Amelie turned around to see Elyse sitting in a wheelchair with a smile on her face. Someone was pushing her up the hill. Elyse was dressed in a long, white dress that perfectly covered her leg that was in a cast. She had natural-looking makeup on her face that made her seem especially mesmerizing.Amelie snapped back to realityâas if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her âwhen she saw Elyse. Whatâs wrong with me? Leo and Elyse are about to start a new family. Wouldnât I cause more problems for Leo if I brought up the past? He might have caused me problems by forgetting about me, but what would I gain from causing him problems now?âYou guys should enjoy yourselves.â Amelie excused herself and headed down the hill without any hesitation. Amelie figured that Elyseâs presence would bring her a lot of unnecessary issues, so Amelie decided not to head back with the rest of the group. She hailed a cab for herself instead.Amelie wheeled Bria over to the side of the road before she used an application on her phone to book a cab. The nursing home was in a rather secluded area, so it was hard for her to get a cab there. She requested one but didnât get an offer for a long while. Right then, a seven-seater Cayenne pulled up in front of them.The man inside the car lowered his window to reveal his icy face. âGet in,â the familiar-looking man said to Amelie. She let out a scoff when she saw who it was. âItâs fine.â She rejected him in a polite tone. Leo knitted his brows together upon hearing her words.âThereâs no need to be polite with us, Miss Dillon. Letâs head off together.â Another person stuck her head out of the car window in the back. It was Elyse, and she was wearing a huge and innocent-looking smile on her face. If Amelie hadnât seen Elyseâs true colors, she might have thought that Elyse was genuinely a nice person.âItâs hard to get a cab here, and you might have to wait for a long while. You might be fine with waiting, but Iâm not sure about Bria,â Elyse uttered.
Amelie stared at Elyse silently. Bria and I wouldnât have to be in this tough situation if you hadnât shown up, Amelie thought to herself. There were other families who were heading down the hill after planting their trees, and things would get worse if those families passed by and saw Amelie standing around with Elyse in the car.Amelie finally nodded before lifting Bria into her arms. âLetâs take Daddyâs car home.â Leoâs driver rushed out of the car to help store the wheelchair in the boot. Amelie initially wanted to take the driverâs seat so that she wouldnât have to see the couple in action, but she couldnât do so as Bria was too young to sit in front. Amelie was contemplating her next move when Leo got out of the car.âYou should sit in front, Leony. I hope you donât mind,â Elyse uttered from inside the car. She gave him an apologetic look after that. Amelie eyed both of them speechlessly. This wasnât the first time Amelie witnessed how obedient Leo was to Elyse, but Amelie still felt disgusted every time she saw the way they interacted.Amelie tried her best to keep herself invisible throughout the car ride. Bria didnât seem to be in a good mood eitherâshe kept quiet throughout the whole ride, with her hands clinging onto her motherâs arms and her head buried in her motherâs chest. Bria pouted the entire time.
It was obvious that Bria was hurt by Elyseâs sudden appearance.Amelie felt sorry for her daughter, so she patted Briaâs back gently to comfort her. Bria pulled one of her hands away from Amelie to press it against her own belly, creating a barrier between herself and Amelie. This was one of Briaâs signature movesâshe often did this when she was feeling down or insecure. Amelie felt rather sad for Bria, so she lowered her head to press her cheek against Briaâs hair. I tried so hard to make sure that Bria wouldnât be hurt by me and Leoâs divorce, but things still turned out like this.The car was silent throughout their one-hour drive back to Amelieâs housing area. Bria was fast asleep by the time they arrived, and Amelie tried to carry Bria out of the car without waking her up. âPlease help me get the wheelchair,â Amelie whispered to the driver. However, before the driver could do so, Leo had already opened the boot to retrieve Briaâs wheelchair. Amelie watched as Leoâs bony hands picked the wheelchair up before he expanded it and placed it on the ground. Amelie gave him a pleasant smile.
âThanks, Mr. Alston. You can leave the wheelchair here. Iâll pick it up later.âBria was fast asleep on Amelieâs shoulder, and Amelie was worried that she would wake the child up if she moved around too much. The last thing Amelie wanted was for her daughter to be hurt again by the sight of Leo leaving with another woman. Amelie turned to walk off after thanking Leo. However, right when Amelie arrived at her front door and was about to let herself in, she saw the manâs bony hand reaching forward to open the door for her.Amelie was shocked as she hadnât expected Leo to come after her. âThanks,â she uttered politely. Then, she stepped into her house. Amelie had been certain that Leo would leave her alone after she entered her house, but to her surprise, he followed her in. Amelie couldnât help but freeze for a moment. âWeâre home, Mr. Alston. You shouldnât keep your fiancée waiting. You should leave now,â Amelie uttered with Bria still resting on her shoulder.âElyseâ¦â Leo knitted his brows together. âElyse is your fiancée, and Iâm not interested to hear about you two. Thank you for spending time with Bria today. I appreciate it,â Amelie uttered in a curt and firm manner. She had no interest in hearing about Leoâs loving relationship with Elyse.Not interested? Amelieâs words stabbed Leoâs heart like a dagger. He was silent for a long while before he spoke. âYou mentioned that you used to know me. What happened between us while we were still in Quinn Town?â he asked.Amelie hadnât expected Leo to ask such a question. However, she was no longer in the mood to explain herself to him at that point. âWeâve been married for four years. Doesnât that count as knowing each other? Anyway, donât you know what happened between us in Quinn Town? What I meant was how we would bump into each other at least three times a day back in that town. You suspected that I had some ulterior motive, and I felt really misunderstood back then. I only brought it up because I hope that youâd stop assuming things about me.âAmelie pressed her lips together for a while before she spoke again. âPerhaps I once held hopes toward my relationship with you, but⦠Iâve lost all hope since we got a divorce. If you wish to see Bria again, you should call me and inform me beforehand, Mr. Alston. Iâll get someone to send her to you after Iâve asked for her permission.â In other words, Amelie was implying that she didnât have plans of seeing him in the future.Upon finishing her words, Amelie waved at him before turning around and walking off. Leo no longer went after her, and Amelie shut the door behind her before she let out a sigh. Amelie knew that she couldnât blame anyone else for Elyseâs sudden appearanceâit was her fault that she didnât see this coming. Iâm never going to ask Leo to participate in another activity like this again. Amelie tucked Bria into bed and stayed around in the living room for a while before she realized that she had left Briaâs wheelchair outside.When Amelie walked out to get the wheelchair, she realized that there was a figure standing beside the wheelchair. âLeo?â Amelie called out instinctively. The manâs figure looked rather similar to Leoâs. However, Amelie then recalled that Leo was dressed in dark blue slacks. The man before her eyes was dressed in a full white outfit and had his hair tied up.The visitor was⦠Toby. âWhat are you doing here, Mr. Walsh?â Amelie changed her tone of voice as she walked up to him. âAre you here to meet my father? Heâs not home.â Amelie had just finished her words when Toby reached out and pulled her in for a hug. Amelie frozeâshe was speechless for a while before she pushed him away. âWhatâs going on, Mr. Walsh?âAmelie had always thought of Toby as a gentle and classy manâshe had never seen him acting so rashly. The next second, she smelled the stench of alcohol on him. âWere you drinking earlier?âToby took a deep breath before he spoke in a raspy voice. âI understand now. I know everything now,â he said.âWhat⦠do you know?â