Ron sat down and took the drink from Peggy's hand. Although he already had an inkling about something from Ashley, he acted as if nothing had happened.
He cast a quick glance around the room and asked, "Where is Ashley? I didn't see her."
Peggy, who had been smiling delightfully before, immediately frowned upon hearing Ashley's name.
Given that Ron just returned and didn't know anything, she kept her anger in check and replied coolly, "Come on, she is not a kid. Do we have to be by her side all the time? I don't know where she is!
I wonder why you care about someone so insignificant instead of your own sister."
Peggy was upset because she felt that Ron valued Ashley more than his own sister.
Ron furrowed his brows.
If just a casual question caused his mother to overreact this way, he couldn't imagine how Ashley must have been treated when he was not home. He understood why Ashley chose to sever ties with this family.
Lena looked at the two of them sitting on the sofa and decided to leave, since she had nothing to do and was getting bored sitting around. Ron had liked Ashley since childhood, while he was indifferent towards Lena. In turn, Lena had a negative impression of Ron.
Although he was her brother, they were not close. This was largely because of Ashley.
Lena was just about to leave. Perhaps it was because she made a noise that Peggy stopped talking with Ron and looked at her.
"Hey. Where are you going? Your brother is here. Don't you see him? Oh, girl. Come over here. Say hello to him," Peggy said to Lena.
Lena had no inclination to do that. Actually, she hated Ron, so she rejected her mother. "Sorry, I have something to deal with. You guys continue chatting. I'm off," she replied shortly and went upstairs.
Watching Lena's back as she walked away, Peggy frowned and muttered, "God knows what's going on."
Anyway, she was happy that Ron was back. So she turned her attention to her son.
"So when did you come back?" she asked.
Ron turned his gaze away from Lena, and replied, "Well, this morning. I wanted to give you a surprise, so I didn't tell you."
"Whatever. As long as you're back. There's nothing better than this. Oh, does your father know that you are back?" she asked.
"I haven't told him so far. But I plan to go to his office later."
"You just take a break. I'll tell him."
So Ron chatted with Peggy for a while. Seeing his tired eyes with dark circles, Peggy asked him to go upstairs for a rest before dinner time.
Ron's arrival pleased Peggy. She, obviously, had been always satisfied with her son.
After Ron went upstairs, she couldn't wait to go out.
She planned to buy some food and make a big meal for him.
Ron went back to his room and put away his suitcase. Then he went to Ashley's room.
Her room was the same as it was when he left. It was still empty. When Ashley was a child, Ron's family was good to her. But as she grew older, their attitude towards her became worse and worse. So they hardly ever bought her anything.
Ashley didn't take anything with her the day she left.
On the desk, there was a photo.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Love Trap