Chapter 23: Generous Mr. Gates
Wren frowned when she heard this. “Mateo is really something! He’s already engaged to your sister, and now he’s forcing you like this?”
Eliza gently wiped her tear streaked eyes. “Mom, Mateo was drunk. It’s not his fault. And… Lily is also a victim.”
It was only then that Wren realized Lily was still there.
Lily had loved Mateo so much. She must be feeling hurt right now.
Wren snorted coldly. “If you can’t even control your own man, then whose fault is that? If it weren’t for the night when Lily made Mateo angry, you wouldn’t have had to beg him for forgiveness, and your reputation wouldn’t be ruined.”
With that, Wren turned to Lily. “Now look–your sister lost her virginity for you and took all the blame.”
Hearing this, Lily stopped in her tracks.
“Enough! Those two were shameless, messing around together, and now it’s all my fault?”
Lily sometimes really wondered if she and Eliza were even related.
Why did her family always blame her for things without distinguishing right from wrong?
Eliza was bad enough, always taking her place, fighting for her parents‘ love.
But what about Wren and Derek? Were they blind?
They couldn’t even tell right from wrong. It was shameful!*
A sneer crossed Lily’s eyes. “Did I force them to go to the hotel?
You can only be so biased, but if you push me too far, do you want me to go find a reporter and tell them that these two have been messing around for years? That Eliza even had two abortions for Mateo!”
You’re disgusting, aren’t you? Fine, no one gets to be happy!
Wren gasped. “You! What nonsense are you saying! You really don’t understand a thing!”
Lily didn’t stay any longer. She slammed the door behind her and left without looking back,
Leaving Wren and Eliza standing in the living room in shock.
After a long while, Wren finally reacted, her eyes full of disbelief. “Eliza? You had an abortion? You’ve really been with Mateo all this time?”
Eliza’s eyes flickered with guilt for a moment before quickly being replaced with a look of deep grievance.
“Mom, don’t listen to Lily. She’s just trying to stir things up. I’m clean, there’s no way I would do something like that.”
Wren sighed in relief.
She shook her head and said, “Lily must have grown up in a family of gamblers, always lying. If she were just half as obedient as you…”
Eliza smiled sweetly. “It’s okay, Mom. Lily can be taught. She’s actually the one who’s been wronged today. You shouldn’t say things like that about
her.”
Wren waved her hand dismissively. “Wronged? You’re the one who lost your reputation. What’s she got to be wronged about? She spent three years in prison and is still acting like this.”
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From His Cell to His Uncle’s Bed
Chapter 23: Generous Mr. Gates
The more Wren thought about it, the angrier she became. “That daughter of mine is a lost cause!”
Eliza seemed to be reminded of something painful. “Last night’s incident was too big. I can’t even face people anymore.”
Hearing this, Wren’s head started to ache.
But she tried to comfort her daughter by patting her shoulder.
“It’s Mateo’s fault. I’ll have your father check with him about what happened. He has to take responsibility for ruining your reputation.”
Eliza relaxed. She wasn’t worried about Mateo. It seemed she was about to marry into the Gates family after all.
Lily walked out of the Foster family home, her emotions still in a storm.
Years ago, she had returned to this place full of hope, but now, staying even a second longer made her feel disgusted.
It was okay. One shouldn’t be held captive by the past. She hailed a taxi and took a 40–minute ride to a residential complex in the city center.
The location was great, conveniently located, a good balance of noise and tranquility.
The building was not new, about ten years old, but the environment and security were excellent.
After paying the driver, Lily entered the complex.
As soon as she stepped into the elevator, her phone rang. It was a call from Elodie.
“Darling, I almost forgot–you’re being discharged today, right?”
Elodie’s voice was filled with background noise. She was likely calling during a break from her filming.
“If you don’t want to go back to the Foster family, come stay at my place. I’ll send you the address and the lock code…”
Lily immediately replied, “No need. You’re married to Josh now. It’s not convenient for me to go over.”
Although Elodie and Josh were in a marriage of convenience, they were still legally married.
It wouldn’t be appropriate for Lily to stay at their place, especially since Elódie was out of town.
Elodie’s voice held concern. “Then where will you go?”
Lily paused. “I’m going to my fiance’s place.”
As soon as she heard this, Elodie exploded on the other end of the line, sounding frustrated as if she were lamenting a lost cause:
“Lily, didn’t you say you had figured it out, that you weren’t going to hang on to that crooked tree, Mateo? Why did you go find him again! Ugh, you’re hopeless! I really want to clean the water out of your brain!”
She had watched the news on the plane this morning and was absolutely furious. Those two scumbags had checked into a hotel, and it was all over the news–disgusting, truly disgusting.
Elodie had called to comfort Lily, but to her surprise, Lily had gone straight to Mateo.
“You didn’t go to beg Mateo to change his mind, did you? Didn’t he already cheat on you? How can you still tolerate that?”
Upon hearing this, Lily realized Elodie had misunderstood.
She quickly replied, “My fiancé is not Mateo.”
Elodie on the other end was stunned for seven or eight seconds, then asked, “Not Mateo? Then who? Lily, when did you get a new situation? What’s his
10:20
From His Cell to His Uncle’s Bed
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Chapter 23: Generous Mr. Gates
name? What does he do?”
Lily hesitated, unsure of how to answer, as she didn’t know much more than Elodie did about her new fiance either.
“I’ll tell you later. I’m heading to his place now. I’ll hang up.”
After entering the password and stepping inside, she found the apartment empty.
It wasn’t too large, but the sunlight poured in from the windows, casting a warm glow on the floor.
The place didn’t look like it had been lived in too much. Did this man really live here?
She slipped on her slippers and walked around the apartment, just finishing when her phone buzzed with a text message:
[There’s food in the fridge. If you don’t want to cook, you can go out to eat. The bank card is on the shoe rack, no limit, feel free to use it.]
[I’m working late tonight. Don’t wait up for me. Rest early, and we’ll go get the marriage certificate tomorrow morning.]
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