Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law

Indeed, who else would shop like him? He swept through stores as if preparing for a grand feast. Now, in the bookstore, he only wanted to buy one or two books, yet he still exhibited his characteristic wealth and overbearing nature, sweeping nearly all the books off the shelves.

"Was I not hilarious just now?" Glades Horne asked Julia Bluen, batting his dark eyes.

After scrutinizing his expression carefully, Julia Bluen laughed and said, "You weren't just hilarious; you were extremely hilarious. I called out to you, but you couldn't hear me. I had no choice but to let you continue grabbing books."

Glades Horne twitched his brow, looking as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing, merely looking at Julia Bluen.

After laughing for a while, Julia Bluen stopped. She began moving those mountains of books back onto the shelves, one by one. Funny, her man took the books off the shelves one by one, and now she had to move them back one by one. Of course, Glades Horne didn't just stand there watching; he hurried to help.

In the end, Julia Bluen only bought two books about pregnancy.

This outcome was reminiscent of a scenario where thunder roared furiously and winds howled, only to result in a light drizzle.

Upon returning to the Horne Family mansion, the couple went straight upstairs as the downstairs hall was empty. The old lady was an early sleeper and was likely already dreaming. James Horne rarely spent the night there, usually only returning if Glades Horne was home for dinner. As for Adele Horne, she was nowhere to be found; she hadn't returned yet and was probably out with Orlando Evans again.

After returning from outside, Mila Anderson had remained in her room and hadn't come out, not even for dinner, which a servant brought to her.

The scene she had witnessed on the Pedestrian Street that afternoon pierced her heart again, leaving it unsettled for a long time. Her husband's heartlessness and favoritism made her feel that all the years she had loved him were in vain, as her love had not been reciprocated.

Yet her heart still beat for him. Even though their marriage had begun as an arranged one, she had fallen in love with Gian Horne at first sight. In his youth, Gian Horne had been as handsome as Glades Horne was now, admired by countless women. If she hadn't loved him, she wouldn't have been hurt so deeply.

Without love, there is no hate; only with love comes hate.

Gian Horne's thoughts churned after hearing Julia Bluen's profound statement; it seemed as if he'd had an epiphany.

Seeing that Mila Anderson still hadn't come out, he had gone upstairs to call her several times, but she ignored him.

When Glades Horne and Julia Bluen returned, Gian Horne was still standing in front of the room—the room that belonged to him and Mila Anderson. However, at some point, he had started sleeping in the study, and now the room had effectively become Mila Anderson's alone.

Glades Horne led Julia Bluen upstairs. The couple were whispering sweet nothings to each other, but their mood shifted when they saw Gian Horne standing in front of Mila Anderson's room. Glades Horne's face instantly darkened. The smile that had just graced his lips vanished, and his usually mild expression seemed to disappear entirely in his father's presence. His lips pursed, his face grew even darker, and his eyes became unfathomable, like a bottomless pit.

After witnessing her father-in-law's favoritism that afternoon, Julia Bluen's smile upon seeing Gian Horne was somewhat forced, though still present.

Julia had known about Gian Horne's mistress for a long time. In the past, because she was of a younger generation and Gian Horne was merely her father's good friend, she hadn't dared to comment. Besides, aside from his favoritism towards Pheobe Rogers, Gian Horne was generally a good person in other respects. He left a positive impression on most people, and Julia Bluen had always respected him.

"Glades, Julia, you're back," Gian Horne said when he saw his son and daughter-in-law. He turned, smiling affectionately, though his expression held a hint of unease when he faced Julia Bluen.

Glades Horne simply nodded, without saying a word.

On the surface, the father and son appeared to have a harmonious relationship, but this wasn't the reality. Glades's presence overshadowed his father's. While the Horne Family seemed to be under Gian's leadership, it was actually Glades who held the reins. This was precisely why Pheobe Rogers feared Glades and harbored the deepest hatred for him. Glades's thoughts were unfathomable; he only showed his true self to Julia. In front of Gian, he often appeared calm and indifferent, leaving his father unable to grasp his thoughts or discern if he harbored any resentment.

Even though Gian Horne deeply loved Glades, it couldn't erase the fact that he had hurt Mila Anderson.

Overall, Gian Horne had truly wronged Mila Anderson and their children.

Glades glanced at his mother's tightly shut door but said nothing. He took Julia's hand and started to walk past his father towards their own room. As he passed Gian Horne, he said indifferently, "If Mom wants some quiet time alone, Dad, you shouldn't bother her."

After that indifferent remark, he led Julia back to their room, leaving Gian Horne standing there stunned, unsure of what to do next. Should he leave? Keep standing guard? Or knock and ask his wife to open the door?

Upon entering their room, Julia suddenly wrapped her arms around Glades's waist from behind, resting her head against his back. Glades stopped walking and stood still, letting her hold him.

"Glades, I know there's resentment in your heart," Julia said gently.

As the woman Glades loved most, and now his wife, if she couldn't see through his thoughts, then she didn't deserve to be by his side.

Glades's lips remained tightly pressed; he didn't respond. Resentment? Did he harbor resentment towards his father? The answer was yes.

He was thirty-two years old now, a mature adult, yet he kept every piece of the past etched in his memory. His father's infidelity, the pain it had caused his mother—he remembered it all. Even though his father's love for him and Adele had never diminished, his mother's suffering had inevitably led him to resent his father. This resentment, however, was buried very deep, unlike Adele's, which was far more apparent.

In fact, his kindness towards James Horne was another way to strike at Pheobe Rogers. James was her sole emotional support, yet he greatly respected Glades as his elder brother. Pheobe repeatedly tried to incite James to seize some of the Horne family's ancestral wealth from Glades. With James's capabilities, he might have succeeded if he had truly wanted to. But he refused every time. Each time Pheobe urged him, he refused—once, twice, unyieldingly. He never agreed. Consequently, Pheobe was frustrated to the point of exploding, utterly unable to comprehend why her own son shared such a deep bond with the son from the main wife's family.