Chapter 455
455:
“Thank you!” Patrick exclaimed, happily eating the dishes Brenna had brought. Brenna soon joined him.
After a while, Ellie emerged from the bedroom, drawn by the aroma of food. Her beige silk dress clung to her curves, and her hair casually cascaded over her shoulders, making her look effortlessly charming.
“Why didn’t you wake me? The food smells so good.”
Just then, the doorbell rang. Assuming it was Jayceon again, Ellie groaned, “Jayceon is so annoying, always bothering me on weekends…”
With a huff, she trudged to the door and opened it, only to be met by the sight of two elderly people and a young man.
“Mom? Dad? Hank?” Ellie stood frozen, disbelief washing over her. She had never expected her family to track her down.
Tori Moore, Ellie’s mother, saw Ellie and instantly pushed past her to enter the house.
“When did you come back? Why didn’t you tell us? If it weren’t for my friend seeing you at the mall, we wouldn’t even know you’ve struck it rich! Are you hiding your wealth from us? How could you do something like that?”
Ellie’s father, Leif Moore, and her brother, Hank Moore, also stepped inside, their eyes wide as they took in the spacious and well-decorated apartment. Hank’s eyes sparkled with envy.
“Ellie! You live in such a nice place; you must be loaded!”
Patrick looked up from his plate, clearly confused by the sudden influx of strangers.
“Mommy, who are they?”
Noticing Patrick, Tori shrieked, pointing at him.
“Whose child is this?”
𝓒𝒉𝒆𝓬𝓀 𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝒉𝓮𝓻𝑒: 𝓰𝓪𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝓈.𝓬𝑜𝓂
Ellie’s expression darkened at her family’s uninvited arrival. These were her closest blood relatives, yet when she had been pregnant with Jayceon’s child, they had turned their backs on her.
At that time, Jayceon’s parents refused to let her live with them. She had been forced to return to her own home, where her family treated her with rejection.
Her parents and brother had branded her unwed pregnancy as shameful, driving her away with harsh orders never to return.
During those first grueling years in Norview, there were no calls from them, no financial support. They had let her struggle in a foreign land, fighting for survival on her own.
She had convinced herself that her family meant nothing to her. That was why she hadn’t informed them when she came back this time.
Yet now, they had come to her.
Years of pent-up bitterness erupted. “What are you doing here?” Ellie demanded, her eyes blazing. “You’re not welcome here.”
Tori snapped, her voice dripping with disdain, “Ungrateful wretch! After all we invested in you, how could you say something like that to us?” She then marched toward the table, grabbing Patrick’s arm roughly.
Brenna had heard Ellie’s stories but had never grasped the full extent of her family’s cruelty. The elders’ greedy sneers confirmed to her that they were not good people at all.
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