Chapter 520

Maria!
Penelope scoffed. What a coincidence!
The bus drove for over three hours before stopping outside a farm.
Penelope and Julian got off slowly. She saw many parents and children crowded around Maria’s van. She was a big star, after all; it was understandable that people wanted photos and autographs.
But Maria didn’t get out. Instead, her bodyguards emerged first and dispersed the crowd. Only after a teacher went to ask her did Maria finally step out, wearing sunglasses and a mask, flanked by two bodyguards. She held her chin high with an air of arrogance.
Seeing her attitude, many of the parents lost interest and led their own children away from her.
The teachers organized the parents and students to enter the farm, where the
owner gave them a tour. Many of the crops were things the children had never seen before, and they were full of curiosity along the way.
“Mom, what are these red fruits?”
“Dad, can you eat this?”
“Mommy, why can’t I see any potatoes in the potato field?”
Penelope waited for Julian to ask a question, but he just watched his classmates with an expression like he was looking at idiots.
“Even if they haven’t seen these in real life, haven’t they seen them online? Asking such stupid questions, aren’t they afraid people will think they’re morons?”
Penelope shushed him. “With a mouth like that, have you never gotten into a fight at school?”
“I know taekwondo.”
“You should still try to get along peacefully with other kids.”
“They’re all afraid of me.”
“You should win people over with reason.”
“I do use reason. Fists are just a backup.”
Penelope sighed. The kid had an answer for everything; an ordinary person could never win an argument against him.
Lacking any real curiosity about the crops, the two of them gradually fell to the back of the group, where they ran right into them.
“Julian, didn’t I tell you I was going to marry you? Why do you insist on marrying that ugly girl from the other class?”
The words, combined with Queena’s bossy expression, were rather off-putting, even coming from a child.
Julian rolled his eyes at her. “Only an ugly person would call someone else ugly.”
“Are you calling me ugly?”
“Don’t you own a mirror?”
“Mommy!” Queena stomped her foot. “Look at Julian! He’s always bullying me!”
Maria’s attention, however, wasn’t on her daughter at all. She was glaring at Penelope.
“Who are you really? Why are you here pretending to be Mrs. Stapleton?”
Penelope found this amusing. “Who I am is none of your business!”
In the past, Maria could have easily looked up her connection to Theodore online, but not anymore After th
their divorce, Theodore had.
scrubbed all traces of their
relationship from the internet
People knew he had been married,
but it was as if his ex-wife had never existed.
“You maliciously uploaded that video yesterday, and it’s caused me a lot
of trouble. I haven’t settled the score with you
or that yetti
said
through gritted teeth.
Penelope glanced at the two bodyguards beside her. “What, you want to fight right now?”
Maria pressed her lips together. She
really couldn’t swallow this insult
but she remembered Hamilton’s
warning that this woman was
trouble and seemed to have some connection to Theodore
Could she be his mistress? Looking at her, it certainly seemed possible.
“I can’t be bothered with you, but I’d advise you not to be so arrogant!” With that, she pulled her daughter along and walked ahead.
Penelope couldn’t be bothered with her either. But a short while later, the teacher organized a tomato-picking contest, and they were pitted against Maria and her daughter.