Left with no other option, Eloise had to retreat to her room and call her father for help. But the moment she explained the situation, her father exploded.
“Over five million just to show off with some clothes? Have you completely lost your mind?”
“It's all because of Cecilia! She's the one who provoked me. She made it seem like I couldn't afford anything. I've always been better than her growing up. There's no way I could let her outshine me now, right?”
James' voice was flat and cold. “And what makes you think you can compare yourself to Cecilia anymore? She's the CEO of Jamieson Group.”
That hit Eloise hard. Only now did she realize just how serious things had become. Her voice dropped. “Then what should I do? Dad, can you give me the five million? If not, my husband and mother-in-law are going to tear me apart.”
“I don't have a dime to spare! Don't you know how bad things are for me right now? Stop dragging me into more problems!” And with that, James hung up.
It was the first time Eloise had ever found herself in this kind of situation. She tried calling her mother, but got the same answer—there simply wasn't any money.
That was the moment it finally sank in. She was truly on her own. She realized she'd let herself get carried away, trying to prove a point she couldn't afford to.
Just then, Tristian pushed open the door. He saw her standing there, distraught. “What happened? Did your parents say anything? Are they giving us the money?”
Eloise's face was pale with anxiety. “You know our family's situation. They're barely scraping by. There's no way they could give me that kind of money.”
“I don't care, doesn't your family only have a few daughters? They're looking for a matrilocal son-in-law, aren't they? They won't bother about you, will they?” Her husband frowned, “If you can't figure out a way to make up for those five million, you can get out.”
He wasn't bluffing.
“You think making money is easy?” he added.
After taking hit after hit from her husband and mother-in-law, Eloise finally understood her position in this household. More importantly, she knew what she had to do next.
“Mom, please calm down. I'm going to go see Cecilia right now.”
“That's more like it.” Rebecca seemed finally satisfied and walked away.
Alone in her room, Eloise pulled out her phone and opened the family group chat, hoping to find Cecilia's contact info.
Only then did it hit her that Cecilia wasn't in the group.
Eloise asked the others, and one of her younger sisters replied, “Eloise, don't you remember? You were the one who kicked Cecilia out of the group chat. You said a deaf girl like her didn't belong in the Escobar family group.”

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: When Her Death Couldn't Break Him (Cecilia and Nathaniel)
Silly woman. Chelsea can be so clueless...
Yay! Thanks for the new updates...
Have always kept up to date everyday to see further updates. Understand if the interest has declined. Thanm you anyway...
Hi there! I'm the admin of the website. Lately, the readership for this novel has been decreasing, so we’re no longer able to keep posting it for free. We would be incredibly grateful if you could help the author and our team by sharing the novel’s link on Reddit, X, Facebook, or anywhere you like. Thank you so much for your support!...
Thank you...
Thanks so much!...
Thank you! Looking forward to seeing the progress of Cecilias Brother and his room mate....
Oh yay! Cant wait to catch up...
Thanks for all the updates. Appreciate you have continued sharing the story...
O have read a book all again (secretary secret love), and another 5 books in this monte. However, I just had 16 chapters posted to read in this book. This is so sad....