The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 279

"We're doing this for your own good," George said. "Don't be ungrateful."

So they really had only asked her to come back to pressure her into remarrying.

A wave of profound sorrow washed over Riley. She had expected too much; they were exactly the same as before. All they saw was profit, and they didn't care about their daughter at all.

The conversation she overheard before walking through the door, along with the glass of sweet iced tea on the table, had all been a calculated ploy to coax her back into her failed marriage.

Every ounce of warmth in her heart drained away, leaving behind a bone-deep chill.

She swallowed hard, fighting the lump in her throat. "And if I absolutely refuse to remarry him?"

Elaine had already lost her patience and snapped, "If you remarry, we're still a family! If you don't, then you owe us five million dollars to repay us for raising you these past twenty years. After that, we cut ties for good!"

Whether it was stopping her divorce or forcing her to remarry, their ultimate goal had always been the same: money.

Before, she had been their stepping stone into high society. Without that utility, she was just a commodity waiting to be sold to the highest bidder.

With money, she was their daughter. Without it, she was a rag they could easily discard.

Riley forced down the suffocating emotion rising in her throat and stared at Elaine with total disappointment. "Every penny from the divorce settlement went toward rebuilding the orphanage. I have nothing left. So, I can't give you the money you want."

Elaine didn't believe for a second that Riley would blow all that cash on a bunch of orphans she had no blood relation to. "Don't try to brush me off with that pathetic excuse! I raised you for twenty years, and now that you've struck it rich, you want to shake us off? Not a chance!"

She reached up and touched it. Tears. It must just be the glaring sunlight, she told herself.

She briskly wiped away the moisture and took long strides away from the house where she had spent twenty years of her life. Behind her, Elaine's furious curses still echoed, but Riley no longer cared. From now on, she had absolutely nothing to do with this place.

Riley walked along the rural road for a good while until she was drenched in sweat. She checked the ride-hailing app on her phone again, but still, no one was taking her order. In this sweltering heat, no driver wanted to come all the way out to the countryside. It looked like she had to walk to the bus stop.

She made her way toward the bus station, but as she walked, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

She glanced over her shoulder and spotted two men not far behind her. Both wore short T-shirts and board shorts. One had a tattoo on his left arm, and the other had ink trailing up his neck. They didn't look like friendly locals.