Lily frowned sulkily, "What’s the matter with me? Nathan will pick me up in a while."
"That’s exactly what I’m talking about!" Ariana Evans glared at her daughter with displeasure, her cigarette already burnt down to the last few puffs. She pressed the remaining stub into the ashtray and then reached for the pack to pull out another one.
"Mom, why are you smoking so much? It’s bad for your health to smoke too much."
"Mind your own business!" Before lighting her cigarette, Ariana Evans shot back with an eye-roll, and Lily pursed her lips, saying no more.
Taking another drag, Ariana Evans slightly raised her head and closed her eyes. She looked indulged and intoxicated, like someone high on drugs.
After a couple more puffs, when her craving seemed appeased, she turned her head to look at her daughter and said sternly.
"Lily, I know you’re eager to prove to Nathan Moore that you’ve recovered well after your rehabilitation training, but remember, Nathan Moore is not an ordinary man. You need to restrain yourself; you can’t act like you do at home, getting overly excited and jumping around after throwing off the blanket. It’s a good thing your father is busy and not often at home. If he found out..."
"What can he do if he found out? He doesn’t like Titus Zane anyway." Ariana Evans hadn’t finished speaking when Olivia Zane interrupted, her posture bold and unrestrained.
"You!" Ariana Evans poked her daughter’s head, her tone a mixture of indulgence and exasperation, "You’re just too naive. No matter what, she is still your father’s daughter. There’s no parent in the world who doesn’t love their daughter!"
"Dad just hates Titus Zane!"
Olivia Zane retorted defiantly, only to see Yolanda draw on her cigarette again, her gaze lowered as she looked ahead. Her slightly squinted eyes made it difficult to discern her emotions.
"Silly child, if I hadn’t told him that your heart disease was caused by the anger Titus Zane provoked, would he hate Titus Zane that much?"
Yolanda took another puff and continued, "You weren’t born yet, so there are things you don’t know. Back in the day, I was coaxing Titus Zane to sit by the pool and play with the water. Because of my negligence, she fell into the pool. Your father was so angry, he ordered the pool at home to be demolished, forbidding it to be rebuilt. All these years have passed, have you seen a pool being built at home?"
Olivia Zane scratched her head, her soft long hair fluttering with the movement. After a moment of thought, she said, "True, I’ve never seen a pool at home since I can remember; so that’s the reason..."
"Of course." Yolanda took another drag and glanced at her, then looked away before continuing, "Then you were born. Your father was busy at that time, always flying around. I was left alone at home with two children... Once, you were rushed to the hospital because of your heart disease. Your father hurried over and asked me what happened. I offhandedly said it was all because of his beloved daughter. She took everything for herself, didn’t give anything to you, and made you go into shock!"
As she mentioned the past, Yolanda squinted again, bowing her head and taking successive deep draws on her cigarette. She remembered clearly just how much Julian Zane doted on Titus Zane back then.
That time, she gave the hospital doctors quite a bit of hush money, so their accounts matched hers, claiming the child was hot-tempered, and the long-term anger had led to heart disease.
It was a close call that time. If not for the timely rescue, Olivia Zane might have been long gone.
"Mom, is that true?" Olivia Zane asked with skepticism, finding it hard to believe that her father had doted on Titus Zane in her childhood.
Yolanda turned her gaze back, glanced at her, and said displeased, "Would I lie to you?"