Chapter 139
Beatrice watched the news on the TV as she waited for the good news from Andrew about finalizing his divorce.
To say she was surprised seeing Elara standing on that stage with Daniel Macros as he announced her as the brand ambassador would be an understatement.
What the hell is going on? Why is everyone treating her like she is some kind of goddess?
Beatrice clenched her fists, her freshly manicured nails digging into the skin of her palm and creating crescent moon-shaped scars that were seconds away from drawing blood.
She was about to throw the remote of the TV on the carpet in annoyance when she heard some commotion and stood up, hoping it was Andrew who had arrived.
To her disappointment and surprise, it wasn’t Andrew who arrived. It was his mother, Sophia.
“Aunt Sophia, what a pleasant surprise,” Beatrice stood up from the couch and walked to the lady, who was carrying a bag with some imported snacks.
Sophia smiled, looking around as if she were trying to find someone.
Beatrice’s brows furrowed.
“Are you looking for Andrew? He has gone out for some work,” Beatrice smiled, keeping the information that he had gone to divorce Elara, hoping she would tell her the news later with excitement once it was confirmed.
Sophia looked at Beatrice and nodded before making her way to the empty, clean, scentless kitchen, as if it had been days since someone cooked here.
“Where is Elara? Call her down. What is she doing upstairs when her mother-in-law is here? She should come and brew some tea for me,” Sophia said to the helper.
The woman in her late forties looked at Sophia, then at Beatrice, unsure what she was talking about.
Beatrice cleared her throat.
“Aunt Sophia, have you forgotten Elara doesn’t live here anymore? Wasn’t that the reason you arranged for those chefs?” Beatrice reminded the lady.
It was as if the words turned some kind of switch; Sophia looked at her with raised brows.
“Right. How could I forget? I was hoping to talk to her. Guess I’ll do that later,” she murmured under her breath.
Beatrice, unable to contain her excitement, chuckled.
“I am sure you are here to scold Elara for something again. It’s okay, Aunt. You won’t have to worry about it again. After all, Andrew has gone to finalize the divorce with that woman who has been a thorn in your path and ideas of marrying Andrew to someone from an influential family,” Beatrice said.
Sophia’s pupils dilated.
Wait. Had Andrew gone to divorce that girl? But she was yet to unravel her true identity. With all the connections that the girl had, there was no way p>
“No. I must stop this. He can’t divorce her yet.” Sophia quickly grabbed her clutch and pulled out her phone to call Andrew.
She tried calling his number, but no matter how many times she dialed, it kept saying unreachable.
Beatrice’s eyes narrowed.
“Aunty, what are you talking about? Didn’t you want them to get divorced?” Beatrice asked.
Sophia scoffed.
Of course, she wanted them to get divorced. Hell, she didn’t even want to see that country bumpkin poor girl in her house.
But now that things weren’t clear about her identity and that she was probably someone essential or related to someone important, how could she allow it until she had made use of that girl?
“You don’t understand. I don’t have the time to explain anything to you. I must leave right now,” Sophia said as she rushed out of the house, and Beatrice followed.
Seeing that the old woman might ruin the day that she had been working so hard for, Beatrice squared her jaw and then looked around.
Once she was sure no one was in sight or watching her, she smirked.
“Aunt Sophia, don’t run so fast. You will fall.” Beatrice deliberately grabbed the back of Sophia’s dress, holding it for a second, and then releasing her.
The action made Sophia stumble on the small flight of stairs, and she rolled down the stairs, twisting her ankle.
“Aunt Sophia! Oh my! I told you not to run.” Beatrice rushed to help Sophia, who groaned in pain.
The helpers rushed from inside to help Sophia.
At the same time, Andrew, who returned from the registrar’s office, not wanting to go straight to work because he didn’t feel like working with his emotions all over the place and his thoughts haywire, saw his mother writhing in pain.
“Mom!” Andrew rushed to the site and picked up his mother when he noticed she couldn’t even move, and Beatrice and the helper were having trouble moving her inside the house.
“What the hell happened?” Andrew asked no one in particular.
Beatrice narrated the entire incident, and Andrew pressed his lips into a thin line.
“What has gotten into you? You always hated her guts. Why did you want me to stop this time?” Andrew asked.
Sophia shook her head.
“It’s not about that, son. I think Elara has hidden something from us all this time, something that your grandpa knew. Her background is not so simple. And if that’s the case, how could we let her go without using her… I mean, using the resources she could bring?” Sophia asked.
Andrew, shocked by his mother’s words, looked at her in a new light.
Yes, she had always been harsh with Elara about values and everything, but he had always thought all mothers-in-law were like that.
Wasn’t that what most soap operas show, too? But hearing her now… it felt like his mother never cared about Elara as a person.
Even now, when she is gone, that girl was nothing more than a resource for her.
Suddenly, Elara’s words about how she was going easy on him about divorce despite suffering so much in the marriage echoed in his head.
“Are the documents signed for real? She loved you a lot. How could she just leave like that? Did she demand anything in alimony? There was no maintenance fee, right?” Sophia asked when she realized she couldn’t make use of Elara’s background anymore.
Andrew looked at his mom for a few seconds before standing from the couch.
He could see his family in a new light for some reason, the kind where he could see how unkind they were, probably to Elara, himself included.
“I’ll call the doctor, and he will come to check her up. I’ll be in my room. Don’t disturb me under any circumstances,” Andrew said to Beatrice before he made his way to his room.
Beatrice nodded in understanding. She could feel his mood was off, but that didn’t stop her from feeling happy now that she knew the divorce was completed.
Andrew was officially single and up for grabs.
Inside the room, Andrew plopped on the bed and opened the news application casually.
He looked at the trending topics, one article catching his attention as he doomscrolled.
His gaze lingered on the girl on stage, her confident smile so enchanting. She looked like someone made for this alone, for fame and glory.
The way Daniel looked at her was so proud p>
The event explained why Elara was dressed like that, and he couldn’t help but smile sadly.
Three years of marriage, and he never gave her any opportunity to dress like that for any occasion apart from parties at the house. They never allowed her out of the house, let alone to shine like a star like she did tonight, the brightest star in the sky.
Andrew covered his face with his hands, taking a deep, shaky breath as he leaned back and looked at the ceiling.
Everything in the room and house reminded him of her, her nagging, her forced giggles and smiles, and the way she used to wait for him to complete his shower so she could tell him all the small details of her day.
At that time, those details sounded insignificant and boring, but now? Now he yearned for her to go back to how she was, to treat him the way she used to with warmth, care, and love.
The more he thought about her, the sadder he felt, like a part of him, an important one that kept him going and working hard these years, had been snatched away from him today.
At the same time, Daniel, who had entered his car after the meeting with the managers and shareholders, looked at Alen, who had a complicated look on his face.
“Is there something you want to say, Alen?” The man asked.
Alen looked at his boss from the rearview mirror before nodding.
“Miss Elara’s divorce has been finalized, sir. And he paused.
Daniel narrowed his eyes, not liking the pause.
“And p>
“And it looks like Miss Elara’s maternal grandfather has arrived in the city,” Alen said.
Daniel’s expression turned slightly, his eyes becoming dark and cold.
“Now that’s what we call bad timing, don’t we?” He gritted out with a chuckle that didn’t reach his eyes.