Chapter 156 Brenda is Really a Big Trouble
After Michelle finished talking, she hung up.
Even though she thought Betty was a bit confused and favored Brenda over Elizabeth, she still respected her as an elder.
Michelle's parents were right next to her during the call.
Cynthia Young, Michelle's mother, said, "I never realized the Clark family was such a mess. No way Mrs. Clark is clueless."
Michelle agreed, "Exactly, she knows. Otherwise, she wouldn't let Brenda push Elizabeth out. Elizabeth was great to the Clarks, but they only like Brenda, who just talks nice but does nothing. All their problems are because of Brenda. She's a real headache."
Michelle didn't just dislike Brenda; she hated her.
Seeing those photos and videos online made her even more disgusted.
Cynthia had met both Elizabeth and Brenda and liked Elizabeth way more.
She said, "Good thing you and Loren didn't get married. Dealing with a mother-in-law like that would be a nightmare. People in our circle are mocking her, saying she's raising a mistress for her sons. When Elizabeth left, no one got why she'd give up her status. Now it makes sense; she couldn't stand them."
Michelle nodded, "Yeah, Elizabeth had enough. Before, because of Loren, I was too embarrassed to contact her. Now that I've broken off the engagement, I plan to reach out more. If we can't be family, we can still be friends."
They were on the same page now.
Cynthia nodded, "Elizabeth seems like a good person."
She asked Roy, her husband, "Do you think Mr. Clark knows about all this?"
Roy said, "Probably not. Paul would have stopped them long ago if he had known. He's focused on the Clark Group and likely ignores the drama at home. But now that this is out, he's in a tough spot."
Cynthia asked, "Will breaking off the engagement affect our company's deal with the Clark Group?"
Roy shook his head, "Paul isn't that dumb. I'll call him."
Cynthia said, "Do it. We don't want the broken engagement to mess up our business."
Roy called Paul and told him about the broken engagement.
He didn't mention the online stuff but talked about how Brenda kept pulling Loren away and flaunting their relationship in front of Michelle.
The implication was Michelle couldn't take it anymore, so she broke it off.
Paul was shocked the Cook family would end the engagement and got really mad after hearing Roy's side.
But he wasn't mad at the Cook family; he was mad at Loren and Brenda.
He apologized to Roy multiple times.
After hanging up, Paul was about to call Loren when Betty called.
She nervously said, "Honey, the Cook family wants to break off the engagement with Loren."
She couldn't hide it, so she had to bring it up, hoping Paul could fix it.
Paul said coldly, "Roy already told me. I thought Loren was smart, but he's a fool. For Brenda, he left Michelle several times. No wonder she wants to end it."
Betty asked, "Are we really going to let them break off the engagement?"
The Cook family only had one daughter, Michelle, and they cherished her. Even though the Cook Group wasn't as powerful as the Clark Group, it could still help Loren a lot in the future.
Paul got what Betty was thinking right away. "What else can we do? Loren and Brenda's relationship is already a mess. Let's not hold Michelle back. Tell Loren if he keeps being an idiot, he might lose his spot as heir. My brother Edward's son, Frank, is doing great at the company, and my dad likes him."
Paul wasn't just bluffing.
In the Clark family, if the chosen heir messed up, they would get replaced to protect the family's future.
Of course, he wanted Loren to take over someday.
But if Loren kept this up, Paul would have to painfully consider Frank as the next heir.
He planned to focus more on grooming Frank when he got back.
Betty's face fell. "I get it. I'll talk to him."
Paul added, "Tell him not to try to win Michelle back. Upsetting the Cook family could mess up our business."
He knew Betty didn't want to lose Michelle as a daughter-in-law.
But their family was already in a tough spot and didn't need more drama.
Betty reluctantly agreed, "Alright!"
After hanging up, Betty told Loren what Paul said.
Loren didn't expect Paul to bring up Frank.
Among the Clark cousins, Frank's talent and skills were almost on par with his.
"Mom, I get it," he said.
Loren felt a sense of urgency.
He comforted Betty and went back to his room.
Betty sat alone in the living room, feeling both angry and regretful.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth's group spent three thousand Veridiania currency on dinner.
After eating, they took a cab back to the hotel.
Brenda's group finished their staff meal an hour later, got their wages, and left.
Then they took a cab to the hotel where Elizabeth's group was staying to complete today's task.
The four of them worked for two hours and earned two thousand Veridiania currency.
Because of Elizabeth and Raymond's earlier comments, Brenda and Arnold didn't get many tips for their violin performance later.
When they counted the money before leaving, the two of them only made two hundred Veridiania currency.
All four felt pretty uncomfortable.
Unable to afford the hotel where Elizabeth's group was staying, Brenda suggested they stay in a six-hundred-Veridiania currency-a-night hotel.
She also suggested Kevin and Arnold share a room.
But Arnold wasn't having it.
"I don't like sharing a room. Why do you and Eugene each get a separate room? Elizabeth's group booked an expensive hotel, and they each have their own room."
He was annoyed with Brenda's plan.
The money they earned included his and Kevin's share.
Why should Eugene get a separate room while he had to share with Kevin?
He didn't want that.
Kevin added, "Why don't we each get our own room? The money is just enough."
Given the choice, he didn't want to share with Arnold either.
Brenda didn't expect them to push back and felt particularly annoyed.
She couldn't show it on the live stream.
She secretly cursed them for being picky, thinking it wouldn't hurt to share a room for a few nights.
She smiled and said, "I thought you guys wanted to chat at night. I'll book four rooms then."
Kevin and Arnold exchanged looks, both annoyed with each other.
Who wanted to chat at night?
When they arrived at the plaza where the hotel fireworks show was hosted, it was already crowded.
Arnold and the others didn't want to squeeze in, but they had to complete their task, which annoyed them.
Just then, they heard several notification sounds on their phones.
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