Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 56

"Xanthe, does the sofa bed look comfortable enough? If it's not soft enough, I can grab another blanket for cushioning," Amber asked, smoothing out the sofa cushions. The padding felt fine to her, but she wanted Xanthe's approval.

Xanthe couldn't believe she was being allowed to sleep in the Newman apartment, let alone on a real sofa.

Back at the Sutton household, she had slept on the floor in a damp, narrow hallway beneath the stairs. With over a dozen people living there, the constant stomping up and down the stairs made it incredibly noisy.

It was bad enough when she was healthy, but pure torture when she was sick. And the Suttons never treated her like a human being. Even when running a fever, she was dragged out of bed to wash clothes, cook, feed the pigs, and care for the kids and elders.

Xanthe was terrified of getting sick because the punishment was worse than the illness.

But who could control when they got sick?

"Amber, this is more than enough! You and your father are such wonderful people. I don't know how I'll ever repay you." Tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked deeply at Arthur and Amber.

Seeing her sincerity, Arthur quickly waved his hands. "No need to thank us. You've been thanking me ever since I picked you up."

"But saying thank you is all I have to offer. Please don't be annoyed by it, Arthur," she said, wiping a tear. If he actually liked her, she would gladly spend the rest of her life serving him.

She was just terrified he would find her bothersome and unwanted.

"Oh, Xanthe, my dad already said neighbors help each other out! You're just being too polite," Amber said, lightening the mood. In her past life, whenever Arthur and Xanthe interacted, they were so painfully polite it killed any romance.

First, they wanted to avoid gossip. Second, her dad was so hung up on Grace that both of them kept strictly to boundaries.

In this life, Amber knew she had to play matchmaker and force her dad to see Xanthe's true worth.

Just then, Arthur's phone rang. Amber's sharp eyes caught Grace's name on the caller ID.

Her dad immediately acted paranoid, retreating to the balcony to answer and aggressively shushing Amber.

This was the first time Xanthe had ever seen a woman treated with such absolute reverence and care by a man.

Amber scoffed, walked into her room as her dad answered the call, and loudly marched back out carrying some pajamas. "Xanthe, these pajamas will have to do! Go take a hot shower and get to sleep!"

Grace had just opened her mouth to ask if Arthur got the money from Joanne's dad.

Xanthe?! Pajamas?! Shower?! Sleep?!

Grace couldn't hear clearly because Arthur had panicked and covered the receiver. Grace practically screamed into her phone: "Arthur?! Who is Xanthe?! What are you doing?! Amber is telling her to take a shower?! Arthur!"

Beep!

He hung up.

Loretta put her hands on her hips. "Are you paying for it? No. Joanne gave me the money. Why is your heart bleeding for her cash? Grace, don't tell me you already see Joanne as your future daughter-in-law, so you're trying to protect her wallet?"

"Loretta!"

"Oh, keep yelling. You sprained your back, not your brain! But honestly, Grace, hearing you scream into the phone just now... did Arthur find himself another woman while you were hospitalized?"

"Oh my, that's hilarious! But then again, Grace, you and Arthur aren't legally married. It's not against the law for him to bring a woman home. What are you so angry about? Do you think you have a say in his life?"

"Get out! I don't need you tonight. Go hound Joanne for the money," Grace sneered, furious. If her back wasn't hurting, she would have slapped Loretta.

Loretta had a big mouth. If Grace didn't shut her up today, who knew what rumors would spread through the neighborhood by the time she was discharged.

"Wow, what an attitude. You tell me to get out, and I just leave? Grace, since we're both women, let me give you some free advice. Don't play dumb games. Especially don't ask a man to his face if he's hiding a woman behind your back."

"If you were his legal wife, it'd be perfectly normal to ask. But you're not. And even if you were, failing to keep your own man on a leash is just plain embarrassing."

Having completed her mission, Loretta turned around to tend to the other patient.

Grace ground her teeth in rage. Just then, Arthur returned her call. Grace wanted to scream, "Arthur Newman, are you hiding a woman in your house?!" but her immense pride refused to let her.