CEO's Dumb Bride

Chapter 2 The Landaus Family

Chapter 2 The Landaus Family

"Upon seeing this, Lilian's body trembled slightly. She thought Francis was angry.

Is breakfast not to your liking? She signed."

Francis tugged at his shirt collar and replied somewhat impatiently, "It's fine. Just finish yours."

As he stopped eating, Lilian didn't continue her breakfast. She stood up and began clearing the dishes from the table.

Francis watched her coldly, saying nothing.

After she finished tidying up the utensils and left the kitchen upstairs to change her clothes, Francis was already waiting for her in the car.

As the car drove on the road, the scenery on both sides quickly receded. Lilian turned to the side window and watched the passing scenery outside.

Lilian was brought into the Landau family at a very young age. It was Francis's grandfather, Thomas Landau, who brought her back. Thomas loved her and treated her as his own granddaughter.

Thomas loved and cared about Lilian so much. And he used to feel worried about her.

Three years ago, Thomas was on his deathbed. At the last moment, he could leave this world in peace after he forced Francis to marry Lilian.

At that time, Thomas said, "I can't rest assured about Lilian's situation if she marries someone else. Only by marrying you, Francis, can I die with peace."

However, at that time, Francis already had a girlfriend, Julian Quinn.

Perhaps it was because he and Lilian grew up together, or perhaps it was because he made a promise to his grandfather, but Francis married Lilian.

He didn't give her the cold shoulder or deliberately make things difficult for her. But that was all. He didn't love her.

He would never affectionately call her Lily again.

They became the most familiar strangers.

The Landau Residence was bustling today. It was because Ruby Landau, Francis's younger sister, recently gave birth to a son. Today, he was going to be baptized.

Lilian followed closely behind Francis as they made their way through the bustling foyer and into the main hall.

In the main hall, Rosalie Landau, with a big smile on her face, was trying to make her grandson laugh. However, as soon as she caught sight of Lilian, her expression immediately turned sour.

Lilian waved to greet her, but Rosalie just ignored her like she didn't see Lilian at all. Then she just engrossed in a conversation with her daughter Ruby.

"It is often said that a nephew resembles his uncle. I have to say, this little guy looks just like Frank when he was born."

Gently touching her newborn son's cheek, Ruby smiled and replied, "Everyone says he looks like Frank, but I can't see it at all."

Rosalie gently squeezed the baby's tiny hand and chuckled, "Of course you can't see it. When Frank was as little as your son, you hadn't even been born yet."

Despite being ignored, Lilian remained calm and stood quietly on the side.

"Mom," Francis called out to Rosalie.

Rosalie finally turned around and responded nonchalantly, "You're here? What are you standing there for? Have a seat."

Ruby glanced at Lilian. Then, just as Francis sat down, she suddenly asked, "Frank, when are you two going to have a baby?"

Before Francis could respond, Rosalie scoffed, "Don't you dare encourage him. Having one dummy in this family is embarrassing enough. Another little dummy? How much humiliation will our family have to endure then?"

Upon hearing this, Francis looked at Lilian, who had her head lowered, making it difficult for him to gauge her emotions.

Bringing up the topic of having a baby, Ruby clearly had ulterior motives.

Everyone was aware that Lilian was pregnant last year. But Rosalie was afraid Lilian would have a mute child, so she forced Lilian to have an abortion.

When Francis found out, he didn't say anything. So Lilian, who already had no presence, became even more insignificant in the Landau family.

If that child had been born, it would be almost six months old by now.

Except for Thomas, no one in the Landau family liked Lilian.

Ruby hated Lilian, even more than Rosalie, starting from a very young age.

Lilian was brought into the Landau family when she was five. Ruby bullied Lilian because Lilian couldn't speak. She had locked Lilian in the storage room and burned her hair with a lighter back then. Once, she even pushed Lilian down from upstairs, and Francis saw it.

At that time, Francis scolded Ruby. Being frustrated by the fact that her grandfather favored Lilian already, Ruby was scolded by her older brother, who used to love and dote her so much. How could she not hate Lilian?

At that time, Lilian couldn't do sign language, write, or even report her sufferings to Thomas. Later, Ruby became even more brazen in bullying Lilian, taking out her frustrations on Lilian for any slightest unhappiness.

Now that they were all grown up, Ruby no longer used such low-level methods. Her favorite trick now was to destroy people emotionally.

"Muteness is a recessive genetic trait. As long as regular prenatal checks are done, maybe the child won't have such a high chance of inheriting it," Ruby said.

Rosalie rubbed her temples, feeling a headache. "Enough, why are we talking about this? I'm doing it for Lilian's good too. If she gives birth to a defective child, won't she suffer the most? Frank, what do you think?"