying she needed to head back to work for an interview.

Anna left the café with her. After saying goodbye, Aurora went back to the newspaper office, and Anna started heading home.

Barely 300 feet from the café, a black Bentley pulled up in front of her. The car door opened, and a man in a black suit stepped out.

It was Michael's assistant, Nolan Campbell. "Mrs. Howard, Mr. Tudor wants to see you."

"I don't have time," Anna said, turning to leave.

Seeing Anna's firm stance, Nolan panicked a bit. He quickly walked two steps to catch up with her. "Mrs. Howard, please don't make this hard for me. Mr. Tudor is waiting for you."

On the sidewalk, Anna suddenly stopped.

Nolan stood just a step away from her. Anna's eyes were cold as she looked at Nolan, "Go back and tell him I have nothing now. What can he use to threaten me?"

Nolan was indeed in a tough spot. If it were someone else, he would've just taken them by force. But with Anna, he didn't dare.

For the past few years, he always thought she was just a delicate and soft girl. Until recently, when Anna and Michael had a falling out, Nolan realized that the once obedient and gentle Anna, when pushed to the limit, had such a fierce temperament.

In those few seconds of hesitation, Anna had already walked far away.

There was a pharmacy near the café. Remembering that Charles hadn't used any protection last night, Anna turned to the pharmacy to buy a box of morning-after pills.

After coming out, she took out a bottle of water from her bag and swallowed a pill.

Putting the remaining pills back in her bag, Anna walked to the parking lot, only to run into Thalia Howard, who had just arrived.

At the entrance of the parking lot, the light was a bit dim. But it didn't stop the two from seeing each other's expressions clearly.

Thalia was dressed in high-end luxury, with delicate yet heavy makeup, and a head of wavy hair. The early autumn weather was already a bit cool, but she was wearing a very revealing V-neck bodycon dress. With bright red lips and matching red high heels, she gave off an overbearing vibe.

Thalia was Anna's uncle's daughter. Previously, Thalia always had a pitiful look. Since Anna and Michael had fallen out, she reverted to her true nature and no longer concealed it.

In the past, Anna would have been concerned about her wearing so little and catching a cold. But now, looking at Thalia, she only felt annoyed.

"What's up?" Anna stopped at the parking lot entrance, looking coldly at Thalia blocking her way.

Thalia first looked Anna up and down, her face showing the usual gentle expression, but the jealousy in her eyes was so intense that it couldn't be hidden. "Anna, you really have some tricks. Michael's done with you, so you immediately find yourself a sugar daddy."

She spoke sarcastically, admiring her freshly done nails, her words becoming increasingly vicious. "I just don't know, Anna, can an orphan with a bad reputation like you really be accepted into the Percy family?"

As she spoke, she took a step closer to Anna.

Lowering her voice, she sneered, "Anna, you know better than I do how high the Percy family's status is. If they knew you were the daughter of a murderer, would they still let you in..."

Before Thalia could finish, she was slapped.