Chapter 31 The Line Between Blood and Love

Finished

Worried that bYunice /bmight be holding a grudge, Lily stood up and gently sat beside her bed. “I haven’t been sleeping well. these past few days. I keep dreaming about your father…

As she bspoke/b, she ced Yunice’s hand into her own, her eyes bred/bb–/bbrimmed/b. “If only there was something of his left behind for me to remember him by.”

“bMom/b, didn’t you give your blessing when the rose tree Father left you was cut down?” Yunice looked at her sincerely.

Lily faltered under that gaze. For a moment, she actually felt guilty. “I know you’re upset,” she said bquickly/b, “but when you be a mother one day, you’ll understand. A child’s safety is more bimportant /bthan banything/b. I had no choice.”

“The book really isn’t with me,” Yunice replied.

Then, without warning, she leaned forward and rested her head against Lily’s chest. “Mom, if you miss Dad, just hold me. I’m part of what he left behind too.”

Lily had never hugged her before. The moment Yunice pressed close, she clearly felt Lily instinctively try to bpush /bher away,

parent’s love for their child runs deep

But even as a daughter, that love had never been given to her.

Even hearts grow crooked–how could fairness exist?

The hugsted only a few seconds before Lily stood up, clearly ufortable. I’ll ask your brotherster. Maybe one of

them bhas /bthe book”

Yunice smiled and softly hummed in acknowledgment, showing no hint of hurt.

Lily bit her lip, her face clouded bwith /bunease as she left the room.

Seeing her expression, Giana assumed Yunice must’ve said something harsh.

But Lily shook her head and muttered, conflicted, “I just wonder am I btoo /bcold toward Yunny? But… She nced at Giana, her voice tight with disgust. “I bwant /bto treat her like ba /bbdaughter/b, but every time she gets bclose/b, I just feel so disgusted, so irritated I can’t help wanting her to stay far baway/b…

She let out a long sigh, her face full of regret. “If only Elsie band /bbYunice /bhad been switched. If Elsie were the real Saunders daughterb, /band Yunice had stayed bin /bthat mountain vige, I wouldn’t be in this awkward position.”

The bdoor /bwasn’t fully shut. A sliver of Yunice’s clothes peeked through the gap–unnoticed.

She stood there, leaning silently against the wall, listening to her mother’s words of rejection,

Words that sharp should’ve made her furious. But they didn’t.

She simply tilted her head back, resting it against the bwall/b, her face nk and exhausted bas /bshe stared up at the ceiling.

Her father’s love had been enough. As for a mother… she’d never had one. bSo /bwhat was there to lose?

It was bjust /ba beautiful childhood dream–shattered, nothing bmore/b.

Later bthat /bnight, Owen got a call for an emergency case.

Driving out through the wrought–biron /bbgates /bof the Saunders estate, he had bbarely /bturned onto the asphalt when he bcaught /bat glimpse bof /bba /bbfamiliar /bfigure by the roadside.

Chapter 31 The Line Between Blood and Love

Owen frowned. What was she doing out thiste? He turned the wheel band /bbegan following her.

Finished

Inside the taxi, Yunice kept checking the time, her expression tense, eyes fixed on the passing streets. She bdidn’t /bnotice she was being followed.

Eventually, the cab pulled to a stop. Yunice jumped out and ran to knock on the back gate of a house

Owen’s car stopped at a distance. He leaned forward to see more clearly.

The Johnson family.

That was the family his mother bhad /barranged for Yunice to marry into.

He looked back toward her. She was knocking at the Johnsons‘ rear gate. A housekeeper opened a small gap in the door. Yunice slipped inside.

Seeing this, Owen’s heart warmed. So she hadn’t meant it when she said she bwouldn’t /bhelp Elsie. She was just being stubborn. trying to get more attention.

Deep down, she still cared about the family. She couldn’t bear the thought of their father’s hospital being dragged through the mud. She was here to plead on their behalf.

Since bshe’s /bbeing sensible, I’ll go easier on her when iI /iget back, he thought. No need to bhold /bit against her.

With that, Owen drove away from the Johnsons‘ house, in bgood /bspirits, waiting for tomorrow’s good bnews/b.

“This way, Ms. Saunders!”

A Johnson family maid rushed over at a jog. Yunice clutched her shoulder bbag /band ran so bfast /bbshe /bnearly passed the bmaid/b.

But the quick pace left her breathless and cramping. She pressed a hand to her side band /bsaid nothing, forcing herself to keep running.

Atst, they reached the back courtyard. The bmaid /bflung bthe /bdoor bopen /bband /bstepped aside, urgently motioning. “Ms. Saunders, quick–go in!”

Yunice stepped over the threshold. Before she could even make out what bwas /bhappening binside/b, she heard crying.

“What do we do? Is the olddy dying?”

bYunice /bhurried past the folding screen. The moment she entered, everyone inside turned to look at her.

bSend /bGifts