He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 49

Nelson got back into his car. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands, staring blankly ahead, making no move to start the engine.

Leaning back against the leather seat, he desperately felt the urge to light a cigarette.

But the moment he pulled one out, a middle-aged woman happened to walk past his car.

Catching a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, she did a massive double-take and practically jogged backward.

"Nelson?"

He furrowed his brows. He had zero idea who this woman was.

But the woman was practically vibrating with excitement. She had always thrived on watching the Lane family's drama unfold.

Years ago, Beatrice used to march around town bragging about her brilliant daughter getting into Capital University and scoring a government scholarship. Look how that turned out—she had thrown her entire life away over some guy.

Over the past couple of years, she had taken immense pleasure in rubbing salt in Beatrice's wounds. Seeing Nelson right here in the flesh felt like striking gold.

"Nelson, I met you years ago! You were just a teenager running around with Juniper. Who would have guessed she'd end up being such a shameless little tramp?"

The malicious glee on her face was unmistakable.

"It serves her right that she never got her degree. Her mother doesn't have the gall to strut around town bragging anymore. Honestly, Nelson, going overseas was the smartest thing you ever did. If you had let that psycho family sink their claws into you, you'd be ruined by now."

Nelson leaned deeper into his seat. It finally clicked. This was one of the toxic neighborhood gossips who spent their miserable lives tearing everyone else down.

A deep frown cut across his forehead, but the woman was entirely oblivious, already humming a cheerful tune as she prepared to walk away.

Nelson pinched the unlit cigarette between his fingers. "Juniper didn't get her degree?"

The woman, already a few feet away, let out a cackling laugh. "Nope! Serves her right, too."

Just then, a heavily pregnant Nadine came waddling downstairs. Seeing that Nelson's car was still parked there, her eyes practically lit up like floodlights.

His car screamed obscene wealth. She would kill just to sit in it for a minute.

Nelson never lit the cigarette. He casually tossed the filter into a nearby trash can. "Why didn't she get her degree?"

Juniper sat quietly in the sprawling courtyard of the Saint family's ancestral estate.

The grounds were massive, housing several distinct mansions. Eleanor didn't actually live with her husband. Ever since she deliberately distanced herself from the family's cutthroat politics, she had taken up residence in the secluded villa at the very edge of the property. She spent her days tending to her flowers and rarely attended family dinners. Her doctors had prescribed strict bed rest, and almost no one ever dared to disturb her.

Driven onto the property by the family chauffeur, Juniper took in the sheer magnitude of the estate—the sprawling pavilions, the crystalline pools, the meticulous gardens. Every single inch dripped with unimaginable wealth.

The day Nelson had bought that ludicrously expensive bracelet, she had finally realized just how tragically naive she used to be. Looking around now, she realized she had barely even scratched the surface of his world.

Eleanor was incredibly warm, immediately ordering the staff to prepare a plate of fresh fruit for her.

"Juniper, I'm so glad you came to see me. Is this about the Xavier family's situation?"

"Yes. You had a painting consigned at their auction house, but someone from the Saint family recently took it back. Caleb got a call demanding that I disappear from the capital within three days. I don't know who made the threat."

She didn't explicitly name Yvonne, nor did she bring up the agonizing trauma from four years ago.

At the end of the day, Eleanor was still a Saint.