Chapter 445: Too Much Bullying

Chapter 445: Chapter 445: Too Much Bullying

Grandma slammed her chopsticks down on the table and said coldly, "Are you trying to say I abuse you? If you think the Preston family is so bad, you’re free to go back to your own home."

Tears welled up in Cara Preston’s eyes. She mumbled pitifully, "That’s not what I meant..."

"If that’s not what you meant, then shut up and eat!" Grandma said coldly. "You and Vera were born on the same day. She was worried about our expenses, so she got a summer job to help support the family. All you do is sit at home and freeload!"

Cara said softly, "I’m not freeloading. I take care of Dad every day!"

It would have been better if she hadn’t brought it up. The moment she did, Grandma flew into a rage. "You say you’re helping care for Zachary, but is looking in on him once a day what you call ’caring’? You disappear first thing every morning and only show up at mealtimes. How dare you say you’re helping care for Zachary!"

Cara immediately burst into tears. "I work myself to the bone helping out around here every day, but all you do is find fault with me! It’s just because I don’t have Preston blood, isn’t it? You’re all just bullying me!"

With that, she ran straight upstairs.

Grandma was livid, but Vera Xavier soothed her gently. "Grandma, there’s no need to stoop to her level."

Grandma looked at the well-behaved and sensible Vera, then glanced at Cara crying as she went upstairs, and let out a long sigh.

Vera placed some food on her grandmother’s plate. "Grandma, your cooking is getting better and better. When I was away, I dreamed about eating your food every day."

Grandma’s expression finally softened. ’That’s right,’ she thought. ’Vera just got home. I can’t let Cara ruin the mood for the whole family.’ So she smiled and placed a piece of bamboo rat meat on Vera’s plate. "You can’t get this just anywhere. Eat up."

Vera smiled and nodded. If one ignored Cara’s outburst at the beginning, it was a pleasant and happy meal.

Cara sat alone in her room. She had regretted her actions the moment she’d stormed upstairs. ’I should have at least finished my dinner,’ she thought. ’But I just couldn’t stand the sight of Vera’s face a moment longer.’

As she ran up, she’d been hoping Grandma would call her back, giving her an excuse to come down again. But Grandma never did.

From upstairs, she could hear Vera and the others enjoying the meal, which made her feel incredibly bitter. ’If it weren’t for that four hundred thousand buried in the ground,’ she fumed, ’I would never put up with this crap from the Preston family.’

She cursed Vera in her head, then Grandma, then Zachary Preston. ’They’re the worst! How could they treat me like this?’ she thought. ’After all these years as part of their family, how can they be so heartless!’

She decided she would just have to endure it a little longer. Then she could leave the Preston family and go live her life the way she wanted.

By two in the afternoon, she was starving and decided to go downstairs to find something to eat.

’After all,’ she reasoned, ’I saw how much food Grandma made. There’s no way they finished it all; there must be leftovers.’ She decided she would do them the favor of eating some, especially since the cash she had on hand was running out and she needed to be frugal.

But when she deigned to go downstairs for the leftovers, she found the rice cooker was empty, without a single grain left. The serving platters were wiped clean. She rummaged through the cabinets but found no food at all. A look of utter disbelief crossed her face. "How can there be nothing?"