Chapter 38
Alyssa quickly sent Gaia’s address to him, receiving only a “1” in response.
She knew what this “1” meant; she often did the same when busy and unable to reply properly–it simply indicated acknowledgment or receipt of a message.
Putting her phone aside, she continued to enjoy her watermelon
After finishing the watermelon, she lay comfortably in bed for a hap. When she woke up, it was almost dark outside. Glancing at the time, she saw it was already seven o’clock, and Gaia hadn’t returned yet. She knew that Gaia might have been taken on a “date” by her boss.
Not knowing what time Andrew would come, she got up and tidied herself, then sent a message to Gaia saying she couldn’t stay at her place anymore.
Gaia replied: [Ahhh, you’re not staying at my place again? Boo–hoo, I thought we could finally spend some quality time together–cooking, eating, sleeping, watching movies, gossiping. Sigh, why do you have to leave? Where are you going to stay now?]
While Alyssa was pondering how to respond to Gaia’s message, another message came through: [Seriously? You’re not going back to Sean’s place, are you?]
Alyssa smiled wryly and replied: [No.]
Gaia: [That’s good; stand your ground.]
Alyssa: [Let me pack up first. Someone is coming to pick me up soon, and I can’t keep them waiting. We’ll catch up when we’re both free tomorrow.]
After sending this message, Alyssa went to freshen up.
However, when she was ready, there was neither a call from Andrew nor a message on WhatsApp, though there were five missed calls from her mother, Shannon.
Without even thinking, she knew why her mother was calling–it was undoubtedly because Hailey had embellished and tattled about the afternoon’s events, so Shannon was calling to reprimand her and insist she apologize or compensate Hailey.
Alyssa’s mother was probably the best stepmother in the world; she always treated Hailey better than Alyssa, her own biological daughter.
Alyssa still remembered, in her past life, when she was sent to a mental institution by Sean and Hailey, she had hoped her mother would come to rescue her. And indeed, her mother did come, which made her very happy. She poured out all her grievances, her unwillingness, and her sadness to her mother.
But after listening to her anguished cries, her mother said, “Since Hailey likes Sean, why don’t you just let her have him? Besides, you can design; why not help Hailey with her designs? Hailey is gonna be the chief designer at Rivorn Clothing; how can she do that without knowing how to design?
“You’re her best friend, her elder sister; why not help her? What’s there to feel sad about? Also, don’t transfer that 20% share of Rivorn Clothing to Sean; give it to Hailey instead. That way, if Hailey ends up with Sean, she’ll have something to hold over their family. If Hailey doesn’t have anything, the Rivera family will bully her.”
Alyssa’s mother thought of everything for Hailey but never once asked if Alyssa, her own biological daughter was okay.
Back then, Alyssa truly couldn’t understand why her mother treated her like that and she was unwilling, in pain, and sad. She wanted to ask her mother why she was treated this way.
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