Chapter 10 Resistance to Her Grandmother

The old Cooper mansion was not located in downtown Kensbury. It was situated in a town on the outskirts of Kensbury, practically occupying half of the street. With the development of the city, many towns had lost their original appearance, but this old mansion preserved all of its original buildings. Initially, there were developers who wanted to purchase the Cooper mansion, but it was impossible to acquire. The government realized that they couldn't develop the area, so they had a brilliant idea to turn it into a tourist attraction, which attracted many visitors. The Cooper mansion often appeared on the tweets of famous social media influencers, gradually becoming a popular spot for taking photos.

Hannah and Michelle entered the Cooper mansion. At this moment, the only elder of the Cooper family, Lorie Cooper, was seated in the center with a long face. On both sides were Roger's family. Roger originally had his own villa in the downtown area, but to show his filial piety and please his grandmother, the whole family moved back here.

Hannah glanced around and calmly called out, "Grandmother."

"Why did you bring her along when I only called for you?" Lorie didn't give Hannah a good face, accusing her right away. "What's the matter, are you afraid that I, an old lady, will bully you?"

"It’s not like that, mother. I heard that you asked Hannah to come to the mansion, and it's been a long time since I've seen you, so I thought of coming over to visit you." Michelle quickly explained.

"Your words sound nice, but I don't see you bringing anything as a token of respect. Your sincerity is truly remarkable." Esther said sarcastically.

Hannah turned her head and glanced at Esther. When she had disciplined Mary before, Esther was able to go along with it, but now, striving for grandma's favor, her attitude changed instantly.

"Who said we didn't bring any gifts for grandma?" Hannah retorted.

"What gifts did you bring? Show us?" Esther appeared domineering.

Michelle felt somewhat embarrassed because as they were in a rush, they just came over without a gift. She gave Hannah a look, asking her to bear with it. Every time they encountered this family and Lorie, Michelle always swallowed insults and humiliation silently.

Hannah was about to speak up.

"What's so rare about your things?" Lorie interrupted.

Hannah pursed her lips and spoke directly, "Grandmother, did you call me back for something? If there's nothing, I'll leave to avoid bothering you, alright?" She grabbed her mother and prepared to leave.

"Stop right there!" Lorie shouted in anger. "Did I tell you to leave? You're so unruly, truly a daughter brought up by a commoner, without even the most basic manners!"

It was clear that she was mocking Michelle's humble background. Michelle did feel upset about Lorie’s words. Many times before, Hannah saw her mother return from the Cooper mansion with red eyes, but Michelle endured it all because she didn't want to trouble her husband or cause conflicts in the family. However, the result of enduring silently didn't bring any benefits; instead, Lorie's derogatory remarks and sarcasm towards her mother became more and more severe, taking advantage of the situation.

Lorie continued to mock, "What,? Is it because you've inherited the Cooper family's legacy that you no longer care about me?"

"Grandmother, don't forget it, the wealth of the Cooper family doesn't belong to you!"

Lorie was stunned, never expecting her usually timid granddaughter to embarrass her like this.

"The Cooper family's assets are explicitly stated in Grandfather's will. If you have any complaints, why don't you go talk to him?" Hannah smirked coldly.

"Hannah!" Roger was also enraged. "Hannah, you have no manners. How dare you curse your grandmother!"

"Uncle Roger, did you imagine that yourself based on a casual remark? Could it be that you have such thoughts, which is why you're thinking this way?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Roger was blue in the face.

Hannah chuckled and said, "I didn't come back today to argue with you all, and certainly not to let you bully me. I came back because grandmother said she had something to discuss. If all grandmother wants to do is scold me, I'm sorry, but I won't indulge her!"

Everyone truly felt that Hannah had changed in an instant. She became articulate and exuded a strong presence. She stared at Lorie without a trace of fear. On the other hand, Michelle was genuinely astonished and couldn't say a word. After slapping Mary a few days ago, she had started seeing her daughter in a new light, and now, seeing Hannah speak so assertively to Lorie, she was doubting if Hannah was her daughter. However, she had to admit that facing Lorie's years of oppression, there had never been such a comfortable moment. Without saying anything, she decided to let her daughter take charge. If worse came to worst, she would cut ties with these people at the Cooper mansion. She had come to understand. These people never regarded them as family, no matter how hard she tried to please them.

"You. You..." Lorie was left speechless by Hannah's retort. She yelled in anger, "Get out of here!"

"Grandmother, I think it's necessary for me to remind you that the name on the property deed of Cooper mansion belongs to my dad, which means that the place you're living in is our family's. Do you think it's appropriate to tell us to leave?"

"Hannah!"

"Of course, I didn't mean for you to leave, grandmother. I just wanted to advise you that it's not respectable to act so entitled when using someone else's things. It's quite off-putting." Hannah said, with a disdainful expression. She didn't give Lorie the slightest bit of face.

"This is outrageous, Hannah! You've gone too far!" Lorie pointed at Hannah's face and cursed. She had never been treated like this before and clearly couldn't accept it.

"I'm simply stating the facts. If there's anything that offends you, grandmother, I hope you can overlook it, considering I'm just a child. On the other hand, as an elder, you should be able to understand many things. Please don't do something that would make others lose respect for you. If that happens, it won't end well, and anyone could turn against you." Hannah said in one breath, leaving Lorie speechless.