âYou should know that, as a child of the Alston Family, Bria absolutely shouldnât grow up in a chaotic environment because sheâll become the face of the Alstons in the future. So, she deserves the best of the best and should be nurtured in the best environment possible, Right after the words left Henryâs lips, Melissa sprang to her feet and lectured, âBria is also your child, and you do hope that she could be given all the opportunities available to her, yes? The Alstons are her real family, and weâre the only ones who will truly treat her well. Isnât that right?â
Amelie was still in a daze that Leo was capable of such despicable means to obtain the custody rights of Brianna. She couldnât even bring herself to say a word until she heard Melissaâs shameless remarks and immediately snapped back to her senses.
Then, she met Melissaâs arrogant stare with her piercing, cold gaze. âMrs. Alston, oh, how you sing.
Bria has lived with the Alstons for four years, but can you actually say with a clear conscience that she has been treated with care by the Alstons?â She pursed her lips as she curled her lips into a derisive smile. She couldnât be bothered to beat about the bush at this point as she exposed the truth, âYouâre going all out now simply because youâll lose face if Bria isnât raised in the Alston Family. Unfortunately for you, your reputation is less than the dirt beneath my feet. So, there is no way I will destroy my daughter and her future because of your hoity-toity needs!â
Her frank manner and blunt delivery hit Melissaâs face like a harsh slap as all the blood drained from her face.
Amelie had hit the bullseye with her assumptions. As a result, Melissa couldnât help clenching her fists from embarrassment and shame.
Alas, she was Melissa Richards, after all. She was used to being pandered to by Amelie, so she wouldnât allow herself to be beaten so easily. Thus, she dismissed Amelieâs words with a wave of her hand as she hotly but i retorted, âThatâs nonsense! Indeed, I didnât interfere when Bria was at the Alstonsâ, but thatâs because sheâs your child, and I didnât think it was right of me to stick my nose into your business.
Youâre the one who failed to use this opportunity well and turned her into a person as timid as a mouse.
But now, youâre blaming us for being heartless?! If I had known that you would be this way, I would have never placed Bria in your care for even a minute! Maybe Bria wouldnât be so meek!â
âIn my opinion, sheâs already brilliant as is! I would say Iâm sorry that she doesnât meet your expectations of brilliance, but Iâm not,â Amelie snapped right after Melissa finished speaking. Her beautiful, small face was exceptionally calm as she smiled proudly. âItâs exactly because she left the Alstons that she finally had a chance to shine. That house is too oppressive for her, and she doesnât fit there at all.â
She stared at Melissa with her eyes that seemed as though they could see through all of Melissaâs schemes. The so-called chance to take Brianna in hand that Melissa mentioned was merely an excuse.
A terrible one, at that. If she sincerely adored Brianna, she wouldnât have given her attitude every single time.
Back then, Amelie didnât bring up the custody of the child during the divorce because she knew that the Alstons never genuinely cared for Bria. Nevertheless, there was also a part of her that still decided to give not throwing things out in the open and allowing Leo to use Briaâs custody as a way to threaten her.
As long as she didnât bring it up, everyone could save their reputation and make the appropriate arrangements.
On the other hand, if someone brought this topic up, it would send the Alstons into thinking that they could use fighting for Briaâs custody to sweeten their image.
She really shouldnât have placed any hope that they would be decent people, especially since the reality was currently proving that everything was moving right along her worst-case scenario.
Since Amelie was now fully aware that the Alstons were planning to use Brianna like a tool and discard her once she was useless to them, as a mother, she couldnât allow nor could she stomach such a thing from happening to her precious daughter.
Melissa snorted indifferently the second Amelie made her stance clear. âYou taught her to perform for the public and made her your money-making tool at such a young age. Is that what you mean by brilliant? At the end of the day, youâre just from a humble and poor family. Youâre so shortsighted!â
Melissa had always looked down on Amelieâs family background right from the beginning, but now that Amelie was her for, she was downright boorish to Amelie.
Nonetheless, Amelie wasnât mad at her as she chuckled lightly. âSo, you mean that she has to be excellent in music, arts, and performance so that she could perform on a bigger stage in the future?â
Melissa nodded without hesitation. âOf course.â
âArenât you asking her to perform for the public as well? Amelie pointed out immediately. âWhatâs the difference between performing on a big stage and a small one?â
âThisââ
âArenât you acting just like a brothel pimp by forcing her to pick up something sheâs not interested in so that she could perform in public?â
Her forthright comparison was so candid that it completely ruined the beautiful castle Melissa had conjured in her mind.
Moreover, Melissa had never been compared to a brothel pimp before. Hence, she became livid as her face turned sullen, and she slammed the desk strongly with her fist. âHow dare you!â
At this rate, she could no longer maintain her superiority and self-importance. Instead, her scowl was so ferocious and twisted that even her meticulously maintained face turned ugly beyond words.
Not only that, even her voice thundered in the room. Her current demeanor was such a 180 from her elegant, poised ways.
could no longer cause Amelie to experience any mental breakdowns and remained calm as she confronted Melissa.
She was so composed that she was akin to a beautiful sculpture-graceful and peaceful. To an outsider, it even seemed that she would remain standing even if a hurricane hit her.
Compared to her, Melissa suddenly realized she was like a fool jumping around in anger!
âMrs. Alston, if you really want the best for Bria, you should let her live with me. If you insist on taking her away by force, Iâm afraid weâll have to go through the legal procedures,â Amelie said dispassionately, her tone unwavering.
Regardless, that only emphasized her resolute attitude, and her last statement made it crystal clear!
âHah! Since you donât know whatâs better for you, Iâll do as you wish!â Melissa was wholly infuriated and couldnât bear to stay a minute longer. Thus, she stomped out in her heels after spitting out her piece, leaving the guest lounge in a huff.
Meanwhile, Henry glared at Amelie with his beady eyes and dashed after Melissa without a word.
Amelie only slumped into the chair when they vanished from her sight, as though all the energy had been sucked out of her during that conversation.
The last thing she wanted to see had happened in the end, and this wouldnât be the only time. She knew the Alstons would only keep coming after her like mad dogs frothing at the mouth. It was highly likely they would continue to harass her about this.
How can I stop all these meaningless fights? she wondered wearily.
As she was deep in thought, she didnât even notice the sounds of heels clicking from outside the door.
So, she didnât even raise her head in welcome when Julia appeared at the door a few seconds later.
âI saw that b*tch in the hallway earlier. What happened? Did she come here to cause you trouble again?â Julia demanded impatiently the second she pushed the door open.
Amelie gave her a nod and gave her a brief rundown of the situation earlier.
âThat b*stard is totally shameless!â Julia exclaimed in fury after listening to Amelieâs side of the tale.
âTheyâre fighting for the childâs custody because of their reputation? What are they taking Bria for? A toy or a robot? Elie, we canât let them have their way regarding this matter. Even if we have to stake everything we have, we have to get Bria to stay with us!â
Amelie simply sighed in reply.
If the price to pay was merely putting everything she had at stake, there was nothing she couldnât let go of. Yet, she was worried that the Alstons were determined to fight for Brianna. When she considered all the She lowered her head and thought this over for a while before abruptly jumping to her feet. âI need to go somewhere. Donât wait up!â
Then, she hastily brushed past Julia like a gust of wind, going all the way to Genesis.
When Amelie arrived at the building, she raised her head silently and stared at the skyscraper that seemed to reach the clouds. Then, all of a sudden, she was dragged back to the past, where she was bedridden for a long time when her eyes were infected after donating her cornea.
That time, even though she was still not out of danger, she was unafraid and even excited.
Her head was filled with thoughts that after Leo recovered his sight, he would receive recognition from the Alston Family and be the master of this building.
So, this was the first place she visited after she recovered.
Back then, the building wasnât as tall as it is now, and neither was the company as rich, but she still couldnât suppress her giddy joy.
So, she decided to pay Leo a surprise visit with bouncy steps and a happier heart. Well, they did meet, but the situation wasnât what she had imagined.
While she was deep in her thoughts, someone approached her. The instant they laid their gaze on her, their eyes were filled with coldness and enmity. âWhat are you doing here?â