Since it was my first time eating onion rings around Atlas, I wondered how he knew I liked my onion rings like that.He raised a brow and lowered his gaze, saying, “It was just a guess. I had a playmate who liked eating onion rings the same way when I was a kid. She used to stay at my house for meals.”I looked at him and thought about the photo of the real Stella. I asked, “Are you referring to Stella?”This time, he looked surprised instead of me. He looked at me and asked, “How do you know it’s Stella? Did you remember something?”I noticed him scrutinizing me, which made me somewhat doubtful, especially with his follow-up question. I asked, “What do you mean by ‘did I remember something?’”He smiled when I asked that. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just curious how you know Stella. Not the Stella you met, though.”“Yes, I found out about her,” I confessed, “I told Grayson to look into it, and he found a photo.”Atlas frowned at me. “What photo?”I regretted saying that,
Atlas remained composed as he set down my phone and said, “Let’s eat the pasta before it gets cold.”“Atlas, are you… hiding something from me? Well, maybe I shouldn’t know too much,” I said cautiously.He explained, “It’s not that I’m afraid you’ll know too much. My family’s just complicated. I’ll tell you about them gradually, not because I’m hiding anything from you. You’ll need to know a few things first before you can accept more details.”Atlas’s reasonable explanation eased my mind. I looked at him and asked, “Don’t you hate me for investigating you? I honestly didn’t mean to.”“No, I don’t. On the contrary, you did well in your investigation. It shows you’re actively trying to understand me, which is a good thing. It means you love me,” Atlas spoke frankly with a hint of teasing.I blushed as I ate a mouthful of pasta to hide my embarrassment. I muttered, “I knew you’d tease me.”He smirked and said, “Do you even have a good reason to argue? If you didn’t like me, why wou
I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs. Atlas also woke up and looked at me, but I gestured to him, saying, “Go back to sleep.”I wondered who could be at the door and why they pressed the doorbell so frantically early in the morning. It made me uneasy, and I hoped nothing bad had happened. Unexpectedly, I saw Grace through the peephole and quickly understood what was happening.After some thought, I opened the door. Grace hurried in and angrily pushed me aside when she saw me. I could do nothing besides shaking my head in resignation.Once inside, Grace scolded me, “You lied to me! You promised to let me see Ava, but where is she? She’s my granddaughter and has the Murphys’ blood in her veins. Why won’t you let me see her?!”I gazed at her and realized she had the Murphy family trait of yelling. However, I gave her space to vent because she was the most pitiful member of the family but also cared dearly for Ava.“Tell your daughter to come down, or I’ll go upstairs. You’re s
That day, Ava told Grace to stop bullying me. I knew Grace wouldn’t have forgotten it. Indeed, she paled and gluped.I continued, “Also, stop saying this house belongs to your family. Do you know where your family would be without me and my company?! I was kind enough not to take away your current house.“You can still be Ava’s grandmother if you behave. However, I’ll shut you off from her if you insist on harassing me.” I looked at her sternly and understood something. I pitied her misfortune but resented her unwillingness to compromise.Grace stared at me with misty eyes and remained silent for a while. Finally, she cleared her throat and asked, “Then why did you send Ava to Celestis Island? Why do you always seem to send her away whenever I visit?”I replied, “It has nothing to do with you. Ava and I have other things happening, so you should understand that our lives have nothing to do with your family. Can’t we arrange our own lives and schedules? Me sending Ava to Celestis Is
Her expression weighed heavily on me. I asked with concern, "What's bothering you?""My body... It's not holding up. I'm always in pain, so I can't sleep at night." She looked at me helplessly, her voice barely audible. "The pain, it's just...here...""Where does it hurt?" My eyes narrowed, pressing for details."Right here." She pointed to her abdomen, gently patting it."You haven't told Matthew?" I pressed on, my composure wavering. Indeed, Grace seemed much thinner than before."He's...busy." Grace's words sounded feeble."How long has this been going on?" Her lips trembled. "It's not a big deal, just trouble sleeping. I keep thinking about Ava. I can't be there for her, and it's eating at me. I'm afraid I won't have much time left to watch over her." My heart ached. After a while, I said, "Take a seat and have some water. I'll go upstairs and be right back.""No need. Since Ava isn't home, I'll go," she said.I ignored what she was saying and went straight upstairs. At
My head buzzed. Late-stage liver cancer?My hands turned cold. I was concerned but never imagined it would be this severe. How was I going to tell her?I sat there blankly as the doctor talked about the treatment plan. He finally sighed and shook his head, saying there was little hope.I was no longer Grace's daughter-in-law, but she was still Ava's grandmother. She was the last person in the Murphy family who truly cared about Ava, and time was running out. All I could see was Ava tightly embracing Grace. After all, we had lived together for many years. No matter how she treated me, those memories of living together were good.I didn't even know how I left the doctor's office. If Grace hadn't seen me come out and called my name, I might have forgotten she was waiting outside."Chlo, what did the doctor say?" She stared at me intently, looking a bit worried."He didn't say much. I knew the doctor, so we talked for a while. You'll be fine. He gave you some medicine and advised y
When I got to Ardora Construction, I took a moment to compose myself, neatly arranging the documents on Grace. With everything in hand, I stepped out of the car and walked straight in.This was my second time here. The first was to request my daughter's school transfer, which caused quite a commotion throughout the building. Who knew what awaited me this time? Whenever I showed up, things were bound to get lively. Whenever I met Melanie, I was in for another fierce battle.I couldn't imagine what family situation had pushed Grace to develop liver cancer. It must have been quite a mess. Melanie and Abby were not the type to back down easily.I wondered how Matthew could allow his mother to be mistreated. If it were my mother, I’d demand justice. It was truly too much.However, it was also Grace's fault for living her whole life so passively. Abby had ruined her life.Would Matthew treat me this way if I were in her shoes? But then again, I couldn't bring myself to do what she did
Melanie rushed to the desk. "Chloe, what do you mean? What hospital? What did you do to her?"Everyone turned to me. It seemed they genuinely believed I had harmed the old lady.I looked at Matthew. "You'd better take these documents and consult at the hospital."I dug through the papers for the doctor's card and handed it to Matthew. "This is the attending physician, a specialist. If you have any questions, you can ask him. Your mother was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer."The news shocked everyone as a collective gasp filled the room."What did you say?" Matthew stood up in disbelief. "What? Who... Liver cancer?""Chloe, you're creating trouble out of nothing. She was perfectly fine, and here you are, cursing her." Melanie was relentlessly shouting at me. Then she turned to Matthew. "You believe whatever she says? She's up to no good!"Matthew regarded me with suspicion."Believe it or not, I've already taken her to see the doctor and got her prescribed medication. I