Now They Want My Forgiveness - Chapter 113: Chapter 113
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Eleanor took the marriage certificate and examined it with deliberate care. Andrew and Fiona immediately jostled to peer over her shoulders. Max and Anna also craned their necks for a view.
Stella noted, with cold satisfaction from her periphery, the dark clouds of displeasure gathering on the four faces.
Stella's gaze fixed on Anna, her voice icy. "Recovered remarkably fast, I see. Discharged already?"
Anna opened her mouth, but Fiona cut across. "Your sister... well, the hospital environment wasn't conducive. The doctor recommended home rest. Her leg is fractured. Perhaps, when Dr. Martin visits you, he could check her too."
Stella kept her eyes locked on Anna. "A fractured leg requires strict bed rest, doesn't it?"
"She was just coming down for dinner. Wait!" Fiona's voice sharpened. "You still haven't apologized to Anna. How dare you interrogate her now? And this," she gestured wildly at Jordan and the gifts. "Explain yourself. How could you marry without our consent?"
"I gave my consent," Eleanor declared, her voice cutting through Fiona's tirade. She slammed the marriage certificate onto the coffee table. "You forfeited the right to care about Stella's choices long ago. She asked me. And I gave my blessing."
"Eleanor," Fiona interjected hastily, "it's only concern. Stella's so young. And Mr. Erwin..." she gestured nervously towards Jordan, "she's never brought him home, never introduced him properly. We've only heard rumors..."
The warmth Jordan showed Stella was gone. He sat perfectly still on the sofa, radiating a bone-chilling aura of menace. It was as if an arctic wind had swept into the room, pushing everyone back instinctively. "Well?" he raised his eyebrow.
Andrew began, finding his voice, "Mr. Erwin, this is profoundly unexpected. You and Stella never met before today, yet you're married? Surely you understand a parent's concern. She is our daughter. Given her hardships, we only desire her eventual happiness."
Jordan reached out, drawing Stella protectively against his side. Stella tensed momentarily, then allowed herself to lean in. "I've recently become acquainted," Jordan said, his voice dangerously quiet, "with the depths of suffering Stella has endured."
Jordan's gaze rested on Stella, filled with a tenderness that vanished as he turned back to Andrew and Fiona, his expression hardening. "Stella and I knew each other online. Years ago. Then, she vanished." His voice grew colder. "I didn't know she'd been kidnapped.
"I heard..." His voice abruptly trailed off, creating an almost suffocating tension in the air. "Back then, because you refused to pay the ransom, the kidnappers sold her off to Middle-South Yaria, and even cut out one of her kidneys.
"After she miraculously escaped, fate dealt her another cruel hand, dragging her into a remote town.
"If she hadn't been strong enough, smart enough to save herself, I wouldn't have found her standing here today. Is that right?"
The final three words struck like physical blows. Stark panic flared across the faces of Andrew, Fiona, Max, and Anna. They knew Jordan only by his fearsome reputation. And yet, here was Stella, bringing the monster himself into their living room.
"Because of you, we lost years. And after everything you put her through," he pointed a finger at Andrew and Fiona, "you tried to sell her to that bastard Henry?"
Andrew and Fiona, who had intended to confront Stella, found themselves pinned under Jordan's glacial fury. They stood frozen, utterly speechless, as a thick, suffocating silence engulfed the room.
Jordan turned back to Stella, his expression softening infinitesimally. "My Stella explained," he said, his voice regaining a hint of warmth, "that given your history, seeking your opinion was never a consideration.
"Only yours mattered, Mrs. Hayes." He shifted his focus fully to Eleanor, his voice softening further. "Do we have your blessing?"
Andrew and Fiona exchanged frantic looks, then directed urgent, pleading stares towards Eleanor.
Stella noted, with cold satisfaction from her periphery, the dark clouds of displeasure gathering on the four faces.
Stella's gaze fixed on Anna, her voice icy. "Recovered remarkably fast, I see. Discharged already?"
Anna opened her mouth, but Fiona cut across. "Your sister... well, the hospital environment wasn't conducive. The doctor recommended home rest. Her leg is fractured. Perhaps, when Dr. Martin visits you, he could check her too."
Stella kept her eyes locked on Anna. "A fractured leg requires strict bed rest, doesn't it?"
"She was just coming down for dinner. Wait!" Fiona's voice sharpened. "You still haven't apologized to Anna. How dare you interrogate her now? And this," she gestured wildly at Jordan and the gifts. "Explain yourself. How could you marry without our consent?"
"I gave my consent," Eleanor declared, her voice cutting through Fiona's tirade. She slammed the marriage certificate onto the coffee table. "You forfeited the right to care about Stella's choices long ago. She asked me. And I gave my blessing."
"Eleanor," Fiona interjected hastily, "it's only concern. Stella's so young. And Mr. Erwin..." she gestured nervously towards Jordan, "she's never brought him home, never introduced him properly. We've only heard rumors..."
The warmth Jordan showed Stella was gone. He sat perfectly still on the sofa, radiating a bone-chilling aura of menace. It was as if an arctic wind had swept into the room, pushing everyone back instinctively. "Well?" he raised his eyebrow.
Andrew began, finding his voice, "Mr. Erwin, this is profoundly unexpected. You and Stella never met before today, yet you're married? Surely you understand a parent's concern. She is our daughter. Given her hardships, we only desire her eventual happiness."
Jordan reached out, drawing Stella protectively against his side. Stella tensed momentarily, then allowed herself to lean in. "I've recently become acquainted," Jordan said, his voice dangerously quiet, "with the depths of suffering Stella has endured."
Jordan's gaze rested on Stella, filled with a tenderness that vanished as he turned back to Andrew and Fiona, his expression hardening. "Stella and I knew each other online. Years ago. Then, she vanished." His voice grew colder. "I didn't know she'd been kidnapped.
"I heard..." His voice abruptly trailed off, creating an almost suffocating tension in the air. "Back then, because you refused to pay the ransom, the kidnappers sold her off to Middle-South Yaria, and even cut out one of her kidneys.
"After she miraculously escaped, fate dealt her another cruel hand, dragging her into a remote town.
"If she hadn't been strong enough, smart enough to save herself, I wouldn't have found her standing here today. Is that right?"
The final three words struck like physical blows. Stark panic flared across the faces of Andrew, Fiona, Max, and Anna. They knew Jordan only by his fearsome reputation. And yet, here was Stella, bringing the monster himself into their living room.
"Because of you, we lost years. And after everything you put her through," he pointed a finger at Andrew and Fiona, "you tried to sell her to that bastard Henry?"
Andrew and Fiona, who had intended to confront Stella, found themselves pinned under Jordan's glacial fury. They stood frozen, utterly speechless, as a thick, suffocating silence engulfed the room.
Jordan turned back to Stella, his expression softening infinitesimally. "My Stella explained," he said, his voice regaining a hint of warmth, "that given your history, seeking your opinion was never a consideration.
"Only yours mattered, Mrs. Hayes." He shifted his focus fully to Eleanor, his voice softening further. "Do we have your blessing?"
Andrew and Fiona exchanged frantic looks, then directed urgent, pleading stares towards Eleanor.
End of Now They Want My Forgiveness Chapter 113. Continue reading Chapter 114 or return to Now They Want My Forgiveness book page.