Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO

One glance is all that one needs to know what attitude one has toward them. And Arwen wasn't blind.

She could tell that the nanny was up to no good.

But she was intrigued to know what she was up to. Given how she hasn't hesitated to offend her, she could tell that she would be going to be a strong ally to Selene.

But too bad … strong allies need to have brains. And Carla doesn't seem to have one. If she had, she would have known — one can't stay in Rome and fight with the Pope.

Halting in her movements, Arwen turned to look. "Yes?"

"You can't sit there?" Carla said with the quiet hint of arrogance.

Arwen arched her brows, her gaze briefly flicking to look at the chair she had always chosen to sit. It wasn't her meant-to-be chair or a chair linked with the title of the mistress of the house. She had randomly chosen it on the first day, and since then, she had been sitting here.

Over time, she took that chair as hers to sit for every meal they had at the table.

"Why?" she asked, pulling her lips in a small smile. "What's wrong with this chair? Is it broken?" Her gaze turned to briefly glance at the butler who stood on one side, a little distant from them.

Mr. Jones shook his head, indicating that the chair had nothing wrong.

Arwen gave him a subtle nod of understanding before returning her gaze to Carla.

"You haven't answered me yet."

Carla held Selene's arms and simply replied, "Don't get me wrong, Mrs. Winslow, but that chair should belong to my young miss. She should sit there."

Mr. Jones was the first to frown.

"Belong to your young miss?" Arwen's voice rose an octave. "What do you mean by that?" She crossed her arms, looking curious about the answer.

"What are you saying?" Mr. Jones also couldn't keep calm. "Madam is the mistress of the house. From the people to the objects … everything here belongs to her. Who gave you the authority to stop her?"

Carla stood clearly defiant, with words on the tip of her tongue. But before she could speak, Selene, on her side, spoke up, her tone reproaching.

"What are you saying, Carla?" her gaze flicking to Arwen and then returning to her nanny. "I am just a guest here. I can't make such childish demands. Furthermore, Arwen sits on that chair, right next to Aiden. Asking her to give it to me isn't my place, nor the right thing to do."

However, Carla looked at her as if she was feeling bad for seeing her lady getting mistreated. "Oh, Ms. Selene," she held her hands. "You are always kind and indulgent towards everyone, I know. But this old lady could only think about you and the things that could make you recover better."

"I am not superstitious, but for you, Ms. Selene, I would try everything as long as it could make you better." The motherly love that Carla tried to showcase felt real. "In my village, they say one should sit in the north-east direction to have food. This helps them recover and stay in good health. And this chair is just in the right position," she said, pointing at the chair that Arwen was previously close to taking.

Selene pretended to be in a difficult position. "Carla, you don't have to believe all that rubbish. Even if it's true, I am merely a guest here. I can't make such demands. It's just —"

"You are a guest, so shouldn't that make them more obliged to treat you with the best?" Carla said pointedly. "Besides, you are not just a guest here. You once donated so much blood to the late lady of their family. At that, you were barely in your teens. Given all that you did, shouldn't they be more considerate?"

She then turned to look at Arwen and scoffed. "And she is the lady of the house. She should know how to treat the guest in the house. And isn't it just about a chair? If for a few days you sit on that, it won't cause a risk to her position in the family. Would it? You almost died saving her mother-in-law once. She should be grateful to you on behalf of her mother-in-law."

"You —" Mr. Jones was about to step forward; however, Arwen raised a hand to stop him. She shook her head at him.

Selene felt satisfied with Carla. This was what they had planned. Taking away what belonged to Arwen slowly and slowly.

Today, the chair at the dining table … and tomorrow, the position of the mistress of the house.

As long as she sits beside Aiden today, she is sure she could pull a few tricks that would make Arwen jealous of her. Same as she had gotten jealous of her every time she saw Aiden and her together.

She wanted to return that burn of envy to her.

Arwen watched Selene, her composure still calm as before. "Will giving this chair to her write off what she did for Mom?" she asked, a smile playing over her lips.

For a second, neither Selene nor Carla understands what she meant.

From the side, Mr. Jones helped them. "Madam is the daughter-in-law. It's only right for her to call the late lady her mother."

Selene's fist clenched. She remembered no one was allowed to call Aunt Morwenna as mother except for Aiden. Then how come Arwen was referring to her as Mom so naturally? It felt like no one ever warned her.

Just how much access had Aiden given her?

"Arwen, don't take Carla seriously. How could I make you do such things in the name of what I did for Aunt Morwenna?" Selene said, trying her best to keep her tone in check.

She meant, of course, such big things couldn't be written off just like that.

Carla also spoke. "You are the lady of the house —the future matriarch of the Winslow family. You couldn't fight with a guest over a simple chair at the dining table."

Arwen smirked. She can, and she would have … but she was just not in the mood to do that.

Nodding, she smiled, "Fine, if sitting and having the meal here can make you recover better," she gestured towards the chair with her open hand, "then, Ms. Martin, please take the seat. To me, this isn't important as it is to you."

And with that, she took a step back to round and go on the distant side.

Selene wanted to smile victoriously. However, she spoke with concern. "Stop, Arwen. You can't just let me sit with Aiden like that. You are his wife, aren't you?"

That was meant to be the taunt.

And Arwen got it well. Both her meaning and her taunt. However, she had different plans. She didn't react; instead, she simply plastered a smile and jutted her chin towards the chair. "You are our guest. Please be comfortable."

To Selene, this was victory. But to Arwen ...

This was just a way to make Selene see the reality that she was trying to twist.

"What's wrong?" Aiden's voice paused everyone.