After the doctor reset her dislocated arm, Madelyn was carefully wrapped in a support bandage.

“Ms. Thornton, remember, you mustn’t strain this arm until it has fully healed.”

“Thank you.” Madelyn nodded. The pain in her arm had considerably subsided, returning some color to her previously pale face.

At that moment, the cook came up carrying a tray of food. Setting the dinner plate on the coffee table, the cook said gently, “Ms. Thornton, there aren’t many ingredients available late at night. I’ve made you a nutritious soup. It might be a bit bland. Please make do with it and have something to fill your stomach.”

Madelyn nodded and began to drink the soup.

The soup’s perfect temperature suited Madelyn’s taste, prompting her to consume a few extra mouthfuls.

At that moment, a sluggish patter of footsteps echoed from the corridor upstairs.

“What’s all this noise in the middle of the night? I’m trying to get some sleep here.”

Following that, the two women descended the staircase. It was none other than Madelyn’s stepmother, Regina Zimmer, along with her stepsister, Eunice Thornton.

Awoken in the middle of the night, the mother and daughter were visibly annoyed. However, upon seeing Madelyn sitting on the couch, they were taken aback.

“I was wondering who was making all that noise downstairs. Turns out it’s Madelyn who has returned.”

Regina brought Eunice over, and they found a couch to sit on. Following that, they gave Madelyn a once-over from head to toe.

Upon seeing Madelyn’s bandaged arm, Regina couldn’t resist teasing, “Oh my, what happened to your arm? You didn’t go out and get into trouble again, did you?”

Madelyn looked up, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “What’s it to you?”

“You’re so rude!” Regina seethed with anger.

“Didn’t you already know that I’m rude?” Madelyn gave a cold huff, ignored her, and continued drinking her soup.

Regina felt utterly exasperated by her nonchalant demeanor. Whenever she crossed paths with Madelyn, she invariably found herself bearing the brunt of Madelyn’s temper.

“Can you just shut up!” Madelyn blurted out. Christopher again? Ugh!

Madelyn was extremely furious. All the misunderstandings that had arisen over the past couple of days were all because of Christopher. Whenever she thought of Christopher, she felt nothing but disgust. In this lifetime, she never wanted to hear the name Christopher again.

Regina was startled by the sudden shout, but her surprise quickly transformed into anger. “Madelyn, regardless of everything, I am, in name, still your mother. Is this how you should be speaking to me?”

“Exactly, Madelyn, you can’t talk about my mom like that!” Eunice, who was standing on the side, also stepped forward at this point.

Observing this pretentious mother–daughter duo, Madelyn let out a cold, sarcastic laugh. “My mother? Who do you think you are?”

“You!” Regina was instantly enraged, her cheeks flushing red all the way to her ears.

“You think you’re all that just because you’ve gone from rags to riches? Give me a break. You two, go find somewhere else to cool off and stop spouting nonsense here,” Madelyn retorted firmly.

“Did I say something wrong?” Regina was enraged. “Everyone knows you’re infatuated with Christopher. He doesn’t even like you, yet you’re still shamelessly throwing yourself at him. You’ve completely disgraced the Thornton family!”

Eunice immediately added fuel to the fire by nodding her head. “Exactly, Madelyn, haven’t you caused enough trouble in the past? Mom and I were just stating the facts. If you hadn’t done those embarrassing things, we wouldn’t have anything to talk about.”

The mother–daughter duo was simply detestable.

Madelyn’s urge to argue loudly was stifled as Derek abruptly growled, “Enough!”

He was the head of the family. His words carried significant authority, promptly silencing everyone. He glared at Regina and reprimanded her, “You’re a mother, yet you’re arguing with a child. Do you think this is appropriate?”

“I…” Regina looked aggrieved. “It wasn’t me who started it. Just look at your own daughter. She started it.”

“Even if she started it, it was because you spoke inappropriately. As an elder, couldn’t you have been more restrained? And you, Eunice, don’t follow your mother’s example in the future,” Derek chastised stoically.

The mother and daughter immediately felt discontent. He’s clearly biased! Even so, the two of them were helpless. After all, who could blame Derek for doting on Madelyn so much?

“Eunice, let’s go back to sleep.”

Earlier, with so many people around, Derek couldn’t bear to say anything to her. But now, when they were the only two left in the living room, he couldn’t help but start voicing his thoughts.

“Maddie, although your stepmother’s words were harsh, there was some truth in them. Now that you’re engaged to Sebastian, it’s time to quit your mischief. Focus on living a good life and stop fussing over trivial matters, all right?”

Madelyn didn’t want to worry her father, so she obediently nodded. “All right.”

Seeing her so well-behaved, Derek was relieved. He knew her personality better than anyone else. If she was forced to do something she didn’t like, odds were she would put up quite a struggle.

Derek had mentally prepared himself, knowing that there would undoubtedly be discontent from the Lockhart family after the engagement. Unexpectedly, days had passed, and there was still no word of complaint from the Lockhart family.

A couple of days ago, they had a chance encounter on the street. Steven even showered Madelyn with praise, commenting on how understanding she was. At that moment, Derek was overjoyed. However, barely two days had passed when trouble struck again. Seeing his daughter’s arm, Derek was overwhelmed with heartache.

He had been holding back, swallowing his questions, but in the end, he couldn’t help himself. “Maddie, tell me the truth. Who hurt your hand? Was it Sebastian?”

However, Sebastian appeared remarkably composed and refined. It was difficult to imagine him resorting to violence.

“No, I was walking by myself and accidentally tripped,” Madelyn denied it. There was no need to elaborate on the details of the injury, so she simply brushed it off.

Once she finished speaking, she had also nearly finished her soup. She drained the last mouthful and placed the bowl on the coffee table.

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

“Dad, who could possibly be visiting at this late hour?” Madelyn asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.

Derek stood up and said, “It must be Sebastian. I’ll go open the door.”