Chapter 380: At Yu Mansion

The chill of the cold shower hadn’t managed to fully extinguish the fire in Adrian’s blood, though he would sooner die than admit it. He stepped into his dressing room, pulling on a robe of dark emerald silk that made his newly silver hair glow like moonlight. He felt restless, there was a buzzing energy vibrating under his skin.

He told himself he was going downstairs to check on the pets. They were his property, after all, and he needed to ensure they hadn’t been snatched away by some seductress currently residing in his mansion.

But as he reached the living room, his eyes immediately sought out the sofa where Ella usually sat with her notebook.

The place was empty.

Bertha appeared from the kitchen as she observed the man, "Is everything alright, Second Young Master?"

"Where is... that woman?" He gestured vaguely toward the couch, his posture stiff.

"Miss Yu left about a few minutes ago," Bertha replied softly. She hesitated, then added, "She looked... quite upset. Her eyes were red, and she didn’t even say goodbye to Riri and Lala before she walked out the door."

Inwardly Bertha was rather concerned about Ella. With the current situation, Adrian had completely forgotton the past.

So, the one who was most impacted was Ella.

Adrian froze but then he quickly turned his back to Bertha, pretending to examine a vase, "I didn’t even ask how she looked. I was merely wondering why the house was so peaceful. If she wants to wander off and ruin her mood elsewhere, that is her business. It certainly has nothing to do with me."

"Of course," Bertha murmured, though her eyes briefly lingered on the tension in his shoulders.

Adrian raked a hand through his damp silver hair, his jaw tight. Upset? He had been the one forced to flee to a cold shower! He was the victim of her tricks.

If she was upset, it was likely because her plan to entrap him had only partially succeeded.

As Adrian stared out the window, the image of her face from earlier flashed in his mind, and the man felt a hollow ache in his heart that no amount of narcissism seemed tp fill.

On the other side of the city, the atmosphere was with a suffocating coldness.

Ella stood at the threshold of the Yu Mansion.

For so long, this place had been her ’home.’

Every corner held a memory, most of them of her trying to be the perfect daughter, the highest achiever, the most dutiful child. She had spent two lifetimes trying to earn the warmth of this place, only to realize today that this place had no warmth for her.

The guards didn’t stop her as if they had been informed of her arrival beforehand.

As Ella walked into the drawing room, the scene before her made her feel a dull ache in her chest.

Mr. and Mrs. Yu were seated on the plush sofa with Lana. They were feeding her evening snacks, doting on her with a tenderness Ella had thought was only reserved to Esther.

Mrs. Yu was brushing a stray hair from Lana’s forehead, her face glowing with a genuine love that made Ella’s stomach turn.

There wasn’t even a nod of acknowledgment when they spotted her. They didn’t even try to pretend anymore.

To them, she was a ghost that had finally stopped haunting them.

"Why?"

The word cracked the silence like a gunshot.

Ella stood in the center of the room, her navy dress wrinkled, her eyes dark with a pain so deep it had turned into coldness.

She had avoided this conversation for so long, clinging to the shards of her childhood, but standing here, watching them pamper their ’real’ daughter, she was left with no choice but to confront it.

"Why did you take care of me all these years if I am not your child?"

Mr. Yu looked up, his expression shifting from warmth to an irritated boredom. He set his teacup down with a deliberate clink. Mrs. Yu didn’t stop stroking Lana’s hand, as if Lana was the most wrong person in this scenario.

"We thought you knew by now," Mr. Yu said, his voice devoid of any fatherly affection, "We pitied you back then. We thought... well, we thought we could at least provide a life for you for charity. At least, Esther would have some company."

The ache in Ella’s chest intensified.

"But we regret it now. You were always such a burden. Even as a child, you were demanding, always seeking attention we didn’t have the heart to give to you. After growing up, you were still an ungrateful child who only dragged the Yu name down."

"A snake," Mr. Yu added coldly,"It feels like aising a snake in our bosom, only for it to grow up and bite the hand that fed it. You lived the life that our daughter should have had.:

Ella’s body felt heavy, as if the very air in the room was filled with poison.

The words were like physical blows, flaying her open until there was nothing left but the raw truth she had been avoiding.

A small smile appeared on Ella’s lips, even as her fingers curling into fists at her sides. She dug her nails into her palms, the sharp sting of her skin breaking being the only thing that kept her from collapsing.

The warm trickle of blood in her palms grounded her.

Don’t cry, she told herself. Don’t. You can’t show them how much this affects you.

"I see," Ella whispered, the smile never leaving her face even as her heart clenched, "Thank you for the explaining."

She turned her gaze toward Lana, who was watching the exchange with wide, innocent eyes.

"Since you wanted me over so badly, Lana, I am here," Ella said, her voice regaining its steel. She ignored the way her palms throbbed in pain. "Can you tell me the truth now?

Lana paused, her hand frozen near a plate of macarons. She looked at her parents, then back at Ella. The silence in the room grew heavy, the soft evening light filtering through the windows feeling like a mockery of the darkness Ella felt within herself.

"Ella..." Lana began, her voice soft and trembling, "He’s only with you because he lost his way."