She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 233

And a lot like Dominic—

Deceitful, malicious, a pathological liar, and skilled at acting and pretending.

Even though she was still just a child.

Melanie sighed softly, then put on a mask of a warm, friendly smile.

“You rely on your Uncle Dominic so much, why don’t you just call him ‘Dad’ from now on?”

Lila was stunned.

“Can I really?”

“Of course, you can. Because Lila is such a good and well-behaved girl! Besides, it’s just a name. If you want to call him that, you should!”

Hearing this, Lila immediately started dancing with joy.

“See? See? I told you I’m not like you, Elina.”

To Melanie, Lila’s gleeful muttering was like she was gloating to an imaginary rival.

“Speaking of which… why doesn’t that Elina have a father? Did her father pass away too?”

After Melanie asked, she saw Lila shake her head firmly.

“They’re divorced.”

“Divorced?”

“Yeah, Elina’s mom and dad are divorced. She lives with her mom.”

“I see…”

An image of Elina’s frantic mother involuntarily flashed in Melanie’s mind.

“It’s a tough break for a little kid like her, being with a mother like that.”

Melanie was just making a casual comment, but Lila indignantly chimed in, “She doesn’t have it tough! It serves her right! It’s her fault for saying I was just like her, that I didn’t have a dad. This is her punishment from heaven!”

Hearing Lila’s words, Melanie finally understood why she had bullied Elina.

She guessed that Elina had initially said that to try and befriend Lila, thinking they shared a similar situation.

Unexpectedly, she had hit a raw nerve.

So Lila bullied Elina partly to vent her own frustrations and partly to reject the identity of being “fatherless.”

“But… but you are my daddy…” Lila’s voice was already cracking with tears.

“Shut up!” Dominic suddenly roared. “I am not your father! I never have been! Your father is Everett! I’m not your father, do you understand!”

Melanie heard Dominic’s shout clearly. Beside her, Lila could no longer hold back and burst into loud sobs.

On the other end of the line, Evelyn stood behind Dominic, her eyes wide in a furious glare.

But Dominic didn't know she was there, nor could he see her.

“Lila, I’m your uncle, and Melanie is your aunt. Even if you’re young, you can’t just call people whatever you want. It’s impolite.”

As he spoke, he turned to look at Evelyn.

Evelyn’s displeasure was plain to see.

But Dominic didn’t have the time to placate Evelyn right now.

He was afraid Melanie would get the wrong idea.

The Hale Health Center was preparing for its IPO, and he absolutely could not afford a major scandal at this critical juncture.