Once a Doormat, Now Untouchable

Chapter 189 Caleb and Eloise shifted uncomfortably. Yet in the end, age lent cunning. As long as nothing was said aloud, the Eloise could still pretend nothing had happened. She beckoned to Sydney with a smile that never touched her eyes. "Come here, Syd. Why don't you tell everyone? Has the Sterling family treated you well or not?" She would not put Caleb on the spot, nor risk a direct clash with Julian. Sydney, as always, became the convenient target. Sydney had barely drawn breath to answer when Julian cut in, voice sharp with disdain, "Enough.

That old trick of beating someone while forbidding them to cry out-you've been playing it on her since she was five. Aren't you tired of it yet?" He showed no restraint, striking her with words as merciless as a slap. In a single sentence, he exposed nearly 20 years of Sydney's life. Sydney had never been allowed to resist or weep. Only silence and obedience had spared her punishments that could have broken her. A flicker of unease crossed Charlotte's face. She had not realized Julian and Eloise stood on such hostile ground. "Your grandmother surely has her reasons," she offered weakly.

tongue and berated her impatiently, "This is the Sterling family's New Year's dinner. Why are you even here?" He spared no one, cutting down every supposed tie ruthlessly. With one line, he dismissed Charlotte entirely. Eloise's expression soured as she had no graceful way to retreat. Just as the air threatened to snap, a cousin's child burst into tears. The adults seized on the distraction, smoothing things over as if nothing had happened. Not long after, a few younger cousins drifted to

from feeling cramped. After the clash, Eloise held her tongue, and Sydney kept her head down, quietly eating. Between the clink of glasses and polite laughter, the evening even managed a fragile

her back. "Syd, go upstairs to the study and fetch the gift I set aside." "Sure." Every year, the Sterlings exchanged gifts twice-once on New Year's Eve, again on New Year's morning. It was not about