“I really can’t show you any kindness, right? The moment I do, you go after Elise.”
Mason’s voice was all too familiar to me. Perhaps it was because of my illness, hearing those words made my nose sting, and tears began streaming down my face.
Kindness? Where?
Was it kindness when he gave all the credit for my project to Elise?
Or when he forced me to give Elise the only gift my father had ever given me?
Or perhaps when he locked me in a freezer for three days, then carelessly tossed me into a storage room?
I had lost count. And counting them all made me feel pathetic.
During those three difficult years, Elise had kicked Mason when he was down, yet he now placed her on a pedestal. Meanwhile, I had lost everything helping him rebuild his life, only for him to grind me into the dirt.
“Babe, I told you to get rid of her long ago. See what’s happened now?”
“She’s cruel to Elise right in front of you. Who knows how she treats Elise and my future grandson behind your
back!”
Mason’s mother wheeled herself out from behind him, her beady eyes fixed on the frail woman on the bed, full of disgust.
Elise spoke softly, playing the good person: “Auntie, please don’t upset yourself. It’s nothing if I suffer a little
discomfort.”
Soon, I watched as the woman who had always acted so high and mighty in front of me suddenly became
sycophantic.
Mason’s mother grabbed Elise’s hand and shot me a vicious glare before scolding gently;
‘Sweetheart, I don’t care who suffers discomfort, but it sure as hell won’t be you! After all, you’re not just one person
now–you’re two.”
Then, turning to me: “Just a hen that can’t lay eggs after three years.”
“Babe, make her leave! Get her out of the Reed house!”
A satisfied expression settled on Elise’s face as she made no effort to hide the challenging look she cast in my direction.
15:29
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Nine Years Wasted–Now I’m Marrving Your Rival
2
Chapter 6
A hen that can’t lay eggs–I’d heard that description so many times my ears had calluses.
“Mom, stop making trouble. I’ve already told you that’s not the case.”
Mason rubbed his temples–something he only did when he was completely exhausted or cornered.
In the past, seeing this would make me want to smooth away his furrowed brow. But now, it just made my skin crawl.
His mother, now agitated after being scolded by her son, directed all her fury at me.
“Riley, why are you still standing here?”
Mrs. Reed glared at me with bulging eyes, looking at me not as someone who had devotedly cared for her for three
years, but as an enemy.
“Do you really think you’re some great benefactor to our family just because you paid back some money? Ha! Ten of you wouldn’t be worth one finger of my grandson.”
“Let me tell you something, Riley. When the Reed family went bankrupt, we still had plenty of money left. That pittance you gave us? We couldn’t care less about it!”
“We were just testing who around us would take advantage of our misfortune.”
