Sylvia Lancaster had been very comfortable at Clara Hayes’s place these past few days. The Hayes family’s housekeeper took excellent care of her, preparing a wide variety of meals for her every day.
The guest room was spacious and bright. The handmade curtains and carpet, air-freighted from Indoria, complemented each other perfectly. A meticulously designed lighting system filled the room with bright yet gentle light, and a faint, sweet scent of fruit hung in the air.
Sylvia Lancaster stretched contentedly on the large, soft bed. She had been thinking these past few days, ’If only I could stay here forever...’
Right now, returning to the Sutton Family was out of the question. As for the Lancaster Family...
Simon Lancaster had called her several times over the past few days. He kept asking who the father of Sylvia’s child was, and Sylvia was getting incredibly annoyed.
She could only tell Simon that she was a mess right now, both mentally and physically, and that she needed time to recover.
Once she had recovered and calmed down, she promised she would explain everything clearly to him.
Fortunately, Simon Lancaster didn’t press the issue.
Simon also offered to bring Sylvia back to the Lancaster family home. He said he would explain to their parents that nothing inappropriate had happened between them.
After all, Simon was the one supporting the Lancaster family now. The one who controls the money has the say. As long as Simon insisted on bringing Sylvia home, Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes wouldn’t be able to stop him.
But Sylvia refused. She told Simon that she was at Clara Hayes’s place and that Clara was taking very good care of her.
Sylvia added that she couldn’t bear to see Simon in a difficult position and told him to focus on work. They could revisit the issue after their parents had cooled down.
Seeing Sylvia being so considerate of him, Simon was genuinely moved.
But in reality, Sylvia had no desire to return to the Lancaster family.
’Even if she could convince Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes to take her back, given the Lancaster family’s current situation, she would just be going back to be a maid. Her fate would be to serve the entire family. How could that possibly compare to staying here with Clara Hayes, where others were serving her?’
She had told Clara that she would find a job and move out once she recovered. ’But in this day and age, where could she find a job? Where could she possibly move?’
This was the second year of the Cataclysm, and unemployment had reached an unprecedented, staggering high. Sylvia had no confidence she could compete with anyone else.
At this thought, Sylvia sighed softly. Although Clara hadn’t asked her to leave, living at someone else’s mercy wasn’t a long-term solution. ’I have to come up with a plan...’
Just then, the door to the guest room opened, and the housekeeper walked in with breakfast.
On the tray were milk, rice porridge, two fresh vegetable dishes, eggs, and lean meat—all warm, nourishing foods suitable for a woman recovering from a miscarriage.
The housekeeper attentively helped Sylvia to the round table to eat. She felt as if she had returned to her days as the young lady of the Lancaster family.
Just as she finished her breakfast and the housekeeper cleared the tray, Clara Hayes walked in.
Seeing the healthy, rosy color in Sylvia’s cheeks, Clara said happily, "Sylvia, you look like you’ve recovered a lot. Are you feeling okay today?"
Sylvia’s body tensed slightly at her words. She nodded, a little uneasily, and replied, "I feel much better. Thank you, Claire. It’s all thanks to you for taking me in."
Sylvia was afraid that once she fully recovered, Clara would ask her to move out.
With this in mind, Sylvia asked tentatively, "Claire, have I been a bother to you these past few days? You know me, I always hate to trouble others..."
Clara quickly waved her hands and replied, "Not at all, not at all! It’s no trouble in the slightest. My older brother almost never comes back here, so it’s usually just me and my dad at home. My dad is also out from morning till night and is often away. I’m all alone every day, bored to death."
"Sylvia, now that I have you here for company, I think it’s just perfect. Please, stay as long as you like!"
Before, she had Hugh Hayes to keep her company at home, but now that he was also missing, Clara was terribly bored all by herself.
In truth, Clara had always wished for a sister to keep her company growing up. Now that Sylvia was here, Clara felt she finally had someone, so she genuinely didn’t mind Sylvia staying long-term.
Thinking of Hugh, Clara was reminded of her encounter with Melody Summers at the Oceanus Hotel a while back. The incident had been weighing on her mind for days, and she had no one to confide in.
Since Sylvia was here now, Clara told her everything.
Then, Clara asked in a panic, "Sylvia, how on earth did Melody Summers find out? My dad and the others checked the nearby surveillance footage over and over, but Melody is nowhere to be seen. Since she didn’t go to the meeting, who could have possibly told her?"


VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse