Chapter 161

Elspeth was sweating bullets and full of worry as she headed back to the restaurant Acacia, whom she’d raised with her own hands, was at that moment controlling her!

Originally, she wasn’t worried about those trifling matters as there was no concrete evidence to back her statements.

But things had changed. Frederic was no longer as close to her as before. If anything else were to exacerbate the conflict at that point, her position in the Abernathy family would be even more precarious! At that moment, she had to help Acacia with her debts without dipping into her own pocket, which meant acting all pitiful in front of Frederic.

“Frederic, although Acacia has done wrong, she’s still the child you’ve watched grow up. You know how obedient she was in the past. Now, my sister’s been arrested, my brother–in–law is in a vegetative state. The Stirling group is facing financial difficulties, Acacia’s too scared to go home and is hounded by debt collectors daily. She is, after all, the one I raised. I can’t help but feel heartbroken.”

Elspeth placed her hand on Frederic’s tense one, her eyes welling up with tears as she tried her best to convince him to help Acacia, “Frederic, you’ve always been generous. Let’s help Acacia through this tough time as a form of charity. We’ve done our best.”

Frederic’s brow relaxed a bit, seemingly moved by her words.

Suddenly, Thaddeus pulled out a recorder from his pocket and tossed it in front of them, saying, “if you want to help Acacia, listen to this first, then make your

decision.”

Elspeth’s heart raced; unsure what Thaddeus was up to.

Frederic picked up the recorder with a puzzled look and pressed play.

Two voices, one of George, and the other being Acacia!

“Don’t touch Evadne yet wait for my signal. Things have improved a lot. I’ve regained Thaddeus’s trust and he’s been by my side these past few days. Plus, Mr. Frederic has agreed to our marriage. We should be getting engaged soon.”

“Since you’re now confirmed with Thaddeus, that fifty thousand”

“You’re rushing me over such a petty amount? I’ll send you five thousand first. Once things are settled with Mr. Thaddeus and we’ve had our engagement ceremony, I’ll send you the rest.”

The recording ended, and the restaurant fell silent.

Elspeth’s face turned pale, regretting pleading for Acacia.

Acacia was such a fool! Leaving such a big clue when things weren’t even settled yet. She deserved to be where she was for her foolishness!

“Elspeth, is this the good child you’ve raised?”

Thaddeus’s eyes were icy, “You should be thankful, my ex–wife was smart enough to nip your niece’s plot in the bud. Otherwise, if Evadne had met with misfortune, Acacia’s situation wouldn’t be as it is now. I have the means to make her life a living hell.”

Elspeth took a sharp intake of breath, staring unbelievingly at Thaddeus’s cold eyes.

She thought Thaddeus was like his father, hesitant and unable to easily let go when it came to emotions.

After being entangled with Acacia for so many years, even if Acacia betrayed him, it wouldn’t be easy to break free from a decade’s worth of emotional entanglement.

But she didn’t expect Thaddeus to be that ruthless! His past feelings for Acacia had suddenly disappeared without a trace!

“Acacia only sees me and the Abernathy family as her steppingstones and ATMs. Who can guarantee that she’ll actually use this money to save the Stirling group and Mr. Stirling, rather than doing something unreasonable.”

Thaddeus wiped his mouth, elegantly stood up and coldly looked at them, “If Mr. Frederic wants to do charity, there are many welfare homes and old folks‘ homes in this city, and countless impoverished primary schools nationwide. Aren’t they in more need of your help? Why should you spend money on a scheming woman?” With that, Thaddeus left the restaurant with an indifferent expression.

Watching Thaddeus‘ cold figure, Elspeth couldn’t help but shiver.

At that moment, Frederic pulled his hand out of hers and stood up sternly as he said,

“Thaddeus is right, the Stirling group brought trouble upon themselves! We, the Abernathy family, have done our best to help them in the past. Now they’ve again made a big mess themselves. If I were to help again, it would be condoning bad behavior! From now on, you will stop meddling in the Stirling family’s affairs. It’s time to cut off ties with such harmful relatives!”

With that, Frederic left the table in a huff.

“Why are you helping her, mom? Acacia should be left to reap what she’s sown,” Glynnis expressed her confusion while munching on her steak.

“You only know how to eat! What do you know!”

Elspeth, no longer caring about maintaining the ladylike demeanor of a noblewoman, threw a piece of bread at Glynnis in anger.

She had underestimated Thaddeus, who was even colder and more ruthless than his father!

It seemed that she would have to use her own private money to resolve the problems of the Stirling family.

What a difficult situation! Just thinking about it made her heart ache for the money!

After dinner, Thaddeus went to the garage alone and drove to Havenbrook.

Having resolved Acacia’s problem, his mood wasn’t as light as he’d expected it to be.

From the day he took over the Abernathy group, he’d always hoped to do everything well, to cover all bases.

The result was, he seemed to have messed up everything.

13-0

Be it mamage or family.

His mind flashed back to what someone once told him, “Ms. Evadne is such a gem! I was scared stiff, but she calmly ma**aged Mr. Hamiltion, and the situation soon eased off! it was the first time I found out that Ms. Evadne had medical skills, and I reckon she’s just as good as Mr. Hamiltion’s private doctor!”

Thaddeus took a deep breath, pressing the pedal a little deeper

In fact, he should’ve noticed her medical skills long ago.

Not only did she save his granddad this time, but she also rescued a waiter having an epileptic seizure in a hotel, and even further back, before they got divorced, when he had severe headaches, it was her ma**ages that brought him relief.

ཆ ཌྷར ཧ ཚ

She had done so much for him, playing the role of a dutiful wife, taking care of the house.

But why did he replace her annoying back then, he even thought she was fake. She clearly had many strengths, but he was like a blind man, unable to see any of them as they were all sidelined by him because of his hate.

Thaddeus gripped the steering wheel tightly with his right hand, his left hand pressed against his chest.

Looking back now, he felt that Acacia was the biggest mistake of his life.

In Evadne’s heart, he probably played a role similar to Acacia.

Hamiltion was thrilled to hear his grandson was coming over and was waiting for him in the living room.

He never said it out loud, but he had always doted on this grandson. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pushed for him to take the CEO position against everyone’s

objections.

“Grandpa, how have you been these past few days? If anything feels off, you must let me know right away”

Thaddeus knelt on one knee by his grandpa’s wheelchair, looking up at his grandpa with the clear eyes he had when he was young as he continued, “Or, how about you come back to Windermere Estate with me? Alva and I can take care of you.”

“Why would I go back there! Seeing your dad and his annoying wife would probably cut my life from a hundred years to ninety!”

Just thinking about Elspeth gave Hamiltion a headache, he couldn’t help but sigh, “I swore before, I won’t go back to live there until Frederic gets a divorce. I’m good here, staying away from annoying people is the secret to longevity!”

Thaddeus gave a helpless smile, this old man was truly something.

“This villa was where you and your wife lived, you want to stay here because it still holds her presence, you just can’t leave,” Mr. Murray said with understanding.

“Mr. Murray, I think my memory isn’t so good anymore, sometimes I’m not quite clear–headed”

Hamiltion turned his head, his eyes blurred looking towards the back garden, “Once, I thought I saw her singing and watering the flowers in the back garden. When I got closer, she even smiled at me.”

“Sir, it’s not your fault. Your wife must have felt your deep love, knowing that you’ve been missing her all these years, so she can’t bear to leave you too, always staying by your side, Mr. Murray softly comforted.

Thaddeus choked, guiltily lowered his head.

He knew how close his grandparents were and how much they loved each other. Having witnessed their joyful life, he had always hoped that his own love would be just as strong and beautiful.

So, he was as stuck with Acacía as if he couldn’t get out of his own troubles.

Along the way, it was not like he hadn’t noticed that there was something off with Acacia, that their personalities didn’t quite match, that they didn’t have endless topics to talk about when they were together, but rather most of the time, he was accommodating her.

But he was too desperate for love, too desperate to be loved, and he was more afraid of the feeling of total failure after all the effort.

But in the end, he still failed miserably, even hurting another heart that was as shining as a diamond.

He was really a fool.

“Grandpa, I’m sorry,” Thaddeus’s long eyelashes trembled, his voice shaking.

Seeing his usually proud grandson unable to lift his head, Hamiltion sighed sympathetically, patting his shoulder, “Thaddeus, you’re as stubborn as I was at your age. The only difference is I was luckier, because I found the right person, you were just a little less lucky. But at least you’ve realized the truth in the end, you didn’t keep making the same mistake.”

“Grandpa.”

“I’m also to blame, I shouldn’t have forced you and Ilana to be together. From now on, both of you should go and pursue your own happiness. It’s unfair to keep forcing Ilana to be with someone who doesn’t love her.”

With a serious face, he instructed, “Mr. Murray, make me a list tomorrow. I want you to replace all the business elites and young talents who are a good match for llana. Now that I have nothing to do, I’ll take llana to meet some outstanding men. llana may be divorced, but I can’t let that hold back her future!”

“Ah? Yes, sir, Mr. Murray couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

Hearing that, Thaddeus suddenly pictured the scene of Avery giving Evadne roses under the setting sun.

He secretly clenched his fist, feeling a sour and bursting sensation in his chest.

After chatting with his grandpa for a while, Thaddeus drove away from the villa

“Sir, you’ve always dreamed of Mr. Thaddeus and Ms. Evadne being together, why are you arranging for her to meet other men now?” Mr. Murray asked as he was puzzled by that idea.

“I know my grandson best. If I push him to get back with llana, he definitely won’t listen.”

Hamiltion squinted his cunning eyes, smiling meaningfully, “Men, by nature, have a desire for possession and conquest. Only when he feels threatened will he face his feelings and realize who he truly wants.”

2/2

13.03

It had been a wild ride but finally, everything was settled.

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