The Year I Was the Other Woman To Myself novel Chapter 340

“Do you want to hear it?”

“I’d love to.”

“I was just talking about my former daughter-in-law,” Mrs. Sullivan began, her voice dripping with malice. “She’s an ungrateful snake. Our family treated her so well, but she’s the reason my son is in prison…”

“Your son is in prison?” Penelope asked, feigning shock.

“You… you didn’t know…?”

“What did he do?”

“I told you, he was framed by my former daughter-in-law…”

“My, my, she must be quite the woman. Did she force your son to commit murder? Arson? Is he an idiot, or just a fool?”

“You—!”

“And why is she your ‘former’ daughter-in-law? Were they ever legally married?”

“You know perfectly well…”

“No, I don’t. Who exactly are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about—”

“That’s enough!” Mrs. Stapleton’s voice cut through the air like a whip. “This is a respectable gathering. Stop spewing your filth and offending our ears.”

“But Mrs. Stapleton, everything I said is true! She—”

Mrs. Sullivan tried to protest, but Mrs. Bishop, sensing Mrs. Stapleton’s rising anger, quickly intervened. “Don’t you have any sense? Nobody wants to hear your baseless gossip. Go on now, before you become a complete eyesore.”

Mrs. Sullivan had only been invited because of her connection to Mrs. Bishop. Humiliated but unable to argue, she rose from the table. “I… I’m just going to get a cup of tea,” she mumbled, trying to save face.

“Excellent. I’m glad we’re all on the same page.”

Mrs. Bishop bit back her anger. This Penelope was too sharp-tongued; even she was losing ground.

Mrs. Stapleton sipped her water, remaining silent. In this context, her silence was a form of defense for Penelope, and Penelope couldn’t help but wonder what Theodore had said to her to elicit such a response.

“On another note,” Mrs. Higgins chimed in, sensing the rising tension, “I recently had some coffee beans flown in from Colombia. I had them freshly ground and brewed for everyone to try tonight.”

At her signal, servers began circling with cups of coffee. “If you like it, I’ll have some prepared as party favors for you all to take home.”

The other guests gratefully seized the opportunity to change the subject, and the conversation shifted to coffee. Yvonne, her face still smarting from the public humiliation, excused herself to the restroom.

A small smile played on Penelope’s lips as she, too, rose from the table. Trying to set a trap to embarrass me? she thought. Even if I came out unscathed, you still need to learn there are consequences.

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