Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law-Chapter 552: A Day Apart Feels Like Three Autumns (5)_1

Rachel Bailey hesitated for ten seconds before asking, somewhat sheepishly, "Julia, when you first got pregnant, did you just go to the hospital to get checked? Did you have any symptoms?"

"You’re pregnant?" Julia’s joyful voice boomed. Her face beamed as if she were the one expecting, making Ruby and Adele Horne, who sat beside her, look on and unconsciously smile at her laughter.

"Our family doctor took my pulse and made the diagnosis. When I was first pregnant, I constantly felt sleepy, craved sour foods, and felt a bit fatigued," Julia recalled, sharing what little experience she had with her friend. "Rachel, if you don’t want to go to the hospital, you can buy an early pregnancy test from the pharmacy and check it yourself; they’re very accurate."

"They have them at the pharmacy? Then I’ll go buy one and try it. But my mother-in-law has shown up again. I just vomited, and she said she wants to take me to the hospital for a check-up."

"Then go for the hospital check-up; it’s more accurate that way. Your mother-in-law has turned up again? I hope she isn’t giving you a hard time. Hansen Ruiz seems to have gone on a business trip with Glades as well, so be careful how you handle her. Your mother-in-law can be quite formidable."

Rachel smiled, choosing not to tell her friend about the battles with her mother-in-law to avoid worrying her. After they chatted for over ten minutes, Mrs. Ruiz came knocking at the door. She wanted to take Rachel to the hospital for a check-up, so their phone call ended.

"Who were you talking to on the phone?" Mrs. Ruiz knocked and, without waiting for Rachel’s response, pushed the door open. She caught Rachel just as she was finishing her call and immediately began questioning her.

Mila Anderson was also a mother-in-law, just like Mrs. Ruiz, yet the two women couldn’t have been more different. Mila Anderson generally wouldn’t inquire about whom Julia was calling. Mrs. Ruiz, however, was accustomed to being domineering at home; she tightly controlled her husband and her two younger sons and liked to dominate others’ lives.

Seeing Rachel on the phone, her immediate instinct was to pry.

She even suspected Rachel had snuck back to her room to secretly call her son, to tell him she had shown up again, hoping to make his attitude toward her even worse.

A truly suspicious mind is a malady with no cure.

"A friend," Rachel Bailey replied nonchalantly, not yet feeling resentful about her mother-in-law’s probing. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"A friend? Is it Adele Horne?" Mrs. Ruiz walked up to her and continued, "Are you ready? Did you bring money? It doesn’t matter if you didn’t; I have some. Let’s go. Oh, have you called Hansen yet?"

"Not yet, he might be busy. I’ll call him tonight." Rachel Bailey stood up and started walking out of the room as she responded to her mother-in-law, "I don’t need to prepare anything. I have money on me from this morning’s earnings. The stall owners all pay in cash." In fact, she had already called Hansen Ruiz once before finishing her work and coming home, right after he had deplaned.

"Hansen is on a business trip. He should have landed by now. As his wife, you should call him! Ask if he has arrived safely and whether he has eaten. What kind of wife are you? You lack even the most basic concern!" Mrs. Ruiz chided as she walked out with her, feeling that her son treasured Rachel like a jewel while Rachel treated him like dirt.

"Mom, Hansen had already arrived at his destination before I came back," Rachel Bailey replied, raising an eyebrow. Her mother-in-law really meddled a lot.

"When I asked you just now, you said you hadn’t called. Are you deliberately deceiving me?" Hearing this, Mrs. Ruiz seized another opportunity to criticize her. Even though they were currently on their way to the hospital to check if Rachel was carrying her grandson, Mrs. Ruiz’s dislike for Rachel was always evident. "Rachel Bailey, this isn’t right! You need to be honest. At the very least, you shouldn’t deceive your elders, should you? If you really are pregnant, I’ll raise my grandson myself. You needn’t get involved. With a mother like you, who knows what kind of child he’ll turn out to be? My grandson, the Ruiz family’s future heir—his education cannot be taken lightly!"

Such a forward-thinking grandmother!

"Mom, you asked me about ’now,’ and I answered about ’now.’ I never said anything about ’before,’ so how is that deception?" Rachel Bailey listened to another barrage of accusations from her mother-in-law and felt like her lungs would explode from anger. What kind of mother-in-law is this? If my child ended up in her care, they might become as pitiable as my two brothers-in-law. I will absolutely not let her raise my child! Besides, her words clearly show she wants a grandchild, not a daughter-in-law!

"You... you’re twisting words with me now! I’ve never met anyone with a mouth as sharp as yours!" Mrs. Ruiz was left speechless by the retort. Fuming, she stomped down the stairs as if she were trampling on Rachel herself. She stomped fiercely and quickly passed Rachel, heading downstairs ahead of her.

Following behind, Rachel watched her. She had been very angry at first, but suddenly she wanted to laugh.

This old woman is so used to having her way. Since she can’t get what she wants from Hansen Ruiz, she thinks she can bully me and use me to control him? I’m not a fool; I won’t let her boss me around. Besides, not living under the same roof saves a lot of unnecessary trouble.

AH!

As Mrs. Ruiz was furiously stomping down the stairs, she missed a step and tumbled downwards.

Rachel Bailey froze instantly.

Then, snapping back to reality, she was scared and hurried down the stairs to help Mrs. Ruiz up, asking with concern, "Mom, are you okay? Is it serious?"

Mrs. Ruiz’s face flushed crimson—not from the fall, but from sheer embarrassment and awkwardness. Fortunately, she was only two or three steps from the first floor, so the fall hadn’t injured her.

"I’m not dead yet!" she snapped, standing up with Rachel’s assistance.

Looking at the high heels on her feet, she desperately wanted to kick them off. However, remembering they still had to go out and that Rachel Bailey wouldn’t have any high heels that fit her, she suppressed the urge.

"Mom, let me see if you’re injured." Still anxious, Rachel Bailey helped Mrs. Ruiz to the sofa and carefully checked her for injuries. Only after confirming she wasn’t hurt did Rachel finally relax.