On the other end of the line, Acacia was also crying her eyes out.
“She knows my relationship with Grandpa is rocky, and she’s using that against me. How could she be so ruthless?!”
The look of shock in Thaddeus’s eyes said it all so he had no clue what she was on about.
The woman in front of him was crying. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but her sorrow was palpable. Every tear she shed was a punch to the gut.
“Ilana, what the hell’s going on? Don’t scare Grandpa like that!” Despite having weathered many storms, Hamilton was clearly shaken by the young girl’s tears.
Evadne was sobbing uncontrollably. “Grandpa, I accidentally broke the bracelet. I’ve been trying to fix it these past few days, but it’s no use. So, I thought maybe I could make an exact replica. I just didn’t want you to be upset. I’m sorry, Grandpa. I lied to you. I’m sorry.”
Evadne was crying so hard that her body was convulsing, and her hands were soaked with tears.
She was so pitiful it hurt.
Listening to her disjointed so bs, Thaddeus felt a jolt run through him.
He finally understood what she’d been up to these past few days and why her fingertips were covered in callouses. She’d been trying to fix the bracelet grandpa had given her.
Suddenly, he felt as if the glinting tear drops were searing his heart, bitterness, and sorrow spreading within him.
“Oh dear, such a small matter!”
Hamilton clasped Evadne’s hand sympathetically, torn between laughter and tears. “The moment you walked in, I knew you weren’t wearing the bracelet I gave you. I figured something must have happened to it. Why else wouldn’t you be wearing it? But I wasn’t mad at you at all. Your grandma has plenty of bracelets, a whole box full! I wanted to give them to you, but I was afraid you wouldn’t accept them. That’s why I picked out the best one for you and made up all those stories, just to get you to accept it.” Your grandma used to joke that all these trinkets were a burden. She even told me not to let these things follow her if she were to pa** away because they’d take up space!”
Upon hearing this, Evadne’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but her eyes were still filled with tears, and her nose was a bright red.
“Thaddeus! Where the hell are you?!”
Hamilton smacked his wheelchair’s armrest. “Get over here and comfort your wife!”
Acacia yelled, “Thad, don’t go over there. I’m not done talking.”
“I’ve got something to take care of. We’ll talk later.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Thaddeus hung up the phone decisively.
On the other end of the line, Acacia stared at her phone screen as it went black, gasping for breath, her face turning ugly.

“Evadne, you disgusting woman! You sl ut! I’ll make sure you pay!”
Acacia quickly dialed Elspeth’s number.
“I need your help! That cun ning woman Ilana is with Thad at Grandpa’s place!”
Acacia was crying so hard she could barely speak. “If this goes on, she will take away Thad! Before, he would come find me whenever I called, no matter how busy he was. Now, he hangs up on me before I even finish speaking! Hasn’t he changed?! If I don’t marry into the Abernathy family, I won’t be able to help you.”
Acacia knew that complaining wouldn’t be enough. She needed to make Elspeth feel threatened so that she would genuinely help her come up with a plan.
“Acacia, calm down. You know Thaddeus’s personality. You can’t force him or be too impatient. That’ll only backfire. After all, your framing of Ilana has put a wedge between you and Thaddeus. Even if he feels guilty and remembers the good times from your childhood, that bond can’t withstand constant erosion,” Elspeth said calmly.
“So, what should I do?” Acacia asked desperately.
“Pretend to be pitiful, but make sure Thaddeus genuinely sympathizes with you.”
Elspeth snorted. “With me here, Ilana thinks she can outsmart you? She can try again in a hundred years!”
Thaddeus hurried into the study.
“Grandpa, I’m here.”
“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear Ilana crying? Do I have to call you for you to come?” Hamilton berated him.
As long as Ilana was happy, even if it meant Thaddeus played the clown, he was willing!
“No.”
Thaddeus replied, walking over to Evadne and glancing at her.
She was beautiful, even with her face stained with tears, like a flower kissed by morning dew. Her dark hair partly concealed her lovely face, making her even more attractive.
Feeling embarra**ed, Evadne blushed, and a tear trickled down her cheek like a star falling earthward.
Thaddeus was momentarily dazed, his heart beating in sync with her fluttering eyelashes.
“You apologize to your wife!” Hamilton urged, clearly upset.
“Why me? She’s not crying because of me.” Thaddeus frowned, not understanding.
Hamilton glared at him. “Because Ilana is your wife! If your wife is crying, are you expecting me, an older man, to soothe her? Don’t you have a mouth?!”
“Grandpa, Thaddeus and I are divorced. I’m not his wife anymore.”
“You’re husband and wife for a lifetime! He hasn’t done anything decent for you in the past three years. This apology is the least he owes you!”
The mention of “divorce” made Hamilton even more furious. “You brainless fool! If you don’t soothe Ilana today, don’t call yourself my grandson anymore!”
Thaddeus clenched his lips, and after a while, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Evadne looked at him with teary eyes, her heart trembling.
She remembered this was the first time he had apologized to her.
11:25 T
Sadly, it didn’t seem sincere.
“Bow to her!” Hamilton said.
“Is that really necessary?” Thaddeus asked, his eyebrows twitching.
“I’m already giving you a break by not having you kneel! That time, I apologized to your grandma. I was being sincere enough! Ilana is my beloved granddaughter, I won’t allow you to treat her carelessly. Get moving!”
Thaddeus was really driven to his wits’ end by this older man. So he stepped back, put his hands together in front of his chest, left hand outside, right hand inside, and bowed deeply to Evadne.
“Ilana, I’m sorry, I’m here to apologize to you.”
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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