"If Eleanor isn’t eating, why should we? Let’s all starve together."
Wendy Sullivan shuddered, too scared to speak, because Nicholas Hollis’s gaze was terrifying. In the many years she’d known her son, this was the first time she’d seen such an expression.
Because of Nicholas Hollis’s attitude, she almost fainted, but still managed to sit down on the sofa, probably due to lingering fear.
Eleanor Hollis had already gone upstairs at this time, and her mood was actually quite good after meeting with Hugo Quinn today.
Just after she washed her face, she heard a knock at the door.
"Eleanor, are you asleep?"
Nicholas Hollis furrowed his brow and sighed.
"I know you’re upset, but open the door. We need to have a talk."
Eleanor Hollis hesitated; she wasn’t even sure what to discuss with this person. She didn’t blame Nicholas, but in the situation just now, staying calm enough to sit down for dinner would have required extraordinary mental fortitude.
"Dad, I’m fine, already asleep. Let’s talk another day."
Nicholas didn’t insist and slowly went downstairs, seeing Wendy still seated on the sofa.
Wendy felt incredibly aggrieved, but due to Nicholas’s attitude towards Eleanor, she could only sit stiffly, not even apologizing.
"Mom, what is it you really want?"
Nicholas sat down, feeling unexplainably anxious.
Wendy was clueless. She thought his attitude meant he had compromised and realized his mistake, so she immediately adopted a more aggressive stance.
"You still recognize me as your mom?! Nicholas, look at the little girl and what she looks like!"
She snorted coldly, her face full of disdain for Eleanor.
"Did you forget what I told you today? Eleanor is my daughter. Criticizing her is the same as criticizing me."
Nicholas felt exhausted, and remembering Eleanor’s expression earlier filled him with sadness.
Wendy didn’t care about any of that; her son had already softened, and now she had to quickly make him drive Eleanor out.
"Nicholas, Eleanor doesn’t belong here. I feel she was living quite well in the countryside."
"If you think the countryside is good, then you go to the countryside."
Nicholas looked at her coldly, feeling disappointed in his mother for the first time.
Wendy was stunned into silence by his retort.
With a face full of resentment, she returned to her room and called Rachel Lynch.
Sending Eleanor to the countryside was originally Rachel’s idea, in agreement with hers.
"Mom, you’re still up?"
Rachel spoke gently; she had treated this old woman very well over the years and her heart had always been with her.
"Stella, I think Nicholas is really deranged, saying he’ll send me to the countryside too. Ah, how did I end up with a son ?"
A hint of amusement flickered in Rachel’s eyes.
"Mom, don’t be in a hurry; Nicholas’s birthday is soon. Before his birthday, Anna and I will be back." Check latest chapters at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
Wendy hung up the phone, burdened with thoughts, and only managed to sleep past midnight.
The next morning, the Hollis Family received news that Anna Hollis had been robbed and was now hospitalized.
Nicholas turned pale with fright, threw on some clothes, and hurried to the hospital.
Anna lay quietly in the hospital bed, looking pale, with an IV needle in her hand. Rachel sat beside her, frowning, and cried when she saw him enter.
"Nicholas, I was scared to death, Anna was already burning up with a fever and then someone stabbed her arm. Boohoohoo, if anything happens to her, I won’t live either."
Nicholas felt guilty seeing her cry . If he hadn’t driven the mother and daughter out, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
"Nothing too serious, just unconscious. In her fever, she kept calling your name. Nicholas, do you really plan on not wanting her as your daughter?"
Rachel started crying again.
Nicholas sighed and embraced her tenderly.
"How could I not want her? It’s just that Anna is used to being pampered and does whatever she pleases. She’s treated Eleanor terribly, and if it continues, it’ll only break Eleanor’s heart. Stella, Eleanor is also our child."
A trace of malice flashed through Rachel’s eyes; Eleanor wasn’t her child, and sooner or later she’d find a way to eliminate her.
Nicholas stayed beside her, reaching out to hold Anna’s hand.
Anna had been awake all along. Her mom had told her this morning that her dad was easily soft-hearted; his kindness towards Eleanor was only out of guilt.
In that case, as long as he also felt guilty towards their mother and daughter, it would be enough.
She feigned illness till late at night, catching a cold on purpose today, and fabricated the story of being robbed. As for the arm injury, she’d made the cut herself, deeply enough.
Sure enough, her dad had rushed over, now gently holding her hand.
Anna felt immensely satisfied, but as the patient, she continued lying quietly.
Soon after, a doctor came to change Anna’s dressing, and once he started taking off the layers of bandages, a deep wound came into view.
Nicholas’s face turned deathly pale, as he tenderly cradled her arm, looking at it with deep concern for a long time.
"Anna, does it hurt a lot?"
Anna’s lips curled; it did hurt, but seeing the man’s expression, she felt great.
She exchanged a knowing look with Rachel, sharing a smile.
"Dad, I want to go home, I miss my bed."
She spoke weakly, her face pale.
Nicholas now couldn’t refuse, and that night arranged for her discharge, even inviting the doctor to their home.
Eleanor guessed this outcome the moment she heard Anna got hurt.
Nicholas is great in many ways, but he’s just too soft-hearted.
As soon as she stepped into the house, she heard Anna’s delicate voice.
"Tonight I feel like eating something light, ask the chef to use less chili."
Her steps halted, and while changing shoes in the entrance, she looked up to see Anna staring at her.
"Sister, you’re back."
Anna’s face was full of smugness, sitting like royalty on the sofa as if saying, "No matter how much Dad loves you, didn’t I come back in the end?"
Eleanor had no other thoughts; she had predicted this scene long ago.
When she walked by the sofa, her phone rang. It was Marcus calling.
"Mommy, are you home?"
Marcus was having dinner at that moment, with Hugo Quinn sitting serenely beside him.
"Not yet, have you eaten?"
Eleanor’s face softened, choosing not to bother with Anna’s suddenly dark expression.
"In the middle of dinner. Mommy, it’s getting cold, remember to bundle up."
Eleanor’s heart warmed, her lips curling into a smile.
"Okay, you too. Don’t let yourself catch a cold."
After hanging up, she sensed Anna’s gaze, glaring at her venomously.
"Sister, you and that guy from the Quinton Family really have a good relationship."