Chapter 374: Chapter 374

Just then, a worker, Mike, hurried in. He had been almost invisible in the household after being assigned to take care of, especially Gabriel’s upkeep. Mike was like the male stewardess of the Thornston estate but preferred to work in the background.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Mike gritted his teeth and spoke,

"My apologies for interrupting, but this is important,"

Geneva snapped her head to look at him,

"This better be as important as you make it out to be!"

It was no one other than Geneva who had said this, making her irritation and exasperation even more apparent.

Mike bowed deeply, "Mrs Pound is here,"

Instead of addressing what Mike had said, Geneva turned to Alex, "Hon, are you sure that you have not offended the heavens in a way? WHY IS THERE MISFORTUNE AND SO MANY DISTURBANCES ON THIS DAY! !!!!! This day keeps getting frustrating with each event that occurs!"

Alex raised his head as he was already feeling that same frustration too.

"I don’t want to see anyone else today! You deal with it!" Geneva snapped.

Obviously, Mrs Pound was Avril’s mother, and Geneva did not have to see her to know what that woman wanted.

"Send her away!" Alex said, his voice, suddenly weak. The day had been riddled with too much, and even he, who was usually more laid back, couldn’t help but feel that effect.

Mike quickly left to take care of it.

They did not hear of it again, but only Mike and a few knew the effort that it had taken to get Mrs Pound out of the premises.

Ava walked in just then. No one would have thought of what she had done barely minutes before that.

She looked through the faces around her and sensed the strange atmosphere as well; however, before she could ask, Geneva asked Suzie to repeat it again.

"Suzie, is what you said true?"

"Why won’t the dead stay dead?!" Geneva snapped at no one in particular. Like in the past, she was not even worried that the children were there at all, adding....

"Are you sure that.... never mind, let me ask Ian!"

Geneva called Ian and placed her phone on the loudspeaker. The phone rang a few times before Ian’s clear, calm voice came over,

"Ian, tell mum that what I am hearing is not true...."

Ian sighed. He knew that in his household, this would travel like wildfire. So, even though Geneva had not explicitly stated what her ask was about, Ian was well aware and had even been expecting that call, to say the least.

"Yes, mum.... Aliya is alive, and I have confirmed that – I -"

Neither Geneva nor any of the people around heard anything that was said after. It was the reactions that followed that was the most interesting...

"Oh, so she’s really back now? ....." Geneva cut into the quiet room, adding, "....Just in time to complicate everything as if our lives haven’t been messy enough this evening."

Geneva muttered the rest under her breath, but it was still loud enough for everyone there, including the children, to hear,

"... Couldn’t she have stayed wherever she was? Like staying dead?" My son had finally moved on, and now this?"

"Just when I thought that I could crown the day with some good news? ....."

Alex chipped in, his brows furrowing. All who knew Alex would have realized that this was the only time that Alex had shown such an expression in public, even though just his family was gathered there. Long-time business had helped him practice his poke face, but it seemed like Aliya’s news was enough for even the almighty Alex to break this trait of his,

"... Well, if she’s been alive all this time, you’d think she’d have the decency to let someone know. What kind of woman disappears without a trace and shows up ? Maybe she’s not the saint you all made her out to be."

His voice, though unusually calm, was biting with each word that fell out of his lips. Ava, who had never heard Alex talk like that, gaped in surprise. Most of her surprise was from the fact that Aliya was indeed alive.

’Here, I was thinking that Shelby did not like Rocky and me in a relationship when this major issue happened.’ Ava receded into her thoughts before Brad’s voice jolted her back,

Brad was furious at this mere notion of Aliya’s confirmation of life. It was an interesting sight to see. It was as if the core members of the Thornston family were privy to something that the rest were not.

Ava looked at the family members and felt her heart warm up.

’Shelby is in good hands.’

It was also then that she remembered what Shelby had told her initially about the Thornston family and how they had treated the three kids from the start. If they really did feel this much resentment for the mother, it was not unusual that they had shown no care whatsoever for the children.

Even though it was not her place, Ava felt that she also wanted to chip in, especially after hearing Brad’s words.

"I can’t believe this is happening...." She muttered under her breath.

"Shelby must be in so much distress now...."

They all seemed to agree with her, so no one said anything.... Even, Ian on the other side of the phone. She couldn’t help but ask Ian directly,

"You mean that this Aliya person just... showed up out of nowhere? After everything? Does she even know how much pain she caused? I know it’s not her fault that she ’died’ but Ian? You, of all people, should know how much your wife had to pick up the pieces after her supposed ’death’."

The talk was ridiculous, but the scenario was equally ridiculous, and Ava did not like it. Taking in a deep breath, she continued, "I know that she is not at fault, but Ian... This isn’t fair to anyone—especially not your wife.... Not to Shelby! My friend deserves so much better than this!"

Ava’s voice turned small,

"Shelby deserves better than to be thrown into this mess. Whatever this mess is, you left this banquet for that.... That should tell us a lot about your state of mind. You need to think carefully about where your priorities lie now.... I hope you know what you are doing!"

Even the fact that Ava was able to say all these words to Ian despite the fast difference in ranks did not dawn on Ava.

Ian had been unusually quiet as these words came over to him.

He had just exited Aliya’s hospital room and was standing a few paces away from the door.

"Where’s Shelby?" Geneva asked after hearing Ava’s words.

"Ian! You had better not-"

"Mum. Do not worry. I understand all your concerns and know what to do regarding this. Let me handle it!"

Ian said and hung up.

For some reason, Alex, Geneva and Brad were of one mind on this. They trusted Ian on everything except with Aliya. The woman had a way of making Ian do the most unreasonable things. In fact, they had witnessed this one too many times and were not willing to see anything that had happened in the past happen again!

The three shared a look.

Geneva dropped her phone onto the nearby table with a cluttering sound. Then, as if realizing that Samantha, Gabriel and Ingrid were in the room, she turned to them.

Frankly, the adults could not handle the information and did not know how to process it, so it was not unusual to see the kids confused as well... or so they thought.

Samantha was rather composed.

"Are you not happy that your mother is alive?" Geneva asked, thoroughly curious, but Samantha did not have a response to the question.

’Am I not happy?’ She thought to herself, turning to her sibling, whom she thought should be the happiest out of them, Ingrid. However, even Ingrid was a little indifferent, with her face not betraying any emotions. It was only Gabriel who was truly confused.

Frankly, she had thought that she would be ecstatic at this, but she was not. She felt a little upliftment, but Samantha truly liked the bond that she had created with Shelby to the extent that she did not know how she would react to the mother, who had been assumed dead for a couple of years. In a way, she could understand Gabriel’s initial words. Samantha raised an eyebrow, silently inquiring from Ingrid, but got no response from her.

Ingrid turned from the adults, "I’m going back to rest." Ingrid whispered and left without a backward glance, to the surprise of all around. What none of them noticed was that Ingrid pulled out her phone, and her little hands pressed the soft keys as she walked off. None of the children had taken offence to the remarks made by the adults, but why was it that they seemed a bit disappointed to hear that their mother was alive?

What was going on? They all wondered.

Samantha turned back to Gabriel, whose initial question had gone unanswered. She went down to his level,

"You will never lose any of your mothers. They will both be in your heart, Gabriel...."

"But now, I only want Mama Shelby...." Gabriel whispered, distress in his voice as he felt like crying. The thing was that, at this moment, almost everyone there preferred Shelby’s presence and did not want the presence of the third party, who had miraculously made it out alive.

The question that remained was whether Aliya had really been to death’s door and come back, but was this the reception she had expected? Even from the three children that she used to cherish?

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