Chapter 74

Brenda felt exasperated. She said with a wry smile, “Fine, if so, I won’t go back anymore. You speak as if I’m dying to return to the Hill family anyway.” She then added, “But, Ophelia, let me remind you, my grandmother outranks you. You don’t exactly have the authority to tell me to stay away from the Hill family forever.”

“Maybe someday when my grandmother’s gone, and no one’s keeping you in check, then you can try kicking me out.”

Ophelia was so furious that she was trembling. “You… you really are something.”

And with that, Ophelia hung up the phone. To Ophelia, if this rebellious daughter wanted to gang up with outsiders against her mother, then it was better she didn’t come back; less aggravation that way.

Hearing the dial tone, Brenda shrugged. “Ophelia’s been coddled for so many years. Her nerves must be getting soft if she can’t handle that much.”

Phoebe chuckled. “Which is probably why she and Lydia get along so well. They’re two of a kind.”

That day, after a few pointed words from Phoebe, Lydia had acted like she couldn’t handle it either. Brenda nodded in agreement. “Exactly. People who can be friends are usually cut from the same cloth.”

“Honestly, if I hadn’t secretly done a DNA test, I’d have thought Reece and I weren’t even her biological kids. She only cares about her little love child, Soren.”

Brenda scoffed. “When she had us, we were just accidents. She never wanted us in the first place. It was only after a doctor warned her that an abortion could damage her health that she decided to have us.”

“After we were born, she didn’t care about us one bit. I was sent to live with her parents, and Reece got sent to Grandpa’s. Those two old tyrants took my clothes and toys and gave them to their precious nephews and friends,”

She mocked. “They even bullied me all the time. I tried sneaking messages to her, hoping she’d let me come home. Instead, she’d scold me, saying I was ungrateful and disrespectful for making up stories about my grandparents.”

“She sided with her family no matter what and refused to let me come home. It wasn’t until later that I learned that as long as I stayed with them, the Hill family would keep sending benefits to her parents.”

“If I hadn’t been clever enough to call Grandpa in tears, begging him to take me in, who knows what miserable shape I’d be in now.”

Brenda added, with a mix of resignation and disbelief, “Only Reece would still crave some twisted form of motherly love and run to her, just to be manipulated.”

Brenda had long since seen through her hypocritical and biased mother.

Phoebe nodded. “I used to wonder why your mom favored Soren so much while giving you and Reece the cold shoulder. But ever since I moved back to the Jenkins family, I’ve experienced that same favoritism firsthand.”

“They spoil Sienna while stepping on me, their own daughter. Your mother’s bias could compete with theirs?”

Brenda shrugged. “Guess we just got unlucky with our family draws.”

Honestly, the two of them, as close friends, truly shared similar hardships and even had a bit of that bond that came from surviving the same struggles. Families like theirs weren’t entirely unheard of in society, but cases like theirs were rare indeed. Yet here they were, both unlucky enough to end up with that hand, pretty tragic.

In a normal family, parents cherished their children. Motherly love was supposed to be sacred, with children valued as treasures. But in their cases, they were barely considered anything at all.

Then again, if it weren’t for that, they never would have met, and their friendship wouldn’t be as close as it was. So, maybe they’d lost some things but gained others.

Phoebe then pivoted, “If they don’t care about us, fine. We’ll just care about ourselves.” After the time travel, she’d truly stopped caring about all that.

Brenda laughed. “Right, we’ll take care of ourselves.”

Then, with a hint of relief, Brenda said to Phoebe, “Good thing you broke up with Reece. Otherwise, you’d be stuck with a mother-in-law who’d constantly try to control you. That would be the real nightmare.”

Phoebe blinked. “Hearing you put it like that, I suddenly feel like I made the right call.” And with that, they both burst out laughing in unison.

Phoebe raised her glass. “Alright, enough about all these exhausting people and problems. So, now that you’re back, what’s next?”

“I’ve actually started my own studio, but I’m stressing over finding someone trustworthy to run it while I’m off at variety shows or acting gigs.” Phoebe smiled at Brenda. “Interested in joining as a partner?”

Brenda, who had studied business management and was naturally talented at it, nodded. “Absolutely. Coming back was all about finding you, anyway.” She clinked her glass with Phoebe’s, “I was just looking for something to do, and you’ve handed me the perfect opportunity.”

With a hint of self-mockery, Brenda added, “Originally, I studied management just to help Frank, but look at me now, finally putting it to use myself.”

Phoebe laughed. “Isn’t that even better? What you learn for yourself is yours to keep. Soon, we’ll grow this studio into a powerhouse.”

“Then you can stand tall in front of that lousy man like a queen, giving him the coldest ‘get lost.’ Won’t that feel great!”

From her perspective, Phoebe thought Brenda deserved so much better. Frank must have cared for Brenda on some level. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let her chase after him all these years.

But he was like a block of cold stone, with that scheming assistant always around to add fuel to the fire. Frank was even worse than Reece. They both belonged in the garbage.

Brenda followed Phoebe’s train of thought, and a smile broke across her face. “Honestly, that would be incredibly satisfying. When the time comes, I’ll happily tell him to take that bimbo and keep walking.”

Brenda downed her glass. “No more chasing after worthless men for me. I’m going to be a powerhouse in my own right.”

Phoebe downed hers as well. “Yes! From now on, it’s all about building our own empires.”

The two of them happily enjoyed their skewers and drinks, putting all those upsetting matters behind them.

Meanwhile, things online continued to escalate. Reece and Sienna were being torn apart by the public, with many fans leaving them in droves.

Back at the Jenkins residence, Jamar and Sienna were dropped off by the show’s transport van.

In the end, Jamar had caved under Sienna’s tears. Swallowing his anger, he’d managed to soothe her just enough to stop her crying. When Sienna finally walked into the house, her eyes were still red and swollen.

Elliot wasn’t there, but Lydia was seated in the living room along with the four Jenkins brothers, all waiting. As soon as Sienna entered and saw them, she softened her voice and greeted each of them sweetly. “Hello, Mom, Ollie, Leon, Joshua, Cain.”

Seeing Sienna’s puffy eyes, Cain immediately stood up, looking concerned. “Sienna, what happened! Who hurt you!”

At his words, the tears that had subsided threatened to overflow again. Sienna ran to Cain and burst into tears, starting with the blame. “I was set up, and now all these people online are attacking me.”

Sienna left the “who” up to interpretation. She was sure her brothers would figure it out. Then she complained. “Reece and I are innocent, but Jamar didn’t believe me. He just yelled at me instead of supporting me.”

Cain held her protectively, patting her back. “Don’t worry, Sienna. Ollie and Leon are already digging into whoever’s behind this.” He shot a sharp look at Jamar. “When we find out who did this, we’ll make sure they pay.”

Then, still glaring, Cain added, “As for Jamar, ignore that fool. I’ll give him a good beating later to help you feel better?”

Jamar scratched the back of his neck. “I only got mad because I saw what was online. I lost my head for a minute.” Sienna pouted at him from Cain’s arms. “Jamar, you’re mean.”

Putting his hands together in a mock plea, Jamar begged, “Yes, yes, I’m terrible. Can we leave it at that!” Jamar, frankly, was exhausted by Sienna’s dramatics.

Joshua guided Sienna to the couch and sat beside her, an arm around her shoulders. Joshua joined them, putting an arm around Sienna’s waist and murmuring soft, comforting words until she started to smile a little.

Meanwhile, Ollie and Leon, though not as physically affectionate, continued offering their own words of comfort, promising they wouldn’t let her attackers get away with it.

Watching her sons coddle Sienna, Lydia’s expression grew complicated. In the past, she wouldn’t have given it much thought, but now, she couldn’t help frowning.

With Joshua and Cain each holding her, Sienna looked more like a girlfriend than a sister. Her five brothers surrounded her, comforting and doting on her, not at all like siblings but rather as if they were soothing a mistress far closer.