Nancy’s mouth twitched. ’They’re really treating me like a psychic.’ She had no idea what her baby cousin would look like. The book she’d read never mentioned his appearance, only that the poor boy was a "freak" with a tail. There was no description of his face.

She widened her eyes and looked at Raina with perfect innocence. ’When in doubt, play dumb.’ It was the best strategy Nancy could come up with. After all, she was only six years old. It was perfectly normal for her not to know things.

Raina chuckled at her granddaughter’s innocent gaze and gently tapped her on the head.

Phoebe Huxley took her daughter back, saying, "The gods only give instructions for important matters. Pregnancies like Phoebe’s and Second Sister-in-law’s are life-or-death situations, so the gods sent Nancy a dream. As for what the baby will look like, the gods couldn’t be bothered. He’ll either look like Second Brother or Second Sister-in-law. We’ll know when he’s born, won’t we?"

"Exactly. The fact that Second Brother can have an heir is a joyous occasion in itself. Who cares who the baby looks like? As long as he doesn’t look like you, we’re good," Byron Thorne joked.

Raina instantly erupted. Planting her hands on her hips, she shot back, "What’s so wrong with looking like me? I can haul heavy loads, chop firewood, cook, and farm! What part of that is so bad? You old philanderer, you’re still thinking about that old hussy Rosalie Zhang, aren’t you? Go on, go find her! She’s been widowed three times already—every man she marries, she jinxes to death! If you had married her back in the day, the grass on your grave would be ten feet high by now!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Nancy instantly perked up. ’I can’t believe it! All the Thorne men have such colorful love lives, even Grandpa Byron.’ ’It sounds like that Rosalie Zhang woman is pretty tragic, though. Being widowed three times... that’s some seriously rotten luck.’

"What are you talking about? There was never anything between me and Rosalie Zhang! This is completely absurd!"

Flustered and angry, Byron Thorne shot to his feet, clasped his hands behind his back, and stormed out.

"Where the hell do you think you’re going this late?" Raina hollered after him.

"Over to Shane’s!"

Byron Thorne’s voice faded into the distance. He knew from long experience that whenever Rosalie Zhang was mentioned, Raina wouldn’t calm down for at least an hour. It was best to hide out at Shane Thorne’s place until the storm passed. Besides, he could use the time to plan how to deal with Phoenix Golding and her family.

"Always running off to that womanizer, Shane. Hmph. Neither of them is any good."

Raina muttered a few more curses under her breath. All of the Thorne brothers were philanderers, and Shane Thorne was the absolute worst of them. He’d only settled down now that he was getting older; just a few years ago, he was still out chasing skirts. The others were the same. If she hadn’t kept such a tight rein on Byron Thorne, he and Rosalie Zhang would have rekindled their old flame long ago.

"Is Rosalie Zhang that widow who married into Rosillia Village? I heard some people saying a while back that Uncle Shane had a fling with her, too. Someone saw them together," Phoebe Huxley said, lowering her voice and diving into the gossip with relish.

Raina’s eyes lit up. "Who’d you hear that from?"

"Lots of people were saying it. Everyone over in Rosillia Village knows about it. It was a good many years ago, though. No idea if they still keep in touch."

Raina scoffed, her voice laced with scorn. "That Shane is really not picky. He’ll sink his teeth into anything, good or bad. Doesn’t even care how dirty it is."

"Aren’t all men like that? They think even the shit outside smells better than the dinner at home." Phoebe Huxley shot a sideways glance at Felix Thorne, her barb clearly aimed at him.

Raina nodded. "You’re right. Men are all the same rotten way."

"Let’s get home. Nancy’s tired."

Felix Thorne was getting annoyed. ’Why drag me into it? I haven’t been fooling around.’ But he was genuinely scared of Phoebe Huxley these days. That incident with the knife had almost harmed Nancy, and he didn’t dare provoke the tigress again.