Chapter 344
After saying this, Hackett walked out of the dining room without even looking back, refusing to say goodbye to Naomi, as if he were avoiding her.
Naomi watched Hackett, who hadn’t eaten much from the table, leave in such a hurry. Was she a monster? Was she so detestable?
At the Maddox family’s residence.
This was Valeria’s first night staying over at her biological parents house, and she couldn’t sleep at all.
However, Alex had fallen asleep early. Clayton had played with Alex for a long time tonight, so Alex got tired quickly.
Valeria watched the sleeping Alex, tucked him in, and then slowed her steps as she left the bedroom.
Valeria found herself alone in the garden, wanting to take a stroll. Unexpectedly, she ran into Loretta, who was wearing a coat and standing under the moonlight.
“Mrs…” Valeria started to say but then felt it was inappropriate, so she finally said, “Mom, what are you doing here?”
Loretta turned around at the sound and smiled at Valeria. “Can’t sleep either? I guess I’m too excited tonight, can’t seem to fall asleep, so I came out for a walk.”
“I guess I’m just not used to the environment here, so I can’t sleep either,” Valeria replied.
Loretta walked over and sat down on a wicker chair. “Why don’t you join me? Let’s chat.”
Valeria sat down on the opposite wicker chair, feeling the breeze on her cheeks and the faint fragrance that permeated the garden. It was very comfortable.
“Although your dad went to bed so early, he’s also very excited today. He’s been looking forward to this day for too long.”
Valeria smiled without saying anything.
Loretta continued, “You’ve suffered so much in these years. I heard your dad say you’ve been bullied by that foster father of yours, always asking you for money, is that true?”
As she spoke, Loretta’s eyes were filled with compassion.
Valeria’s lips curled into a faint smile. “It’s all in the past. But the one who suffered the most from being bullied was actually my mom. She went through a lot during these years. However, no matter where she went, she always took me with her, so I felt quite happy being by her side. Later, after marrying Hackett, he helped me out on many occasions, so I wasn’t harassed by my foster father that year. I thought my foster father had changed, but it turned out Hackett was shielding me from trouble.”
Valeria reminisced about that year of her secret marriage. Hackett didn’t fulfill his duties as a husband, showing extreme indifference toward her.
However, when Valeria’s mother passed away, it was Hackett who took care of the aftermath. Whenever her foster father came demanding money, Hackett would send him away.
That year wasn’t exactly happy, but Valeria felt secure. At the time, she even thought that living like that for the rest of her life wouldn’t be so bad.
Loretta looked at Valeria’s expression when she mentioned Hackett, tinged with a hint of nostalgia, and slowly said, “Hackett is a good kid. Now that the James family has broken, he’s the only one left holding the fort.”
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Chapter 344
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Since the conversation had reached this point, Valeria couldn’t help but speak up for Hackett. “Mom, let Dad help him out. He just wants to regain the shares Mr. Barron left for him.”
“That’s only natural. Since we’re a family now, we will help him. No matter what, he’s Alex’s father. Don’t worry. We will help him, Loretta replied.
Hearing Loretta’s words, Valeria felt relieved for Hackett. It was better to have someone’s support than to go it alone.
Loretta asked tentatively, “Valeria, is there still a chance for you and Hackett?”
The smile on Valeria’s lips gradually faded; she wasn’t ready to face that question.
“I don’t know.”
Indeed, Valeria didn’t know what to do. She seemed to trust Hackett more now, but she was also afraid of repeating past mistakes. She was torn and conflicted.
Seeing Valeria’s inner turmoil, Loretta said, “Let’s not talk about this matter then. Let’s talk about something cheerful. What style do you like? I’ll have someone redecorate a new room for you tomorrow.”
Valeria just smiled and said, “No need. I’ll share a room with Alex for now. He still can’t be without me.”
In the next few days, everything returned to normal.
Although the welcoming banquet was–delayed, Clayton directly posted an announcement on the company’s official website, acknowledging Valeria’s existence, causing a sensation online.
This made Kaden even more anxious. He had to take action quickly.
Since Valeria returned to the Maddox family, Elsie’s days had become even more unbearable. She felt completely ignored by her parents.
“Where are my mom and dad? Why haven’t they come for dinner?” Elsie had been sulking in her room all day, and they hadn’t even called her for dinner. She had to go to the dining room on her own.
The maid who was serving the dishes replied, “Mr. and Mrs. Maddox asked you to go ahead and eat. They’re in the garden helping Mr. Alex dig some soil.”
Digging soil?
Her elegant and noble mother and her always aloof father were actually playing in the dirt with a three–year–old toddler?
They must have gone mad!
Elsie let out an indignant huff and poked her fork into her spaghetti.
Elsie had spent the entire day in her room, and no one had bothered to check on her. It turned out that they actually went to dig the soil with Alex.
If this was in the past, her parents would take turns to persuade her to go down for dinner, afraid that she would be hungry.
However, they were all focused on Valeria, who had just returned, and the little grandson. They seemed to have completely forgotten Elsie’s existence.
Suddenly, Elsie received a text message on her phone.
Elsie glanced at her phone casually and was surprised to see that it was a text message from Hackett.
Hackett sending her a message was a rare occurrence.
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17:40 Wed, Nov 27 BB.
Chapter 344
Elsie immediately picked up her phone and opened the message which contained a string of numbers, [Room 5022, Cloudan Hotel]
A hotel room number? What did this mean?
Elsie was completely puzzled and replied with a message, [What do you mean?]
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However, Elsie waited for a long time and received no response. She double–checked, and it was indeed Hackett’s phone number.
No reply from Hackett? Perhaps he was busy?
Elsie decided to call him directly, but to her surprise, the call was disconnected as soon as done it on purpose!
Elsie sent another message, [What do you mean by this!]
it connected. Hackett must have
After a few minutes, Elsie received a message notification and eagerly opened it. The message read, [You’ll find out when you get here.]
No matter what other messages Elsie sent, the person on the other end didn’t reply.
Elsie was full of confusion but couldn’t resist her curiosity. She decided to go and see what was going on.
She got up from the dining room table, and the maid asked, “Ms. Elsie, are you not eating?”
“I’m not hungry. I’m going out.”
Elsie hurried back to her room, changed into a different outfit, and then drove off.
At the same time, Clayton and Loretta were thoroughly engrossed in playing with Alex and had no idea where Elsie had gone.
In Room 5022, Cloudan Hotel.
At that moment, Kaden was sitting at his desk, operating a laptop with a screen displaying the message–sending interface on his phone.
When Kaden saw the last message marked as read by Elsie, a sinister smile crept across his face.
SEND GIFT
