Chapter 1179 - 99+ unread messages

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world...

Patricia turned toward the window, watching as the sun set beautifully. She was still sitting on the bed, hugging her knees. Ever since leaving the Miller household that night, Patricia had been staying in the villa where Angel had first brought her.

It had been days since then.

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she reached for the bedside drawer. Turning on her phone, she checked for any messages. There were none from her family. A shallow breath slipped past her lips, and she clicked her tongue.

"Do they really have to hate me like this?" she mumbled, bitterness filling her heart.

The past few days had not been easy for her. She had withdrawn from everything and turned to reading books recommended by the butler. In a way, reading helped her escape her thoughts. But she knew it wasn’t solving anything. While reading was surprisingly calming and more entertaining than expected, there were other issues she needed to face.

Now that she had finished the book she picked up a few days ago, Patricia told herself she had to face her family.

Hesitation flickered in her eyes as she checked her contacts. She stopped when she saw "[Good-For-Nothing]" listed. It was her brother’s contact name. Another shallow breath escaped her lips before she mustered the courage to call him.

[This number has been blocked...]

Deep lines appeared between her brows when she saw the notification. She had blocked Theo not long ago. In a moment of frustration with her brother, she had blocked him as a way of venting.

Checking her block list, her mouth fell open. "I blocked everyone," she murmured, noticing even her parents’ names were there. Her mouth opened and closed before she laughed, running a hand through her hair.

In her blinding rage, she hadn’t realized she had started cutting ties with her family before her big plan to leave. The foolishness was almost comical.

"Goodness," she breathed out, shaking her head after laughing at her own ridiculousness. "I should unblock them before Angel finds out the reason they couldn’t contact me is because I restricted their numbers."

With that, Patricia quickly unblocked the three names. As soon as she did, her phone began pinging nonstop. Her brows rose in surprise as she watched the notifications flood in. The messages came in so quickly that she could barely see who was sending them. But since it was the same three people, it didn’t take long for her to catch up.

Slowly, Patricia checked the messages, all three chatboxes showing [99+] unread messages. The person who had sent her the most messages was her mother. Patricia skimmed through them.

[Patricia, dear, Mom is sorry, alright? I didn’t mean to scold you so much. Please come home now. I made you your favorite cake.]

[My daughter, are you still angry with me? It’s not true that you’re not important to us. You are our princess, and that will never change.]

[My daughter, if you haven’t forgiven me yet, let me know where to send the cake. I’ve asked your friends where you’re staying, but none of them know. Please. Your dad and I are growing worried.]

More messages like these followed as Patricia continued to scroll. After almost reaching the top, she noticed the dates when some of the messages were sent.

[Daughter, our problems have been resolved! Although I don’t like that the Bennets bought our company, they were decent enough to offer your brother and father positions in it. This is good news! You should come home so we can celebrate! I’m preparing a feast for all of us.]

Tears welled up in her eyes. She covered her mouth to muffle her cries. She didn’t read all of her mother’s messages before moving to her father’s.

[Princess, please come home. I know you’re upset, and I’m sorry it’s come to this. Even if you’re angry, just come home, and let’s talk about it. Daddy will listen.]

[Princess, where are you? I won’t tell anyone. Just let me know where you are so I’m not so worried. Please.]

[Daughter, is it really that hard to forgive? Please don’t be like this. Your mom and brother are both sick with worry — we all are.]

Just like her mother, her father’s worry was evident in his messages. But Theo’s messages took a different tone.

[Patricia, are you really this selfish? Don’t you realize your actions cause so much distress to those around you? I don’t care if you’re angry at me or the whole world, but Mom and Dad have always done their best to make you happy! How could you make them so worried? At least return their messages!]

[Still no reply? Do you think I don’t know you’re seeing these messages? Stop tormenting Mom and Dad like this! They don’t deserve it, especially not from you!]

[Fine. If you don’t reply by tomorrow, I’m filing a missing person report. I’m not joking. Enough is enough. I can’t stand seeing Mom and Dad lose sleep over you. Don’t be so inconsiderate. Our parents aren’t getting any younger, and putting them through this stress... shame on you!]

Unlike her worried parents, Theo was angry. She could feel it, hear his raised voice in every word. If this had been before, she would have been upset. But now, she couldn’t. How could she be upset when everything her brother had said was true?

All she could do was cry quietly as she stopped reading, burying her face in her arms. For a long time, only her hiccups resonated in the room.

She truly was foolish.

By not being able to forgive and forget a betrayal from her childhood, she had ended up hurting not just herself, but those who had never betrayed her — even at her worst. If anything, she had hurt them and kept hurting them. Still, up until now, they hadn’t given up on her.

Admitting one’s wrongs felt good, but at this moment, Patricia had no choice but to admit that she was the one who had been wrong.

For the first time, she had to face the fact that she wasn’t the one who had been wronged. She was the one who wronged others; she was the one who made her life miserable — just as Angel had said.