All Chapters of Goodbye to the Ball and Chain; Hello to Me: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Kathleen draped herself over Estelle's knees as she spoke in a clear, crisp voice, looking expectantly at Estelle.In the past, Estelle would have immediately hugged her and praised her for being a good girl. Although Kathleen always thought that Estelle's praises were annoying, she hadn't been praised in a long time, and she simply wasn't used to the lack of it now.Unfortunately, Estellen just responded with a soft hum and said nothing more. She didn't even hug Kathleen.Estelle's hum was void of emotion, and it was also very light and soft. However, it immediately drew attention from everyone else in the manor.Last time, Nathaniel and Kathleen were both the centers of Estelle's world. She had never, ever treated them as coldly as this before.Dominic frowned lightly. His gaze landed on Estelle for a few seconds before shifting to Kathleen's disappointed face. A hint of worry, almost undetectable, flashed momentarily in his murky eyes.Soon, dinner was served, and Dominic told

Greg entered the study with a tray in his hands. There were some pills and a bowl of black liquid that was still steaming from the heat and smelled absolutely bitter.He saw Dominic seated behind his desk as his chest continued heaving terribly, his hands and arms all trembling hard on the desk, and Greg's face nearly paled in fright."Mr. Lockhart Senior! The doctor already said you had to stay calm at all times and not get triggered in case your blood pressure went up again! What happened…"Nathaniel stood there, his side profile cold and stern as he glanced briefly at Dominic's pale lips. Then, he looked at the pills and concoction on the table and gulped softly, his Adam's apple bobbing a little, but never said a thing.Estelle lowered her eyes and saw Greg placing the pills and bowl in front of Dominic.The herbal concoction in the bowl was so dark that it was almost pure black. It smelled absolutely bitter and disgusting as it attacked her nose, and she wanted to hold her br

Dominic seemed to be in a talkative mood today. He kept telling Estelle about Nathaniel's younger days while also assuring her that her personality fit Nathaniel's like a glove.Estelle listened patiently to everything he had to say and occasionally nodded and hummed in acknowledgement, her attitude remaining lukewarm throughout his tirade.Dominic seemed to realize that and kept sighing in the end."Alright. I guess Kathy would be looking for you by now. You may leave."Estelle glanced at the time and saw that it was almost time for Dominic to go to bed. So, she got up and excused herself before leaving.After coming out of the study and shutting the door behind her, Estelle let out a huge sigh of relief and turned around. Just as she did, however, she bumped right into Nicole, who had been waiting in the shadows to catch her when she came out.As always, Nicole would feel superior to Estelle and treat her with contempt and hostility. Estelle ignored her and headed for the stair

It was all because Kathleen had been crying and whining for soup that day, so Estelle didn't even have time to care for her injury. Instead, she hurriedly brought Kathleen her soup, feeding her until she was full before finally tending to her scalded back.Because of that, Estelle's back was permanently scarred. Even the best and most effective scar-removal gels and creams could only lighten some part of the scar and could not remove it completely.Right now, Kathleen was staring up at Estelle with huge, watery eyes, looking like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. However, Estelle no longer felt guilty or horrible as she used to. In fact, she didn't even want to bother with Kathleen for a moment longer.After all, her "new mommy" would always appear in her Instagram posts and stories every other day and was always mentioned in her captions, but Kathleen would only remember her "old mommy" when she needed her for something.It was quite ironic as Estelle thought of it.

Estelle was no longer interested in the other things Nathaniel, Nicole, and Crystal brought up in their further conversation. She had already gotten all of her answers from Nathaniel's firm, decisive response earlier.It was so ridiculous that it became hilarious to her.What else did she hope from him after hearing Lynette's name being brought up?Did she hope that Nathaniel would turn around and look at her once more? Or, did she hope that she could change Kathleen's mind about wanting her as her "new mommy"?Estelle suddenly laughed at herself and said bitterly, "Really, Estelle Stafford? You're such a sucker for him. You already know that this is how they're treating you, so why did you go and harbor high hopes on them?"However, their relationship had lasted seven years, and it was not something she could let go of so suddenly.In other words, even though Estelle had been trying her best to look on the brighter side, most of her habits had all been silently shaped over the p