Chapter 13

Edgar understood Gloria's intentions. He smiled immediately and said, "I'll pay attention, Mrs. Martin."

"What?" Joe looked intently at Skylar and said, "In that case, Ms. Su—" Gloria glanced at him.

"Thank you, Skye," Joe said, dropping the formality.

Skylar smiled. Many people called her "Skye," but she felt awkward when Joe did it.

At the Williams residence, Sadie received a call from the hospital. She learned that Maisy was to be discharged the next day, but the blood supply was insufficient.

"Mom, do you think Skylar has given up on saving me? She hates me; she must want me dead! I don't know what I've done wrong. I'm sick, hated by my sister, and my parents are adoptive parents!" Maisy cried, hugging Sadie.

Sadie was heartbroken to see her daughter cry.

"I'll call her. I've ignored her for three days; she must realize she was wrong by now. I'll forget her past mistakes and ask her to donate blood at the hospital."

Maisy looked at Sadie carefully. "Will Skylar really go? Will she make any conditions again? I don't want to make things difficult for you and Dad."

"If she makes excessive demands, she can forget about coming back! Yesterday, she had her adoptive mother call me."

"Maybe she regretted it immediately after leaving the hospital but was too embarrassed to say anything. She must be hoping I'll say something first," Sadie said, furrowing her brows. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to deny Skylar as her biological child. Skylar had behaved so poorly; Sadie felt embarrassed by her.

Maisy smiled. The more Sadie hated Skylar, the more superior Maisy felt.

Sadie took out her phone to call.

Meanwhile, at the Pearlhall residence, Skylar was giving Joe a head massage under Edgar's "supervision." It was their first time being so close. Joe had thought Skylar was merely appeasing Gloria, playing to her preferences. But when her soft hands pressed accurately on each acupuncture point, it felt like magic. He'd always had trouble sleeping, but now he felt sleepy.

Since Gloria had urged him to learn, Edgar was genuinely interested. He understood that with each change in technique, Skylar was targeting a new acupuncture point. Even though Skylar had explained each point, he couldn't remember them! Forget it; Gloria wasn't serious about him learning anyway.

A phone rang at an inopportune moment. Edgar saw it was Skylar's phone. "Someone's calling you, Mrs. Martin."

Skylar finished the massage and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"So, you know how to answer a call now, huh? Is it because you know you've made a mistake? I can forget what happened a few days ago. I can teach you how to behave properly if you don't know how. Come back right now so we can go to the hospital tomorrow," Sadie said condescendingly.

Skylar glanced at Joe, who was lightly sleeping on the couch. Then, she went outside with her phone.

Once outside, Joe opened his eyes and looked at her icily. He could vaguely hear Sadie scolding Skylar. Were the Williamses treating Skylar that badly?

Sadie saw the call was still connected, but Skylar wasn't responding. Already in a bad mood, she was now even angrier. "When did you become mute? Say something!"

"Are you asking me to go back and resume being Maisy's blood bank?" Skylar asked.

Skylar's lukewarm voice made Sadie frown. Something felt off. "Blood bank? Maisy's your younger sister. You're just donating blood; why do you have to make it sound so bad? Come back now. I'll give you a new room as big as Maisy's."

Skylar laughed. Sadie falsely interpreted this as happy gloating. She frowned and said impatiently, "Go with your dad to the company after the hospital visit tomorrow. He's set up a clerk position for you."

"Are you done, Mrs. Williams?" Skylar stopped laughing sarcastically. Sadie's true nature was too ugly.

"What did you call me? I'm your mother! How dare you address me as Mrs. Williams?" Sadie was furious.

"Does a mother like you exist? Strangers would think I'm your enemy," Skylar sneered. In her previous life, she'd been put in the smallest room in the villa, barely seeing Sadie once in two weeks. Whenever Sadie had seen her, she’d despised her for being a cripple. What a wonderful mother! Maisy could have Sadie all to herself.

"What are you saying?! Have you been hearing things from others? Is that why you're speaking to me so rudely?"

"The money you're spending is ours. Your dad has canceled your credit card. If you don't want to be poor and homeless, come back and admit your mistake now!" Sadie thought she'd misheard Skylar.

Skylar had moved her phone away from her ear before Sadie could reply. When Sadie finished yelling, Skylar picked up her phone again.

"Neither you nor Mr. Williams are that old. I don't think you have Alzheimer's yet. Ever since you took me in, I've never spent a penny of yours."

"Ask Mr. Williams to check his credit card records. You're always in the hospital with Maisy anyway. Why don't you get a CT scan to check your brain?"

With that, Skylar hung up. She knew there was a vineyard at Pearlhall Residence, so she headed there.

After the call, Sadie's face was full of disbelief. Skylar hadn't spent a single penny? That was impossible! People from the countryside were liars. Skylar hadn't even worked after graduating. It was impossible she hadn't spent their money.

"What did Skylar say? You seem angry," Maisy observed, scoffing. Skylar was no match for her! If she became Joe's girlfriend, Skylar would have to look up to her.

Sadie threw her phone angrily at the couch. "She's not coming back. How dare she talk back to me? She even said she didn't spend a penny of ours. How did Janine raise her? How could she lie so ungratefully?"

Maisy's eyes flickered. She knew Skylar wasn't lying. Christopher had said Skylar worked during high school vacations and in college. Saving money wouldn't have been hard for her. But…

"Skylar has Dad's credit card. How could she naively think her lies wouldn't be exposed? Mom, don't let her get to you."

Sadie got even angrier. "She's outrageous!"

After hanging up, Skylar went to Pearlhall Residence's vineyard to harvest grapes with the workers. Afterward, she went strawberry picking.

She was squatting, picking strawberries, when Joe showed up.