Chapter 203



After hearing Belinda’s question, Holley was silent for a moment, the lines on her face crackling with hesitation. Finally, she spoke up, her voice tinged with regret.

“Because I didn’t want to disappoint you anymore.”

Belinda, caught off guard by the response, fell silent.

Holley sighed deeply before continuing, “Belinda, after everything that happened with Kylee, I know I let you down. It hurt you deeply, and it hurt me, too. But there was nothing I could do about that. I always felt I owed Kylee and Carola. Whenever an opportunity arose to repay that debt, I tried my best to seize the chance, hoping it might alleviate the guilt weighing on my heart. But in doing so, I completely overlooked your feelings. That was my mistake, and for that, I’m truly sorry.”

Belinda listened, her heart tightening at her mother’s words. Her lips parted slightly as if to respond, but she found herself speechless.

After a brief pause, Holley’s voice took on a firmer tone. “But I don’t owe Madonna anything! And I absolutely won’t let her be the reason I disappoint you or hurt you again. Even though I knew my refusal would infuriate her, I couldn’t bring myself to say yes.”

Belinda felt a mix of emotions, but she couldn’t deny that she felt a surge of relief and happiness hearing her mother’s resolve. She pressed her lips together lightly and then said with a gentle firmness, “From now on, Mom, if anyone dares to hurt you, you must tell me.”

“Do you understand?” Holley chuckled, a lightness in her tone that hadn’t been there before.

“All right, I understand. With you backing me now, I’m not afraid of anything anymore.”

Belinda nodded, a small smile curving her lips. “Okay. I’ll get back to work now.”

“Go ahead. Take care of yourself,” Holley said.

“I will,” Belinda replied.

After ending the call, Belinda resumed her work.

Later, as she took a break, sipping water at her desk, her phone rang again. The caller ID made her eyebrows knit slightly in suspicion. Why was he calling her?

Swiping to answer the call, she kept her tone neutral. “What is it?”

“You handled your mother’s situation well,” came Baker’s voice on the other end of the line.

Belinda froze for a moment, lowering her phone to glance at the screen again as if to confirm she wasn’t hallucinating. She couldn’t believe that Baker had said that to her.

For Belinda, receiving praise from Baker felt as unlikely as spotting a unicorn.

Before Belinda could muster a response, Baker continued, “But… Isn’t it a bit excessive for you to throw coffee in your Aunt Madonna’s face?”

A wry smile tugged at Belinda’s lips, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Disrespectful? I simply gave her a taste of her own medicine. What? So, it’s acceptable for her to dump food on my mother’s head, but it’s unacceptable for me to splash coffee in her face?”

There was a pause on Baker’s end, and then his tone shifted, tinged with resignation. “No matter what, she’s still your aunt. You shouldn’t have disrespected her like that.”

Belinda’s smile faded, her expression hardening.

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