Chapter 1427

Rhea knew her mother well. To emphasize her point, she repeated, "I genuinely don't want them anymore, so don't bring them back, okay? If you do, I'll throw them away, believe it or not!" Maria nodded repeatedly, convinced her headstrong daughter would follow through.

"If you don't want them, then so be it. There's no need to get so riled up," Maria conceded.

Rhea squeezed hand cream onto her hands, slowly spreading it as she asked, "So you're saying Lily Russell has taken all the plants away?"

"I guess so. It's hard to see even a blade of grass at your uncle's house since Tasia moved them. The house looks empty and cold without them," Maria replied, hugging herself and shuddering dramatically.

"Has Lily studied medicine before?" Rhea asked thoughtfully. Seeing Maria's puzzled expression, she clarified, "Didn't you say she helped Anastasia adjust her diet?"

Maria waved dismissively. "Ha! She's just winging it. What does she know about medicine? She's saying ambiguous things to fool your cousin! Only Tasia is foolish enough to believe her."

"Oh, yeah?" Rhea said blandly, unconvinced. She knew her mother often judged matters subjectively, as evidenced by her opinions of Austin Fike and Lily Russell. Maria had hired numerous practitioners—mainstream, alternative, even new-age healers—claiming they were miracle workers, yet remained oblivious to her daughter's actual medical expertise. Therefore, Rhea would only trust her mother's truly helpful information.

Maria attempted to speak further, but seeing Rhea's cool, meticulous application of hand cream, she realized her daughter cared more about that than her. Their conversations were often one-sided, with Maria doing most of the talking while Rhea offered bland replies. Rhea's engagement today was unusual.

"Ree, I better get going," Maria said tentatively.

"Okay," Rhea responded nonchalantly, without lifting her eyelids.

Maria, knowing she couldn't engage Rhea further without risking upsetting her, headed for the door. Pausing as she closed it, she saw her daughter rubbing cream into her fingertips, her head cocked. Half of Rhea's body glowed warmly in the light; the other half was shrouded in shadow, looking so cold it made Maria shiver.

'Is there no way to close the emotional gap between Ree and me?'