Chapter 360
Chapter 360 The Unwelcome Guest
Third Person POV
Of course, she had never gone to fight the dog for cookies.
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She had only stared at it with longing in her eyes, silently swearing to herself that she would behave, that she would work harder in school, that next time–next time–she would earn her father’s approval.
But in her previous life, right up until her death, that “next time” never came.
She reached out and picked up a butter cookie.
Jax watched her with hopeful eyes. “You’ve loved these since you were little, so I always kept them in the house. Even though you said you’d never come back, I thought–what if? What if one day you cooled down and returned, at least you’d have them to eat.” His voice caught in his throat. “I… I know I was wrong. Back then, I shouldn’t have-”
Shouldn’t have what?
Shouldn’t have let Aurelia into their home? Shouldn’t have doubted her, shouldn’t have whipped her again and again?
Or shouldn’t have stayed silent, taking sides, when she needed him most?
Aubrey looked at her father’s trembling hands and the way he carefully watched her face. A faint ripple stirred in her chest, but it quickly smoothed over again. Some wounds scabbed over and no longer hurt, but that didn’t mean they were gone.
She only gave a quiet “Mm,” sat on the sofa, and held the cookie, its edges baked just a little too dark, ready to taste it.
Just as she lifted it to her lips, a faint sound drifted down from upstairs, like something had fallen to the floor.
Jax’s expression changed at once–nervous, guilty. His eyes darted to the staircase, then quickly
away.
“What was that?” Aubrey asked.
Jax forced a shaky laugh. “Maybe, maybe the wind knocked something over…”
Aubrey’s face hardened. “I want the truth.”
Hearing that, Jax glanced at her timidly, as though afraid she would blame him. After a long
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Chapter 360 The Unwelcome Guest
pause, he stammered.
“A few days ago, I–I ran into someone while out shopping.”
Aubrey narrowed her eyes. “Who?”
“…Aurelia.”
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Aubrey gave a sudden, humorless laugh. She didn’t speak, so Jax pressed on, though his voice faltered.
“She was covered in blood. I had no choice but to send her to the hospital. Then I contacted the Lynn family to come get her, but… but they told me they’ve already severed ties with her. They said not to bother them, and if I didn’t want to save her, I could just leave her on the street to die. Whether she lived or not had nothing to do with them anymore…”
Aubrey raised her brows slightly. She hadn’t expected the Lynn family to cut her off so ruthlessly. Clearly, something had happened that she didn’t yet know. The source of thɪs content is ~net
Jax, meanwhile, grew more uneasy the more he spoke.
“I was just going to pay her medical bills and walk away, but… but she clung to me. She said she was homeless now, and if I wasn’t going to take her in, then I shouldn’t have saved her–better to let her die at the hospital. She said as long as I gave her shelter, she would do anything, said she regretted what she did before, said she owed me…”
He grimaced, knotting his brows. “And she looked so pitiful. Her face was so thin it was unrecognizable. It seems she really has been punished.”
Strictly speaking, Jax was a softhearted man. His anger toward Aurelia had burned hot when she betrayed him, but with time, that fury cooled. Seeing her so miserable, his sympathy had won
out.
Aubrey set the untouched cookie back down.
“So where is she now? ”
“She’s… upstairs.”
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