Zoe Lancaster had lost some weight in a short amount of time. She calmly stirred her coffee, seemingly oblivious to Martin Lancaster’s repeated hesitations as he struggled to speak.
Martin was likely feeling anxious as well. He looked at his seemingly cold daughter sitting across from him and said in a helpless, exhausted tone, "Must we really make such a scene?"
"A scene?"
Zoe finally looked up, somewhat in disbelief. "You think I’m the one making a scene?"
She asked calmly, but her heart was still bleeding. She wondered why her father had become like this. He no longer had her or her mother in his heart. His blatant favoritism toward that mother and daughter was completely undisguised; he didn’t even bother keeping up appearances anymore.
It wasn’t that Martin couldn’t see Zoe’s disappointment. He clenched his hands uncomfortably before finally speaking. "I know the specifics of the situation. Mr. Hawthorne hasn’t pursued the matter, yet you’re the one who had a court summons sent to the house.
"Zoe, this is a scandal after all. If it goes to court, it will become an irreversible mess. The Lancaster family’s reputation will plummet, and we’ll be the subject of endless gossip. Riley’s actions can’t bear the light of day, and Sheffield hasn’t pursued the matter yet. If you strike her down now... you can’t just... ruin her, right?"
Zoe slowly smiled. It was a bleak, sorrowful expression. "Even you think her actions can’t bear the light of day. Sneaking into his bed, using a child to threaten Sean Sheffield into marrying her—she was destined to pay the price for overestimating herself and reap what she sowed. But out of humiliation and rage, she tried to ruin my face, even take my life. Now that I’ve narrowly escaped death and want to seek justice for myself, you’re telling me not to ruin her?"
Martin frowned.
Zoe stared at him intently, trying to find even the slightest trace of heartbreak for her. "What if my face had actually been ruined, or what if I had lost my life? Would you still feel the same way? Are you so afraid of her going to jail that you don’t even care whether I live or die?"
"Aren’t you perfectly fine right now?! That hypothetical situation never happened!" Martin’s voice suddenly rose, his expression turning ugly.
"Are we discussing a hypothetical? It’s about whether the scale in your heart is fair." Zoe’s smile vanished inch by inch, leaving only a stagnant calm.
Martin was left speechless. But his purpose for coming here wasn’t to argue, so he continued. "Zoe, don’t be so ruthless. Drop the lawsuit. As long as you withdraw it, we can resolve this however you want in private. Riley has suffered a huge blow. She’s very fragile right now."
Zoe just wanted to laugh. Tears welled up in her eyes. The stifling frustration, sorrow, and despair left her breathless. Sure enough, Martin still cared more about Riley, not hesitating to subject his own biological daughter to endless grievances. Her father was no longer her father. Her mother had forgotten everything but never forgot to love her. Yet her father remembered everything but didn’t want to love her. It was far too ironic.
She lifted her head, forcefully holding back her tears. Her voice finally grew cold, leaving no room for negotiation. "Impossible. Unless I die."
SLAP!
An unexpected slap landed on her face, sending a ringing through Zoe’s ears. What hurt wasn’t her face, but her heart. And with that pain, it completely shattered.
Martin was clearly exasperated, his entire being radiating towering fury. The muscles in his face trembled. His hand had moved faster than his brain. Seeing Zoe’s instantly reddened face, his eyes flickered with what seemed like remorse, but it vanished in a flash. "She’s your biological sister! She’s my own biological daughter! The grievances she has suffered are far greater than yours! You’ve enjoyed the status and everything else that rightfully belonged to her since childhood. What more do you want?"
Zoe’s brain short-circuited. It took a long time for her to process the critical information. Riley was Martin’s biological daughter. She was her biological sister. Not a stepdaughter? This truth hit her so hard it left her dizzy and unable to react.
Not just her, but everyone believed Riley was the daughter brought in by the mistress, and that Martin was simply broad-minded and dedicated to this stepdaughter. She never expected that it wasn’t Martin being generous at all. It was because Riley was his own flesh and blood to begin with.
"Right after you married my mother, you got involved with Wendy Lawrence. You cheated on her and had Riley—"
Riley was a few months older than her. The timeline was far too close. The truth was even more unbearable than she had thought.
Martin’s lips moved as if he had a thousand words to say, yet he couldn’t explain.
Zoe trembled from the cold radiating through her body. No wonder Riley had been so arrogant and domineering toward her since childhood. Even though she was the intruder, she never felt she had destroyed someone else’s family and always fought her for everything with absolute self-righteousness. Everything made sense now.
She didn’t just feel pathetic for herself. She also felt heartbroken for her mother.
Standing up, Zoe said in a low voice, "Dropping the lawsuit is impossible."
Dropping those words, she fled the scene. It turned out she had never been Martin’s only daughter. She had nothing. In the end, she became the biggest joke of all.
At the hospital.
Having not slept well the entire night, Simon Hawthorne was in a truly mediocre mood. He had barely eaten anything. Anyone could see that he was in a foul temper.
Linden had brought over delicate pastries from The Sweet Wish Pavilion twice, but Simon didn’t even touch them, maintaining a cold expression and saying nothing.
Shane Shaw wanted to say something, but Linden dragged him outside.
"What are you doing?" Shane asked, displeased.
Linden shot him a cold glare. "Can’t you tell? Mr. Hawthorne is pissed. Are you just standing there to be a mascot?"
Shane frowned. "Why is he pissed?"
Linden crossed his arms and sneered. "These past two days, have there been a lot of visitors or what?"
Shane thought about it. There certainly had been. Aside from deliberately keeping the Hawthorne Family in the dark about Simon’s injury, some close friends had successively come to visit.
"You haven’t noticed what’s wrong?" Linden wished he could pry Shane’s brain open. "Where’s Mrs. Hawthorne? Have you seen her?"
Shane finally frowned. "No."
Linden sighed. "Everyone has come. Yet Mrs. Hawthorne hasn’t shown up. Mr. Hawthorne got injured because of her, after all. She hasn’t even come to see him, so how could he be in a good mood? I advise you not to court disaster, or his temper will be taken out on you."
He also found it strange. He didn’t think Zoe was the heartless type, so why wouldn’t she come to visit? Mr. Hawthorne had been no different from a bundle of dynamite these past two days.
Inside the hospital room.
Simon lowered his eyes to look at his bandaged left arm. The dressing needed to be changed twice a day, and every time, the wound had to be pulled open, causing intense pain. He could endure it, but his heart felt terribly cold.
He couldn’t help but think of her as a heartless little ingrate.
The gloom in his heart intensified. Leaning against the pillows, he looked at the pinky ring on his left hand before taking out his phone and making a call.
It rang a few times. Only then did the other side slowly pick up. "Simon."
The woman’s voice seemed a little hoarse. He noticed it immediately and frowned. His original intentions to question and blame her vanished into thin air, turning into imperceptible concern. "What’s wrong? Did you catch a cold? Or... have you been crying?"
Zoe fell silent for a moment before replying with feigned normalcy, "No, I didn’t. How are you doing? Are you feeling any better?"
Only then did Simon say coldly, "I’m dying. Are you coming to see me for the last time or not?"