Theodore lifted his head and looked at Eliana. “So, what do you think?”
Eliana let out a sigh. “Honestly, I don’t want to have a baby.”
“Oh, is that so?” Theodore’s voice dropped, and a frown started to form on his face.
But Eliana, completely lost in her own thoughts, didn’t notice a thing. Instead, she crouched down next to his chair and tried to shift the blame. “Theodore, could you please let Dr. Wilson know next time that you don’t even like kids?”
Hearing her soft, almost cutesy tone, Theodore sneered inwardly. Other women used to beg him for a chance to have his child. And here she was, turning down a golden opportunity handed to her on a silver platter.
Since he didn’t respond, Eliana couldn’t help but shake his rattan chair, though it barely moved. “Hello? Theodore? Are you even listening?”
“You think I’m not good enough for you to have my child?” asked Theodore.
‘What’s that supposed to mean? He’s the one who made it clear from the start–no using a child to manipulate him. And now, suddenly, he’s changed his tune? There could only be one explanation,‘ Eliana thought.
She pouted, looking pitiful, “Theodore, you can’t just dump all the blame on me just because you’re scared of your grandpa.”
Theodore just replied, “We’ll talk about it later.”
‘What does that even mean? Is that a yes or a no?‘ Eliana complained inwardly.
She realized that ever since Theodore had started reining in his temper, she could no longer tell what he was really thinking–and it was starting to get on her nerves.
But what really irritated her was that Barbara and Jayden were now home for winter break.
Jayden had been getting along with Eliana just fine. But Barbara kept eyeing her with thinly veiled hostility, as if convinced Eliana would somehow hurt Theodore, and that icy glare of hers made every meal taste bland.
While Eliana was alone, Barbara even warned coldly, “Starting today, I’m keeping an eye on you at home. If you try anything shady, I’ll kick you of this family.”
Eliana sighed. “Come on. I’ve been married into this family for over a month now. If I wanted to hurt Theodore, don’t you think I’d have done it by now? Why wait until now? Can you please stop being so hostile toward me?”
If it weren’t for the fact that Barbara genuinely cared about Theodore, Eliana wouldn’t have bothered trying to explain herself.
Barbara just scoffed, “You married into this family for money. You’re not exactly a good person.”
Eliana didn’t even bother denying it. “Sure. Let’s say I’m a terrible person. If that were true, I would’ve let your little brother drown in that lake two weeks
ago.”
Barbara froze for a second–clearly, she’d already heard about that incident. The next moment, she demanded coldly, “Fine. Name your price. How much do you want for saving my brother?”
Eliana looked at her seriously. “How much do you think your brother’s life is worth?”
Barbara had no response to that. She knew she shouldn’t be putting a price tag on a human life–especially her own brother’s.
But she quickly shot back, “Don’t act so noble. If anything had happened to Jayden back then, you’d be in trouble, too. So saving him was basically saving yourself.”
1/3
Chapter 77
Clearly, no matter what she said or did, Eliana would always be the scheming villain in Barbara’s eyes.
Eliana shrugged. “Think whatever you want. I shouldn’t have wasted my time trying to reason with someone who only hears what they want to hear
Just as she turned to leave, Barbara stepped in front of her and snapped, “I’m not done talking.”
Eliana asked, clearly annoyed, “What is it now?”
“Stay away from Anthony,” Barbara said under her breath and then added, “At all times.”
Eliana asked without thinking, “Why?”
“Because he stole Alice-”
From behind them came a voice. “Barbie.”
Barbara froze, the words stuck in her throat.
the ent
Anthony walked up beside her. After a quick glance at her, he turned to Eliana and said, “I heard you took Alice to check out the engagement venue today, huh?”
“I did,” Eliana replied.
“What a shame. I haven’t had the chance to see it myself.”
“Well, you’ve been busy with work. But I took some photos–want to see them?” Eliana said.
Seeing Anthony nod with anticipation, she reached into her pocket for her phone–only to come up empty. “Oh shoot, I left my phone in my room. Give me a sec. I’ll go grab it.”
As she walked off, Anthony finally turned back to Barbara. His voice carried a mix of exasperation and disappointment as he said, “Barbie, telling Eliana to stay away from me? That really hurts my feelings, you know.”
His gaze was so intense that Barbara couldn’t even lift her head. “I just… I’m worried she might not be able to control herself and try to seduce you. That’s why I warned her,” she mumbled.
“Oh, so it was out of concern for me?” Anthony let out a laugh, but his eyes stayed cold. “Funny, because I heard you nearly tell her that I stole Alice from Theodore.”
Barbara froze, then looked up, and met his eyes. “Isn’t that the truth? You already took Alice from him–now you’re going after Eliana too? Anthony, just stop!”
Anthony held her gaze–she was clearly scared, but still standing her ground for Theodore–and let out a low, humorless chuckle.
Then he said, “You’re right. That is the truth. But Barbie, don’t you think some truths are only shocking and only thrilling when people uncover them on their own? If you spilled everything to Eliana now, how boring would that make my life?”
‘Boring?‘ Barbara thought. ‘He’s playing everyone like/puppets just to amuse himself. He’s already taken everything from Theodore and still isn’t satisfied. But who knows–maybe one day Theodore will make a comeback. And when that happens, what will Anthony do then?‘
Under Barbara’s pleading gaże, Anthony smiled and continued, “I know you’ve always taken Theodore’s side since we were kids. I don’t blame you. After all, he is extraordinary–better than most. But the one calling the shots now is me.
“So don’t go behind my back. If you do, I won’t hesitate to send you back to school for the holidays. Got it?”
Barbara trembled slightly and lowered her head. “Got it.”
She was still too weak, unable to withstand even the slightest pressure from Anthony. All she could do now was stay home, help Theodore through this rough patch, and try to atone for the mistakes the rest of her family had made.
Chapter 77
In the blink of an eye, another two weeks had gone by. Anthony and Alice’s engagement was just around the corner.
That morning, Eliana was having breakfast when the doorbell rang. Moments later, a few men in suits walked in, each carrying large boxes, claiming they were delivering Alice’s belongings.
Seeing this, Barbara slammed her knife and fork down with a loud clatter and sneered, “She’s not even married to Anthony yet, and she’s already moving in like she owns the place. Talk about shameless.”
Eliana shot her a sideways glance, thinking, ‘Huh. She’s even harsher with Alice than she is with me!
Jayden, who was sipping his milk, didn’t seem to care. “What’s the big deal? Alice’s going to move in sooner or later anyway. Does it really matter when?”
“Who knows what she’s plotting? If I catch her doing anything, I swear I’ll…” Barbara grumbled, hacking her pastry to bits with her knife.
Eliana watched, completely baffled. In the end, she could only chalk it up to Barbara’s brother complex–any woman who took her brothers away automatically became the enemy.
AD
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