Chapter 407: Why Did You Destroy Our Home?
Chapter 407: Chapter 407: Why Did You Destroy Our Home?
Phoebe Sterling’s words left Scott Conway utterly disappointed.
"So, in your heart, the most important things are money and property?"
Phoebe Sterling frowned. "What are your terms, then?"
Scott Conway sighed and said slowly, "We have to keep the divorce a secret from Rainbow. Her college entrance exams are soon, and I don’t want our problems to affect her."
Phoebe Sterling hadn’t expected this to be his condition.
Scott Conway then continued, "The house will go to Rainbow. We’ll transfer the deed to her after she graduates."
"Okay." Phoebe Sterling had no objection to this. "So when do we file for divorce?"
"Are you in a hurry?" Scott Conway looked at her sarcastically.
"Do you have to be like this with me?" Phoebe Sterling couldn’t stand him looking at her that way.
Scott Conway had always looked at her with love. His gaze today felt so unfamiliar.
"What?" Scott Conway shot back. "No matter how well I treated you, didn’t you still do something to betray me and Rainbow?"
His casual remark left Phoebe Sterling speechless.
Scott Conway packed his bags, ready to check into a hotel. Before he left, he added a warning, "Rainbow is still young. I hope you won’t leave her with any bad memories."
He said this cryptically, the implication being a reminder for Phoebe Sterling not to let Rainbow walk in on a situation like the one from before.
"Rainbow’s mom and dad are divorced," Orion finally sighed. "It’s just like something out of a TV show."
Renee Jennings frowned, looking at Bear with complicated feelings.
"Divorce..." Bear’s hand trembled as she adjusted her glasses, her voice choked with tears. "Is it... is it real...?"
"Orion said your dad wasn’t transferred to another city," Renee Jennings continued. "He and your mom are getting divorced, and he only said that so you wouldn’t get suspicious."
"How could Mom do this?" Bear’s eyes were red, and tears streamed down her cheeks. "Dad loves her so much. How could she hurt him like this?"
Renee Jennings pursed her lips, not knowing what to say. She could only try to comfort her. "Rainbow, sometimes people are like that. The one you can’t have is always the best."
Bear crouched on the floor, hugging herself helplessly. "But she hurt Dad..."
"If she really loves Troy Warren, she could have just asked Dad for a divorce. Why did she have to be so cruel...?"
Renee Jennings sighed softly. "I don’t understand it either."
"I’m sorry." Bear realized she was probably troubling Renee Jennings. She sniffled and said, "Host, thank you for telling me all this! I... I’m just so upset right now. I’m going to hang up. Goodbye, Host!"
The video call was cut off by Bear.
Renee Jennings stared blankly at her phone screen until Michelle Fuller’s voice pulled her back.
"Rainbow’s mom is so disgusting. She used her dad for all those years, and now that her old flame is back in the country, she just kicks him to the curb..."
Renee Jennings glanced at her friend’s righteously indignant expression and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, her behavior is definitely disgusting."
As she spoke, she switched to her WeChat interface and saw that Sylvia Brooks had replied in the group chat.
She said she wasn’t in Zenvia and couldn’t join them for drinks.
"Summer can’t make it," Renee Jennings said softly.
Michelle Fuller said, "Yeah, I just saw. I didn’t say anything since you were on a call. Looks like it’ll just be the two of us getting wasted tonight."
The user "It’s Diego, Not Tiego" was also choosing to get wasted tonight.
He was drowning in the sorrow of his girlfriend’s betrayal, unable to pull himself out.
After drinking, Diego worked up the courage to video call Lily Holt, but she ruthlessly rejected him.
Unwilling to give up, Diego sent another video invitation.
Normally, he would never disturb his girlfriend so late at night.
Lily Holt hung up again and sent him a text: "Don’t bother me."
Seeing that sentence, Diego sobered up quite a bit in an instant.
He stared at the three words for a long time. Finally, he locked his phone, rolled over, and buried his face in his blankets, sobbing uncontrollably.
Coco sat perched on the windowsill, listening to Diego’s cries, the cat’s entire being seemingly infected by his sadness.
Bear sat on the sofa all night, her eyes open until dawn.
She stared blankly at the family portrait on the wall, which suddenly felt jarring to look at.
In the photo, her twelve-year-old self was resting her head on her mom’s lap while her dad hugged her mom from behind, his arms around her neck. Everyone’s face was beaming with happiness.
This family could never go back to the way it was.
After some unknown amount of time, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the front door.
Phoebe Sterling came in, humming a song. Seeing Bear sitting in the living room, she asked, "Rainbow, you didn’t go out? Have you had lunch?"
"Where were you last night?" Bear asked flatly.
Phoebe Sterling slipped on her slippers and walked into the living room. "Didn’t I tell you? I was at a friend’s birthday party."
"Really?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
Bear suddenly started to laugh, her laughter growing louder and louder.
Seeing her like this, Phoebe Sterling felt a chill. "Rainbow, what’s wrong with you?"
"You’ve never lied to me?" Bear shot back coldly.
Phoebe Sterling frowned, a sense of unease inexplicably rising in her heart. "Rainbow, what’s gotten into you? Why are you asking that?"
"Dad wasn’t transferred, was he?"
Phoebe Sterling’s expression changed slightly. She subconsciously asked, "Who told you?"
"So it’s true," Bear said with a sarcastic smile.
Phoebe Sterling looked at her daughter and saw a shadow of Scott Conway from the other day.
"Did your father say something to you?"
"What do you think he would say to me?" Bear retorted, staring at her.
Phoebe Sterling averted her gaze. "I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you!"
"What are you so guilty about?" Bear found it laughable. "My dad didn’t tell me anything. He loves you so much, and he loves me so much. How could he possibly say anything bad about you in front of me?"
"Rainbow." Phoebe Sterling struggled to remain calm. "What is it that you know? Please tell Mom, okay?"
"Fine." Bear stood up, pulled the family portrait off the wall, and smashed it violently on the floor. She shrieked, her voice breaking, "Why did you betray Dad? Why did you destroy our family?"
The sudden crash startled Phoebe Sterling. She swayed on her feet and said urgently, "Rainbow, don’t do that! It’s dangerous! Are you hurt?"
"Dad was so good to you, couldn’t you see that?" Bear demanded. "Why did you have to abandon Dad the moment that Troy Warren came back? Is Troy Warren really that great?"
Phoebe Sterling’s face was pale, her lips trembling. "Rainbow, you... you know everything?"
"Can that Troy Warren get off work early every day to cook for you?"
"Can he wash your feet like my dad did?"
"Is he willing to comb your hair for you every day?"
"..."
Faced with her daughter’s barrage of questions, tears streamed down Phoebe Sterling’s face. She choked out, "Rainbow, you don’t understand things about love."