Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Chapter 86:

“How does she have the audacity to show up here?”

“After hearing of our reunion with our daughter, she came to offer her congratulations,” Lonnie explained.

“I’m not going downstairs. There’s urgent business at the company I need to attend to.”

Upon hearing that Lonnie was leaving her to confront Valentina Juarez alone, Skyla pinched his arm sharply.

“You’re just dodging the issue!”

Quick to understand, Fletcher replied, “Darling, if you need me to stay, I’ll be right here.”

Skyla shot him a fierce look and said, “Too late for that! Now that I have our dear Harlee, I don’t need you! Besides, it’s Valentina who has the audacity to come here. What do I have to be afraid of?”

Just then, Harlee asked, “Who is Valentina?”

“A friend who turned out to be a bad influence your mother befriended in her youth.” With that, Lonnie slipped back into the room as if to avoid further conflict, aware that staying might cost him his pride as a father.

Being rebuked by his wife in front of his daughter would be too humiliating.

“Pay no mind to what your father says. Valentina was actually an unresolved romantic issue from his past,” Skyla explained.

An unresolved romantic issue!? Harlee now realized where her own traits came from. Though Skyla maintained a poised and refined demeanor, her small acts like pinching Lonnie revealed that she was more than just a delicate flower.

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As Skyla was changing, a disturbance arose downstairs. It turned out that Valentina and her daughter, Liliana Juarez, were trying to make their way upstairs, but the butler was stopping them at the staircase, causing quite a commotion.

“Is this Harlee?” Valentina asked, her smile as warm as the afternoon sun, as she pulled Liliana closer. She held a delicate gift bag, embodying the perfect image of a gentle lady.

Before, Valentina had tried to capture Lonnie’s heart, only to discover he harbored feelings for Skyla, her former friend, instead. Though jealousy burned within her, she maintained the friendship, at least outwardly. Valentina, however, harbored a deep resentment toward Skyla, who led a charmed life in stark contrast to her own.

Raised as the family’s golden child and constantly praised by the elders, Valentina felt Skyla could never measure up to her. This bitterness led Valentina to impulsively marry Skyla’s older brother, Elvin Juarez. Leveraging her new role, Valentina subtly undermined Skyla at every family gathering.

Skyla, ever the kind soul, initially saw Valentina’s marriage into her family as a deepening of their friendship. She continued to treat Valentina with the same kindness she always had.

However, the facade shattered the day little Harlee was pushed into the pond, an act Skyla knew could only be Valentina’s doing.

From that moment, Skyla’s heart closed to the woman she once called friend.

“What brings you here?” Skyla inquired, her tone icy.

Valentina responded with practiced ease, “Elvin mentioned that Harlee was back, so I brought some gifts she might adore.”

She extended the beautifully wrapped boxes toward Harlee, while subtly signaling to Liliana with her eyes.

Despite Liliana’s distaste for Harlee, a cousin who had seemingly sprung from nowhere, she understood the importance of presenting a friendly facade to the Sanderson family.

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