The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show-Chapter 224: Caleb Bishop Doesn’t Want to Marry You at All

"Don’t think I didn’t see you looking at Naomi Kenway. What’s so fascinating about her?"

Jeanette Kensington’s tone was icy.

"What are you two arguing about?" the little girl asked curiously, sucking on her lollipop.

Caleb Bishop’s expression remained unchanged. He gently reminded her, "Jan, you’re scaring her. I just didn’t expect Naomi Kenway’s son to be at this same elite kindergarten. I glanced over instinctively, that’s all."

He let out a soft sigh, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of reproach in his eyes. "Why are you always so suspicious of me? Am I not doing enough, or do you just not trust me at all?"

"I’m not!" Seeing that Caleb seemed to be getting angry, Jeanette Kensington instantly forgot what she had just said. She scrambled to explain, "That’s not it, Caleb. I don’t distrust you, it’s just... a while back, she smashed a wine bottle over my dad’s shoulder and made him bleed. He lost so much blood he had to be hospitalized. He still has a scar from the stitches on his shoulder. Naomi Kenway is a thankless monster. She’s heartless..."

She reached out and took Caleb’s hand, her voice softening considerably. "I just really don’t want you to have anything to do with her anymore, Caleb."

Caleb flashed his gentle smile again, but said, "I don’t like it when my partner is baselessly suspicious. We should trust each other, not second-guess everything. Just like how I trust you, okay?"

He said persuasively, his handsome face—the one that made Jeanette utterly smitten—brimming with sincerity.

Jeanette nodded. For a moment, her eyes betrayed a flicker of guilt, and she looked away.

As if he hadn’t noticed, Caleb took the little girl’s hand and said gently, "You want to get some KFC, right? Come on, let’s go."

Caleb was blessed with good looks, and combined with his gentle demeanor, little girls naturally adored him.

Caleb and Jeanette took the girl to get KFC, then drove her to her mother’s house.

On the drive home, Jeanette sat in the passenger seat, staring dazedly at Caleb’s profile.

’She remembered when she first met Caleb. He was already famous at their college for his looks and talent. She had always had high standards, so even he hadn’t caught her eye back then. Not until one day in the sculpture club, when she got her period and stained her clothes. In front of everyone, it was Caleb who saved her from the embarrassment.’

’Even now, she could still picture his tall, upright figure as a young man, the sunlight from the window reflecting off his smooth cheeks.’

’The next time she saw him, it was through an introduction from Naomi Kenway. Back then, he and Naomi were dating, and their relationship seemed so strong that no one could possibly get between them.’

’But that didn’t matter. Her mother had told her since she was a little girl that she could have anything she wanted.’

And as it turned out, she had succeeded.

"Caleb, you’re so gentle and patient with Joy. Does that mean you prefer daughters?" Jeanette’s eyes were filled with a shy sort of anticipation. "I like daughters, too. If we had a daughter who looked like you, she’d be gorgeous. You already seem like you’d be a doting dad."

Caleb kept his eyes on the road. "Is that right? Daughter or son, it’s all the same to me."

Jeanette hinted, "We’ve been together for so long. I think we need to take our relationship to the next level..." Thinking about how long Caleb had been stalling, her voice grew annoyed. "Caleb Bishop, do you not want to marry me at all? I have so many other suitors. Don’t you feel the least bit threatened?"

Caleb’s gaze flickered. "Of course I want to marry you. But right now, I’m just a poor kid. How could I let you marry me only to be ridiculed by others?" he coaxed softly. "You’re a superstar with tens of millions of fans, not to mention a young lady of the Kenway family. Just give me a little more time, alright? When I’m worthy of you, I’ll marry you. I promise I won’t let you suffer the slightest wrong."

Jeanette was touched but still felt hurt. "How much longer do I have to wait? I’ve never looked down on you. I think you’re wonderful just the way you are. I just want to marry you..."

This wasn’t the first or second time Jeanette had pressured him about marriage. When she was under the most mental stress, she had even resorted to threatening suicide to force his hand. But Caleb always managed to find the perfect excuse to sidestep the issue, sometimes even giving her the cold shoulder until, inevitably, Jeanette was the one to back down.

"Jan, we’ve been together for so many years. Can’t you just endure another year or two? It’s because I care about you so much that I don’t want to rush into our marriage carelessly. Please, just give me a little more time. I promise I’ll sort everything out..."

By the end, his tone had become tinged with impatience. Jeanette knew this was a precursor to his anger, so she dropped the subject.

"I’ll take you home," Caleb said.

"I haven’t been to your place in a while. We just bought some groceries; they have to be put to good use."

"Alright," Caleb said.

Caleb was temporarily living in a large, single-story apartment in the city center. It was in a great location, with large shopping malls and a hospital nearby.

Jeanette didn’t know how to cook, so Caleb always did the cooking.

Jeanette wandered around Caleb’s art studio. She wasn’t artistic in the slightest, so her only judgment of the paintings was that they were beautiful, but that was just her love for him extending to his work.

The phone rang. When Jeanette answered, she heard Lorraine Warren’s voice on the other end. The conversation revolved around the usual topic: pressuring her to get married. Her mother said she was almost thirty and couldn’t keep putting it off.

Jeanette grew extremely irritated listening to her, but she couldn’t lose her temper with Lorraine, so she just fobbed her off with the same excuses Caleb had given her.

On the other end of the line, Lorraine Warren’s voice suddenly rose. "He doesn’t actually want to marry you, does he? He never planned on marrying you from the start, did he? Jan..."

"How could that be possible?" Jeanette denied, repeating, "That’s impossible. Impossible. He said it’s just not the right time! He loves me so much, how could he not want to marry me?! Mom, nobody knows him better than I do. You know our family’s company is a total mess. If Caleb didn’t love me, why would he be working so hard helping Dad manage it?"

Lorraine sighed. "You have a point, but the longer things drag on, the more can go wrong."

"Don’t worry, Mom. I have a plan."

After hanging up, Jeanette went back to admiring an oil painting on the wall. The vibrant, lively sunflowers in the painting were particularly eye-catching, and her gaze was completely drawn to them.

As she tilted her head, a faint, hidden seam in the corner suddenly caught her eye. It was an inconspicuous secret door. Its color blended so perfectly with the snow-white wall, and with all the various objects scattered around Caleb’s studio, she had never noticed it before.

’What’s this for? Storing paints?’

Jeanette gently pushed the door open and froze, stunned.