Chapter 429: Stalking Me?

"Are you deaf? I’m talking to you! What’s with that attitude? Tell me, why didn’t you come home last night? Were you working overtime, making deliveries? A young woman like you, staying out all night. You’ve got some nerve, don’t you?"

’Amina knew the woman wanted her to marry her son, but she hadn’t agreed. She wasn’t even part of their family yet. What gives her the right to boss me around like this?’

"Auntie, whether or not I work overtime and when I come home really has nothing to do with you, does it? My grandmother is old and in poor health, especially her eyes. If she keeps losing sleep, she’ll go completely blind. How can you come and disturb her so early in the morning? Or were you here all night yesterday?"

Linden’s mother shot back, full of self-righteous anger, "Of course we were here all night! You’ve got a lot of nerve, making all of us wait for you for an entire night!"

Linden’s mother was a few inches shorter than Amina, but her aggressive presence was far greater as she shrieked.

"I’ve asked you several times, but you won’t answer. Is it because you have a guilty conscience? You weren’t working overtime at all last night. You ran off to fool around at some other man’s house, didn’t you!"

Amina was usually a woman of few words, always gentle and mild-mannered, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a temper.

"Auntie, I’m asking you to show some respect when you speak."

"Respect? Have I not been respectful to you? Have I ever disrespected you before? But you need to take a look at yourself and ask if you’re even worthy of my respect! Don’t you know your own worth? Amina, we watched you grow up. We thought you were a good kid, but I never expected... What’s worse is that because of you, we’re completely bankrupt! So tell me, how are you going to pay us back?!"

’How am I a bad person? How did I cause their bankruptcy?’ Amina couldn’t understand what the woman was screaming about.

"Auntie, I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

"You don’t understand? Are you still playing dumb with me? We didn’t know what you were up to behind our backs before, but your uncle is right here now. He’s the one who brought you to the city, isn’t he? He knows everything about you! You’re still pretending you don’t know? You think you can hide it from us?"

Linden’s mother grew more and more agitated as she spoke.

"I was wondering how my son suddenly got to know such a big boss. One who ’kindly’ introduces us to a house in the city center, helps us move, and then rushes over the morning after our... incident. It turns out, it was all because of you! All our family’s recent bad luck is because of you! A debt of seven or eight million! Amina, are you even human? How are we supposed to pay that back in our lifetime? Do you hate us that much? Do you want us dead? If you’re going to date that man, then just date him! Why drag us into it? Tell me, why?! We’ve never done anything to wrong you, and you... you... you’re repaying our kindness with malice!"

"I don’t care! You’re going to call that man over here today and have him pay off our debt from the fire. If you don’t, I’m not finished with you! I’ll move into your house and leech off you for the rest of my life! I will never let this go!"

Amina understood.

Her uncle had told them about her relationship with Zeke Walton. Now they suspected Zeke had approached them with ulterior motives, and that he had caused the fire at their house.

’It was true that when she broke up with Zeke Walton, she’d used Tim Tate as a shield. But Zeke didn’t even know Tim Tate back then. How could he...’

She didn’t believe Zeke Walton was capable of something like that.

"You’re listening to my uncle? You’ve dealt with him for half your lives, don’t you know what kind of person he is? He’s a man who only cares about profit, who twists the truth to suit himself. And you’re actually listening to him? What evidence does he have to prove Zeke Walton caused your fire? Just because of his word, you expect Zeke to pay for it? Do you think he’s that much of a fool?"

Linden’s mother scoffed, "And you say your uncle is twisting the truth? You just said the man’s name yourself! That proves you really know him. Stop pretending!"

Amina replied, her voice even and calm, "I do know him. It’s not just me; my grandmother knows him, everyone in our village knows him. But so what? I wasn’t the one who introduced you to Zeke Walton, and he wasn’t even there when the fire happened. How does any of this have to do with us?"

Linden’s mother was so furious she looked ready to jump.

"It’s because you broke up with him! Your two worthless brothers secretly sold his property, so he got angry and is deliberately getting revenge! We know everything that happened between you all, Amina. Don’t even think about denying it!"

"I don’t care if he admits it or not. You’re the one who has to take responsibility for this debt of over seven million. I’m holding you accountable. Without you, our family would never have suffered this disaster. If you don’t pay up, then from now on, my whole family is moving in with you! And that house your brother bought back in your hometown? He can forget about ever living in it! Don’t forget what my second uncle does. Back in our town, nobody gets to live a peaceful life without his say-so!"

Linden’s mother became increasingly hysterical. Although she suspected Zeke Walton was the one who had ruined them, she was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. She didn’t dare confront Zeke, so she could only threaten Amina.

Amina was speechless for a few seconds.

"Fine, move in if you want. This apartment is only so big, and it’s a rental. As long as you don’t mind the squeeze, you can be the one to pay the rent when the lease is up. Zeke Walton and I broke up a long time ago. We’re not together anymore. His business is his own, so don’t try to pin it on me."

The words had barely left her mouth when Linden, who had been sitting silently and looking for all the world like a simple, honest man, suddenly stood up.

He looked at her, his face a mask of disappointment.

"Amina, at first, I didn’t believe them. You have no idea how wonderful I thought you were. I’ve always wanted to be with you... so I went back later. I waited for you outside the villa for more than twenty hours. I saw you go to the supermarket with him, go home with him, and only leave his house early this morning. And you still want to deny it? When did you become this kind of person? You’ve truly disappointed me."

’What? He was actually staking me out at the villa?’

A cold sweat broke out on Amina’s skin as she pictured it: she and Zeke Walton walking ahead, while Linden silently followed them from behind.

’And to think, if it wasn’t for me doing him a favor, I never would have run into Zeke again. I wouldn’t have been out all night.’

’And now it’s all my fault?’

But Amina had no intention of explaining herself to them.

There was no point. They didn’t deserve an explanation.

"Alright. Since you saw everything, you can believe whatever you want. But let me give you a little reminder: the Walton Family’s influence in Veridia is no joke. If he could make your house burn down and leave you with over seven million in debt without even lifting a finger, just imagine what would happen if you really angered him and he decided to get involved personally... I suggest you all go home and think long and hard about that before you come back to talk to me."

"And you, Uncle," she said, turning to him. "It’s true that I have you to thank for getting me from our village to Veridia. I trusted you back then, and I was genuinely grateful. But you know what you did to me later, even if no one else does. If you keep endlessly harassing me and interfering in my life..."

Her expression turned cold and ruthless.

The contrast was so stark it even startled her uncle.

"My grandmother is tired, and I’ve said my piece. Now, please get out. Otherwise, if she feels unwell in the slightest, I’ll call the police, and you’ll be the ones paying her medical bills."