Lahat ng Kabanata ng Once a Doormat, Now Untouchable: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

Sydney was young, kind, and attentive with her patients. Over the years, several older ones had tried to play matchmaker. Eventually, she started wearing her wedding ring all the time, which finally made them stop.She remembered Agatha well—a woman who had once fussed endlessly over her grandson's marriage. Time had softened her.Sydney smiled wryly. "Ms. Nordwood, I'm getting a divorce.""Divorce!" Agatha's face turned solemn, and she said firmly, "Good! I overheard the call just now, but I wasn't eavesdropping. I swear. Let me tell you, cheating men are the worst. If you stay with him, you'll only suffer more."Sydney felt the warmth in Agatha's wrinkled hands—a warmth she hadn't known in years. Her voice softened without meaning to. "I know. I'm already going through the process."She placed a hand over Agatha's wrist and gently changed the topic. "How have you been feeling lately?""Oh, much better. Your medicine worked wonders." Agatha waved it off, then circled back. "List

That sharp slap instantly drew everyone's attention. The shattered phone screen, the vivid handprint on her skin, and Sydney's reddened eyes told the whole story. She had clearly just been bullied.It was a pitiful sight.Caleb's brow furrowed as he stepped over and picked up the phone. "What happened?"Penelope tried to shift the blame to Sydney, but the words caught in her throat. There was no way to spin it. How could she say Sydney had stood up for her and that she'd hit her in return? She couldn't justify it, not even to herself.All she could do was glare at the two women before snapping, "They were saying awful things behind my back! It was horrible."The two women looked like they wanted to disappear.Who would've guessed both of Caleb's women would cause trouble? Especially Sydney. She seemed soft, someone easy to push around—but once she spoke, she could tear you apart. From this moment on, no one would dare cross her again.Sydney took back the phone and turned to Pen

"Yeah." Bruce offered a smooth smile as he gestured toward the silk-wrapped gift box on the table. "Sydney's been buried in work. She just dropped off a present and left early."Julian’s eyes shifted to the box. A flicker of emotion passed through them.The earlier tension faded without incident. Everyone drank freely through the second half of the night. As the birthday star, Bruce kept just sober enough to send off his guests properly.After seeing off the second-to-last group of friends, he returned to the private room. Julian was still there, calm and composed, his eyes dark as ink and fixed on him."Tell me the truth about what happened tonight," Julian said, his voice tinged with a quiet chill.Bruce staggered slightly as he crossed the room, his head clouded with drink. He dropped onto the couch beside Julian."Jules, it was just a bunch of women getting jealous, that’s all." He lowered his voice. "But if you still care about Sydney—even just as a sister—you should tell he

Sydney did not hide anything. Her expression remained calm. "Yeah. But you don't need to go against your family over this."Marcus had started his business with money from the Shepard family. Most of the time, they stayed out of the clinic's operations. Occasionally placing someone inside was normal."I can talk to them," he offered.Sydney smiled faintly. "Marc, knowing Caleb, he doesn't like owing favors. He probably made some kind of business deal with your family."Marcus's expression darkened. "Sorry. They mentioned something before, but I didn't make the connection.""It's not your fault," Sydney said kindly. "Even if you refused, Caleb would have found another way."Caleb and Julian were alike at heart. They would not stop until they got what they wanted. Caleb used softer, subtler tactics, while Julian went straight for the jugular.When the door opened again, Penelope waited calmly outside, as if she had known everything all along. Just as Sydney had said, Caleb had mad

Not only did Penelope look stunned, but Sydney froze as well. She raised her head and forced herself to speak in a calm tone. "Either explain things to them properly first, or just go with Penelope to pick up the car."She could accept that he had cheated. She could even accept being the one to explain it all. What she couldn't accept was being dragged into a mess she never agreed to.If he just left with her like this, everyone would assume Penelope was Mrs. Hampton. And her? The homewrecker. The other woman. The mistress.Caleb called out, "Sydney—"Sydney had seen his hesitation, and that decided it for her. Her voice wasn't loud, just clear enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Mr. Hampton, I have other things to do. I'll be going now." That one "Mr. Hampton" drew a sharp, cold line between them.The sales director, a seasoned professional, caught on quickly and turned to Caleb with a smooth smile. "Ah, Mr. Hampton, so this young lady is a friend of yours? If you'd mentioned