The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 207

"That was when Diana realized your birth chart was the exact match she had been looking for. She immediately started pressuring your mother, trying to convince her to let us adopt you."

"But your mother absolutely refused. Even through her depression, she never once thought of hurting you. You were her entire world."

"When Diana realized she couldn't persuade her, her selfishness took over. She..."

The man on the screen paused for a few seconds, seemingly choking back his own emotions.

Then, he slowly continued.

"For her own selfish desires, she started spreading malicious rumors. She told everyone your father had started a new family with another woman, and that's why he abandoned you both."

"She hoped the betrayal would make your mother resent you, so she'd willingly give you up."

"Instead, the trauma completely broke your mother's mind. She had a mental breakdown and attempted suicide."

"Thank God the doctors saved her in time. She physically survived, but her mind continued to deteriorate. It got to the point where she couldn't even recognize her own daughter."

So, her mother had never wanted to abandon her.

Jocelyn gripped the collar of her shirt tightly, squeezing her eyes shut as she forced herself to keep listening.

"Diana finally got what she wanted. She pulled some strings and brought you into the Evans family. But to tie up loose ends and make sure you were hers forever, she had your mother locked away in a psychiatric hospital, hoping she would rot in there and never see you again."

Marcus broke down crying on the video.

"Jo, Dad is so sorry. I should have stopped it. I never should have let Diana destroy your mother and ruin your life."

"To try and make things right, I secretly got your mother out of that asylum and moved her to a quiet, private nursing home."

"I forged a death certificate and made Diana believe your mother had died. It was the only way to make her feel secure so she would stop coming after her."

"The nursing home is a bit rural, but the facilities are excellent, and the environment is beautiful. I hired the best private nurses to take care of her around the clock. But for safety reasons, I couldn't visit her very often."

"All these years, I only ever dared to sneak over there when Diana was out of town on vacation."

"Until one time, Diana almost caught me. I never dared to go back after that. But I always had people I trusted check in on her for me."

"Jo, this is entirely our fault. I have no right to ask this of you, but after being married for so long, I just can't bear the thought of Diana and Jeremy ending up destitute."

"So please... can I beg you? For the sake of the twenty years we spent raising you... please show your mother mercy. Dad is begging you."

On the screen, Marcus suddenly stood up and got down on his knees.

Jocelyn couldn't hear whatever he said next.

Her eyes were so blurred with tears she could barely see the screen.

There was no hysterical sobbing, just silent, heavy tears that fell steadily, one after another.

How ironic.

Life was truly unpredictable.

The people who had raised her and loved her... were the very people who had destroyed her family.