Chapter 75

Ever since Melissa arrived at the Clarkson estate, grandmother had shown favoritism towards her, causing Joseph to suffer quite a bit. Today, he seized this opportunity to get a bit of revenge. There was no need to be a gentleman to a woman like Melissa! "Joseph! You knew how important that invitation was to me, didn't you! Fine! I'll wash them!" Melissa rolled up her sleeves, fetched a small basin from the bathroom, pulled out the three pairs of socks from the washing machine and threw them into the basin, then turned on the faucet to fill the basin with water. "Wash them thoroughly, if they're not clean, you'll have to do it again!" Joseph leisurely watched Melissa bustling about, feeling relieved some. He finally managed to turn the tables today. For some reason, since knowing Melissa, he felt like he had become somewhat childish. When he saw her having bad luck or troubled, he felt guilty pleasure. When he saw her being shy or anxious, he felt a sense of unexplained satisfaction. When he saw her feeling sad or anxious about her child's illness, he lost his usual indifference. When he saw her coming home late at night with the smell of men's tobacco and alcohol on her, he was filled with anger and wanted to explode. Joseph realized, he didn't seem like himself anymore. Melissa was angrily scrubbing the socks. It wasn't that the socks smelled bad, they just had a faint sweat scent. She just felt like she had been played. And she knew very well, Joseph was lying on the bed, beaming with delight! "I've finished washing them, I've put them by the sink." Melissa wrung the water out of the socks and put them on the towel rack above the sink. "Hmph, just having his towel that he uses to wipe his face... It's too much." Melissa muttered, walking out of Joseph's bedroom. How outrageous... Other than washing her young son Alvin's socks when they were children, Melissa had never washed any other man's socks! Melissa went downstairs to the second floor, checking the time, it was already nine o'clock. It was about time for Alvin and Alvina to go to bed. She decided to call the children up. Just as Melissa reached the first floor, Alvin rushed over with her mobile phone. "Aunt Amy is calling." "Amy, what happened?" Melissa saw that Amy was calling at nine o'clock. Something must have happened, which made her feel nervous unconsciously. "Melissa, don't worry, I just wanted to know when you and Mr. James will come to my place as guests. I've already prepared the ingredients." Amy chuckled, this was the second time she had invited Melissa and Peter over the phone. Amy was a girl who remembered kindness. Melissa finally breathed a sigh of relief, as long as no mishap had happened to Amy. She apologized a bit to Amy. "I'm sorry, Amy, I almost forgot about it. I'll call Peter tomorrow to ask when he's available, then reply to you immediately, ok?" "Okay, do you know what Mr. James likes to eat? I'd like to prepare some decent dishes for him in advance." Amy wished to prepare decent dishes for Peter, to show her appreciation to this man who helped her significantly. Even though Peter was Melissa's friend, she still had to express her gratitude politely. "Peter eats anything, he's not picky. Oh, he doesn't eat garlic!" Melissa suddenly remembered. After hearing such a sincere invitation from Amy, she felt somewhat excited to dine at her place. "Alright, I got it, thanks my bestie." There was a warm smile on Amy's face from the other end of the phone. Before she hung up, she wanted to ask about Melissa's recent situation. It seemed things were okay on Melissa's side given the sound of her voice. "Don't mention it, and goodnight, young lady!" Melissa presumed Amy had said everything she wanted to, she was still in a rush to have Alvin and Alvina go back to their rooms to sleep. "Melissa, how have you been these past few days? Any difficulties?" Amy hurriedly asked, afraid that Melissa would hang up the phone too soon. Melissa was not ready to tell Amy about Murphy yet. She planned to wait until her plan was implemented successfully, then share the good news with Amy and Peter, her two comrades in arms. "Everything's been going quite well recently, the kids and I are doing well, don't worry." Melissa spoke in a gentle tone, her smile still on her face, but the very next second, her face fell. She suddenly recalled the recent incident of Joseph teasing her about washing socks, and the flame of anger in her heart rose. "Amy, you don't know, that bastard Joseph actually had me wash his socks, three pairs no less, it's absolutely infuriating." Listening to Melissa's complaints, Amy neither laughed nor comforted her, because although Melissa's complaints contained a hint of indignation, she didn't seem genuinely angry. This proved that Melissa didn't genuinely despise Joseph. "Amy, are you listening?" Melissa noticed the silence on the other end of the phone and asked tentatively. "I'm listening. Honestly, I wonder what kind of leverage he has on you that you would even agree to such a demand." Amy wasn't a dull person, she believed there must be a reason behind it. Melissa couldn't reveal the truth yet, so she came up with an excuse "Ah, it's just that we had a game together, and I ended up losing the bet." "Okay then, hurry up and rest with your little Alvin and little Alvina, I'm hanging up. Bye." Amy waited for Melissa to respond to her last word before ending the call. She remembered firmly that Mr James dislikes garlic. "Bye." Melissa placed her phone into her pocket, walked into the living room, and noticed Grandma Julia was also getting up from the sofa, so she hurried over to lend a supporting arm. Grandma Julia, struggling to keep her eyes open, was a little tired. She placed the blanket that was on her lap onto the sofa. Grandma Julia held onto Melissa's arm, she lowered her head to look at Alvin and Alvina, and with a tired forcefulness said, "Alvin, Alvina, let's go upstairs to sleep." Melissa looked at the elderly lady, and an indescribable sadness emerged in her heart. Her grandmother is a kind and gentle old lady, although she controls the ups and downs of the Clarkson family, after all she was getting on in age. Melissa longs for her grandmother to live a joyful, healthy, and long life. It isn’t because her grandmother is the only one in the Clarkson family who stands up for Melissa, but merely simple hope. …..... On Friday evening, as dusk deepens. After putting the children to bed, Melissa lies alone in bed, looking at her phone. She can’t sleep. Recent events have filled her schedule, especially with a major event coming up next Monday. However, she can’t refuse her grandmother's plan to visit the ancient city in the alley the day after tomorrow. Oh, and she also needs to meet Peter! Having already extended two invitations, Melissa decides to ask Peter when he’d be available to meet. Melissa checks the time, it's five past ten. Peter must not have gone to sleep yet, he usually goes to bed around two or three in the morning. There was a period when Peter was very busy at work, and he developed this late-night sleeping habit. "Peter, are you asleep?" Melissa sends a message to test the waters, quietly waiting for a response.