Chapter 1001: Useless

Chapter 1001: Useless

"We're just having a family dinner, it's perfectly normal!" Page said with

a smile, her eyes filled with gentleness. If Grace didn't know their

intentions, she would never have guessed how ruthless they could be.

Grace furrowed her brows, her voice uncomfortably cold as she

declined, "No, I don't want to have dinner, and I don't want to see

Camille. I think it's better if I have less contact with her. Mom, please

don't force me."

Page was generally quite fond of Grace, so she was straightforward

when speaking with her. However, Page was persistent and had a

somewhat forceful attitude, saying, "Grace, how can you say that,

darling? Is Camille influencing you? You've always been obedient to

Mom, and you can't disappoint us. Especially not with Camille's

influence. She's selfish, but you're different. You're the heiress of the

Armstrong family. If you want what's best for the family, then you should

follow the plans your father and I have made."

Grace's face tensed, and she remained still for a moment, seemingly

shocked by Page's words. She stared at Page with vacant eyes and

said in a low, hoarse voice, "Mom, how can you say that? Camille and I

are both your children. You can't treat Camille this way. This is only

pushing her further away. Shouldn't a family be harmonious?"

Grace stood up for Camille, and Page's expression turned unpleasant.

Frowning, Page said, "What's gotten into you? Why are you so

concerned about Camille? Do you even care about our family, Grace?

Everything we're doing is for you. You're the future of Armstrong Corp,

and we should be on the same side. Grace, you can't disappoint us.”

Page resorted to persuasive tactics, saying many things that felt like

brainwashing, leaving Grace feeling somewhat dizzy.

Grace tightened her lips, her expression pale and weary. She put down

the book she was holding and, with a low, hoarse voice, said, "Mom,

I'm really tired. Please, don't push me. I just want to rest. Can you

leave?"

Grace gave her mother an ultimatum, which Page found impolite. In the

past, Grace had always been obedient and compliant, following their

plans without resistance. So why was she growing more rebellious

now?

Page's gaze remained displeased as she looked at Grace. She said,

"Grace, how did you become so difficult to handle? Contact Camille

right now. She must come to dinner tonight; it's your responsibility, and

you must complete it."

Page's attitude was unwavering, and there was no room for negotiation

in this matter.

She didn't know whether Grace had agreed or not, but Grace remained

expressionless throughout the conversation.

Page believed that Camille had silently consented and her expression

softened. Her voice turned gentle as she said, "Grace, be a good girl.

Don't make your dad angry. He's already upset because you spoke up

for Camille. So, try to please him, and don't do things he doesn't like,

okay?"

Grace continued to look at her mother with a furrowed brow, her voice

low and hoarse as she asked, "Mom, do you even know what you're

saying?"

"Of course," Page replied with a smile. "Our good days are still ahead

of us. Everything we're doing now is for our future life. So, we can't

afford any slip-ups, alright?"

Grace didn't give a direct response but asked, "Where's my phone?

Can you give it to me now?"

Page hesitated for a moment, considering that she wanted Grace to

contact Camille. She then took the phone out of her pocket and handed

it to her, saying, "Here's your phone. Make sure to handle the situation

properly, okay?"

"Okay," Grace responded in a detached manner.

Page gave a few more instructions before finally leaving Grace's room.

Grace didn't call Camille but instead clutched her phone tightly, sitting

on the bed without getting up. After a moment of silence, she unlocked

her phone and sent a message to Horace: "Are you available? Can we

talk?"

Horace replied almost instantly, and the phone call came through.

Grace quickly got up, locked her bedroom door, and then answered the

call.

Horace's voice came through from the other end of the line, "Grace?

Are you okay?"

He had a naturally cold personality, but his attitude toward Grace was

instinctively gentle. So when Grace heard his voice, she felt an

indescribable excitement, and her nose tingled as if she might cry.

The fact that Grace and Horace had ended up together was quite

unexpected because neither of them had any interest in each other

before.

Her voice was soft as she replied, "I'm fine. Are you busy? Am I

bothering you?"

"Not at all. You can call me whenever you want, Grace. We don't need

to be so formal with each other, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm not being formal. I just don't want to disrupt your work."

“No, I'm just handling some things right now, so I'm not busy." Horace's

voice was deep and a bit stiff, but Grace didn't notice. He asked, "What

about you? What are you doing?"

“I'm daydreaming."

Grace smiled weakly, then asked in a soft, low voice, "I have a

question.”

"Sure, go ahead."

"What would you do if a person closest to you forced you to scheme

against another close person?”

Grace didn't know what to do and whom to confide in, so she chose to

seek a reason that would firmly resolve her inner conflict.

Horace didn't ask her any questions. He simply replied, “If both of them

are close to you, then they are close to each other as well. In that case,

it's surprising. But I believe that some actions cross the line. It's not

good to accept just because the other person is close or difficult to

handle. This would hurt the other close person. Instead of doing that,

it's better to extricate yourself and let them resolve their issues on their

own. That should be the best way."

"Should I remind the other person?"

"Does the other person know that someone is planning against them?"

"Probably."

"If they know, then there's no need to explicitly remind them. Just drop

subtle hints."

“I understand what to do now. Thank you." Grace began with a

metaphor but gradually accepted that she was the person being

referred to in the metaphor.

Horace never asked her directly and never broke the conversation. He

continued to provide answers in a cooperative manner.

As they continued to talk, Grace felt there was no need to keep hiding,

and she softly asked Horace, "Why are my parents always so biased?

Even though they favor me, it's not what I want. I hope the Armstrong

family can be harmonious, that's when we're complete. If we keep

scheming against each other, the Armstrong family will eventually fall

apart. What should I do to change the situation? I feel like I can't do

anything, am I useless?"

Grace's emotions became more agitated as she continued speaking.

She took a deep breath, and her mood started to intensify.

She said, "What can I do to change the current situation? I feel like I

can't do anything. Am I completely useless?"

Grace seemed to be under a lot of psychological pressure, and she had

many concerns. This made her thoughts heavy and her anxiety

palpable, affecting her mood negatively.

Horace sensed this and his tone became much more serious. His deep

voice echoed, "Grace, you can't put so much pressure on yourself. Not

everything can be changed just because you want it to. As for the bias,

it's your parents’ decision. As long as you treat Camille well, it won't

affect your relationship with her. I don't think Camille would mind,

right?”

"Of course, but I still feel guilty towards her. Am I just really useless?"

Grace asked bitterly.