Chapter 343: The True Owner

As the old saying goes, you can’t hit a smiling face. So, as much as Grandma disliked Caleb Summers, she couldn’t give the warmly smiling Mrs. Kane the cold shoulder.

So, she returned the smile and greeted Mrs. Kane.

After a round of pleasantries, everyone sat down on the sofa.

The temperature inside the Summers’ apartment was very high. The moment Zella Kane and Mrs. Kane sat down, they felt so hot that they had to take off their down jackets.

As Zella Kane wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead, she glanced around the room.

Seeing no stove or space heaters, she assumed they had the central air on. She smiled and said, "You must have a heat pump, right? I heard they can work even at thirty-five degrees below zero. No wonder it’s so warm in here..."

"But then again, the tier-three electricity rates are so expensive now. My family can’t even afford to turn on our space heater, yet you’re running central air... The monthly bill must be a fortune, right?"

Hearing this, Melody Summers and Grace Sutton exchanged a silent glance, a flicker of hesitation passing between them.

A few days earlier, Melody had bought a wall-mounted boiler online. It was connected to the underfloor heating pipes and could heat the apartment just by burning natural gas.

The Arcadian Space had an "Offshore Oil Field" that produced plenty of natural gas each day—more than enough to heat the apartment. So the Summers family now alternated between the gas-powered underfloor heating and their electric heaters.

But of course, they couldn’t tell Zella Kane and her mother about that.

So Grace Sutton answered evasively, "Oh, it’s not too bad... We don’t have it on all the time, just once in a while..."

Zella Kane’s smile widened at the response, this one seeming genuine.

’She was secretly thrilled. ’Once my family moves into 1606, we’ll get to use the central air. It’s so much safer than burning coal! And the electricity bill... The Summers family will probably be too embarrassed to ask us to pay. Perfect. We’ll just let them foot the bill!’’

At that thought, Zella Kane shot her mother a look, urging her to get to the point.

Mrs. Kane cleared her throat and smiled at Grandma. "Well now, to think our Rhea has even had a child, and yet this is the first time we’re meeting... It’s really something..."

Melody was left speechless. ’And whose fault is that?’ she thought. ’Caleb never told the family a thing, not when he was widowed and not when he remarried! We were completely in the dark!’

Grandma gave an awkward little laugh. With the Kanes’ intention to "borrow" an apartment in mind, she replied pointedly, "You’re right... My second son doesn’t keep in touch much, even with his own mother. I’m not really up to date on his affairs..."

The implication was clear: Whatever Caleb had promised them was his business and had nothing to do with the rest of the family.

Mrs. Kane missed the subtext entirely and plowed ahead. "Oh, it’s no problem that we’re not familiar now. We’ll be living under the same roof soon, so we’ll get to know each other in no time! My family is very easygoing, you’ll see!"

The words were barely out of Mrs. Kane’s mouth when Melody cut in, her expression one of polite confusion. "Under the same roof? What do you mean by that? We’ll be neighbors, yes, but that’s not quite the same as living under one roof."

This time it was Mrs. Kane’s turn to be stunned.

’Could it be?’ she wondered. ’Did Caleb not get a chance to tell his family about this?’

After a moment’s pause, Mrs. Kane let out a little "Oh!" and put on an embarrassed expression. "I just assumed Rhea’s boyfriend had already spoken with you... You see, the apartment we’re in now, 1604, doesn’t have a stick of furniture. Our family of five has to sleep in a tent..."

"We adults can rough it, that’s fine, but Rhea’s niece and nephew are just too young. They can’t get used to it. The floor is so cold, they woke up freezing just last night. Caleb told us that both of your apartments here are fully furnished and that you could spare one for us..."

Mrs. Kane trailed off, looking at Grandma with an expectant gaze.

Zella Kane jumped in. "That’s right, Ma’am. Caleb already promised us we could pick between 1605 and 1606. So how about we take this one, 1606!"

Zella paused, then added, "I heard 1605 and 1606 are connected. But since we have two children, it wouldn’t be very convenient for you all to be coming over frequently..."

As she spoke, Zella gestured to the little girl in her arms, Gemma Fletcher, and gave an apologetic smile. "Kids this age really value their privacy, you know? They aren’t used to living with strangers... Why don’t you gather up whatever you need from here later? It’ll save you the trouble of coming over to grab things all the time!"

Zella had it all figured out. They wouldn’t need to seal the opening between 1606 and 1605. That would make it easier for her family to pop over to 1605 for meals. The Summers family, however, could no longer be allowed to just drop into 1606 whenever they pleased. It wouldn’t be safe for her children!

Having said her piece, Zella also fixed her expectant gaze on Grandma, her eyes practically ordering the three of them to hurry up and move their things out.

Faced with the mother and daughter’s expectant stares, Grandma simply shook her head. "I don’t know what Caleb told you, but we can’t spare this apartment. There are too many of us; we can’t all squeeze into a single unit. You’ll have to find another solution."

The moment Grandma finished speaking, Zella and her mother froze.

They hadn’t expected the Summers family to actually refuse them!

This was not what they had expected!

Zella said anxiously, "What do you mean you can’t fit? There are only five of you, right? 1605 and 1606 are both large four-bedroom apartments. One four-bedroom is more than enough for five people! Surely you don’t all need your own room?"

Hearing this, Melody Summers couldn’t help but frown.

’So, Caleb’s new in-laws have even done their homework on how many people are in our family...’ she thought.

Before Grandma could reply, Melody cut in. "I’m sorry, but we’re not accustomed to sharing our home with others. We can’t agree to this."

Hearing this, Zella Kane turned to look at Melody Summers, frowning slightly.

For some reason, she had an instant, subconscious dislike for Melody...

Zella looked at Melody, her lips curling into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "Well, well. And who might this little miss be?"

Grace quickly made the introduction. "This is Melody. She’s the daughter of Caleb’s older sister."

At that, an enigmatic smile played on Zella Kane’s lips.

Then, with a smirk, she said, "Oh... I believe Rhea mentioned that Caleb has a divorced sister. One who’s been living back home with her child ever since. However..."

Zella flicked her hair back and looked at Grace Sutton with an expression of utmost sincerity. "When there are sons to carry on the family name, a divorced daughter who moves back home is just a guest. And guests should know when to keep quiet... What do you think, Sister-in-law? Isn’t that how it works?"

Zella had already worked this out at home. These two apartments were most likely bought by Caleb’s older brother, Colin.

If her family wanted to move in, they needed to get Colin and his wife on their side. As for Caleb’s divorced sister and her child... they were probably just sponging off her older brother. Insignificant.

By targeting Melody now, Zella was trying to win over Grace’s favor. After all, what wife would want her husband’s divorced sister and her kid living in the family home indefinitely?

But to Zella’s surprise, the moment she finished speaking, the smile vanished from Grace Sutton’s face.

’And to think I was just thinking that Mrs. Kane and Zella seemed so friendly,’ Grace thought bitterly. ’I was even hoping Caleb’s new in-laws would be easier to deal with than Mindy Walsh.’

’Now it seems the Kane family is even worse than Mindy!’

’Who comes into someone’s home and starts criticizing their family members?’

’It’s absolutely outrageous!’

Grace’s face hardened. She said to Zella, "I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re talking about. We don’t subscribe to that kind of thinking in this family. Divorced or not, this is my sister-in-law’s home, and it will always be her home. She is a part of this family, not a guest."

"Furthermore, this is Melody’s apartment. My husband and I are just staying here with her. In her own home, Melody can say whatever she pleases, and no one has any right to tell her otherwise!"

Hearing this, Zella Kane looked at Melody Summers with disbelief.

’This apartment wasn’t bought by Caleb’s older brother?’

’How is that possible?!’

Just then, Grandma chimed in. "She’s absolutely right. The apartment belongs to Melody. She’s the one calling the shots for our family now. If she says no, then the answer is no. Now, I think it’s time for you to leave."

Mrs. Kane and Zella Kane stared at each other, utterly dumbfounded.

This wasn’t how they had planned it. They never expected to be rejected so bluntly.

Just then, the little daughter, Gemma Fletcher, who had been silently huddled in Zella Kane’s arms, suddenly jumped out of her mother’s embrace.

The little girl scurried over to the trash can by the coffee table and fished out an empty orange juice bottle.

She held up the empty bottle, looking at Zella with pleading eyes. "Mommy, I want juice too!"