Chapter 77 You’re Not Her Mother in the First Place
“Everything is done. He signed a five-year contract with Starlight Media straight away. If he breaches the contract, the compensation fee will be enough to put him into bankruptcy.” Josh wanted to laugh as he reported the situation to Alexander. This little brat, Shay, is so easy to deceive. A slight feint by President Duncan is enough for him to take the bait instantly. After all, he is still young, so he couldn’t read the minds of bosses like him.
“Why would I want to terminate his contract?” Alexander flatly refuted. “Isn’t it better to keep him so that he can make money for me?”
After hearing his explanation, Josh was dumbfounded as he started to sympathize with Shay upon his realization. President Duncan is trying to drive him insane! Imagine being the servant of someone that you especially hate and being forced to make money for him. If he doesn’t earn money for President Duncan, he won’t be able to support himself, but if he does make money, half of what he earns will be taken away by his boss. What a painful way to live!
In the Hunter Mansion, Courtney deliberately chose a Monday afternoon to come back and retrieve the keys. This was because Anna was at work, and even though Courtney’s stepmom, Susan Yves, wasn’t a nice person, she was still polite toward her on the surface, so she wouldn’t trouble her. I can just take the keys and leave. It should be fine.
“Miss Courtney.” The moment the old maid of the Hunter Family, Mrs. Bell, saw Courtney, she almost burst out in tears. “Miss Courtney, why are you back? Where have you been all these years?”
Mrs. Bell was a maid who followed Courtney’s mother in her early years, but ever since her mother’s death, she had always stayed beside Courtney to take care of her. In later years, she followed her to the Hunter Family.
At the moment, Courtney’s eyes were getting a little teary as she held Mrs. Bell’s hands and sobbed. “It has been a while since I returned, but I didn’t come back here. I’m sorry that I had you worried, Mrs. Bell.”
“My worries don’t matter. I have no idea how much you’ve suffered outside. If your mother found out about it, I’m afraid she’d blame me for not taking good care of you.”
“I’m quite well actually, Mrs. Bell.”
“Courtney?”
While they were talking, the voice of a woman suddenly broke into their conversation.
Susan was wearing a blue-grey traditional outfit as she stood on the stairs. Her well-preserved face made her look like a 30-year-old lady who still had her charm. When she saw Courtney, Susan’s face was filled with shock, but soon after, she composed herself and went down the stairs while welcoming her enthusiastically.
“Courtney, why are you back? You should have told me in advance. I would have asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite dishes.”
Hearing that, Courtney let go of Mrs. Bell’s hands. “I came back to take something. I’m leaving afterward, so there’s no need for all the trouble, Aunt Susan.” For many years, she always called her Aunt Susan, and it never changed.
In the early years, she secretly heard Susan complaining to Lucian with an aggrieved face, saying that this daughter of hers was ungrateful and unwilling to call her ‘mother’ even though she did all her best to treat her well. However, Lucian rendered her speechless by saying, “You are not her mother in the first place. She’s polite enough to call you ‘aunt’.”
Back then, Susan didn’t dare to say anything in front of Lucian, but ever since he left the house, she smashed countless objects in the house and even abused the maids in the bedroom. At that time, she yelled, “If she isn’t my daughter in the first place, why won’t he tell me to stop treating her well?”
Courtney had seen through a two-faced woman like her long ago when she was a child, but she couldn’t never understand why her father couldn’t realize that after all these years. Is he blind? she wondered.
After a few greetings, Susan didn’t stop Courtney from going upstairs. Her room was still the same as before as nothing was touched. Following her memory, she opened the right drawer of her desk and furrowed her brows because the key wasn’t there. When I received the gift that year, I clearly placed it here. Someone has gone through my stuff.
Upon seeing her coming down the stairs, Susan got up from the couch and asked gently, “Have you found it?”
“Nope,” Courtney answered straight away. “Aunt Susan, the key to my house isn’t in my drawer. Has someone gone through my stuff?”
Susan was startled. “House key? What house key?”
“The house key to the villa that my dad gave me six years ago. It’s in Golden Water Park.”
“I really didn’t know about that.” Susan denied knowing about it while looking innocent. “I’ve never entered your room, and it’s usually Mrs. Bell who cleans the room for you. Occasionally, your dad would go in to sit for a while. Why don’t you ask him?”
“I see. Alright.” Courtney didn’t want to talk too much with her, so she prepared to leave.
“Courtney, do stay for lunch.” Susan tried to ask her to stay. “I’ve already asked the cooks to prepare your favorite sweet and sour fish.”
With her back facing her, Courtney was suddenly a bit frustrated. “If I stay for lunch, I’m afraid you wouldn’t even dare to take a bite.”
“Courtney, what are you talking about? Why would I—”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Courtney turned around and glared at her profoundly. “There isn’t anyone here; my dad isn’t here either, so you can just stop pretending. My dad can’t see what kind of a person you and your daughter are, but I can see it clearly.”
With these words, Courtney left the Hunter Mansion without turning back.
Susan leaned on the back of the couch as her face grew gloomy. Slowly, she directed her gaze toward Mrs. Bell, who was standing by the door. “Let me ask you something. What did you tell her?”
Mrs. Bell put on a cold attitude with her head down. “Miss Courtney was only here for less than 10 minutes. What could I have told her?”
“I’m asking about the past. What did you tell her in the past?”
“In the past?” Mrs. Bell lifted her head as her eyes seemed to be bruning, striking fear into Susan’s heart. “Do you still remember the past, Madam? I thought you’d forgotten all about it.”
The moment her words came out, Susan’s hands couldn’t stop trembling. This means that the girl knows everything. No wonder… No wonder she refused to come back for so many years! After clinging herself onto Alexander Duncan, what does she actually want now that she’s back?
On the other side, Courtney took a cab away from the Hunter Mansion, but she was still feeling uneasy. Back then, when her mother gave birth to her prematurely, she died in a few days due to excessive blood loss. It wasn’t until the year she was admitted into Melrose Medical University that Mrs. Bell told her the truth.
If Susan didn’t come to our doorsteps and provoke her, my mother would not have been so stressed out that she gave birth prematurely! That is why my mother’s death is closely related to this two-faced woman.
After two years in university, she chose to study in the city, so she seldom went back home. Even though it was a long time ago, and it would be meaningless to pursue it, she was still sad for her mother. In the end, she simply chose not to face the lying hypocrites in the Hunter Mansion.
After clearing away the disturbance in her mind, she took out her phone as she wanted to call her father, but for some reason, she suddenly thought of how Susan dodged her gaze just now. All of a sudden, she had an idea in her mind.
“Mister, I’m not going to the Royal Park. Please change the course to Golden Water Park.”
Her stuff in the study was left untouched probably because of her father’s orders. Two days ago, she just told her father that she was going to retrieve the key, so he definitely wouldn’t go to her room and take it away on purpose. That was why there was only one place the key might have gone to.
Someone who had always thought of snatching away other people’s stuff must have taken it.
