Ellinor was rather intrigued by the idea of entering the master bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Howard.
She was dying to see what the bedroom of her irresponsible biological father and her momâs âgoodâ
friend looked like.
âEllinor, this is my parentsâ bedroom. My dad loves studying history, so all the furniture in here are genuine antiques; they are even more precious than the ones you see in museums!â
After peering into the room, Ellinor did indeed find it quite spacious. All the furniture was made from precious wood, making them real antiques.
Patricia wasnât blowing smoke, but anyone could tell she was showing off by the way she spoke.
Ellinor couldnât care less about the antiques; what caught her attention was the large bookcase on the west wall of the bedroom.
The bookcase was packed with books.
Who read these books? Mr. Howard or Mrs. Howard?
Politely, Ellinor asked Patricia, âCan I take a look at these books?â
Finally, something for Ellinor to be jealous of! Patricia thought to herself smugly. With a tone that was polite but a tad patronizing, she replied, âOf course! But be careful not to damage them; my dadâs collection has many priceless treasures. Theyâre irreplaceable, so if you ruin them, theyâre gone!â
She might as well have said, âIf you break them, you canât afford to replace them.â
âMmm, Iâll be carefulâ Ellinor didnât mind Patriciaâs attitude. She nodded and walked over to the bookcase while looking up at the books.
She picked up a book and flipped through it, then put it back and picked up another one.
Indeed, they were all profound works. Mr. Howard really seemed to love reading.
Deadbeat men often turned out to be hypocritical.
A hint of irony played on Ellinorâs lips as she turned the page of the book in her hand, accidentally discovering an old photo that was tucked in it.
It was a family portrait!
The same one sheâd seen in the picture frame on Balfourâs desk at the Howard Group.
The photo featured Mr. Howard, her mother, Balfour, and a chubby little girl with a mole on her forehead, cradled in her motherâs arms.
Ellinor knew that was her.
The photo was hidden here probably because they didnât want it to be seen.
Huh! Screw them!
However, this photo in the book had a significant difference from the one on Balfourâs desk, even though they were the same photo.
This one included the whole family of four, while the one on Balfourâs desk only had three people. He had deliberately cut Mr. Howard, who stood next to her mother, out of the picture.
This showed that their father-son relationship probably wasnât great.
âEllinor, what book are you so engrossed in?â
Patriciaâs voice brought Ellinor, who was lost in thought, back to reality.