When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 69

Nelly woke up annoyed, her eyes barely open when she saw Brody’s name flashing on her phone. Instantly, she was wide awake, every nerve on edge.

“What’s happened?”

Brody almost never called her out of the blue. If he was calling at this hour, it could only be about

work or Carrie. There was no way this was work-related.

She shot up in bed, her voice tight and anxious.

“You…”

Brody hesitated, his words hanging in the air. He wasn’t even sure why he’d called. But now that she’d answered, he didn’t hang up. He’d been tossing and turning all night, thinking about the wedding ring. What if Alan was right? What if it really was just a weird coincidence that the rings looked exactly the same? He was curious enough to ask, but now that he had her on the line, he couldn’t get the words out.

“Brody, what’s going on? Is Carrie sick?”

The longer he stayed silent, the more worked up Nelly got. She was already out of bed and pulling on her clothes.

“Carrie’s fine.”

Brody finally snapped out of it when he heard the panic in her voice. “You’re still up?”

Nelly froze, her hand halfway through the sleeve of her coat. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already one thirty in the morning.

“Brody? Do you even know what time it is? Of course I was asleep!”

The line went quiet. She could barely hear him breathing, almost like he was doing it on purpose just to annoy her.

Nelly felt her anger rising. “Brody, what do you want?”

“Are you short on money?” Brody’s question came out of nowhere.

Given how weird he’d been acting lately, Nelly thought he was going to offer her money again. Was he finally feeling guilty, wanting to make things up to her? Gina had already told him how much she’d done for Garland Inc. Now he and Sheila were dumping her after everything she’d given, so maybe he’d finally grown a conscience and was going to pay her back.

“Of course.”

She forced herself to sound calm, biting back her frustration.

“I was always careful with money when we were married. I barely have any savings…”

“If you don’t have money, then learn to save it. I’ve cancelled your supplementary card and the checks. Don’t spend so recklessly.”

The switch in his tone blindsided her. Before she could even react, he hung up.

But according to Selina, Nelly was just average. Nothing special. She thought Nelly had just gotten lucky. The Garland family had sponsored her and that’s how she managed to cling to Brody.

Selina’s jealousy was obvious. She’d kept the friendship with Nelly going just to get close to the Garland family. But once she found out Nelly meant nothing to them, she started keeping her distance and spent her time with Sheila instead.

Brody was so obviously into Sheila, and Selina figured it was only a matter of time before Nelly was out of the picture.

“Sheila, you look even prettier these days. I swear, all those dates with Mr. Garland must be your new beauty secret.”

As soon as she saw Sheila, Selina was all smiles, handing over a bunch of carefully wrapped gifts. She said they were souvenirs she’d picked up on her recent vacation.

Sheila smiled gently, a little bashful. “Aww, it’s not like that.”

“I mean it. You’re gorgeous. Mr. Garland is the luckiest guy ever.”

Selina’s compliments were sincere. In her eyes, Sheila was beautiful, came from a great family, and was a genuinely good person. Brody had always had a thing for Sheila. Nelly must have pulled some trick to take her place, but Sheila was so kind that she’d asked Selina to keep her relationship with Brody a secret so Nelly wouldn’t get hurt.

For Carrie’s sake, Sheila was even willing to wait until she was older before Brody could end things with Nelly. She really was that good. Selina just felt for her.

How could someone like Nelly, who just used a man to climb up, possibly compare?

After enjoying their lunch, the two went shopping at the nearby luxury mall.