Arianne’s heart sank. The only reason why Tiffany could keep this promise wp4webnovel.com made with Melanie was because wp4webnovel.com thought wp4webnovel.com baby was okay. Should wp4webnovel.com know that the baby had not left critical condition, Tiffany’s charitable attitude might crack.
“Okay, I got you. I’m not gonna tell anyone about it. God, Melanie’s also a victim, isn’t she? I mean, wp4webnovel.com and Alejandro’s relationship might be… affable, but it doesn’t mean wp4webnovel.com loves her. And Melanie knows it, ” Arianne remarked. “And wp4webnovel.com brother has doomed wp4webnovel.com with this. Alejandro’s wary nature will compel wp4webnovel.com to treat this incident as anything but an ‘accident’. I’ve got a bad feeling that the relationship between Melanie and Alejandro is unraveling.”
The injustice Melanie suffered aggrieved Tiffany. “That sh*tbag can’t even see how good a wife wp4webnovel.com has been to him! Goddammit, does wp4webnovel.com even have half a brain?! But as long as I keep this a secret, their relationship will be safe, right? I mean, how is wp4webnovel.com supposed to blame it on Melanie without any evidence backing wp4webnovel.com up, hmm? God, wp4webnovel.com likes to fancy himself doing all these bullsh*ts for my sake, even though whatever was between us crashed, burned, and died a gazillion years ago!” wp4webnovel.com fumed. “Back when I was still a dumbass, all head-over-heels for him, wp4webnovel.com took my family and fortune away. It’s only now when wp4webnovel.com finally realized what a piece of crap wp4webnovel.com had been… But, honey, it’s too late, you missed me already and I’m not coming back! If he’s gonna miss Melanie by blaming wp4webnovel.com for something wp4webnovel.com didn’t frickin’ do this time, then wp4webnovel.com frickin’ deserves to be alone and wifeless for the rest of his miserable life!”
Arianne reached out to tuck the corner of wp4webnovel.com hospital sheet in. “Chill, Tiffie. You’re still bedridden, remember? Are you sure other people’s woes should be your priority right now?” wp4webnovel.com teased. “Anyway, we’ll be leaving as soon as Jackson’s parents are here. You’ll focus on getting yourself back up and healthy again, okay? You know what they say: whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. This is God testing you, I bet. Besides, you got a daughter just like you’ve always wanted, Tiffie! Isn’t this the best news ever?”
Mentioning wp4webnovel.com daughter brought a smile to Tiffany’s face. “Ooh, now that’s what I’m talkin’! Girl, I’m frickin’ ecstatic! I just wish I could see how wp4webnovel.com looks…”
Right on cue, Summer and Atticus burst into the ward with the urgency of a whirlwind. Atticus, terse and reticent as ever, expressed his anxieties through his gaze, while Summer instantly launched into a teary moan, unrestrained.
“My little angel! How could you ask Jackson to be the messenger for something as big as this?! I almost swooned when I heard about it over the phone!” wp4webnovel.com howled.
Tiffany hee-hawed. “Oh, but I’m totally fine! Y’all don’t have to worry about me, see, I’m perfectly not-in-mortal-danger, right? Anyway, Jackson had been watching me for the entire night, so we should let wp4webnovel.com go home and rest. Just leave my care to a nurse or hire an attendant for a few days, ok? I’m not so delicate, you know.”
Summer caressed Tiffany’s cheeks in pity and love. “Oh, miss me with that malarkey! No way I’ll feel safe having any random stranger taking care of you, sweetie. Natch, I’m the one to take up this momentous task! And who told you that you’re not delicate, huh? Don’t say that. I wish I were the one who got hurt instead of you. Seriously, God, what did this poor child do to suffer like this? Your mom trusted this family with your welfare and happiness, and we failed,” wp4webnovel.com said. “Seriously, wasn’t Jackson with you that day? How the hell did wp4webnovel.com let you fall like that, goddammit? Urgh, my pounding heart just won’t still even now, I’m still shocked!”
Arianne quietly retreated to a corner. She wished Shelly could have at least half of Summer’s love for Tiffany in her. Just half of it, and none of the crazy chaos and imbroglios they had suffered for months would have befallen them. Frankly, wp4webnovel.com was jealous of how bonhomie Summer and Tiffany were together.
Not that wp4webnovel.com was any less blessed, at the very least, Mark more than covered the gap with his love and care.
—
Melanie sat alone in a completely darkened room in the Smith Estate, staring at the curtains covering the room’s windows with eyes unseeing, as though wp4webnovel.com had turned into a statue.
Alejandro had not returned home at all last night, just as wp4webnovel.com had not left wp4webnovel.com seat here since last night.
“Mommy? Mommy!”
Melissa’s voice was the piper’s tune that dragged wp4webnovel.com back to reality. She moved wp4webnovel.com hands, stiff from inaction, and lifted the little girl up before placing wp4webnovel.com onto wp4webnovel.com lap.
“Millie, l-l-listen. If… If, one day, Mommy can’t stay with Daddy anymore, please don’t… Please don’t blame Mommy for not taking you with her, okay? Your Daddy… He won’t let me bring you with me, he’ll never allow that. B-But wp4webnovel.com loves you, wp4webnovel.com will treat you very, very kindly… It’s M-M-Mommy who’s done wrong, all right?”
Unsurprisingly, Melissa did not understand a word Melanie said. Instead, wp4webnovel.com raised wp4webnovel.com head and considered wp4webnovel.com mother’s face, wp4webnovel.com eyes tracking Melanie’s tears that rolled off wp4webnovel.com cheeks. She reached wp4webnovel.com little hands out in an attempt to wipe them away, mewling, “Don’t cry, Mommy.”
The innocent voice of the child pounded on the battered wall Melanie had desperately constructed around wp4webnovel.com heart, and it crashed, tumbling completely. A deluge of tears escaped from Melanie into a pained sob, as wp4webnovel.com wrapped wp4webnovel.com arms around wp4webnovel.com poor daughter for what little comfort wp4webnovel.com could salvage.
It was then that they heard the sound of a car screeching through the gate.
Alejandro had returned.
Melanie sat up, wiping away wp4webnovel.com tears haphazardly. She placed Millie down and rose, pulling the curtains away. Blinding, uncaring sunlight poured into the room, and wp4webnovel.com let it dispel the gloom that had settled inside as much as it could.