Chapter 348
“Lesley!”
Merida’s eyes lit up the moment she spotted Lesley. She bounced excitedly and ran straight toward her.
Lesley’s mind was entirely on Elara. She exhaled slowly, warmth lingering in her breath.
“Lesley, I missed you so much!”
Merida’s sweet voice rang out as Lesley crouched down. Noticing Merida still in her performance outfit, Lesley immediately took off her coat and wrapped it around her.
“You look so good,” Lesley said, gently smoothing Merida’s slightly messy hair.
Just then, Elara walked up to Lesley. “You’re back.”
Last week, Lesley had left in a hurry for something urgent. Before she left, she had only promised she wouldn’t be gone for long.
Elara hadn’t pressed for details. She and Merida had simply waited for her return. She hadn’t expected Lesley to come straight to the school as soon as she returned to Capitol.
Just as Priscilla was one step away from Lesley, she spoke. You’ve worked hard this time.”
Lesley paused for a moment. Her sharp, chiseled features, usually calm and composed, suddenly turned serious. Elara could clearly sense that Lesley was visibly tense around Priscilla.
Lesley gave Priscilla a small nod. Her voice was slightly hoarse as she spoke in a low tone. “Mom, Elara…”
Prisiclla’s red lips curled into a smile as the cold wind tousled her soft, voluminous hair. She was breathtakingly stunning in a way that felt almost unreal.
“Go ahead and catch up with your best friend,” she said, not sparing Elara another glance. Instead, she simply instructed Lesley, “Come to the hotel tonight to report back to me.”
Lesley gave a respectful nod. “Alright”
She finally relaxed after Priscilla left. Her tense nerves eased as she took Merida’s hand and walked toward Elara.
“Did she give you a hard time?” she asked with concern.
Elara shook her head and then said, “The first year you went to Melcina, you told me that a powerful investor took a special interest in you. You said that’s how you got your footing there. Were you talking about Priscilla?”
Five years ago, Lesley had taken the large sum of money Elara gave her and left for Melcina. Lesley had always kept her struggles to herself, only ever sharing the good news with Elara as they were miles
apart.
At that time, Elara had just given birth to her two children and barely had the energy for long conversations with Lesley. Moreover, she knew that if Lesley was going to succeed, she had to step back and let her go.
Lesley nodded. She explained, “Money alone isn’t enough to survive in Melcina. It wasn’t until I got on Priscilla’s good side that I finally secured my place among the upper class.”
Elara hesitated before asking, “Did you just call her ‘Mom Just now?”
Lesley admitted, “Priscilla doesn’t have any biological children, but she adopted quite a few daughters, and I’m one of them.
+25 BONUS
Chapter 348
Elara’s gaze softened as she looked at Lesley. She said, “You never mentioned this before.”
Lesley lowered her head, her neck stiff. “I never told anyone.”
She then gave a wry smile and said, “It’s not exactly my proudest moment. In Melcina, I did a lot for Priscilla…. I don’t even know if I should’ve done some of those things.”
A flicker of sorrow flashed through her usually bright eyes. She and Elara had once shared everything. The distance between them after she moved to Melcina wasn’t because Elara became a stay–at–home mom.
She wanted to become stronger and to repay Elara for giving her everything she had. So, in Melcina, she took a shortcut by aligning with Priscilla, and that was how she got to where she was today.
Elara reached out and rubbed Lesley’s cold face. “My dear Lesley, you’ve got a mother now!” she said warmly. “No. matter what kind of person she is, I’m happy for you.”
The warmth of Elara’s touch seeped through Lesley, sending a comforting heat through her. She had known it- telling Elara that she had accepted Priscilla as her mother wouldn’t change anything. Elara would only feel happy
for her.
A bittersweet smile tugged at Lesley’s lips as she tightened her fingers around Elara’s. Then, she heard Elara ask, ” Did Priscilla ever mention me while she was in Melcina?”
Lesley hesitated for a second before giving her a small nod
“The reason I even caught Ms. Price’s attention was because of you. She has her ways of getting information, and she knew I was your friend,” Lesley explained.
“She told me that years ago, she had wanted to adopt you. She had wanted you to work for her. But back then, you were still a minor. She would have had to return home and go through the proper procedures for her to take you iry legally.
“Yet, she was blocked every time she tried to return. She said there was an unseen force preventing her from returning to adopt you.
“Priscilla has always enjoyed a challenge. More than taking you in as her adopted daughter, she was even more interested in drawing out whoever was standing in her way!
“She went head–to–head with that force multiple times. But after years of playing cat and mouse, she realized that she had failed to uncover their identity and had also been completely outplayed.”
