Romance

"Elliot!" 

Just as Elliot was about to open the box, Rosie acted quickly and grabbed onto his arm, stopping him. "It's getting late now. Let's hurry and be on our way. We shouldn't let Mom and Dad wait too long."

The box, which had already been opened slightly, was closed shut again.

The surge of curiosity that had just bubbled up in Elliot's chest slowly faded under Rosie's interruption.

He handed the box to a maid. He almost wanted to tell her to throw it away, but ended up saying, "Put it back in my room."

Rosie's expression shifted slightly, and she clutched the hem of her skirt tightly.

Elliot had actually retrieved the gift Angelica had sent him from the trash. Had he noticed some details she had overlooked?

A wave of unease settled in Rosie's chest.

…

Back at the Quigley residence, Angelica didn't rush to play housekeeper the second she arrived, like she usually did every

No one would have expected Angelica to start putting on airs by her second year of marriage, refusing to show her face even when someone personally went upstairs to ask her to come down for dinner.

She clearly held no respect for the family.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the dining room fell into an eerie silence.

Elliot's expression darkened. He stood up and said, "I'll go get her, Grandpa."

At the main residence, his and Angelica's bedroom was located at the very end of the second-floor hallway. The door was unlocked, so Elliot went straight in. 

"Angelica," he called out.

The main lights were off. Only a warm, yellow floor lamp was switched on, casting a soft glow across the room. On the bed, there was a rounded lump of mass beneath the covers.

Elliot held in his annoyance, reaching out and yanking the comforter aside without warning. He jumped right into interrogating her. "

Elliot found everything Angelica had been asking lately strangely unsettling. However, he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly felt off. 

The way she kept bringing up children… Was Angelica hinting at him that she wanted one? 

Half a year ago, she had mentioned it to him once. He had shut her down with cold sarcasm. 

At 160 pounds, she wasn't fit for pregnancy at all. Besides, if she got pregnant, how was she supposed to keep supplying blood?

He hadn't expected her to be clinging to the idea even now.

Elliot's expression darkened instantly, his voice turning icy. "I'll send you the photos later, but don't even think about having a child."

With that, he hung up the call.

Rosie appeared at the doorway as if she had just happened to pass by. She knocked on the door softly. "Elliot? Were you on the phone with Angelica?"

"Yeah. My assistant, Patrick, said she wasn't at the hospital. I was just asking," he replied.

"Elliot," she said, feigning concern. "No matter what, Angelica is still your wife. You should show her more concern."

In truth, she wished he would ignore Angelica for the rest of his life. 

If it weren't for the fact that Angelica could provide her with free blood, she wouldn't have sacrificed her precious younger brother like this.

Fortunately, Rosie would always come first in Elliot's heart. What could Angelica possibly use to compete with her? She was nothing more than a pitiful clown.

Hiding the contempt in her eyes, Rosie sat down on the edge of the bed. The hem of her already short skirt inched even higher, deliberately showing a suggestive sight.

She acted nonchalant and asked, "I heard you mention a child just now. What child?"

Elliot held no secrets from Rosie, so he told her everything, word by word, how Angelica had been beating around the bush, trying to hint that she wanted a child with him.

Rosie dug her nails deep into her palm. She put on a forced smile. "You've been married for two years. It does make sense to want a child, but…"

Her tone shifted, suddenly sounding full of concern. "Angelica doesn't even have the patience for Holden. She clearly dislikes him. I think you should really give it some careful consideration."

Elliot didn't say anything back.

…

Angelica stared at the disconnected call screen on her phone in confusion. 

What nonsense was Elliot spouting now? Telling her not to even think about having a child?

A notification ringtone interrupted her thoughts. Elliot had sent over a photo.

In the photo, a small child sat quietly on a stool. His skin looked soft, with delicate, almost porcelain features. The only flaw was his lightless eyes. 

He looked like a soulless wooden doll. 

A doll… more like a puppet.

A  sudden spark flashed through Angelica's mind. She knew exactly what kind of toy to make. 

Without waiting any longer, she sprang into action immediately.

That very night, Angelica sketched out a rough design based on the photo. After countless revisions, she finally completed the final draft at dawn. While the inspiration was still fresh in her mind, she opened her laptop and began working on the modeling. 

Lydia tried to get her to rest halfway through, but Angelica refused every time. 

Seeing her so focused made Lydia's eyes well up with tears. 

"Angelica is so charming when she's giving her all at her job!" Lydia thought to herself.

Angelica worked until nightfall before finally stopping to catch her breath.

The model was finished. All that was left was printing it.

And with six days left until the eve of New Year, there was plenty of time left. Angelica rewarded herself by sleeping straight through the next day and night. The consequence of that indulgence was a flood of missed calls and messages. Most of them, and the most frequent calls, were from Elliot.

She was about to ignore them when his call came through again.

"Angelica, you've had three days to fool around. Isn't that enough? Get back here now, immediately!" Elliot commanded.

Angelica had to laugh. "Go back there and do what? Be your family's servant?"

Last year, she had gone back to the main residence with Elliot for New Year. She had been the legitimate Mrs. Quigley, yet she did the work of a maid

All kinds of cleaning, preparing gifts, and all the details were handled by her alone. 

What was worse was New Year Eve's dinner. Everyone praised her cooking, pushed her into the kitchen, and waited until she had prepared an entire table of dishes. Then they dug in and left behind nothing but a huge mess.

She went hungry the entire night.

All the resentment she swallowed in the end was dismissed with a word, "overdramatic".

"Can you speak in a nicer tone, Angelica?" Elliot frowned, one hand resting on the steering wheel. "I'm downstairs at Lydia's place. You have five minutes."

Hearing the disconnected call's ringtone, Angelica's heart sank. 

What was wrong with Elliot now? To think he came to pick her up personally, and even showed up at Lydia's place to corner her.

She felt her anger rise, yet a smothering helplessness also overwhelmed her. Going head-to-head with Elliot now would give her nothing… for now, at least.

"Do you really have to go back, Angelica?" Lydia asked. "You could ignore him. Just let him wait."

Angelica shook her head as she changed her shoes. "I have to go back sooner or later. Avoiding it now won't solve anything."

She knew Elliot's temper well. If she truly pushed him too far, there was nothing he wouldn't do when he lost control. She didn't want to drag Lydia into this matter.

Lydia walked her downstairs, reminding her to call immediately if anything happened.

Elliot drove away after she got in the car.

He waited the entire drive for Angelica to speak first. But 20 minutes passed in complete silence.

He couldn't hold it in anymore. He finally glanced back, only to find Angelica asleep in the back seat, her breathing slow and even.

Elliot was speechless.

"She really could sleep anywhere, just like a pig," he thought to himself.

His expression turned dark. He sped the entire way, cutting what should've been a 40-minute drive to just 20 minutes.

The car stopped in the front courtyard of the Quigley residence.

Angelica "coincidentally" woke up just then.

"Get out," Elliot said grimly.

She complied without a word, which filled him with a frustration similar to punching cotton with his fist.

He turned around and drove off again, heading to pick up Rosie and Holden this time.

At the villa, Rosie was directing the housekeepers for a full-scale cleanup. Trash was being hauled out from every corner.

Holden shouted, "Throw out all that fatso's stuff! She's not allowed to live here!"

Rosie gently pinched his cheek. "Holden, don't say things like that in front of Uncle Elliot, okay?

It was only a matter of time before Angelica got driven out of the villa. At least, after every last bit of value had been squeezed out of her.

Holden pouted, then suddenly heard a car horn. His face lit up. "Uncle Elliot is back!"

Elliot parked at the entrance and stepped out. "Are you doing a spring cleaning, Rosie?"

"Yes. New year, new start," Rosie said with a smile. "Angelica isn't here, so I took care of it for her."

She carried herself exactly like the lady of the house.

"I'll talk to her later," Elliot said. He scanned the pile of trash, until his gaze landed on something, and he froze.

He strode over and picked up the topmost box. It was the gift Angelica had given him the day after she mentioned divorce. It was their second wedding anniversary present.

He didn't have the time to unwrap it then. What had Angelica given to him?

He shook the box a little, and it felt almost weightless.

From dating to marriage, Angelica had always prepared gifts for every holiday.  But she had no money, so they were always handmade gifts.

At first, Elliot found them novel and would open them right away. But later, they eventually became boring to him.

He accepted the gifts, tossed them aside, and forgot about them entirely.

Yet the box in his hand now stirred a curiosity he hadn't felt in a long time.

Elliot reached out and tore open the wrapping.

"Elliot!" 

Just as Elliot was about to open the box, Rosie acted quickly and grabbed onto his arm, stopping him. "It's getting late now. Let's hurry and be on our way. We shouldn't let Mom and Dad wait too long."

The box, which had already been opened slightly, was closed shut again.

The surge of curiosity that had just bubbled up in Elliot's chest slowly faded under Rosie's interruption.

He handed the box to a maid. He almost wanted to tell her to throw it away, but ended up saying, "Put it back in my room."

Rosie's expression shifted slightly, and she clutched the hem of her skirt tightly.

Elliot had actually retrieved the gift Angelica had sent him from the trash. Had he noticed some details she had overlooked?

A wave of unease settled in Rosie's chest.

…

Back at the Quigley residence, Angelica didn't rush to play housekeeper the second she arrived, like she usually did every year.

The cold jabs and snide remarks rolled off her like water off a duck's back. It was like pun

Chapter 11