"Uhhh, I appreciate that people love my father's works," Patricia acknowledged. It felt uncomfortable to speak about her family's accomplishments. She was thinking that she looked like a fool, and was still wondering why Pamela exposed her family background. Patricia didn't know what to do or what to say. She finally cast a pleading look at her mother-in-law to ask for help.

  "Patricia, you are so modest!" The complete turn-around in attitude was so abrupt and caught Patricia off-guard.

  Her situation now made Patricia realize that what she had learned in school over the years never prepared her to cope in these kinds of circumstances. Not only did she feel too young, but also naive to be dealing with them. She was still in shock long after lunch was over.

  After Pamela and Patricia bid the ladies goodbye, Tom's mother smiled at her daughter-in-law. "You aren't accustomed to all this yet, are you?" she asked. Pamela knew Patricia was thinking about what just happened because she had been in a similar situation when she had been the girl's age. But after so many years, Pamela had gotten used to the pretentious ways of the elite.

  "No, I'm not," Patricia admitted sheepishly. "I feel like a hypocrite!" she told her mother-in-law. The young woman was overwhelmed by her experience and didn't want to lie to Pamela.

  "You'll get used to it, don't worry. To remain among the upper-class, you have to keep a high profile in front of them. I believe you want to support Tom, and be a good wife, right? So, you must learn all this," Pamela explained patiently. While she barely knew Patricia, Pamela decided to accept her as a daughter-in-law as long as Tom loved her. And being the future hostess of the Qin family, Patricia still had a lot to learn. Pamela vowed to do her best in training Patricia to become a qualified hostess. Being in this strata of society required doing certain things even those they were not willing to do.

  Eyes wide, Patricia cried in disbelief, "What?? You mean I still have to dine with them in the future?" Being surrounded by such kind of women made her lose her appetite. And after being grilled by them, she felt dejected.

  "Unfortunately, that's unavoidable. But cheer up! Why don't we go shopping? I'd like to buy some clothes for you," Pamela offered. She grabbed her daughter-in-law's hand and dragged her to the car. Most people had the impression that wives of rich men lived an easy life, but they had no idea that these women also had troubles of their own.

  Blowing out a breath, Patricia beamed and said, "All right. Thank you, Mom!

  Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.

  To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.

  "As long as I'm alive, I'm still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."

  She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.

  Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.

  ded like she had no strength left to talk. She finally understood why men disliked going shopping with women. It could indeed be exhausting! She was a woman but couldn't bear it herself. Patricia wondered why Pamela didn't feel tired at all. 'Did she give herself a shot in the arm?' she thought to herself. 'That's probably the reason! After all, Tom comes from a family of doctors. Maybe Pamela has analeptic at home.'

  "Did you go climbing a mountain? Or did you swim a whole ten kilometers?" he asked, as he loosened his necktie. Tom looked at his wife worriedly. For someone always so full of energy, this was the first time he had seen her this way.

  "Mom and I went shopping." Patricia sat up and began massaging her aching muscles. She had just recuperated from the accident and felt uncomfortable after having walked for a long time during their shopping spree.

  "I told you not to walk for so long because you've just recovered. Do your legs hurt? Let me check." He couldn't help but be anxious. Taking off his coat, Tom sat next to Patricia and laid her legs on top of his to examine them.

  "They hurt a little. I didn't want to go shopping, but your mother said she was changing my style of dressing. When you go upstairs to our room, don't be shocked by the number of shopping bags you'll see," she warned her husband. Even though Patricia was exhausted, her face flushed crimson as she felt somewhat shy while Tom held her legs.

  "Mom asked you out? She didn't tell me," Tom said, slightly annoyed. He hadn't informed his mother that Patricia had just recovered from a car accident. Tom decided to call Pamela later and tell her about this. He only wanted to prevent something similar happening in the future.