When Edwin finally tracked down the island, he didn’t come alone, Mr. and Mrs. Ellery and Tiffany accompanied hum
The Ellery family hadn’t fared well in recent years.
Matt had started his own business, and his first move after becoming successful was to compete directly against the Ellery holdings in the market
They had hoped to secure their position through Tiffany’s marriage, but they’d spoiled her so thoroughly that she was completely unreasonable. After Matt broke the engagement, she threw screaming fits around the house daily.
Being so protective of their precious younger daughter, they couldn’t bear to push her into another strategic marriage
Meanwhile, their older daughter had failed at two engagements before erasing her identity and vanishing without a trace. They hadn’t even known where to begin looking for her.
If Edwin hadn’t claimed to have found information about her whereabouts, they would still be clueless about their “ungrateful daughters” location
Mr. and Mrs. Ellery silently resolved to teach this disrespectful daughter a lesson when they saw her. They’d heard she had purchased her own private island and was living extravagantly, yet never once thought to help her own parents.
Their expressions were already sour on the boat, and the sight of the understated yet clearly luxurious estate ordy stoked their anger. They completely forgot Edwin’s earlier request to clear up any misunderstandings with Sylvia peacefully.
Though perhaps there were no misunderstandings between them to begin with.
The day Matt had appeared, Sylvia had guessed Edwin would eventually find her too. She had considered leaving temporarily, but then thought better of it. These people were too insignificant to make her run and hide like some criminal with something to be ashamed of.
Still, she hadn’t expected Edwin to bring her parents along.
Sylvia had never understood: back in Washington, she had been the odd one out. Her parents didn’t like her, her sister resented her, the man she loved preferred her sister, and the man who “loved her” actually loved her sister too.
Shouldn’t her disappearance have been exactly what they wanted? Why put on this pathetic charade of frantically searching for her?
Was this performance so important that even after she, a minor character, had exited the stage, still needed to finish the play?
She pondered these questions briefly before letting them go.
Since they would have no relationship going forward, whatever they chose to do was none of her business.
Edwin and his group arrived quickly, reaching Reunion Isle while Sylvia and her family were having breakfast.
The door suddenly banged loudly with aggressive knocking, then abruptly stopped. Soon after, it was replaced by gentler tapping. Sylvia had barely furrowed her brow when Ronald stood to answer it.
The door swung open, and for a moment, he and the visitors froze in mutual surprise.
Edwin had already begun regretting bringing the Ellery parents along when they started pounding on the door. Now, seeing another man in Sylvia’s home, jealousy ignited within him, burning away his reason.
His chest heaved dramatically, a clear sign of his completely shattered composure. If he hadn’t yet spotted Sylvia, he might have thrown a punch right then and there.
“Who is it?” Her voice called from inside.
Edwin didn’t waste time wondering who this doorman might be. The moment he heard Sylvia’s voice, his eyes darted around the interior, desperate for a glimpse of her.
As her voice reached them, the Ellery couple didn’t even try to contain themselves. Abandoning all pretense of class, they immediately launched into a
verbal assault.
“You selfish, disrespectful brat! How dare you run off like this! Five years without so much as a phone call–do we even exist to you anymore?”
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Chapter 18
“You’ve humiliated this family enough! Get out here right now and come home with its right now!”
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Chapter 19
