He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 213

Juniper looked up at her, her eyes completely devoid of emotion. "Congratulations on Brooks getting a son. From now on, I won't interfere in his life anymore. He's on his own with his legs. As for whatever demands you agreed to with Nadine, that's your business. I promised to cover Dad's surgery, and I will. Everything else has nothing to do with me."

She turned and walked away.

Beatrice chased after her, sweat beading on her forehead in panic. "I shouldn't have hit you earlier..."

But Juniper had already stepped into the elevator, leaving Beatrice stranded in the hallway.

When Beatrice returned to the room, Brooks was holding his son and crying, overwhelmed with gratitude that the child was healthy.

Beatrice slowly sank into a chair. "Nadine demanded the deed to the Oakley house, or she refused to deliver."

Brooks paused, then looked down at the baby in his arms. "Mom, just give it to her. You and Dad can move into the city and live with us. She's just feeling insecure. I don't have a job right now, and you two need us to look after you. Besides, everything goes to the kid eventually anyway."

Beatrice gripped her hands tightly. "But you put the city house entirely in her name."

"She's my wife. What's the problem?"

Brooks was simple-minded and naive, never once considering what would happen if his marriage fell apart.

This was exactly what Juniper despised about him. He was always so effortlessly generous with things he hadn't earned.

Because he hadn't bled for these assets, giving them away meant nothing to him.

Beatrice fell silent, a heavy ache settling in her chest.

After a long pause, she mumbled, "I hit Juniper again today. Brooks, I feel like she's completely distanced herself from me. The way she looks at me... it's like she's looking at a stranger. It hurts."

The joy in Brooks's eyes faded slightly. He and his sister had never been close.

His best memories ended the day Nelson arrived in Oakley.

That was why he hated Nelson.

He didn't know what to say. His deep-seated inferiority complex began to gnaw at his heart again.

Juniper's dynamic with the Lane family mirrored Yara's relationship with her own mother.

They were supposed to be the closest family, yet they inflicted so much pain on each other in the name of love.

But the gratitude for being raised was real, and the visceral resentment was just as real. How could you ever truly let it go?

Yara instantly fell silent, leaning back in her seat. The last time she spoke to her mother was a year ago.

Her mother was an incredibly stubborn woman, completely different from Beatrice.

Beatrice cared deeply about saving face, was occasionally dense, and heavily favored her son over her daughter without ever admitting it. But if she truly believed women were worthless, she wouldn't have sacrificed everything to send Juniper to college. There were plenty of girls in the village who were married off as teens, yet Beatrice had scraped together every penny to fund Juniper's education.

In the past, the Lane family had been agonizingly poor. During Beatrice's generation, they literally starved. After a grueling day working in the mountains, they would come home to an empty pot, completely helpless.

Juniper resented her mother because Beatrice's ultimate defense was always the same: *Did I ever let you starve?*