Ellinor was lounging in bed, lazily flipping through the pages of her unfinished book. She knew Balfour had followed her in, but she didnât give a damn.
Balfour scanned the room, then looked at his clearly pregnant sister and said, âEllinor, how about coming home with me?â
Ellinor casually turned a page. âHome? I am home. What other home should I go to?â
Balfour moved next to her and sat down gracefully, âStop messing around. You know what I mean.â
Ellinor looked up. âMr. Howard, can you first tell me how you knew I was here? Was it your brother Byran or your pal Bartlett?â
Balfour didnât beat around the bush. âIt was Theo.â
Ellinor was taken aback. She didnât see that one coming.
âHuh, I thought you two were sworn enemies. Didnât expect you to be in touch.â
Balfour sighed. âEllinor, letâs not fuss about that now. I wonât ask where youâve been for the past six months. But seeing you heavily pregnant and living alone makes me worried. Come home! Iâll have someone look after you property, okay?â
Ellinor looked at Balfour as if he were a stranger. âMr. Howard, I appreciate your concern, but Iâm home already. Iâm not going anywhere.â
Balfour reached over and gently stroked her head. âI know youâre still mad at me and havenât forgiven me yet. But you canât ignore your health now that youâre pregnant. Come back with me to the Howard familyâs home. Whatever you decide. Iâm with you.â
Ellinor laughed. âIâm not ignoring my health, Havenât I been taking good care of myself for the past six months? Mr. Howard, you donât need to worry about me. Now that youâve seen Iâm doing fine, you can go.â
Balfour frowned. âEllinor!â
Ellinor raised an eyebrow. âWhat? Not used to me not being as docile as Patricia?â
Balfour was taken aback. âNo, I didnât mean that. I wouldnât compare you two.â
Ellinor gave him a faint smile. âMr. Howard, I understand your concerns and your good intention of taking me back with you.
But have you ever thought about how you will explain to your family who I am?
Even if you disclose to them that I am your long-lost sister, how will they react?
Iâm already pregnant. Will the elders be upset because Iâm unwed and carrying the enemyâs child?
The elders of the Howard family already have a bias against our mother and misunderstand her deeply!
If you bring me back now, wouldnât it just give them more reasons to criticize our motherâs upbringing?
I donât want my situation to become a hot topic among the Howards.â
Balfour looked at Ellinor with a complex expression. âEllinor, our grandparents arenât as bad as you think; youâve met them.â
Ellinorâs eyes flashed with sarcasm. âReally? But Iâve already given them the benefit of the doubt. If I were to think the worst of them, they might outright deny that Iâm a part of the Howard family. They kicked our mother out because they doubted her loyalty and my lineage, right?â
Balfour fell silent Ellinor didnât want to go on and asked him to leave. âMr. Howard, leave! I can take care of myself and my baby. You can rest assured about that!â
Balfour looked at her with concern. âIf you donât want to go back with me to the Howard family, then go to my other place! Youâre about to give birth, so once youâre there, Iâll make sure youâre well taken care of, and I can check up on you anytime.