CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: YOU ARE TOTALLY UNWORTHY OF BEING A FATHER... (ADDITIONAL UPDATE)

Melody Parker glanced at Maxwell Parker, who was sitting there allowing Phoebe to hit and scold her, and spoke forcefully, "I wasn’t out messing around; I was visiting my mom at the Mid-Hill Cemetery!"

Upon hearing Melody Parker’s words, Phoebe’s scolding became even harsher.

The ridiculous part was Maxwell Parker—her biological father—who at first trembled, then gradually became calm, sitting there blind to everything happening to her...

The breeze blew, and the light rain gently fell on Melody Parker’s cheeks.

The cool touch brought Melody Parker’s thoughts back.

Looking at the photo on the tombstone that bore a seventy percent resemblance to herself, Melody Parker smiled slightly and placed the brought carnations in front of the photo.

Melody Parker put away the umbrella in her hand and placed it on the ground beside her.

Then, she squatted directly in front of the tombstone and gently caressed the woman’s face in the photo with her hand.

Past events drifted like the wind, those bitter memories had long caused Melody Parker’s tears to flow endlessly.

Now, the endless drizzle fell on Melody Parker, mixing with the tears that poured forth, making it difficult to distinguish the two.

"Mommy, I’m back; I’ve come to see you! Mommy, I’m sorry; all these years I’ve never come to see you. Mommy, rest assured, I’m doing very well now and will certainly be even better in the future. Mommy, I will live my life well, including yours."

The rain suddenly intensified, the drizzle turning into large raindrops.

Raindrops fell on Melody Parker’s face, body, soaking her completely.

Melody Parker ignored it all, seemingly oblivious.

"Oh, Mommy, I have a son now; you’re a grandmother. My son’s name is Benjamin Parker; he’s very cute and obedient. If you got to meet him, you’d surely like him too. Mommy, next time, I’ll bring him to see you, okay?..."

Melody Parker kept caressing Una Sutcliffe’s picture while continuously talking to Una Sutcliffe in the photo, crying so heartbreakingly.

It was then, behind her, someone slowly approached.

Melody Parker cried heartbreakingly and didn’t hear the sound behind her until an umbrella was held over her head, shielding her from the rain pouring down, and she slowly turned around.

Standing behind Melody Parker, shielding her from the wind and rain, was none other than the indifferent father who had never shielded her from any storm.

Seeing Maxwell Parker, Melody Parker laughed, a laugh filled with irony.

What was he doing now?

She no longer needed him standing behind her or shielding her from the wind and rain.

Seeing Melody Parker’s ironic smile, Maxwell Parker’s lips trembled, and he finally called softly: "Melody..."

Melody Parker wiped her tears as if she hadn’t seen Maxwell Parker, stood up, and prepared to leave.

"Melody, are you still blaming me?" Maxwell Parker’s slightly aged voice sounded behind Melody Parker.

Melody Parker, hearing nothing, kept walking away.

Maxwell Parker immediately chased after her, "Melody, I... I have something to say to you."

Melody Parker stopped, not turning back, "Whatever it is, say it."

Maxwell Parker hurried a few steps and stood in front of Melody Parker.

Looking at Melody Parker, he said with a pained face: "Melody, are you really planning to keep resenting Dad, never speaking to him for life?"

Melody Parker raised her head, looked at the elderly face, and calmly spoke, "You’re wrong. I don’t hate you, I never have; after all, your blood flows in my veins. My life was given by you, what right do I have to hate?!"

Maxwell Parker was intensely shaken, quickly lowered his head, preventing Melody Parker from seeing his expression.

"Melody, don’t hate Dad. Back then, what was done to you was out of necessity and helplessness! When Dad sent you away as a child, to a place like that, although it was wrong, it was to save your life! You were born with a strange fragrance, and your grandpa insisted on executing you; only by sending you away could you survive."

Melody Parker: "..."

Maxwell Parker looked up, seeing Melody Parker listening, continuing: "After you returned, your stepmother often bullied you; although Dad could stop her, he couldn’t!"

Melody Parker sneered, "I’m curious, why couldn’t you stop her?"

Maxwell Parker’s cloudy eyes tightly focused on Melody Parker: "Melody, because only that way could you stay safe and not encounter danger."

Melody Parker laughed, with endless desolation and irony.

She had been bullied by Phoebe’s mother and daughter for so many years, and scolded by Phoebe so many times. Her father now tells her that his neglect, his letting Phoebe do whatever she wants, was for her own good, to protect her.

How ironic that is!

Seeing Melody Parker’s disbelief, Maxwell Parker emotionally grabbed her hand, "Melody, believe Dad, everything Dad says is true."

Melody Parker looked coldly at Maxwell Parker’s wrinkled old hand, "Mr. Parker, let go."

Maxwell Parker pleaded: "Melody, I truly regretted it when you were sent abroad by your stepmother, but Dad had no choice, really! To protect you, to let you live well, Dad could only do that to let you suffer more!"

Melody Parker coldly looked at Maxwell Parker and withdrew her hand from his aged hand.

"Oh, Mr. Parker, is this the reason you found for your ruthlessness? Or is it merely to evade paternal responsibility, to soothe your heart, avoid inner condemnation, and deceive yourself with illusions here?"

Maxwell Parker opened his mouth, ultimately unable to utter half a word.

Melody Parker suddenly let out a cold laugh, with icy cold glints in her dark eyes.

She gazed at Maxwell Parker, releasing the emotions suppressed in her heart for so long.

"From the moment I was born, you have not fulfilled the responsibilities a father should have. You drove my mommy to death, robbing me of the right to maternal love from birth! You called me an ill omen, sent me to the care of such people, casting shadow over my childhood! You brought me back to the Parker family but let Phoebe hit and scold me, let Ava Parker treat me like a servant with no rights, planting hatred in my young heart early on! When I was most vulnerable, unsupported in survival, you sent us away, severing our father-daughter bond completely, making me never want to acknowledge you as my father ever again!"

Melody Parker’s smile grew wider, "And today—ha—today you come with such a strong reason! You can stand before me, calmly telling me that everything you did was for me, for me to survive! Mr. Parker, what do you take me for? A fool for you to toy with?"