CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36: VIVIAN, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE COME

"Dad..." Seeing Mr. Lynch’s haggard appearance, tears welled up in Vivian Lynch’s eyes, "Where are they? Aren’t you sick? Is this how they take care of you?"

Upon hearing her words, Mr. Lynch showed a moment of surprise on his face, only for the expression to quickly change, "Vivian, you shouldn’t have come."

Vivian’s heart tightened, "Dad, why shouldn’t I have come? What exactly happened?"

Mr. Lynch sighed, his expression full of helplessness, "They all left, leaving me here alone. Vivian, don’t worry about me, it’s just my old ailment."

Vivian’s tears spilled over, "Dad, don’t say that. I’m your daughter; taking care of you is my duty. How could they treat you like this?"

Mr. Lynch reached out to wipe the tears from Vivian’s face, "Vivian, you are pregnant now, don’t trouble yourself over me. I know about your situation, it’s the Lynch family’s fault. Since you’ve left, don’t come back again. Why did you come back?"

Vivian tightly gripped Mr. Lynch’s hand, holding back her tears, "Dad, I won’t leave you. If it weren’t for you taking me in back then, I might have starved on the streets. Rest assured, I will take good care of you, myself, and the child."

Mr. Lynch looked at Vivian’s determined eyes, feeling both comfort and heartache.

"Vivian, you’ve grown up and become sensible. But you also need to think about your future and live the life you want."

Vivian shook her head, her voice choked with emotion, "Dad, I’m doing well now, and the Hawthorne family treats me well, so you don’t need to worry."

"That’s good." Mr. Lynch’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

Just then, Mrs. Lynch’s sharp voice rang out, "You shameless girl, how dare you come back?"

"Sis, I knew you would come." Finn Lynch showed a smug smile.

Seeing Mrs. Lynch and Finn Lynch arrive, Stella Fletcher instinctively stood beside Vivian Lynch.

Vivian trembled slightly upon hearing Mrs. Lynch’s voice, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.

Mrs. Lynch stormed over, pointing at Vivian and cursing, "You ungrateful thing, if it weren’t for the Lynch family taking you in, could you have what you have today? Now your wings are grown, you want to abandon us, is that it?"

Vivian bit her lips, suppressing the grievance in her heart, "Mom, I am very grateful for the nurturing kindness you and Dad have shown me. All these years, I have worked hard for the family without complaint. But what about you? Why are you so heartless, wanting to sell me off? Is it because I’m not your biological child, you can just trample on me?"

Stella backed her up, "Exactly, what kind of heartless mother sells her daughter for glory? I spit..."

Saying this, Stella spat at her.

Mrs. Lynch glared at Stella, "Who do you think you are? It’s none of your business to speak here."

Vivian grabbed Stella’s hand, not wanting her to clash with Mrs. Lynch.

"Stella, ignore them."

Mr. Lynch watched the chaotic scene, sighed heavily, "Stop arguing. Vivian came to the hospital to see me; that’s an expression of filial piety. Can you stop making things difficult for her?"

Mrs. Lynch, however, relentless, pointed at Vivian and cursed, "Filial piety? If she had any, she wouldn’t have done such disgraceful things. Pregnant before marriage, running off with a wild man, do you think we’re dead?"

"Exactly, sis, you’ve had it easy, do you know why Dad got sick? Isn’t it because of you? The Warner family keeps insisting we return the betrothal money. We’ve already given half back to them, yet they’re still relentless, coming to our house every day to make trouble, and Dad got sick because of them."

Finn Lynch then directed all the blame at Vivian, "It’s all because of you, you’ve ruined our family."

Mr. Lynch glared angrily at Mrs. Lynch, "Enough! Vivian’s had it tough enough, can’t you say a bit less?"

Mrs. Lynch and Finn only escalated their verbal tirade.

Stella was instantly furious, "Do you have any conscience? Selling your daughter for glory, now you start kicking once she’s down, blaming it on Vivian? The mess your family is now, didn’t you bring it upon yourselves?"

Vivian felt an immense sorrow at Finn’s accusations.

She never imagined she’d cause the family so much trouble, yet she was never truly treated well by this family.

"I never wanted to harm the family, nor did I want things to become like this." Vivian’s voice trembled, "Back then, you forced me to marry someone I didn’t like and tried to drug me to sell my first night. If I hadn’t escaped quickly, I might have been sold to the Warner family already. You were the true culprits behind all this."

Mrs. Lynch snorted coldly, "Vivian Lynch, you think the Hawthorne family will want you. That man is responsible for you just because you’re carrying his bastard."

Stella glared at Mrs. Lynch, "Vivian’s affairs are none of your concern. President Hawthorne treats her well; they’ve already registered their marriage, and they will certainly be happy."

Upon hearing this, the Lynch family looked astonished.

"What? You secretly registered marriage with that man from the Hawthorne family?"

Upon learning this, Mrs. Lynch became even more furious, "Oh, Vivian Lynch, you’ve got some nerve? How dare you register marriage with a wild man?"

Finn laughed disdainfully, "Sis, even if you’ve registered marriage with Caden Hawthorne, he’s only trying to give the child in your belly a name, don’t embellish it with grandeur, he might just be playing around."

Seeing the Lynch family’s attitude, Vivian trembled with rage, finally unable to hold back, "Shut up! You’ve never truly cared about me, only sought to exploit me. Now you’re slandering me, I won’t let you manipulate me anymore."

Mr. Lynch watched the arguing crowd, clutching his chest with regretful agitation, "What a sin! It’s all my fault."

"Dad, don’t be like this!" Seeing Mr. Lynch so upset, Vivian too felt her heart tense.

"Enough, stop all this nonsense, just give the money." Finn stretched out his hand directly, demanding money from Vivian.

Seeing Finn continuously talk about money, Vivian wiped her tears, turned her face away, "I don’t have money, I won’t give you a single penny."

"Exactly, you’ve got the betrothal money, now you want to ask Vivian for more? Crazy." Stella crossed her arms, spoke irritably.

Hearing this, Finn became anxious, "Vivian Lynch, how ungrateful can you be? Our family has raised you for so many years, what’s the big deal asking for some money? Besides, Dad is sick now, we need money for treatment!"

Vivian glared angrily at him, "What do you take me for? A cash machine? Haven’t I given enough to this family over the years?"