Now They Want My Forgiveness - Chapter 236: Chapter 236

Monroe jumped in front of Anna like some white knight. "Mrs. Hayes, that's not what happened. Anna told me everything. She didn't cut ties with them. It's just... They've always been so unfair, always favoring Stella.
"And ever since Stella came back, they've blamed Anna for every bad thing that ever happened to Stella. They were awful to Anna. Anna didn't have a choice."
Jordan had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. He looked at Anna with this knowing smirk. She couldn't meet his eyes.
Eleanor gave a faint smile. "And that's the story she fed you?"
Anna realized the ground was crumbling beneath her feet. She grabbed Monroe's arm, her grip desperate. "Monroe, we should go."
"No," he said, lost in his own hero narrative. "I won't let them get away with this. You might be a pushover, Anna, but I'm not. I've told you a million times: you chose me, and I will protect you.
"I'm gonna fight for you. Now that your grandmother is here, she is gonna hear how they've been screwing you over."
"No, really. Let's just go," Anna said, her voice tight with panic.
"We're not done here," Monroe insisted, turning his gaze back to Eleanor. I get that it's impossible for you to treat Anna and Stella the same.
"And yes, what Stella went through was awful. But what's Anna got to do with any of that? She shouldn't have to pay for it. All I'm asking is that you be fair to her."
Monroe shot a pointed look at Jordan, a clear warning to never lay a hand on Anna again.
"Anna," Eleanor said, her eyes boring straight into her. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Grandma, I'm so sorry," Anna stammered. "I know I was wrong. I never should have aired our family's dirty laundry to an outsider. It won't happen again, I swear."
But Monroe figured Anna was just so crushed by her family that she couldn't even stand up for herself anymore.
"Mrs. Hayes," he declared dramatically, "if you can't find it in your heart to be fair to Anna... Then, consider her relationship with the Hayes family ended. From now on, I will be her family. I will take care of her."
Eleanor sighed, "Monroe, you're not a bad person. You're capable and strong. But you're a fool in love."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Monroe looked confused.
"Figure it out yourself," Eleanor said, turning to Jordan. "Jordan, we're leaving." She didn't want to waste any more time and motioned for him to get her out of there.
Monroe took a step to follow, but Anna's hand shot out and yanked him back. "Don't bother," she said, her voice flat. "Whatever you say won't change anything."
Monroe couldn't believe the Hayes family could be this heartless toward Anna. He knew Eleanor's reputation and thought she'd at least listen to reason. But now, he realized she was more cold-blooded and hateful than he'd imagined.
"Anna," Monroe said, his heart aching for her. "I had no idea you've been living in a nightmare like this all these years. It must have been so hard. Don't worry. If they won't protect you, I will. I'm all the family you need now."
Anna looked at this simp who was defending her, a slow smirk spreading across her face. 'I do wonder how Stella will feel,' she thought, 'when she realizes the person she saved has been stabbing her in the back this whole time.
'Then again, maybe Stella already knows. And if she does? So what? Even if Jordan can't stand me right now, he'll eventually fall for me. As for Eleanor...'
A dangerous glint suddenly flashed in Anna's eyes. 'That old hag had the nerve to treat me like that. I'll make her pay for this,' she thought.
During the quiet drive back, a soft sigh escaped Eleanor's lips. "Something on your mind, Mrs. Hayes?" Jordan asked.
"I always suspected Anna had a scheming streak," Eleanor said, her voice heavy. "I saw glimpses of her true nature. But what she is now... It's a whole different level of twisted. I don't know how a human heart gets to be so dark."