Chapter 157: Chapter 157: The Love and Hatred of the Past

Phoenix Golding’s gentle smile had vanished, replaced by a stern expression. Her gaze was sharp and tinged with contempt. Even though she was seated, she looked down on Tang Xiaonan and Amanda Chapman with a condescending air that made Tang Xiaonan extremely uncomfortable.

Amanda Chapman lowered her head, extremely uneasy. Though she could be bold and feisty, she had an innate fear of teachers. Facing Phoenix Golding now, she didn’’t even dare to breathe too loudly, wringing her hands so hard they turned white.

When she caught sight of Tang Xiaonan holding her head high and bravely meeting Phoenix Golding’s gaze, Amanda Chapman was filled with admiration, and also a little ashamed.

’I’m older than my cousin, but I’m not as smart, not as pretty, and certainly not as brave. Sigh… No wonder Grandma always calls me a worthless good-for-nothing.’

Phoenix Golding was very displeased by Tang Xiaonan’s bold, direct stare. ’Such a little brat, yet so thuggish. Just like that shrew, Phoebe Huxley.’ She disliked everyone in the Thorne family, including Felix Thorne.

Frederick Thorne was the only one she could look upon with any favor.

The one she had actually liked back then was Frederick Thorne, not Felix Thorne at all. With Felix Thorne’s brutish looks, she wouldn’t have picked him even if she were blind. In fact, she had only grudgingly taken a liking to Frederick Thorne. It was because the Thorne family was well-off, and Frederick had been in the same class as her through elementary and middle school. He was passably handsome and his grades were decent.

From a very young age, Phoenix Golding knew what she wanted. Just like Jacqueline Spann, she was ambitious and willing to do whatever it took to achieve her goals. Phoenix Golding’s family was dirt poor, and her grades were always at the bottom of the class, so her only hope of changing her fate was through marriage.

The person she set her sights on was Frederick Thorne. But as luck would have it, Frederick was passionately involved with Lana Steiner. Lana was also in their class, and she too came from a good family—her father was a middle school teacher. Lana’s grades were excellent, so it was only natural that she became a teacher after graduating from high school.

The reason Phoenix Golding had moved heaven and earth to become a teacher was purely out of spite. She was convinced she could do anything Lana Steiner could. And look at her now—wasn’t she also a state-certified teacher?

Phoenix Golding, however, conveniently chose to forget that her teaching ability was barely adequate for first-graders, whereas Lana Steiner was named an outstanding teacher year after year. Furthermore, a middle school teacher’s salary was considerably higher than an elementary school teacher’s. They were not in the same league at all.

Moreover, Lana Steiner had never given Phoenix Golding a second thought. She and Frederick Thorne shared a deep love and had never so much as argued. Lana had no idea that Phoenix had once coveted her husband. One could only say that Phoenix Golding’s feelings were entirely one-sided.

Back then, Phoenix Golding had taken the initiative to confess her feelings, but Frederick Thorne rejected her. Afterward, he wouldn’t even speak to her, avoiding her on sight. Filled with a mixture of love and hate, Phoenix Golding, in a fit of pique, started getting involved with Felix Thorne. She was young and impetuous at the time, thinking that even though Felix was ugly, he was a good earner and completely subservient to her. If she married him, she wouldn’t have to worry about making a living. But most importantly, she wanted to spite Frederick Thorne.

’So, you want to avoid me, Frederick Thorne? Fine. I’ll just marry your older brother and become your sister-in-law. Then you won’t be able to avoid me even if you try, and you’ll have to call me “Sister-in-law” with respect.’

Unfortunately for Phoenix Golding, her neat little scheme fell through. Just when they were on the verge of discussing marriage, the Thorne family suddenly backed out, claiming her and Felix Thorne’s birth charts were incompatible and they couldn’t get married. Not two months later, Felix hastily married that boorish, crude woman, Phoebe Huxley.

Phoenix Golding felt no lingering affection for Felix Thorne, but she was deeply humiliated. Everyone in the village gossiped that the Thorne family looked down on her, that they’d rather have a pig butcher’s daughter for a daughter-in-law than her. All sorts of vicious rumors spread, and during that time, Phoenix Golding was too ashamed to even leave her house. She grew to hate the Thorne family to the bone, especially that shrew, Phoebe Huxley.

And that shrew’s daughter.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep