The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)
Chapter 1536

Susan's face turned gloomy when she heard Tessa say that.

"It's a trivial matter ages ago. Why did you bring it up?"

"Uncle, why do you think I'm telling you this right now?" Tessa was a little agitated.

"When you wanted me to marry him, I did as you said. The Soo family can't afford to be humiliated. Although I suspect that it was your arrangement and that the cup of water was drugged, everything had already happened. I admit defeat since it happened because I was careless. Besides, you told me that Carlson was arrested. As long as I broke up with him and married someone else, Brenson will save Carlson. That was the reason I married Marcelo."

She didn't want to say these things, but right now, she was blinded by hatred.

Harris's frown remained on his face.

Carlson had caused a huge commotion when he killed someone by accident. Even Brenson was not able to help him. Furthermore, the other members of the Mo family were not stupid. They would love it if Carlson were to lose his status as their competitors. That was why Carlson was in a precarious situation back then. Many had secretly wanted him to die. Various underhanded methods were deployed against him.

In the past few years, Carlson had not had a proper sleep while he was in jail. He was in danger of being killed at any time. So when Harris heard Tessa saying that Susan had a way of saving Carlson as long as she married Marcelo, he was quite astonished.

After all, Tessa knew Carlson's situation and also the dangers he was facing. Was she actually trying to save him?

Harris glanced at Tessa and remained silent.

Susan's brows was knitted together tightly.

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"I only wish to ask one question. I want the best for the Soo family. Why did you set me up?"

Tessa raised her voice a few notches out of the blue.

Susan, however, replied somewhat impatiently, "Set you up? Tessa, you should be thanking me. If I hadn't schemed against you, would you marry Marcelo? Considering your feelings for Carlson, you would be waiting for him to be released from jail if you hadn't gotten married, wouldn't you? Or perhaps, you might do something extreme or unreasonable. It was unknown if you would harm the Soo family in order to save him. You might even be noticed and killed by the enemies of the Mo family. So, you should be thanking me. I schemed against you and persuaded you to marry Marcelo. The way I look at it, I have saved your life."

"Is that so? Did you do this for my sake?"

Tessa broke into laughter abruptly with a cold look in her eyes.

On the other hand, Susan said, "Of course it's for your own good. Anyway, you're a member of the Soo family. You're also my niece."

"So you acknowledge that I am your niece! Then why did you poison Marcelo after I married him? Was it really for my own good? Why did you render him into someone who can't bear children?" Harris lifted his head all of a sudden upon hearing Tessa's questions.

What did she mean?

Was Tessa living like a widow all these years? Did this mean that she had never consummated her marriage with Marcelo?

Harris was shocked to the core.

When Susan heard Tessa's question, he knew that she already knew the answer. He didn't bother to hide it from her as he said, "Even if I didn't poison Marcelo, would you be willing to have him as your husband? The man you love is Carlson, so how could you forget him in such a short amount of time? Even if you marry Marcelo, you won't let him touch you intimately. Since that's the case, what's wrong with me helping you out? What's wrong with settling the problem once and for all?"

"Were you doing this for my own good? Yes, I admit that if I marry Marcelo, I may not consummate my marriage with him, but you shouldn't interfere in my matter! Have you thought about what situation you've put me in once you poisoned him? You are a member of the Soo family, but you let him think that Carlson was the one who poisoned him. Marcelo married me and lost his ability to procreate as a man. His head was messed up ever since. He kept beating me up at home. This is what you want to see, right? You actually hate me, don't you?"

This question had been bugging Tessa. She couldn't understand why Susan would do that to her. Was it hatred? She finally figured it out after sitting in the living room for the entire night.

When Tessa and Susan fought for the position of the head of the family, they had already fallen out with each other and become enemies.

On the other hand, Susan was able to manipulate Marcelo so that he could make Tessa's life a living hell. He was also able to vent his anger while not violating the ancestral rules of the Soo family, where members were prohibited from harming each other. He was truly a shrewd schemer.

Susan didn't deny it when Tessa brought it up.

"Yes, I hate you! You're my niece, so the position of head of the family should be mine. Why would you, a youth, take part in it? If it weren't for you and Noah, why would father look down on me? Because of you and Carlson, he even wanted to pass the position to you. You're just a young girl. How can you lead the Soo family to glory? Moreover, you must have been proud that you've kept the relationship of you and Carlson a secret. If I hadn't cleaned up your tracks, people would have known about your relationship with Carlson. What's the matter? Do you hate me now? You slept with Carlson and didn't even know you were pregnant. If Marcelo actually slept with you, who could tell if the baby was Carlson's child? Since you are a member of the Soo family, you should make some contributions to the family."

Everything was clear to Tessa now. Her love and enthusiasm for her uncle dissipated gradually as well.

"I won't blame you for what you did for the sake of the Soo family. However, you married me off to the Li family. Then you destroyed the Li family. Are you really doing this for the Soo family's glory? You're just trying to take revenge on me and torture me. If I wasn't pregnant with Carlson's child, you might have killed me straightaway, right? But this humiliation is more terrible than killing me. Don't you agree? You ordered Marcelo to poison me and make me lose my fighting skills so that you can do whatever you want with me. Isn't that right? That was how you exert control over me and my child. You wanted her meek and docile so that you can grovel to Carlson in the future, right?"

"Yes! You're right, but so what? You're now at the bottom of society. It's extremely difficult for you to get in touch with people like Carlson. So what if someone rescued you now? Can you go straight to Carlson? I'm telling you, Tessa, I'm the only one who can offer a home to Sissaye. So you'd better be polite to me. Over the years, I knew about everything that Marcelo has done to you. You've suffered for so many years. Now that you've escaped, I won't make things difficult for you. As long as you return to the Soo family obediently with Sissaye, I promise you'll still be the treasured daughter of the Soo family. As for Marcelo, I'll help you settle your problem with him. I'm sure you don't want your daughter to be rid of her family, do you? So let's call it a day, shall we?"

After hearing such shameless words from Susan, Tessa was so angry that she felt like laughing.

She asked, "Is this your decision, or is it the decision of the entire Soo family?"

"Is there any difference between the Soo family and me? Tessa, I am the head of the Soo family. My words are the will of the Soo family. I determine the future of the Soo family. What about it? Do you still want someone else to help you? Let me tell you something. Not long ago, father had issued an announcement to expel your brother, Noah, from the Soo family. His name was even removed from the genealogy archives. If you want him to stand up for you, you'd better save your breath."

Tessa heaved a sigh of relief instead upon hearing Susan's words.

She knew that the Soo family deserved what was coming, but she cared about Noah's safety as well.

Tessa immediately understood the reason behind Nolan's actions. It was likely that he had already known the ins and outs about this matter.

However, he didn't call her at all. He didn't even say a word of apology to her.

Tessa was sorely disappointed.

She sneered while saying, "Susan, cherish your time in the Soo family. You won't be the head of the family for long."

"What do you mean by that?"

Susan was taken aback for a moment, but Tessa could not be bothered to say another word to him. She hung up the phone.

Tessa was in a bad mood, but she had to be on the move for her daughter.

Harris knew Tessa well. He said softly, "I'll tell Carl the truth. However, the things between you and him..."

"! understand your concerns. Regardless of whether I'm celibate or not for the past few years, there's no way I can be together with him anymore. I only hope that he can acknowledge Sissaye as his daughter. She has gone through too much hardship over the years."

Tessa felt sorry for Sissaye.

If she had known that she was pregnant with Carlson's child, she would definitely not marry Marcelo. She thought that she was pregnant after she was drugged and had sex with Marcelo. On second thought, since Susan had planned to take advantage of her and Sissaye, he would naturally not allow her to sleep with Marcelo. In that case, she actually did not consummate her marriage with Marcelo. Instead, she did not know that she was pregnant because she did not pay attention to herself.

Later on, Sissaye was born prematurely. Tessa thought that the recent incidents in her family had affected her health. It didn't occur to her that Sissaye was a full-term baby.

Now she had figured everything out, but it made her even more upset.

Although she still loved Carlson, she was no longer someone who matched his status.

Nathaniel and Mango waited for Tessa and Harris to finish their conversation before they went downstairs.

"Are you here?"

"Yes."

Harris nodded at Nathaniel as he greeted him.

"Let's have our breakfast together."

Mango smiled and went to the kitchen after that.

Tessa also stood up to help her out at the kitchen.

Mango saw her come in, so she couldn't help but say, "You should keep an eye on Sissaye. I'll take care of things here. Furthermore, there are maids here who can lend me a hand. I'm just looking at the recipe. Sissaye has suffered quite a few injuries that aren't visible to the naked eye. It's better if you can get Harris to do a full-body checkup for her."

"Thank you. If it weren't for you, Sissaye and I would still be in that hellhole. Mrs. Ye, I'll keep your kindness in mind."

Tessa wasn't the ungrateful type, but Mango didn't think too much about it.

"I didn't know that I would be saving you and Carlson's child. I just couldn't bear to see such a young kid suffer like that. You're being too polite to me. Nathan, Noah, and Carlson are good friends. Since Nathan said that you are the best soldier under his command, he will definitely not ignore your plight. But you have to know that the Ye family is now in trouble, so we can't be involved in this now. That was why we called Harris. I hope you can understand our action."

Tessa immediately understood the situation.

She frowned slightly and whispered, "Is Carlson planning to make a move on the aristocratic families now?"

"Even if he does nothing, the head of the Mo family will do something. It's time for a regime change. You're a member of the Soo family, so you should understand..."

Mango didn't say anything else, but Tessa knew what she meant. Since she understood the situation, she realized the great gap between her and Carlson. Moving forward, it seemed impossible for her to continue her relationship with Carlson.