Chapter 225: Chapter 235: The Difference Between Love and Lovelessness
Wyatt Winslow fell silent. After more than ten seconds, he pushed up his glasses. "Your mom’s back. She said she wants to see you."
Holly: "..."
The softness on her face vanished. She shook her head, making an excuse. "I’ve been really busy lately. I have a lot of classes, and I have to catch up on my studies..."
Before she could finish, Wyatt Winslow looked at her and added, "Holly, don’t hold anything against your mom because of . Your mom is very good to you. She’s called many tis to check on you."
This was why, in her past life, Holly had been deceived by this "motherly love." Wyatt Winslow always spoke well of Yvonne Lewis.
She had indeed received several calls from Yvonne Lewis, but she hadn’t answered any of them.
’If she truly cared about , she would do more than just call.’
She would "make excuses" to co see her, like Wyatt Winslow did, just to check if she was doing well. He always left her fridge fully stocked and tucked money under the box on the shoe cabinet before he left.
Not just calling once every half a month or month. That kind of motherly love felt a little thin.
So thin that she’d almost forgotten she even had a mother.
Seeing her silence, Wyatt Winslow pursed his lips, a complex look in his eyes. "If you don’t want to see her, then don’t..."
Holly glanced at Wyatt Winslow, her heart aching for him. ’Dad, do you want to see her?’
’He probably does.’
’Why else would he still answer Yvonne Lewis’s calls?’
"Dad, I’ll see her."
...
「The next day, at The Serene Leaf Tea House.」
They always t in upscale places like this, which lacked the atmosphere Holly enjoyed.
’It’s too cold.’
She preferred the lively clamor of a hot pot restaurant and the lingering sll that clung to her clothes afterward.
Wyatt Winslow spotted them by the window—a family of three. Yvonne Lewis was holding a child while Vincent Vance reached out to playfully tease him.
All three of them were smiling.
He pressed his lips together, an unspeakable anger in his eyes. He had only agreed to this eting after she had called three or four tis, insisting on seeing Holly.
’Why did she have to bring the child? How sad will Holly be?’
He turned his head to look at his daughter beside him.
eting his gaze, Holly smiled brightly and linked her arm with his, pointing to the cafe’s signature drink on the nu. "Dad, I’ll have this one."
Wyatt Winslow glanced at her, then said to the waiter, "Two of those, sent to that table."
When Vincent Vance saw them approach, he smiled and nodded in greeting. Wyatt Winslow nodded back.
Yvonne Lewis, holding the child, smiled from her well-maintained face. "Holly."
"Mm," Holly replied, her tone a little distant.
Yvonne Lewis sensed it. Her smile stiffened for a mont before she quickly recovered, reaching out to hold the hand of the child in her arms to stop him from grabbing a cup on the table.
Vincent Vance gave her hand a squeeze, signaling for her not to mind it. He then asked, "Holly, how are your studies going? How’s life at Branton University?"
"It’s great."
Holly nodded. When the waiter placed their drinks down, she handed one to Wyatt Winslow before taking a sip of her own.
Lorne Vance, the son of Yvonne Lewis and Vincent Vance, was her half-brother.
He gurgled and reached his little hands toward Holly, as if wanting to be held.
Yvonne Lewis, hoping to foster a bond between the siblings, asked, "Holly, would you like to hold your brother?"
Not wanting to make the atmosphere too awkward, Holly reached out and took him. Lorne Vance was fair-skinned and chubby. Other than his eyes, which resembled Yvonne Lewis’s, he looked just like Vincent Vance.
He would look even more like Vincent Vance when he grew up.
’A pity he didn’t inherit Yvonne Lewis’s looks.’
The child was fidgety, and she had no experience with babies, so she just focused on holding him securely.
In a mont of inattention, Lorne Vance grabbed a cup and knocked it over. Water spilled onto both of them. Holly reacted quickly, so Lorne barely got wet, but her pants were soaked.
Wyatt Winslow, next to her, quickly grabbed the falling cup.
Before Holly could say anything, Yvonne Lewis had already reached over, taken Lorne Vance back, and was ticulously dabbing him dry with a napkin.
Holly stared blankly for a few seconds before looking away. Beside her, Wyatt Winslow was already pulling out tissues to wipe her down.
’This is the difference between being loved and not.’
Holly gave Wyatt Winslow a small smile. "Dad, I’m fine. It’ll dry in a bit."
Only then did Yvonne Lewis seem to rember that Holly had also gotten wet. She asked with hurried concern, "Holly, how wet did you get? There’s a mall nearby. I’ll take you to buy a new pair of pants."
Holly shook her head, her tone even more distant than before. "It’s fine. It’ll dry soon."
Wyatt Winslow pursed his lips and said abruptly, "I’m sorry, I have sothing to attend to. I’m going to take Holly and leave."
Yvonne Lewis was taken aback. She tried to persuade them to stay. "Wyatt, at least stay for lunch. Vincent has already booked a table at the restaurant. And isn’t Holly engaged? I’d like to et the young man, just to set my mind at ease."
Vincent Vance chid in, "Holly hasn’t seen her mother in a long ti. Since we’re back this ti, you should stay a while longer."
"Holly, your mother talks about you all day. She brought you a lot of things."
Vincent Vance was actually quite decent to Holly, but that decency was overshadowed by his status as Yvonne Lewis’s husband.
In the end, Holly and Wyatt Winslow stayed. They also called Mortir Quincy and asked him to co.
Mortir Quincy stopped by a supermarket to buy so gifts. The first thing he did upon entering was check Holly’s expression. Seeing that she seed okay, he then turned to Wyatt Winslow and the others. "Uncle Winslow."
He then gave a gracious nod to Yvonne Lewis and her husband.
After he sat down, Wyatt Winslow made the introductions. "This is Aunt Lewis, Holly’s mom. And that is Uncle Vance."
Mortir Quincy greeted them, "Aunt Lewis, Uncle Vance."
Yvonne Lewis and Vincent Vance sized him up and seed quite satisfied. Vincent Vance said, "Please, make yourself at ho. Don’t be nervous."
Mortir Quincy nodded. His gaze suddenly fell on a dark patch on Holly’s pants. He reached out and touched it. It was damp. He frowned. "You got wet?"
Holly nodded. "It’s fine. It’s almost dry."
Mortir Quincy pressed his lips together, then stood up apologetically. "Excuse , I’ll be right back."
He returned a dozen or so minutes later and handed Holly a bag. "Go change."
Holly was most susceptible to colds in April and May, and they were always hard to shake once she caught one.
Holly was taken aback for a mont, then said with an unconscious touch of playfulness, "You co with ."
"Okay," Mortir Quincy agreed.
While Holly changed in the restroom, Mortir Quincy waited outside. Wyatt Winslow glanced in their direction, and so of the tension in his heart eased.
After the al, Yvonne Lewis offered them a card. "We weren’t back for your engagent. This is a small token from
and your Uncle Vance."
Holly didn’t take it. "That’s not necessary. Dad already took care of everything I need. I’m not lacking anything."
"Please take it. It’s just a small gesture from us. It’s not much," Vincent Vance added.
Wyatt Winslow spoke up. "There’s no need. I will handle Holly’s affairs."
Seeing that the father and daughter wouldn’t accept it, Yvonne Lewis turned and offered the card to Mortir Quincy. "Miles, consider this so money for your wedding house."
Mortir Quincy shook his head. "Aunt Lewis, that’s not necessary. Holly and I have already bought a house with our scholarship money."
"My parents also bought us a house."
’The subtext was clear: We don’t need your help; Holly and I can manage just fine.’
The young man’s words had a sting to them. Yvonne Lewis was stunned into silence. "..."
A wave of sweetness washed over Holly. Scholar Quincy was standing up for her. It might have been a little rude, but she was very satisfied. It felt good.
Vincent Vance, being a businessman, seed to understand the situation and didn’t say anything more.
Since they wouldn’t accept the card, Yvonne Lewis didn’t press the issue, rely casting a complicated glance at Holly.
She had carried Holly for ten months. To see her so distant now... it would be a lie to say she wasn’t sad.
She glanced at Wyatt Winslow, likely suspecting that he had been poisoning the child’s mind against her.
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