Chapter 114 Too Cruel
Michael gazed at Angie darkly and asked, âWill you listen to me?â
Angie met his gaze as panic seized her, wondering what the man might say. Will he stand up for me and call the shots? Will he make Nicholas marry me?
If these were old times, she was confident that he would be on her side, but now, she wasnât sure. However, as things were, she had no choice but to listen to him.
She nodded and said earnestly, âOf course I will, Dad!â
âVery well,â Michael began. âIn that case, get changed. Iâll take you away from here and drop you off at the pied-Ã -terre so you can stay there for a few days. Once you feel better, Iâll have Jonathan bring you to Dusktown where you will stay with your biological father from then on.â
He spoke so quietly, but his voice was clear and carrying in the deathly silence of the living room, and each word sent chills down Angieâs spine.
Heâs too cruel! Indeed, this father of hers, who had been nothing but good to her all these years, was being cruel and heartless right now.
He hadnât asked Nicholas to marry her, and instead wanted her to pack up so he could send her back to the Colts!
Granted, she wasnât Michaelâs biological daughter, but that didnât mean the last two decades of their relationship had been paper-thin and so easily discarded. How can he be so heartless to me?
At first, the panic and bewilderment in her eyes were all but an act, but now, they were replaced by real despair and anguish; it was as if Michael had turned into a stranger. The longer she stared at him in disbelief, the faster her tears raced down her cheeks. âHow could you do this to me, Dad? I know Iâm not your actual daughter, but Iâve filled that role for over twenty years, havenât I? Donât you have even the slightest affection or sympathy for me? Youâre just going to throw me out like trash? What did I do to deserve this?â
Michael met her gaze and said soothingly, âAngie, maybe you havenât done anything wrong before, but you have today. You played Nicholas like a fool and lured him into bed. I canât tell you how disappointed I am in you.â
He had always believed that Angie was innocent this whole time, and while he had agreed to send her away from the main house, he never stopped feeling apologetic toward her. He even thought about putting her up at the Coltsâ until he could placate his wife and Madeline. Once the storm blew over and things quieted down, he would think of a way to bring Angie back.
Where there was a will, there was a way. Crystal and Madeline were inevitably livid after recent events, and they could get impulsive. As such, Michael didnât think it was suitable to try and mend the relationship between them and Angie.
However, he firmly believed that time could heal all wounds.
Crystal and Madeline would calm down eventually, and as long as he tried, he could come up with a way to make them accept Angie back into the family. By then, he could have both his biological and adopted daughter under one roof, and his happy family would be pieced back together.
He had such hopes, but the reality was often far more ruthless.This belongs to .
Angie had given him the impression that, albeit stubborn, she was kind-hearted and endearing. He had been sure that she was nothing like Cameron even though she was her biological daughter. After all, he was the one who had raised Angie; she must be sweet and considerate, the complete opposite of the vicious and despicable Cameron.
However, he was starting to have second thoughts right now.
Perhaps the apple didnât fall far from the tree no matter how much he wanted to believe that wasnât true.
He thought about how Cameronâs mother had plotted against and hurt Crystalâs father. Then, he thought about how Cameron had plotted against Crystal and himself. Now, Angie was plotting against Nicholas.
The last twenty years he had spent guiding Angie did not make her a dignified, kind-hearted, and self-sufficient young woman. She was endearing and lovable when things went her way, but in the face of hardship, the wickedness in her shone through, and she became just as malicious as her mother and grandmother.
âNo, Dad! I didnât!â Angie sobbed as she shook her head frantically.
She couldnât understand why her seemingly foolproof plan had failed. She did not drug Nicholas at all, and one way or another, they had ended up sleeping together after they got drunk. She did not force herself on him, and everything happened consensually. On that premise alone, no one here should be able to pinpoint her crime and accuse her of plotting against Nicholas.
Things were turning out differently from what she had expected, and even Nicholasâ behavior was something she had not imagined.
She never thought that he would be smart enough to get to the bottom of this and insisted that she was the one who had set him up.
When they got drunk last night, she tried to hug and kiss him. He did not object to her advances, and instead naturally pulled her into his arms and pinned her down on the bed.
Yet, he was sure in his belief that he had been set up by her, insisting that she had planned all this from the beginning. Not only was he refusing to take responsibility for what he had done, but the affection and compassion that once colored his gaze whenever he looked at her were also gone, and they were replaced with unadulterated hatred.
This isnât how I imagined it at all! Not even in the slightest! This isnât how it should be!
In her mind, Nicholas would be filled with anguish, regret, and pain that he would be compelled to marry her. Her life with the Wendels had given her the companionship of her eight brothers, but among them, Cedric and Nicholas loved her the most.
The love and care that Nicholas had shown her could not be compared, for Jonathan, Joseph, and Connor did not even come close.
She knew that he was in love with Alina, but she was confident that he loved her as well. She was just as pretty as the woman, and now that they had slept together by some twist of fate, she was sure that he loved her enough to marry her after spending the night with her. She was sure that he would break up with Alina.
However, things were turning out to be vastly different from what she had anticipated.
Nicholas had outright refused to marry her, and now he harbored unmistakable enmity against her. She couldnât wrap her head around the fact that he had had a change of heart so quickly.
Her parents, brothers, and Nicholas had now turned their backs on her.
When she called Cedric earlier, her helplessness, panic, and sadness had been an act. However, they were all too real right now. She was crying desperately as she stared at Michael and the four boys whom she had called her brothers for the last twenty years. âDad, JonathanâIâm your daughter and your sister! Why is this happening? How can you all be so content to see me ruined like this? Why arenât you standing up for me? I have nothing now, and Iâm not even my own person anymore because Iâve given that to Nicholas! Yet, you wonât even have him take responsibility for that? How can I live this down? This will be the death of me!â
âWhatâs going on?â Erin was shocked when she came upon the commotion in her house. Behind her was her husband, Morgan.
The both of them had gone out earlier that afternoon to run some errands, and they had just gotten back.
After entering the room, she immediately rushed over to Angie when she saw her crying desperately. She sat down next to the sobbing girl and wrapped an arm around her shaking frame before frowning as she looked at Michael. âMichael, what is the meaning of this? Iâve already brought Angie over to stay with us, so why wonât you leave her alone? Didnât we agree that I would take her in as my own daughter? She has nothing to do with you anymore, so donât even think about taking her away from me!â Then, she turned to Madeline and seethed, âYou!â