3

Violets POV 

“If she has an asthmatic attack, you need to use her inhaler,” I explained to Ivy, gesturing at the bag on the floor. 

I woke up early and packed everything for Belle. I handed the bag over fifteen minutes ago but Ivy left me hanging until I placed it there. 

“She doesn’t speak a lot so you’ll need to monitor her while you’re out. And if things get out of control, her emergency medication is in the bag, in the blue case,”

It felt like she wasn’t even listening. Her gaze was locked on her phone as she typed away casually. 

“You worry too much, Violet,” Ivy said, stepping closer without even meeting my eyes. 

“She’s not going out with a nanny; she’s going out with her parents. Only I can take better care of my daughter.”

She was already walking away before I could stop her. 

Ivy’s words didn’t make me feel better; she was never a good sister to me. 

I just hoped she could be a good mother to Belle one day. 

As I turned to enter the house, the sound of my phone ringing filled the room. 

I pulled it out and a familiar, irritated voice reached me. 

“Come home right now, Violet. Don’t make me wait.”

My grip on the phone tightened as she hung up before I could stop her. 

It was my mother’s signature habit. Call, say whatever she wanted, and end the call before I could respond. 

I sighed and grabbed my bag, driving down to the Bennet house. 

The entire drive took forever, but as I finally pulled up in front of the house, Mom was already waiting. 

She barely let me get down before ranting. 

“Your sister just got back and you’re already creating problems for her?”

“You’re trying to make her look like a bad mother? 

I sighed. “Mom, Belle got injured because —”

Mom glared. “You want to

badmouth her to me too?”

“You always look for ways to hurt your sister,” she spat, “You can’t bear that she’s back, can you? So you’re deliberately  making things difficult?”

I resisted the urge to scoff. 

My marriage was falling apart but she was only worried about the culprit. 

I didn’t know why I expected any different. When we lived in the Bennet house — Ivy could burn the house down and they would blame me for standing aside and not fanning the flames. 

“Don’t forget that without the Bennet Family, you would have lived a miserable life” She sneered. “Thanks to us, you can call yourself Mrs. Ashford!” 

“Are you so ungrateful that you want to remain in that position forever?”

“Shouldn’t you try to help your sister? You should be speaking well about her to Jason and ensuring that Belle accepts her,”

I finally raised my eyes to meet hers, wondering if I really heard the words that escaped her lips. 

Years ago, they asked me to marry Jason to preserve our family image. Then they asked me to raise Belle. 

Then they asked me to be the perfect wife. 

And now, they wanted me to hand everything over to the daughter who abandoned them. 

They wanted me to step aside and put in a good word for her, to fix everything. Again and again. 

What about me? 

What about my feelings? What about the ache in my heart that was getting heavier and heavier with every word they said? 

Had this family not loved me even a little? 

“Is that really what you think of me?”

Mom scoffed, “You’ve leached on us and enjoyed our good fortune for the past few years. I won’t let this continue.”

The words were stuck in my throat all over again, so I turned, walking away. 

This made Mom furious; she marched over and grabbed my arm, glaring at me as she spoke right into my soul.

“Did you hear me?” She seethed. “I won’t let you ruin my daughter’s life!” 

I stared at her for a moment, feeling so utterly suffocated that I yanked my arm and just continued walking.  

I entered the car and shut the door, speeding down the street until I was far enough to finally breathe. 

Then, I stopped the car and froze for a moment, my shoulders shaking. 

A tear had barely rolled down my cheek when my phone rang for the second time that day. 

“Vivi? I’ve been trying to reach you this entire time,” My brother’s excited voice reached me. “I’m in Italy, at that store you love, tell me, do you prefer a diamond-crusted necklace or a golden one?”

There was a pause. 

“Vivi? Are you alright?”

I wiped my tears, running my hand through my hair. 

I met my biological family four years ago. It turned out I wasn’t a leach. 

I was the long-lost daughter of the chairman of Wells Group — a multinational corporation. 

They wanted to bring me home and treat me with love and respect. 

But I refused because I loved Jason and I truly thought that one day, he could love me back. 

He would move on and finally see me. 

I never told him because I planned to introduce them once our marriage was a happy one. 

“Vivi… is something wrong?” Nate’s voice was soft, “Mom and Dad are missing you a lot, I’m counting down the days until I can come back from Paris.”

“I have so many gifts for you and your husband.” He mused, ”Gosh, I can’t wait to meet him.”

“When will you introduce us, Violet? Enough hide-and-seek, and now, give me a date.”

I slapped a hand over my mouth, shutting my eyes as a tear fell. 

“Soon, it’s just… Belle has needed me a lot lately and…”

“It’s alright. No rush then, you know you can come home anytime, right?” 

“Nate, actually I—“ I froze as a message from Jason intercepted the call.

My eyes widened as I read his message, my entire world coming to a standstill as I restarted the car and sped down the road. 

Nothing mattered anymore. 

Nothing! 

Nothing mattered because my daughter was in an emergency ward!