Ellen ordered only one dish before handing over the menu to Jared, who ordered six dishes in one go. At that moment, her phone, which displayed Garrett’s phone number, rang and tightened her chest.
“Excuse me, Mr. Tillman, I have an incoming call.” She glanced at the room before taking a seat on the couch. “Hi, Uncle Garrett.”
“What are you doing, Ellen? Why haven’t you registered your name? Are you doing this because you don’t wanna share the money?”
“Sorry, Uncle Garrett, but I have work-”
“What’s so important about work? This is of utmost urgency! need the money, so stop dilly-dallying!”
Tears of grievance pooled in her eyes, prompting her to lower her head. “It’s not on purpose, Uncle Garrett. I’m just busy with work
“I don’t care. You’d better give me the money by Friday while I’m still nice,” he threatened.
Ellen was a nonentity to Garrett’s family. Besides, she alone could do nothing even if .they treated her like a rat. It was safe to say that money had awakened the evil in them.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Garrett.”
“You only have a few days. If you don’t settle the issue by then, I’ll cause a stir at your workplace. Let’s see if you’re allowed to work still when the time comes.” He hurt her with mean words before terminating the call.
Ellen’s body trembled as despair surged in her. If Jessica were here, she would not have allowed such a thing to happen..
Knowing that the call had ended, Jared swept a glance at her only to see tears trickling down and wetting her grey dress. He sprang up and crouched in front of her. “Did something happen?”
She blamed herself for showing her forlorn side to him, so she quickly wiped her tears off. “Nothing. Something flew into my eyes. That’s why.”
Yet, the unbidden tears streamed nonstop. Those gorgeous, teary eyes could easily make one feel bad.
The weird sensation flooded Jared again as he watched her crying, stifling his chest so hard that he could barely breathe.
“You can talk to me about anything.” His voice .sounded airy.
Ellen bit her rosy lip. “Wouldn’t that be annoying?”
“Not at all. Just feel free to talk to me.” He seated himself next to her as he was all ears.
She took a deep breath while thinking, Where should I start first? I think he should know the entirety of the situation, or he won’t be able to follow.
“My parents passed away when I was young, so my uncle fostered my elder brother and me, but my brother left because of a serious illness. I didn’t even get to see him in his last moments.” Ellen felt hot behind her eyes, and he drew a few pieces of tissue for her since it was close to him.
She wiped her tears while continuing, “Then, my uncle sent me to my aunt’s place. Jessica treated me like I was her granddaughter. We only had each other, but life was great. To me, she was my grandmother.”
At that point, another stream of tears ran down her cheeks, and she choked on her voice. “But she left me too. I’m all alone again.”
Jared sympathized with her past. “So, is someone giving you a hard time now?”
“It’s all because of my grandmother’s .demolished house. She did not apply for adoption, so she’s not my official guardian. Instead, my uncle is the one on the papers.”
