From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 61: Chapter 61

Grayson's cries echoed through the hallway, loud and desperate, as he watched Paisley walk away without so much as a glance back.
Taking a few shaky steps forward, he called out, "Mommy. Are you really abandoning me?" His voice was raw, filled with heartbreak and despair.
"Yes." Paisley's steps faltered briefly, but she didn't turn around. Without hesitation, she stepped into the elevator.
"No, Mommy. Wait for me," Grayson screamed in tears, darting toward the elevator as the elevator doors began to close.
But he ran too fast. Just as he reached the elevator, his foot caught onto something, sending him sprawling onto the cold floor. The doors shut mercilessly, cutting him off. "Mommy, I'm sorry. Please don't leave me."
"Sonny." Marissa left the food container in her hands, rushing over to scoop Grayson into her arms. She held him tightly as she coaxed, "Sonny, don't cry. I'll always be here for you."
"No...I want Mommy. I need my Mommy." Grayson sobbed uncontrollably, his tears falling like a torrential downpour, soaking Marissa's expensive clothes. Inside, Marissa seethed with frustration, resenting the boy's cries, yet she had no choice but to feign concern and comfort him.
Marissa teared up as she looked at Dominick, holding Grayson close. "Dom, do you think Ms. Sutton got upset because of me? Is that why she treated Sonny like this?
"I swear, I was just worried about Grandpa Paul, so I came to drop off breakfast. I didn't mean anything else."
She gently stroked Grayson's back, her expression full of feigned concern. "But Sonny's her child. How could she be so heartless, hurting him again and again?"
With a dramatic sigh, she added, "Maybe I should just go apologize to her. If that's what it takes for her to accept Sonny, I'll do it. She's not far yet—I can catch up and make things right." Marissa made a move as if to chase after Paisley.
"You don't need to do that." Dominick's voice cut through her act, halting her steps.
Marissa felt a flicker of triumph. This was familiar territory. Dominick would surely take her side, blame Paisley, and stop her from going after her. It always worked before.
"But I just can't stand seeing Sonny so upset," she murmured.
However, when she turned around with an expression of pure innocence, she froze. Instead of seeing anger, she saw his eyes red and swollen, tears silently streaming down his face.
"Dom..." Marissa whispered in disbelief. He wasn't mad. He was crying for Paisley.
Dominick realized he'd been caught crying. He turned his back quickly, wiped his tears away, and said, "There's no point in doing that, so don't bother with it." His words carried a haunting finality. "It's not Sonny she resents. It's me..."
The elevator came to a halt on the first floor, and the doors slid open.
Paisley stepped out with a heavy heart. Maybe it was her imagination, but she could still hear Grayson's gut-wrenching cries echoing in her ears, but she refused to look back. There was no way she was making the same mistake twice.
"Paisley?" A familiar voice broke her reverie. Startled, she looked up to see the Sullivan family trio standing in a neat row. They each carried gift bags, looking like they were on a mission to visit someone in the hospital.
Brittany was dressed to the nines, her vibrant outfit practically screaming she was a star. The oversized sunglasses were overkill, making her attempt at subtlety painfully obvious. Christina, on the other hand, was decked out in branded clothing items and gold jewelry as if to broadcast her "high-class" status.
Gregory was dressed pretty conservatively, but the watch on his wrist—a piece worth millions of dollars—definitely caught Paisley's eye. She wondered, 'Had the Sullivan family struck gold?' Gregory splurging on a watch like that was unbelievable to her.
Back when Paisley had walked away from the Sullivans after their fallout, the family was doing okay at best. At the time, the family's business had been barely scraping by.
Gregory's watch back then was a modest model worth a few tens of thousands of dollars. But now, in just four short years, it seemed their wealth had multiplied exponentially.
There was no way Gregory's brainpower pulled this off alone. The Sullivan family had to have some major player backing them. Without it, there was no way the company would've survived, let alone thrived, in four years.
That explained Brittany's boldness to land a lead role in that movie. It turned out the family had the cash to throw around. 'But seriously,' Paisley thought, 'who's dumb enough to bankroll the Sullivans? Must be someone with more dollars than sense.'
Paisley wasn't about to waste energy on them. She gave them a quick once-over before heading toward the exit.
Gregory wasn't having it. He barked, "I'm talking to you. What's wrong with you? Ever heard of respect?" His outburst echoed through the hospital lobby, drawing stares from passersby. Paisley stopped mid-step, spun around, and glared at the trio.
"What's your problem?" she shot back coldly. "Starting drama this early? Save yourself the headache."
"You better watch your tone." Gregory fumed, practically puffing up with indignation.
"Paisley, come on," Brittany chimed in, looking all concerned while patting Gregory's arm like she was calming a raging bull. "Dad's just worried about you. You shouldn't lash out at him this way."
"Hold it right there," Paisley snapped. "Who do you think you are to talk to me?"
Brittany's face darkened as she glared at Paisley. Gregory, seemingly calmed down, patted Brittany's hand. His gaze lingered on Paisley's outfit—a cheap T-shirt and jeans with a worn-looking backpack slung over her shoulder. It seemed like life hadn't been kind to her.
He sighed heavily as if trying to appear magnanimous, "Since you're back, you should come home. We're family, after all. We won't leave you out there to fend for yourself."
"Forget it," Paisley replied flatly.
Gregory grew irritated at her defiance. "If you weren't my flesh and blood, do you think I'd bother with you? You've been out there all these years—haven't you learned your lesson yet?"
Paisley let out a sharp laugh. "Oh, so you do remember I've been gone for years."
Nine years. After nine long years of being ignored by the Sullivan family, they now had the nerve to play the concerned family members. It was laughable to Paisley.
Gregory was momentarily stunned before snarling, "You insolent brat. Looks like you still need to be taught a lesson."
Paisley had no interest in continuing this pointless back-and-forth. She turned on her heel and walked away.
Behind her, Gregory's voice thundered through the hospital lobby. "I'm warning you—don't you dare go around claiming you're my daughter. If you embarrass us and tarnish the reputation of the Sullivan family, I won't let it slide."
Now, it made sense to Paisley. The Sullivan family had climbed up the social ladder and didn't want her tarnishing their shiny new reputation as his daughter. Paisley rolled her eyes so hard at that. His words sounded like she'd ever be desperate enough to flaunt their name.
"Why waste your breath on her?" Christina snapped, glaring at Paisley's retreating figure. "When she's at her last straw, she'll come crawling back to us. Besides, everyone knows Brittany is our only daughter. Even if she tries to claim she's part of our family, who's going to believe her?"
"Dad, let's just focus on why we're here," Brittany said, nudging Gregory. "We need to check on Mr. Paul Vanderbilt quickly."
Gregory snapped out of his anger, realizing Brittany was right. This was the real reason they'd come to the hospital. He composed himself and ushered Christina and Brittany into the elevator.