The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 233

"Shut your mouth!" Diana snapped, her eyes wide with fury. "From now on, you are forbidden from bringing up the past. If you do, don't even dream of getting a dime of this estate. When I'm dead, I'll leave it all to charity!"

Jeremy wisely swallowed his words.

He knew all too well that his mother meant every threat she made.

"And as for your father's death, are you telling me you're completely blameless? You were right there in the room when your father and I were fighting! But you just sat there glued to your stupid video game without saying a word to stop us."

"If you had just stepped in, maybe your father wouldn't have had a fatal stroke!"

Jeremy muttered under his breath, "How is that my fault? You were the one who..."

Under Diana's lethal glare, he snapped his mouth shut.

He cast a lingering, regretful look toward the front doors.

Jocelyn was already long gone.

But the image of her walking away was seared into his mind, refusing to fade.

Outside, Jocelyn stood before the closed gates of the estate for a long time.

Behind her lay nothing but despair and cruelty, which was why she refused to look back.

In her hand, she tightly clutched the address Diana had given her.

Diana said she had sent Sylvia to stay with some rural caretakers out in the South Hills, paying them to keep her out of sight.

Jocelyn's only saving grace was that she had enough leverage to force Diana to keep her mother alive.

If she hadn't, her mother might have...

Julian was waiting in the car.

Jocelyn pulled the passenger door open and climbed in. When she looked at Julian, her eyes were brimming with tears.

She opened her palm, revealing the crumpled piece of paper.

"Julian..."

Julian gently took the slip of paper from her hand, his heart sinking when his fingers brushed against hers.

"Why are your hands like ice?"

Jocelyn pointed to her chest.

"This is what's really freezing."

She bit down hard on her lower lip, fighting with everything she had to hold back the tears.

Julian felt a tight ache in his own chest and instinctively pulled her into a warm embrace.

Jocelyn finally broke down, the tears streaming down her face.

"Julian, I... I really don't have a family anymore. From now on, it's just me."

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