Hearing Maraâs pitiful tone and thinking of her late sister, Balfour hesitated before speaking up, âYou know, you could also have your friends stay over at the house. Thereâs plenty of room, and Grandma actually enjoys a bit of hustle and bustle. Just try not to butt heads with Ivy, and Grandma wonât give you a hard time.â
Mara looked tempted, but she still had reservations. âIâm sure I wonât make Ivy mad, but wouldnât that be imposing? You know how Alyssa has never been too fond of me, and now Iâd be bringing my friends over to stay at the house? No, no, Alyssa surely wouldnât like that.â
Balfour simply suggested she take her time to consider it and discuss with her friend when she arrived.
If she really didnât want to move back, it was no big deal; he had plenty of properties. He could easily offer her a place to stay with her friend.
For him and Ivy, given Ivyâs preference for a quieter environment, he decided to find another property and move in with her there. While Ivy had gotten used to staying with the cast and crew, and he could stay with her there, he always felt that it wasnât really his turf, and he wasnât entirely comfortable having Ivy stay there.
Keeping these thoughts to himself, he simply began searching for a suitable property to move into once Ivy was discharged.
Tessa, on the other hand, never did see Finn come for her. She hadnât imagined that the husband she had loved for so many years would actually refuse to pick her up becau of a bruised ego.
âMrs. Dunhill, your bail has been posted. However, the boss had a few words for me to pass along to you. Youâre not getting any younger, and he hopes youâll think twice before acting out again. Donât get yourself into such foolish situations. Itâs thankless and only drags the whole family down,â the lawyer conveyed with a detachment that bordered on callousness.
Tessa looked up blankly at the lawyer and let out a bitter laugh. âThatâs the message Finn sent you with? He didnât have anything else to say?â
The lawyer pondered for a moment before shaking his head. âIâm sorry. Do you need a ride home?â
âNo, I could use the walk to clear my head,â Tessa replied.
As she aimlessly wandered the streets, she realized the irrationality of her actions over the years â
forsaking her own daughter for someone elseâs child, all for Finn and the life they had built together.
Now, that very family seemed to have discarded her without a second thought. What was the point of all her sacrifices?
Tessa wished she could turn back time. She would rather have never met the man who once professed to love her deeply but now found her an embarrassment.
Yet Tessa couldnât help but wonder if things would be different if she had given birth to a son instead.
Her acquaintances had assured her she was carrying a boy, so why did it turn out to be Ivy? Tessa felt a surge of resentment; if not for Ivy, she wouldnât be so utterly alone now.
Ivy never considered that all of her motherâs misfortunes were being pinned on her. The irony was not lost on her that her mother genuinely believed her current miseries were because she wasnât a son.
If Ivy had been a boy, Finnâs attitude towards her would have been different. In the past, she had been tormented by her mother-in-law simply for failing to produce a son. Now, after finally finding her own footing, she had lost her husbandâs love.