Exposing the Charade of Deep Affection - Season 1 Episode 18

I went back to the Hinton’s old home.

Carley and Kane Hinton, Walter’s grandpa, went into business about fifty years ago, thriving the Hinton family ever since, so it was kind of prestigious now. Kane died of illness a few years ago, and Carley was now the only elderly in the Hinton family, and the rest relatively elder people were Walter’s several uncles and aunts, and his uncles were supposed to run the Hinton Group.

Yet after Kane passed away, Carley nominated Walter to take over. I heard that Walter’s father died a few years earlier due to a certain reason. Perhaps the Hinton family was so sad that hardly anyone talked about him. I wasn’t gossipy, so I didn’t pry.

The Hinton’s old home was in the suburbs. When the national economy rose back then, Kane bought a lot of land and hills. Later, he had someone to build several houses, designed with mountains, water, and gardens. Carley had lived here after Kane died, along with Walter’s uncles and aunts.

I followed Dale into the old house and came to Carley’s residence after walking through a courtyard and a lake. Carley was listening to a play in a pavilion in the courtyard with some of Walter’s aunts and some younger generation of the Hinton family.

The Hinton family had a lot of rules. Since Carley didn’t speak, I wouldn’t open my mouth. I stood quietly and watched the play with her.

The melodies and rhythms of the play were lively and light, and Carley smiled and hummed along.

After the play was over, Carley looked at me with her usual kind, gentle appearance. “You’re here, Tabatha. Have a seat.” After saying that, she looked around at the younger generation sitting around and said, “Alright then. You have sat with me for so long, and I believe that you’re all tired. Go back to rest.”

Hearing that, the others left.

Only me and Carley were left in the pavilion. She looked at me, held the bracelet in her hand, and fell silent for a while. Then she said, “I received something today, Tabatha. Would you like to take a look?”

Ever since I had walked in here, I had a feeling that something was wrong. I didn’t know what was going on, but I still nodded and smiled, “Grandma, what is it?”

She looked outside, and Dale came in and placed a kraft paper bag in front of me.

Carley looked at me and said, “Open it.”

After a few seconds of hesitation, I opened the bag and saw some photos and documents inside. Just one glance, and I froze. It was about the thing that happened five years ago…

Noticing my reaction, Carley said, “Are these things true, Tabatha?”

She asked calmly, but the atmosphere had become subdued somehow.

“When you were 18, you eloped with someone, were sold to the border, and became a street girl,” before I could speak, Carley said. “Do you know what it means to the Hinton family that our granddaughter-in-law has a history like this, Tabatha?”

Of course, I did. Family shame ought not to be spread out, and Carley valued the Hinton family’s reputation the most. The reasons why I got to marry Walter were my family background and, most of all, more than twenty years of my unstained life. If Carley knew what happened five years ago, she wouldn’t have approved of me marrying Walter at all.

After all, all elders wanted their descendants to marry someone with a clean background.

She took a deep breath, looked up at me, and continued, “Tabatha, after you married into the Hinton family, we have never treated you unfairly. For two years, I have been wanting to have great-grandchildren, but I have never pressured you. Yet till today, you’re still not pregnant, and now this? You shouldn’t deceive me like this!”

She was almost gritting her teeth while saying the last several sentences.

Carley fought her way through life, never being inferior to men both in business and in life. How could a woman so proud be willing to be deceived?

I stood in front of her, knowing that whatever I said about what happened back then, it would all be quibble, as I had no proof. I paused and then said, “Grandma, I had no choice but to hide what happened when I married Walter. Please don’t take it out on the Conner Group and my parents. I’ll do whatever you want.”

She looked at me, stroked the bracelet in her hand, and was silent for a moment. Then she said, “I may let it pass, but it is part of your history, right? Although the granddaughter-in-law of the Hinton family does not have to be outstanding, she must have an unstained history. So, you know what to do, right?”

I pressed my lips, looked at her, and nodded. “Yes. I’ll divorce Walter and make everything right.”

She shook her head slightly and said in a deep voice, “Your divorce from Walter is inevitable, but there is one more thing you need to do.”