Chapter 55 - Ruthless Mother-in-Law
It had been almost three months since the anniversary of the company. Lisa had returned to work as usual, her relationship with Oscar was getting a little distant because the man often went out of town.
As usual, Lisa was escorted by Dani in front of the bus stop not far from her office and continued to walk on foot. It seemed that none of her colleagues caught Lisa being driven by Oscar's black Alphard. So far, their secret was still safe. There was no suspicion other than Lisa's enlarged stomach that was getting more and more noticeable.
Lisa's lower abdomen had started to bulge, it's a little hard to cover it. Now all the office employees were suspicious of her bloated stomach. Some of them also had the courage to ask if the woman was pregnant, with whom she was pregnant, or when she got married. But like it or not, Lisa had to admit that she was pregnant, it's just that she didn't mention who the father of her child was.
The only person in the office who was very worried about Lisa revealing the father of the child was Karina. Yes, her ex-step sister would do anything to deter Lisa from work.
Even though Oscar had promised to act to silence the evil woman, Lisa still had some hesitation. Especially when Oscar was often out of town. It must be hard to keep an eye to that two faced woman.
That day, Lisa worked as usual at the office. Just like before, she was also seen eating together during break with her best friend Andien. Nothing had changed since she married Oscar. It's just that Lisa's feelings had been swayed since the unpleasant incident at Parahyangan Resort. She was afraid that her hunch was right. What if something bad happened to her?
***
Coming home from work, Lisa returned to Oscar's house. It felt weird when he wasn't home every time Lisa came home from work. Sometimes, Lisa missed having fun with Andien and Dimas at the Sky Lounge. But her husband told Lisa not to go anywhere when the man was out of town. The man seemed to lock Lisa in a golden cage. However, Lisa did not want to get harsh punishment from her husband whose personality changed swiftly so she chose to stay at home after work.
That afternoon, Lisa was watching her favorite television show in the family room. Suddenly, the doorbell rang!
Mrs. Rusminah as Oscar's housekeeper rushed to open the door. "Good evening, where's Oscar?" Asked a woman behind the door in a cold voice.
From behind the living room, Lisa looked suspiciously at the woman standing in the doorway. The woman was very tall compared to local women's height. She had long blonde hair with clear blue eyes, her body was slender like a famous model!
Lisa watched the middle-aged woman talking with Mrs. Rusminah. She could not hear what they were talking about so she walked over.
"I heard that my child is married, is that right?" The middle-aged woman asked with a foreign accent.
"Yes, Mrs. Petersson, I thought you already knew from Mr. Oscar?" Mrs. Rusminah answered, bowing slightly.
The middle-aged woman cleared her throat, her chin raised proudly. She then glanced around the room. Her eyes were fixed on Lisa's figure who was standing in the doorway of the living room. Lisa didn't know why the woman gazed at her sharply and with a displeased look.
"Who is the woman there Mrs. Rusminah?" The middle-aged woman asked sharply.
Lisa hastily approached her, holding out her palms to shake hands. "Lisa! I'm Lisa Soewandi, Oscar Petersson's wife. Greetings from me,"
The middle-aged woman looked at Lisa's palm in disgust. She didn't shake her hand. "Greta, Greta Petersson. No need to shake hands,"
The way she talked was very sharp and Lisa's ears felt hot from hearing it. This golden-haired middle-aged woman was Oscar's birth mother. No wonder she had the same cold face and aura as her son!
Greta then sat down and sipped the hot tea Mrs. Rusmini had just brought to her. Lisa was still silent in front of the middle-aged woman, staring blankly at the cup filled with hot tea she was holding.
Lisa didn't expect her mother-in-law to come all of a sudden! Oscar never introduced his mother to Lisa. That woman was so intimidating!
A few moments later, Lisa ventured to open the conversation with small chats to break the cold and awkward atmosphere in the living room. Lisa looked at Greta's face reluctantly. "Ma'am, why are you visiting the house?" Lisa politely asked.
Greta ignored Lisa's question other than giving Lisa a condescending look. She took another sip of tea, closing her eyes. Greta wore a luxurious black dress with a slit at the legs. Her black shoes looked shiny and had medium heels. Judging from her height, she might be 10cm taller than Lisa. Though there were some wrinkles, Greta's face still looked fresh and flushed at her age which almost reached half a century. This woman had a facial expression and a style of speech that was very similar to that of her son.
Lisa was stunned to see the beauty of the middle-aged woman in front of her. Her mother-in-law really looked like European royalty. Very graceful and incredibly beautiful. Her skin was pale milky white, her lips flushed naturally like using lipstick, her golden hair fell beautifully straight. No wonder her son was so handsome!
Lisa was a little embarrassed to see herself in the same room with her mother-in-law. Lisa was not bad but the beauty of this woman seemed to beat her from any angle!
Long after the two women had been silent from each other, Greta finally spoke up, "I heard you worked at Petersson Communication?" Her voice was low and her intonation was cold.
Lisa answered her mother-in-law politely, "Yes ma'am, I am your son's secretary,"
Greta gave her a fierce gaze. The middle-aged woman showed her dislike for Lisa openly. Her lips knitted together mockingly at Lisa. "No wonder you married him. You just want his money, right?"
That sentence pierced Lisa's heart deeply. Was the stigma of a secretary in the eyes of the community, both local and foreign, really notoriously bad as expressed by her mother-in-law?
"What do you mean?" Lisa asked, surprised and a little annoyed.
Greta turned her gaze to a frame with a photo of Oscar and their family. The woman blankly stared at it. A moment later, Greta turned her head back to Lisa. The glint from her blue eyes was very sharp.
"What if I ask about your family, Miss Soewandi?"
Lisa's body suddenly shuddered at Greta's cold voice. She was totally unprepared to speak to the European woman sitting in front of her now. Lisa suddenly fell silent!
Lisa tried to calm herself down for a moment by sipping her tea. Though that was the first time she met Greta, Lisa was sure that her mother-in-law really didn't like her. But still, Lisa was Oscar's legal wife.
The atmosphere between the two women was extremely awkward. After sipping tea and taking a deep breath, Lisa took the courage to answer her mother-in-law's question as politely as possible.
"I am the eldest daughter of two siblings. I used to live with my mother and younger sister who are still struggling. My mother is acutely ill with diabetes, and my father has left my mother because he married another woman so I work to support my mother and my younger sister," Lisa told almost everything to her mother-in-law, hoping the middle-aged woman would sympathize with her!
Greta's face began to look unsightly when she heard the story of Lisa's family. She just snorted, making Lisa feel even more self-conscious about her lower status in front of her.
"Oh one more thing, I just got dumped by my ex-boyfriend who took all my savings that I had worked so hard to collect to support my mother and sister," Lisa continued confidently.
"You got dumped by your ex-boyfriend? Oh, he must be ashamed of having a country girl as a girlfriend like you, kid," Lisa's mother-in-law sneered. Greta rolled her eyes, again showing her disgusted expression to Lisa.
Lisa could see that the woman openly showed her hatred towards her, even though she was her daughter-in-law. From the beginning of their meeting until the conversation now, there was absolutely no good relationship between the two women.
However, Lisa could understand her mother-in-law's dislike for her because she realized that Oscar and Greta came from a rich family. It must have been very difficult for a family of European blood to accept a local, lower class woman like Lisa to be part of their family. If it weren't for the child in her womb, Lisa would never have married Oscar.
"I really don't understand how my son Oscar could marry a lowly woman like you! Really, my son has no taste at all. There are many other European women who are more beautiful and higher in rank than you! A lowly secretary, huh. Disgusting!"
Lisa started to get angry when she heard her mother-in-law mock her as a lowly woman. She could not hold back her anger.
"I know your family is rich and I am poor in your eyes, but Oscar married me because he really loved me!"
"Oscar? Loving a secretary from a poor family? Haha! What kind of sick joke is that kid? Oh my god my son's taste in women is so bad!" Greta laughed sarcastically at the defense from her daughter-in-law.
"The only thing you deserve to do to my son is, divorce him!"
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