Chapter 1600 The Real Riley
âWhat? Then who would bear such an immense grudge against you and the Maupays? Who would possibly set up such an elaborate scheme?â
âIâm not sure too. Iâm still looking into it, but Iâm sure weâll be able to figure it out. Sally, take good care of yourself and donât worry about these things. By the way, howâs your brother? He isnât having a hard time in Imperial Garden, is he?â
âDonât worry. Heâs not. Heâs looking into Rileyâs matter with Juan as well.â
âThatâs good to hear. You and your brother are my children. If anything happens to either of you, Iâll definitely drag the people in Imperial Garden with me to hell. Evan knows that, and since you also have the Seet familyâs child, theyâll be nice to you.â
âThatâs why you donât need to worry about us, Daddy. Be careful when youâre looking into Rileyâs case.â
âI will.â
âDaddy, about what happened back then⦠Mommyâs a victim too. She has been suffering all these years. Now that Skyler and I arenât there, please keep her company whenever you have the time.â
Steven was silent for a moment before he squeezed out, âI understand.â
After ending the call, the image of her mother quiet and gloomy appeared in Sallyâs mind. She could not help but sigh about how fate was cruel so to her.
If nothing had happened back then, would Mommy be as happy as Nicole is now? I heard that Daddy used to adore and spoil her. Can he never forgive Mommy for that incident? That wasnât Mommyâs fault either. Did he love her too much? Is that why that incident affected him that much? Or is it because he didnât love her enough, and thatâs why there is a wall between them that can never be taken down?
Sally was genuinely confused. Somehow, she felt that perhaps her father never did love her mother that much after all.
Thatâs why Daddy would still be so affected by the matter even though nineteen years had gone by since then. Thatâs why he canât let go and forgive Mommy. Well, love is so complicated.
Upstairs, in the bedroom.
Evan was sitting on the rattan chair and patiently listening to Levant speaking on the phone. He had a gloomy expression on. Once in a while, he would frown, and once in a while, he would tighten his grip on his cup.
When Nicole, who just came out from the bathroom, saw the grave expression on his face, alarm bells rang in her head.
Once the call was over, Nicole worriedly walked to him and asked, âIs there any news of Nina?â
Evan put his phone to the side and tilted his head upward to look at her. âLevant said he found something, but he isnât sure if thatâs Nina or not. He said heâll continue looking into it.â
âWhat did he find? Has he found Ninaâs whereabouts?â
A dark look flashed past Evanâs eyes before he nodded.
âWhere is she? Where has she gone to? Is she fine?â Nicole blurted out.
She wanted so badly to find out what happened to Nina.
Evan then reached out his hand to hold hers and consoled, âDonât worry. Ninaâs a lucky girl. Sheâll be fine.â
Despite his reassurances, Nicoleâs heart was still thumping loudly. No matter what Evan said, she felt that was not all Levant had said to Evan. Is he hiding something from me?
Thus, she looked at him with wide eyes and asked, âWeâll look for Nina tomorrow, okay? Iâm really worried about her. Ninaâs stubborn, and sheâs a prideful soul who wonât seek help even if things are too tough for her. Iâm really scared that sheâs having a hard time right now.â
At that, Evan stood up and pulled Nicole into his arms. Parents would always be worried about their children, so he knew well how anxious and distraught Nicole was at that moment.
âOkay, weâll go tomorrow.â
Nicole hugged him back tightly, but she could not think of anything else other than Nina. What has my Nina been through?
The night seemed rather long. Nicole kept tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
Evan reached out to wrap his arms around her. âSleep. Rest well so that youâll have the energy to look for Nina.â