Chapter 30

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Zoe’s smile froze at the corners of her mouth .
Nathan was stunned , too , followed by overwhelming fury .
Meanwhile , Aria stood there calmly , even smiling . “ Can’t do it ? Then leave ! ” She made a move to close the door .
Zoe quickly grabbed her . “ Aria ! We’ve raised Silvia for twenty – two years— ”
“ Then don’t bother me here , ” Aria cut her off . “ Mrs. Saxon , you can’t be so greedy . You were always meant to have just one daughter . You have feelings with Silvia and can’t bear to part with her . I get it .
“ But I can bear it . I have no feelings for you . Just treat it as if you never mixed up the babies . Leave me alone . ”
Zoe shook her head , tears smearing her face . “ No , no , Aria . ”
She had raised Silvia for over twenty years , pouring all her love into her .
That was her own daughter , raised by herself . There was no way she could . bear to let her go .
But Aria was the daughter she had carried in her belly for ten months , and she had already lost her for twenty years . She couldn’t lose her again .
Zoe felt utterly desperate .
“ Mom ! ” Nathan’s eyes turned red with anger . “ Aria’s intention is to kick my sister out . Don’t you get it ? Let’s go ! Stop begging her ! ”
Nathan went to pull Zoe , but she stubbornly held onto Aria . “ No. ”
“ Mom , let’s go ! ” Nathan insisted .
In the tug – of – war , a sharp slap sounded .
All three froze .
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Zoe stopped crying .
Nathan widened his eyes , staring at his hand in disbelief .
‘ How did I end up slapping her ? When did I even touch Aria’s face ? ‘
Nathan subconsciously looked at Aria , his palm felt numb .
Meanwhile , Aria had turned her head slightly to the left , her cheek faintly
red .
“ I- ”
Before Nathan could finish , he was slapped back .
Due to inertia , he staggered to the side , his feet tangled , almost falling .
Aria returned the slap , looking at him coldly . “ We’re even now . ”
With that , she turned around and slammed the door shut with a bang .
Nathan’s head was buzzing , and he gently touched his cheek .
He winced in pain , his chest heaving with anger . “ Aria , damn you ! ”
He kicked the door hard , shouting , “ I didn’t mean to hit you . It was an accident ! An accident ! Why’d you hit me back ? And so hard too ! ”
Just as he was about to kick the door again , Zoe stopped him .
Crying as if it were the world’s end , Zoe calmed down now , wiping away her tears . “ If you kick Aria’s door again , I’ll tell your dad when I get back . ”
Nathan wanted to cry , complaining , “ Mom , she hit me ! ”
Zoe glanced at his face and looked away . “ So she hit you . Didn’t you start it ? ”
“ I didn’t mean to ! ”
“ But you did hit her ? ”
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“ Yeah , but it was just a light tap ! ”
“ Well , hitting you probably made her feel a bit better . ”
Hearing this , Nathan widened his eyes , unable to believe that his usually gentle and loving mother , who was always claimed to be the most doting parent in the world , could say something so cold .
Zoe sighed softly , adding , “ Let Aria be for now . Your grandpa and Uncle Luke don’t welcome her , so what can I do , even though I beg her to come back ? ”
Calm now , she carefully wiped away her tears , took out a small mirror to touch up her makeup , and became the dignified Mrs. Saxon once again .
Nathan was left stunned .
After tidying up , Zoe looked at the door again , saying , “ Aria , it’s really Mom’s fault . Once I handle things at the Saxon family , I’ll come back to
take you home . ”
Aria leaned against the door , silent .
Only when the outside quieted down did she sit blankly in the chair , staring into space for a long time before letting out a sigh .
‘ Be it ! I’ve always been alone and have long gotten used to it ,’ she murmured inwardly .
At the same time , Nathan was so frustrated . After entering the elevator with his mom , he saw his face in the mirror .
He couldn’t help but want to explode , but it hit a sore spot , forcing him to calm down .
“ Mom ! My face is swollen . How can I go back to school like this ? ”
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With this face , he was sure he’d be laughed at by his buddies for half a
year .
Zoe was fixing her makeup again , glancing at him briefly before looking away . “ Aria is a girl ; how much strength could she have ? You are a real man , yet with tender skin like a girl’s . Who’s to blame for that ? ”
Nathan was left speechless .
“ Oh , and if you tell everyone
what Aria said , I’ll tell your dad that you hit
Aria and that I cried because of you . ”
“ She even pressured you to get rid of Silvia , yet you still protect her ? ”
Zoe started feeling sad again . “ Aria doesn’t want to come back to the Saxon family or accept us , so she said that on purpose .
“ Didn’t you see the surveillance footage ? When Silvia was being taken . advantage of , Aria noticed immediately and retaliated for her . ”
Only when she saw the footage did Zoe realize how wrong she had been .
Her good daughter was misunderstood by her as someone who would harm others .
‘ I truly wasn’t fit to be a mother .’ With this thought, tears welled up again , but Zoe held them back .
When Nathan thought about Aria’s kick on that guy , he let out a cold humph , not saying anything more .
‘ Well , I’d let the slap go as repayment for Aria saving Silvia , ‘ he thought stubbornly .
Later that night , Hannah received a call from her aunt Carmen .
“ Hannah , Delilah injured Ms. Saxon and was taken away by the police for
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intentional harm ! ”
“ What ? ” Hannah exclaimed in shock , her expression changing slightly . “ Which Ms. Saxon ? Is it Silvia or Aria ? ”
When Liam heard Aria’s name , he looked up ..
After she heard the whole story , Hannah’s face instantly turned cold . “ Delilah is so innocent , those sisters must’ve set her up . I never thought . the Saxon family would do something so dirty .
“ Hannah , what should we do now ? If the Saxon family doesn’t accept a private settlement , Delilah and her boyfriend will both end up in jail . ”
“ This mess started because of us . Don’t worry , Aunt Carmen . I’ll handle it . ”
After hanging up the phone , Hannah told Liam what happened and scolded coldly , “ I didn’t expect the Saxon family to stoop so low . They set up my cousin just to target me . ”
Liam wasn’t as angry as Hannah , asking , “ Aunt Carmen said that Delilah’s boyfriend was harassing Silvia . Is this true ?
“ Of course it’s fake . Delilah is the heiress of the Marshall family , while Silvia is just a fake heiress with peasant blood in her veins . Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t bother with her when they could have Delilah ! ”
Hearing these words , Liam wanted to say something , but seeing Hannah’s cold expression , he changed his mind halfway through his sentence . “ I’ll go to the Saxon family tomorrow to see my … I mean , Mr. Saxon , to find out what’s going on . The best outcome would be a private settlement . ”
Hannah’s voice was icy . “ They did this just to target us . They won’t agree to a settlement . Leave this to me . I refuse to believe the Saxon family can control everything here ! ”
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