At Elliana’s words, Adah quickly brushed away her tears and summoned a smile. “You’re right, Elliana. Mom and I will meet again. We have to.” But then, her smile faded a bit. “My father has taken another wife now. When Mom comes home, I’ll live with her and sever all ties with the Norris family.”
Elliana fell silent, unsure what comfort she could offer. Adah’s father, Leonel, had truly loved Sally once, but his mother, Gia, had never welcomed Sally and never stopped making her life unbearable. Trapped between his wife and his mother, Leonel could never satisfy either woman’s demands.
Years ago, when everyone believed Sally had perished in that fire, Leonel had sworn he would never marry again and dedicated himself to raising Adah alone. But Gia had insisted on banishing Adah to a backwater town and demanded Leonel take a new wife. Though Leonel had resisted at first, he had eventually surrendered and remarried.
Sally had loved Leonel with her whole heart, and their marriage had once flourished with mutual respect and tenderness. If Sally returned one day and discovered her husband bound to another woman, their bond shattered beyond repair, wouldn’t her heart break all over again?
“Still, before I find Mom, I need to return to the Norris family residence,” Adah announced suddenly.
Elliana’s brow furrowed in confusion. “If you’ve already decided to cut yourself free from them, why walk back into that house at all?”
Previously, when Raymond had insisted on honoring the arranged engagement, the Norris family had retrieved Adah from the backwater town. After the engagement dissolved, Adah had spent most of her time on missions with Elliana, rarely setting foot in the Norris home, and they’d hardly paid her any attention. Now, if Adah returned, she would face nothing but cold stares. Her relatives wouldn’t offer her a shred of genuine warmth.
“If that place isn’t truly home, why go back and let those people poison your peace?” Elliana asked.
Adah laughed, the sound carrying a sharp edge. “Are you worried I’ll be mistreated?”
: ν?﹒
Elliana laughed. “Well, with your abilities, no one could lay a hand on you. I just don’t understand why you’d abandon a perfectly peaceful life to entangle yourself with them again.”
Adah’s expression hardened, and she let out a cold laugh, her lips twisting with contempt. “Because I intend to settle every debt they owe. Whatever they inflicted on Mom and me, I’ll return to them in full measure. And every piece of wealth they stole from Mom—I’ll reclaim it all, down to the last copper coin.”
Elliana nodded, understanding dawning in her eyes, and chose not to stand in her way.
“Oh, right—” Elliana remembered something suddenly. “Cole mentioned that Allan has been tearing through the city searching for you—or rather, for that Ava he’s fixated on. Since you’re staying in Ublento for a while, have you given any thought to how you’ll deal with him?”
“Ha!” Adah scoffed, her lip curling with undisguised contempt. “The engagement ended. Why would I waste another second thinking about a man that shallow?”
Elliana answered Adah’s remark with a light, amused shrug.
Adah had always walked her own path. Others’ expectations meant nothing to her, and men like Allan never drew her attention. She preferred gentle, soft-hearted types like Lance. Despite Allan’s status, he had never stirred even a flicker of interest in her. She hadn’t cared for Allan from the start, and nothing had changed. Disinterest was disinterest.
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