Joanna's heart skipped a beat. She put a hand on her belly awkwardly and pretended to be calm. "I wish I was pregnant so I could proudly marry into the Blackwood family. Unfortunately, I have been enjoying myself too much since the divorce, and I gained weight from eating too much. Anyway, thank you for your reminder, Mr. Moran. It's indeed time for me to lose some weight. Liam is, after all, so young and vibrant. If I don't maintain a good figure, who knows when he will be seduced by another vixen, and what would happen to me then?"
Ace's face turned dark instantly. His eyes were like sharp blades cutting through her skin.
"Well, I wish you good luck then."
The man grunted and put his hands in his pocket. Then, he left without looking back at her.
Joanna stood in place for a long time. She reflected on her words just now, uncertain of whether she had gone too far with what she just said.
'He seemed to be very angry just now. However, what was he angry about when he did not like her?"
She simply could not understand this man, and her helplessness made her sigh. A man's heart was like deep water.
She collected her thoughts and began to search in every nook and cranny for the quilt. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found. So, there was only one possibility. Her quilt must still be in Moran villa.
She left in too much of a hurry the last time Alice moved in, so there was, indeed, baggage she had left in the villa.
The blanket must be there!
With this in mind, she could only bite the bullet and take a cab to Moran manor.
It was noon, and the sun beat down on the ground mercilessly.
Alice was laying on a recliner under the sunshade like a noblewoman when she shouted at the servants. "Why do all of you look so lazy? Move! Get rid of all the flowers and trees Joanna planted and replace them with my favorite roses. If you can't get this done before noon, don't think about getting your lunch!"
A few servants toiled under the sun like beasts of burden, not daring to rest even a moment though they were worn, parched.
and on the verge of passing out.
"This new mistress is such a pitiless person. She does not even treat us as human beings. The yard is so big, and there are so many plants. How can we clear them in such a short time?"
"You bet! She looks soft and gentle, but her heart is more vicious than a wicked witch. Comparing the two mistresses, the former is ten thousandfold better!"
"I really miss her. She usually listened to us and never acted cocky. She would even cook for us sometime. Should I know this would happen, I would have treated her better…"
The servants who were clearing the plants in a far corner of the yard gossiped out of irritation.
In the heat of the excitement of badmouthing Alice, they failed to realize her standing behind them. She angrily kicked them and shouted, "I can see you are in good spirits! It seems that the task is too easy for you. Well then, run laps for me, a hundred laps each!"
The servants paled. They were too terrified to even breathe.
"What are you waiting for? Go and run, now. If you don't want to, you can pack your stuff and get out of my house!" barked Alice fiercely.
She was already jealous of Joanna, thinking she was no match for the latter. Now, even the servants thought that she was inferior to Joanna. This was something she would never allow to happen!
"Miss Miss Alice, the sun is so strong now, and we are old. I'm afraid we won't be able to run a hundred laps…" Lydia, the housekeeper, said cautiously.
"Haha, you can't bear it?"
Alice crossed her arms against her chest and said with a peevish voice, "But why didn't you think of it when you were badmouthing me in secret? I don't care. In a nutshell, those who don't run enough laps today will have to get the hell out!"
The servants were reluctant to give up such a well–paying job, so they could only start running laps.
The more they ran, the more they missed the time Joanna was Mrs. Moran.
There was no such thing as a master–servant relationship at that time. They even dared to walk all over her and bully her as much as they desired.
Joanna was never a two–faced person like Alice, domineering them on the one hand while acting like a dainty woman and
complaining to Master Moran on the other.
The few servants were already in their forties. They could lose their lives from just running a few laps, let alone a hundred.
One of them had already collapsed from exhaustion.
But Alice had no intention to stop this punishment. "Those who collapse are scums. They don't deserve to stay in Moran Villa."
"Miss Alice, we really can't run anymore. We will die if we keep on running."
Lydia cried miserably and begged Alice pathetically. "We have worked diligently for the Moran family for so many years. Even if we don't have many contributions, we have worked hard. You can't just treat us like objects and simply throw us away. Please, Miss Alice, spare us this once!"
As the servants collapsed one by one, Alice did not feel the slightest sympathy and sneered. "Weren't you the one who said that the previous mistress was better? If you are that capable, ask her to be your savior!"
"Um…"
Lydia's face turned gloomy.
Nobody noticed that Joanna was slowly approaching them.
"Yo, since when Miss Alice stopped being the b*tch and found a new hobby as the coach that forces people to run laps?" As if seeing her savior, Lydia shouted in tears, "Ma'am, please save us! Please!"
Alice sprang out of her recliner as if she was facing a strong enemy and shouted fiercely. "What are you doing here? Don't you know that trespassing is illegal? I can call the police to arrest you, you know!"
"You want to call the police?"
Joanna smirked. She took out her phone and dialed 9-1-1, and handed it to Alice. "Go on and ask the police to come so they can see how abusive you are."
"When did I abuse anyone? As the mistress of this villa, I have the right to beat and scold my employees at will! These people should be punished when they make mistakes."
She raised her chin, emphasizing the word "mistress" with a sense of smugness.
The few servants who were beaten up from the torture cowered in a corner, not daring to say a word.
"The mistress of this villa?"
Joanna sneered and asked in return, "How can you prove that? Is your name on the title deed?"
"If you can't prove your ownership of this villa, the employment relationship between you and the servants will be non–existent. and your so–called punishment can easily be constituted as a crime. As long as they want to, they can file a lawsuit and send you to jail. A sentence of three to five years will not be a problem."
Joanna's casual remark, which could bring Alice big trouble, subdued the latter instantly.
Alice clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I am now pregnant with Ace's child. This villa will eventually be mine. Everything in the Moran family will also be my son's in the future. A few servants are
nothing!"
"Hah, you are being naive again. Miss Alice."
Joanna looked at Alice as if she was an idiot and savagely poked her sore spot. "First, without my agreement, this villa will never be yours, as I own half of this property. Secondly, as long as you are not married to Ace, your child will forever be illegitimate, and his right to become the heir of the Moran family will be uncertain."
This villa was a bride price given to Joanna by the Moran family back then. She was supposed to be the only owner of this villa, but she insisted on adding Ace's name to the title deed.
Though they were now divorced, she still had not transferred her ownership to Ace. Therefore, she was still, technically, the rightful owner of this villa.
"Shut up, you b*tch!"
Alice went crazy after hearing this and pounced on Joanna. "You are just an abandoned woman. How dare you gibber in front of me? So what if Ace and I are not married? Ace did not even want to touch you. You don't have the right to even have an illegitimate child!"
Joanna grabbed Alice's wrist and said coldly, "I don't fight with you simply because I am too lazy. I'm warning you: you better be kind to me, or don't even think about joining the Moran family. Even the thing in your belly won't be invited, not to mention you!"
After saying that, she flung Alice's hand away, causing the latter to stumbled and nearly fall.
"You!"
Alice was stunned by Joanna's cold and unyielding gaze.
This was the first time she realized that the woman standing in front of her was not as weak as she appeared to be.
And when she thought about the fact that Ace still had lingering feelings for Joanna, she knew that she would not have any advantage when they had it head–to–head.
Therefore, she suppressed her urge to fight and said. "I know you hate me since I am the one who took everything away from you. You can beat or scold me if you want, but can you stop pestering Ace? Don't you have your next target already? Though the Blackwood family is not as powerful as the Moran family, they are still part of The Great Eight of the City. They are more than qualified for a person like you."
Joanna was speechless. Alice and Ace were incompatible in every way, save for the rather identical cockiness they both
displayed.
She did not bother to say anything more and pointed to Lydia, "You, bring me upstairs."
As the housekeeper of the villa, Lydia used to make things difficult for Joanna under Susan's order.
But now, Joanna was a heaven–sent savior to her, so she would be more than glad to obey her.
Alice watched as the two went upstairs. There was nothing she could do, so she could only take it out on the other servants.
Lydia led Joanna upstairs and said cautiously. "Ma'am, thank you very much for saving us. If you hadn't appeared in time, we would have been tortured to death, we…"
"Stop it!" Joanna swept a cold lance at Lydia. "I wasn't trying to help you. Don't get over yourself."
The picture of how these servants drove her away and how they curried favor with Alice was still vivid in her mind.
She was not the kind of forgiving person who repaid her grievance with virtue. She did so simply because these servants were still useful to her.
Lydia knew that she had mistreated Joanna in the past, so she did not dare to say anything more.
The two went to Joanna's old bedroom. When they opened the door, Joanna saw that the room was totally empty. There was not a single thing inside.
"Where is the baggage I left in this room?" Joanna looked at Lydia and asked.
"Um…" Lydia stammered. She was obviously afraid of something.