보관함
검색
홈 / Emotional Realism / Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours / Chapter 3

공유

Chapter 3

작가: Perfect Timing
Mildred kept her eyes fixed on me. "Do you really think that just because you married into the Harrison family, you've become someone important?"

She stood up and looked down at me with a condescending gaze. "You're just a man with no family background and connections. You know damn well how you got to where you are today."

Her eyes swept over me from head to toe like a deadly knife.

"My husband and I have spent 40 years building our foundation in Crownyork. The connections and influence we've accumulated aren't something a man like you can obtain. So, don't push your luck."

I looked at Mildred calmly. For someone who had stolen another person's life, I wasn't surprised to see she had remained rotten to the core.

No amount of expensive, custom-made dresses or gigantic diamond rings could erase the fact that she was wicked and cruel.

"Are you done?" I asked, standing up, picked up the envelope from the table, and shoved it into her hands. "Please leave, Mrs. Lowe Senior. There's nothing more to discuss about your grandson."

…

That night, Josie knocked on my door. "Dad, can I come in?"

She sat across from me and stayed silent for quite a while. "Dad, about Simon… I want to know why."

I looked into her eyes. They were sincere, without anger or interrogation. She had always been like this since she was little—obedient, thoughtful, and never worrisome.

"You must have your reasons for refusing to let me marry Simon, Dad. I just… want to know what they are."

I sighed. It just wasn't time yet.

"Josie, I can't tell you everything right now. But do you trust me?"

She looked at me and replied without hesitation, "I do."

Josie stood up and walked to the door. Before leaving, she turned around. "I've already told Simon that I won't bring him here again until you give us your blessing."

The door closed behind her. I sat there, my eyes burning slightly.

Josie had never made me worry for even a single day since she was a child. It wasn't that I wanted to tear her relationship apart, but she and Simon shared a grandfather.

The Lowes were the very reason Mom had died. No matter how I looked at it, whether by emotion or by reason, I could never agree to this marriage.

…

The next day, the housekeeper walked in with a complicated look. "Sir, Mr. Lowe Senior is here."

My hands curled into fists. "Let him in."

The moment Harlan Lowe walked in, I confirmed he was the man Mom had spent decades longing for, my biological father.

His hair was white as snow, but it was neatly combed back without a single strand out of place. He wore a black tailored suit with pure gold buttons at the cuffs that caught the light and almost hurt my eyes.

Behind him were two men. One carried a briefcase, while the other held an insulated bottle.

Quite the entrance, I had to say.

Harlan stood at the doorway, his eyes sweeping over me without the slightest change in expression. He didn't recognize me. He had never known that he had another son, after all.

"Mr. Gardner."

He gave a slight nod. His voice was calm and unhurried, carrying the effortless composure of someone who had been treated with respect and admiration for decades.

"My apologies for the sudden visit. Nice to meet you. I'm Harlan Lowe."

"Have a seat, Mr. Lowe Senior."

Harlan sat down and looked at me. "Actually, Mr. Gardner, I came here today because of our children."

He paused, then smiled faintly. "Simon is my grandson. He's been a little spoiled since young, but he's by no means a bad person. It's obvious that they love each other, and as their elders, we should support them if we can."

He set down his insulated bottle, folded his hands together, and rested them on his knees.

"I know that everything you have was earned through your own efforts. It must not have been easy. To have no family background and still marry Bella Harrison of all, that alone is an undeniable feat.

"But it's precisely because you know how difficult it was to get here that I thought you'd understand one thing. Some opportunities, once missed, are gone for a lifetime."

이 작품을 무료로 읽으실 수 있습니다
QR 코드를 스캔하여 앱을 다운로드하세요
이전 챕터 다음 챕터

최신 챕터

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 8

    A week later, I moved Mom's grave. She was laid to rest in the finest cemetery on the outskirts of the city, on a south-facing hillside where the sunlight lingered the longest.The headstone was modest, but her name was engraved on it with perfect clarity—Susan Gardner.For 40 years, she had been trapped in that remote village. Even after she died, she wasn't allowed to be buried with a headstone.Today, she had finally left that place behind. At last, she could rest peacefully under her own name.Harlan came. He was dressed entirely in black, standing silently at the very back of the crowd. His hair was whiter than before, and he had lost so much weight that his suit hung loosely from his frail frame.When it was time for the inurnment, he knelt far away from everyone else, alone in the muddy ground.Bella stood on my left, and Josie stood on my right."Mom, it's me, your daughter-in-law," Bella said softly as she bent down and placed a bouquet of white lilies before her headst

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 7

    Harlan's voice was scarily hoarse."What's the matter, Mr. Lowe Senior?""I want to see you," he said. "I want to take a good look at the wonderful man your mother has raised by herself.""You already did. That was me on stage yesterday."Silence fell on the other end of the line. "I… I couldn't see you well. You know I have prosopagnosia. I can't distinguish faces.""You may not be able to distinguish faces, but I'm sure you can differentiate whether someone's good or bad," I argued coldly."40 years ago, if you'd just simply talked to my mother and asked if she was sincere, you wouldn't have been so determined to drive her away. But you didn't. You chose to believe in someone else."You ended up choosing a woman who could bring you benefits. My mother had nothing, so you thought she deserved to be cast aside, huh?""Edward, it's not like—""Don't call me by my name. You're not worthy of it."With that, I ended the call.…When Simon came to me, it was three days later. He

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 6

    Harlan collapsed onto the stage. He stared at me, his lips trembling. "You're… You're…""I'm your son. The woman you drove away 40 years ago gave birth to your son. You never knew I existed because you never once truly looked at her."I pulled a black container out of my bag. More precisely, an urn. The air went still."This is my mother. She waited for 40 years in the countryside and never married again. The people there called her names that no woman would ever want to hear."She ignored them all and went on with her life, but she never got to look anyone in the eye. Even until the day she died, she was waiting for that one apology from someone."I looked at Harlan. "Alas, that apology never came."I placed the urn on stage, in front of him. "Look at her, Harlan. Look at what she's become. Look at the life you've destroyed."Harlan reached out to touch the urn, but his hand was trembling. His fingertip hovered just an inch from the container and never landed.Tears ran down h

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 5

    The hall fell into dead silence.Harlan stood on the stage, the smile on his face frozen. "W-What did you just say?""I said you're both Simon and Josie's grandfather."My voice wasn't loud, but every word landed like a nail driven into the ears of everyone present."40 years ago, you were drugged and spent a night with my mother, Susan Gardner. The next morning, your current wife lay beside you, wearing my mother's clothes. You couldn't tell who was who, so you believed her and married her."You drove my mother out of the Lowe residence. She was carrying me at the time. She returned to the countryside and spent her entire life being called a disgrace, a woman who had gotten pregnant out of wedlock."Until the day she died, she never set foot in Crownyork again."The crowd erupted. Some stood up, some whispered among themselves, and some pulled out their phones and started recording.Harlan's face turned as pale as paper. "Y-You're making this up!""Am I?"A cold laugh escape

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 4

    Harlan pulled a document out of his briefcase and slid it across the table."This is the strategic partnership framework between the Lowes and Harrisons for the next three years," he said. "As long as Simon and Josie's marriage is settled, this agreement will be effective starting tomorrow."He looked at me with absolute confidence, the kind only someone who had been admired all his life could possess, the certainty that he would always have the final say.I didn't budge."Mr. Gardner."Harlan's tone remained calm and measured. "You're still young. The Harrisons may be the wealthiest family in the country, but their assets have little to do with you. Only with our support can your position in the family truly be secure."What he was telling me was simple.In his eyes, I was nothing more than a man who had married into the Harrison family, a man with no background and no backing. Therefore, I needed the Lowe family's support to hold on to my position.What he didn't know was tha

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 3

    Mildred kept her eyes fixed on me. "Do you really think that just because you married into the Harrison family, you've become someone important?"She stood up and looked down at me with a condescending gaze. "You're just a man with no family background and connections. You know damn well how you got to where you are today."Her eyes swept over me from head to toe like a deadly knife."My husband and I have spent 40 years building our foundation in Crownyork. The connections and influence we've accumulated aren't something a man like you can obtain. So, don't push your luck."I looked at Mildred calmly. For someone who had stolen another person's life, I wasn't surprised to see she had remained rotten to the core.No amount of expensive, custom-made dresses or gigantic diamond rings could erase the fact that she was wicked and cruel."Are you done?" I asked, standing up, picked up the envelope from the table, and shoved it into her hands. "Please leave, Mrs. Lowe Senior. There's n

더보기

다른 추천

좋은 소설을 무료로 찾아 읽어보세요
GoodNovel 앱에서 수많은 인기 소설을 무료로 즐기세요! 마음에 드는 작품을 다운로드하고, 언제 어디서나 편하게 읽을 수 있습니다
앱에서 작품을 무료로 읽어보세요
앱에서 읽으려면 QR 코드를 스캔하세요.
DMCA.com Protection Status