18
But her “father,” who once doted on her, didn’t spare Lydia even a single glance.
He waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away an annoying fly, signaling for the guards to kick the mother and daughter out.
As they were
being forced out the door, Lydia clung desperately to the doorframe, refusing to let go, her voice hoarse as she screamed, “Leas. you
can’t do this to me! You can’t! I’m pregnant, and it’s your child! You have to take responsibility!”
By the end, her face twisted with desperation, her cries becoming wild and unhinged.
“Lucas?” Leo turned to look at him.
Lucas felt a wave of disgust, a bitterness he couldn’t laugh off. How could he ever have fallen for someone so revolting?
“Uncle Leo.”
Lucas stepped forward, looking at the older man with graying hair. “I never touched her.”
“I swear, I never touched her.”
“That’s a relief that’s a relief.” Leo exhaled deeply and waved his hand again.
The guards dragged the two women away, and soon their cries and shouts faded into silence.
The sun was setting slowly, casting a glow over the vast estate.
Both of them turned their gaze to the large, withered rose garden.
The roses had gone to sleep, who knew when they would bloom again?
They were Jennifer’s mother’s favorite flowers, and after her mother passed, Jennifer had taken care of them herself.
Now, Jennifer was gone too, and the flowers seemed to wither in mourning, even in the heart of spring.
Leo wiped a tear from his eye. “I failed Jennifer.”
“I failed her mother, I failed her… Lucas, I was a foolish old man.”
“I promised her mother I would take care of her, love her. But I broke that promise.”
“Do you think I’ll face retribution?”
“Jennifer must have been so heartbroken, so wronged during those days.”
“Lucas, her mother’s portrait has been restored, and I’m having the house completely renovated.”
“Do you think Jennifer might still come home?”
Lucas didn’t know the answer.
Or maybe he did, but he didn’t want to admit it.
In the deepening dusk, he could only hold back his own sorrow and try to comfort Leo.
“Uncle Leo, Jennifer has always had a soft heart…”
But he couldn’t finish.
They both knew. They knew what kind of person she was, truly
Why, then, had they been so blinded, so foolish, as to hurt and mistreat her so deeply?
