Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Flora didn't give up even a minute and stubbornly lingered until midnight before returning to the Smith Family mansion that she hated. Perhaps the owners were already asleep because the house was very quiet.

She tip-toed upstairs towards her bedroom. As she passed by Maxwell's room, she paused for a moment and carefully turned the doorknob, leaning her head into the room. The room was pitch dark, illuminated only by the faint moonlight. She could vaguely see the neatly folded bedspread on the large bed, undisturbed.

It seemed that the despicable man was not coming back tonight. Perhaps he was peacefully sleeping with that woman with the big wavy hair. A complex emotion welled up within her, no longer the same excitement she felt when she heard he wouldn't be coming home.

The woman with the big wavy hair... hmph, just a pitiful pawn toyed with by Maxwell. Flora thought angrily. When she returned to her bedroom, unexpectedly, the lights were on!

Flora pushed open the door in confusion and found Betty rummaging through her room for something. She walked in and asked in surprise, "Betty, what are you doing?"

Startled by the sudden voice, Betty spun around and glared at Flora, "Why didn't you knock? You scared me!" she said, gently patting her racing heart. "Mrs. Smith asked me to tidy up this room and she wants to see you in her room as soon as you come back."

Flora was taken aback and instinctively asked, "Mrs. Smith wants to see me? What for?"

Mrs. Smith, who usually enjoyed mocking her, wanted to see her? What could it be about? It probably wasn't anything good.

Betty shook her head. "I don't know either. You'll find out when you go there. There's no sign of anger from her today, so it shouldn't be anything major." Mrs. Smith rarely got angry, she was a rare kind and good mistress.

Unable to get any answers from Betty, Flora exited the bedroom and made her way to Mrs. Smith's room. Standing in front of Mrs. Smith's door, she took a deep breath and knocked before entering upon receiving permission.

Inside the room, Mrs. Smith was leaning against the headboard, watching TV. She seemed a bit sleepy, struggling to keep her eyes open. But upon seeing Flora, her spirits suddenly lifted, and she sat up slightly. Annoyed, she asked, "Why did you come back so late?"

"I could have come back before midnight as Big Young Master allowed," Flora couldn't decipher Mrs. Smith's thoughts, so she shifted the blame onto Maxwell and obediently stood a few meters away from Mrs. Smith.

"I had Betty tidy up your room, so you don't need to go in," Mrs. Smith said coldly.

Flora was once again slightly surprised to learn that Betty was tidying up the room. Was Mrs. Smith planning to send her to the backyard to live with the other maids? That would be great! It was something she had been hoping for.

This way, Maxwell wouldn't be able to sneak into her bed in the middle of the night and force himself upon her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Smith. I will move to the backyard right away," Flora expressed her gratitude faithfully, and the sudden expression of relief on her face did not escape Mrs. Smith's eyes.

Mrs. Smith let out a cold laugh and said, "I haven't finished speaking yet. But you'll be even more grateful once I'm done."

Flora looked at her in astonishment. What did she want to say? What news could make her even more grateful? She held her breath, staring at Mrs. Smith, waiting for her to speak quickly. Every second of waiting felt agonizing!

Mrs. Smith raised her hand, taking off her reading glasses and placing them on the table. She stared at Flora and said, "You can leave the Smith Family estate now. Leave immediately, preferably to a place where Maxwell can't find you."

Flora's heart pounded irregularly, leaving her speechless and staring at Mrs. Smith in disbelief. Did she hear correctly?

"Mrs. Smith, are you serious? I can leave the Smith Family? Unconditionally?"

"Of course, there are conditions. From now on, never appear in front of Maxwell, Oliver, or Joshua," Mrs. Smith said, observing Flora's mixture of surprise and excitement. Although she didn't want to let this surreal woman off so easily, she also didn't want her to continue appearing in the Smith Family estate.

Every time Joshua saw Flora, he would become uncontrollably excited, as if he wanted to devour her. Joshua had never been like this before, and Mrs. Smith hoped that once Flora left, Joshua would be able to calm down and heal properly.

And for Maxwell, ever since she found out about his intimate relationship with Flora, had been feeling uneasy in her heart! In her eyes, this woman was not worthy of any young master of the Smith Family estate. Even if she was only being used for release, she would only tarnish Maxwell's reputation!

Not only did Maxwell stoop down to let her lie in his bed, but Oliver looked at her differently. It was evident that Flora's influence in the Smith Family estate was no less than that of Miss Chiyoko back then. If she wouldn't intervene, the Miss Chiyoko incident might happen again.

She didn't want to see the brothers hurt their relationship over the same woman again!

"This condition is easy to fulfill, I promise I can do it. Please rest assured, Mrs. Smith," Flora said excitedly. It was the first time in over a month that she had felt this excited, this genuinely happy!

Her smile deeply irritated Mrs. Smith, but for the sake of her children, Mrs. Smith suppressed her displeasure. She said, "Leave now, the car is waiting at the gate. Get lost!!"

She had to make sure Flora left while Maxwell was not home and Joshua was sleeping. Otherwise, not only would Maxwell not let her go so easily, Joshua wouldn't either!

"Alright! Mrs. Smith, I'm leaving! Thank you for your generosity!" Flora was so excited that she almost kneeled to Mrs. Smith, turned around, and rushed towards the door, tears of joy streaming down her face.

She was free! She was finally free! Running to the ground floor, she was trembling with excitement in her hands and feet. This was truly something she never could have imagined! Mrs. Smith had kindly let her go, but why? It didn't matter! It didn't matter! As long as she was free, that was all that mattered!

Indeed, the car was already waiting at the gate.

Excitedly, Flora climbed into the backseat and urged, "Driver, hurry up, quickly!" She was afraid of being late and having Maxwell come back, or Joshua wake up, or Mrs. Smith regretting.

The driver remained silent and slowly drove the car out of the Smith Family estate. As they passed through the gate once more, Flora was even more excited than when she left yesterday morning. This time was different from the last, as she would never return.