Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 1651-1660

Jared was waiting for updates in the office, never expecting to receive news of Ellen getting hurt. Whenhe saw her faint on the ground after being hit by the reckless driver, his hands formed into fists. Soon, afamiliar person appeared in the footage, and he recognized the face at the drop of a hat. Lambert. He’sthe first person to carry her into the ambulance, huh?

“Get me his contact number,” he ordered Stanley.

Impressively, it did not take Stanley long to obtain Lambert’s contact number. The urgent Jared dialedthe number immediately, for he wished to know Ellen’s condition.

Meanwhile, Lambert was basking under the sun in the garden when his phone rang. “Hello? Who isthis?”

“It’s Jared. How’s Ellen?” The trembling voice resounded.

Lambert was caught off-guard that the man contacted him in person. “How did you know she’s withme?”

“Cut it out. Just tell me how’s she doing.” Jared snapped.

“Her forehead is swollen. That’s all.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s resting at my place. Are you going to take her away by force, Mr. Presgrave?”

“Send me your address.”

“I’d rather see you try.” Lambert sneered and terminated the call.

Jared cursed under his breath, whereas Stanley began to track down Lambert’s place. Due toLambert’s feelings for Ellen, Jared believed they should not stay in the same place together, not tomention that she was in a frail state. He might take advantage of her!

“Found it. This is Lambert’s place, Mr. Presgrave.” Stanley was a highly efficient employee. In a haste,Jared grabbed the car keys and left the company.

On the other hand, Corey delivered the luggage to Lambert’s place and waved his hand lookingexhausted. “Just what is in this carrier? It’s hefty!”

“It’s everything she has left.” Lambert came up to him.

“Bro, you must keep this between us, or Mom’s gonna confiscate my car.”

“Deal. Now, leave. She’s in the living room, so be quiet.”

“I’m thirsty. Why can’t I rest for a moment?” Corey was upset by Lambert’s cold attitude now that hewas smitten with a girl. Nevertheless, he was not planning on leaving.

“Just don’t wake her up,” warned Lambert before thinking about the incoming guest, whom heparticularly took interest in. I bet Jared’s on his way here. What happened between them?

A black Bugatti speeded on the busy road, advancing through every space between the cars. Similar toa majestic black panther, it accelerated toward the sunlight, which reflected the black into a sheen ofbrilliance.

Finally, the Bugatti parked at a private mansion, followed by three SUVs. Jared alighted from the car toring the doorbell; instead of getting in his way, Lambert opened the door. Now, the two domineeringmen stood against each other.

One of them was clad in a tracksuit like a languid young man, while the other man was wrapped in ablack suit, looking like an elite young master with his six bodyguards. The two different stylesunexpectedly took the limelight all the same.

Holding a cup of tea, Corey came out of the house and felt the tense atmosphere, where he almostchoked on the drink due to surprise. Then, he hurried to his cousin’s side. “Lambert, who are thesepeople? Should we call the cops?” questioned the frightened boy.

“No. He’s Mr. Presgrave from the Presgrave Group.”

“Hand her over.” Jared was dogged to take Ellen away today.

Corey wrapped his head around the situation at that. Wait. They’re fighting over a woman! What isLambert doing? How can he lay his eyes on Mr. Presgrave’s woman?

When Corey heard that, he immediately ran inside the living room.

“Ellen’s injured and requires ample rest, so she has decided to stay at my place for a couple of days.Mr. Presgrave, please leave,” Lambert said with his arms crossed.

“She’s my girlfriend. I’ll take care of her,” Jared retorted coldly. He did not need anyone else to takecare of his girlfriend.

In the meantime, Corey patted Ellen’s cheek, which surprised her so much that her eyes widened inshock. Then, he quickly shushed her. “You’re Miss Reiss, right? Something’s gone wrong, andsomeone came to find you.”

“Who?”

“It’s Mr. Presgrave. He’s having a face-off with Lambert outside!”

Ellen was stunned as she did not expect Jared would find her hideout. She then stood up whilesupporting herself on the couch and left the living room. In the meantime, Corey, being an avid drama-watcher, followed behind her for some gossip.

Showing herself at the door, she was hit by the afternoon sun and was dazed for a while before usingher hand to block the sunlight.

“Ellen,” Jared exclaimed in surprise as he felt relieved to see her in one piece.

At the same time, Lambert turned around to look at her. The sunlight shining on her made her look frail,and her long black hair was tackled by the breeze, revealing her pale face. Overall, she resembled ashaky wisp of smoke that would disappear at any moment.

Instantly, her appearance evoked distress from the two men.

“Ellen, I came to pick you up.” Jared’s tone was exceptionally gentle.

She merely glanced at him and shook her head but could not hold back her emotion once again,shocking the men as tears began streaming down her face. It was then that Lambert became morecertain that Jared had hurt her in some way for her to be so emotionally hurt.

When she looked up at them with teary eyes, she looked pitiful yet resilient. “I’m not leaving with you,nor am I coming back to you. Just leave!” She made it clear to Jared while standing beside Lambert.

Within seconds, the contrast in mood became evident between the two men. One was hurt while onewas surprised.

“Don’t you see, Mr. Presgrave? Ellen is willing to stay with me.” Lambert gave Jared a provocativestare.

“No, you must leave with me.” There was no way Jared was willing to let Ellen stay with Lambert.

Ellen shook her head again. Since she had planned to stay at Lambert’s place for only a couple ofdays, all she wanted from then on was some tranquillity. “I’m not leaving with you,” she replieddeterminedly.

“Fine. If you’re not, I’ll stay.” Jared was parroting her move.

However, Lambert was unhappy about that. “Hey, Mr. Presgrave. This is my home, not a motel.”

“I’ll be staying in the car. If you dare to touch a strand of her hair, I’ll beat you up.” Jared turned aroundand left the doorway after leaving his remark. Indeed, he was dead set on spending the night inside hiscar outside of Lambert’s house.

“Is he nuts?” The frustrated Lambert then turned to Ellen and asked, “What happened between youtwo?”

Not wanting to talk about it, she looked at him gratefully. “Mr. Orey, I’m sorry to trouble you. I’ll leaveafter a moment.”

“Wait. You can rest assured that I don’t find you troublesome, so please stay.” He was joyous that shedeclared her desire to stay. Also, he felt ecstatic in the face of a furious Jared.

Looking at the hungry and lethargic-looking woman, Lambert immediately ordered some food from arestaurant nearby and had it delivered to his doorstep. His assumption was spot on as she indeed borean empty stomach until night came.

By the time she finished her meal, Corey had left, and she was led to a guest room on the third floor.“No one has stayed in this room before, so you can rest assured. I’ll protect you,” said Lambert.

“Mr. Orey, I’m sorry for troubling you.” Ellen was apologetic toward the kind man.

“It’s fine. Corey was the one who hit you with his car. Didn’t you already forgive him? Why don’t yousee this as me making up on his behalf? It’s not a big deal, really.” He assured her, sincerely wanting totake care of her.

Nodding, she closed the door and came to the balcony that so happened to oversee the front entrance.The car glowed under the dark sky, prompting her to wonder if Jared truly intended to stay the night inhis vehicle.

At that moment, she saw a heavy-duty vehicle that seemed like a truck stop beside the car, so shecontinued watching curiously. Soon enough, the truck’s interior lit up, after which she took a better lookand discovered it was a luxurious caravan. Stunned, she sneered, Jared even brought a caravan here.Is he being serious?

Meanwhile, Lambert, too, heard the sound of a car engine and came out to take a look. When he sawthe caravan parked in the yard, he could not help but be astonished by Jared’s tolerance. It seemedlike he was insisting on staying outside his house!

“Mr. Presgrave, don’t you think this is too much?” He went over to joke.

Jared stood beside the caravan watching as his assistant and bodyguards brought his daily necessitiesinto his new home. From today onward, this caravan would be his temporary nook and office. Hugginghis arms, he stared warningly at Lambert. “Don’t you touch her or have any thoughts about her. Orelse, you’ll be sorry.”

Lambert raised an eyebrow. “To tell you the truth, I fell in love with her the first time I saw her at theclubhouse. Of course, I’d never force her to like me, so let’s do this fair and square. Ellen can choosewhomever she likes.”

When Jared heard that, his heart sank because Lambert’s words pressured and offended him.

“Sorry that you have to live out here, Young Master Jared. I’ll be heading back inside, though.” Aftersaying that, Lambert left.

As Jared looked up at the mansion, he happened to see a thin figure on the balcony of the third floor.He looked over with his deep eyes and saw Ellen gazing at him. Though they were far apart, she couldfeel his stare, so she headed back inside.

Her feelings were still all over the place at the moment. Also, Connor’s words and Kevin’s pale faceremained clouding her mind. She remembered she had to beg her uncle to see her brother for the lasttime.

Back then, Kevin was lying inside the ICU and was so skinny that he looked disfigured, which was alltoo different from the always-smiling older brother in her memory. Remembering how she could onlylook at him through the glass window, she felt like someone had ripped her heart out. How cruel had itbeen for Kevin to undergo such treatment during his last few moments?

On the other hand, Jared sat on the couch inside the caravan and saw a man in his fifties running overand greeting him, “Young Master Jared, you were looking for me?”

“Director Ferguson, I invited you over because I have some questions to ask you. It’s about my surgeryfrom sixteen years ago.”

Director Ferguson felt nervous. “Young Master Jared, are you not feeling well?”

“No, I’m doing fine. I heard it was you who signed the contract with the donor. I’d like to know if thedonor’s family had signed the agreement willingly, or were they forced to do so?” Jared inquired.

Hearing that, Director Ferguson immediately recalled that moment. Although he was up there in age,his recollection was still unmistakable. He thought about it and shook his head. “No, I remembered thedonor’s family agreed after a brief discussion while having the necessary knowledge.”

“Why did they agree to donate?”

“We did mention to the couple about their reward after donation. Adding on to the compensation thePresgrave Family was willing to provide, they agreed and signed the papers.”

“Do you have any surveillance footage that could prove the donor’s complete willingness to authorizethe procedure?”

“About that… I don’t know. I’ll have to contact my old friend because he was at the scene too. He wasalso the attending physician back then. I can ask him if there are any videos of that moment.”

“Sure. Sorry for the trouble.” Jared nodded as he believed Director Ferguson’s statement, which alsoproved that Connor and his family had been lying and tricking Ellen.

Back then, his parents were with him because he was seriously injured, so none of them hadpersonally engaged with the Aguirres. Therefore, the only ones who had in-depth knowledge of theagreement were Director Ferguson and the bodyguards at the scene.

After Director Ferguson left, Jared heaved a faint sight. The matter involved a huge misunderstanding,and since he failed to talk some sense into Ellen, he could only be there for her as a temporary fix tomake up for her.

At the Aguirre Residence, the family was looking bitter. Connor had just shamelessly contactedBenjamin, wanting to know if Jared intended to give him some money. However, Benjamin’s attitudetook a turn, and he asked Connor to wait for his news.

At that moment, Connor was walking around the room anxiously. When he thought about his future life,he was filled with sorrow. Meanwhile, Selena shared the same worry as she initially thought her fathercould get some compensation. Now that Jared found out the truth, there was no way he would notreturn the saving grace to Ellen!

Nonetheless, she was good at scheming and succeeded at sowing discord between the couple.Otherwise, he would have spoiled Ellen to the extreme!

“Mr. Presgrave is such an ungrateful man! Doesn’t he know the person who suggested signing thepapers to save his life? It was me. I was the one who asked your dad to sign the papers. Would hehave survived if it weren’t for my insistence?”

“Really?” Selena felt like that was the best decision her mom had ever made. She would not haveenjoyed such a good life had it not been for her mom’s decision.

“Of course. Your dad was even reluctant to sign the papers, so it’s naturally because of me.”

“Mom, you’re so kind!”

“Do you know why I agreed so quickly? Kevin was about to get unplugged anyway, and I saw thosepeople wearing expensive clothes, so I assumed they had to be rich. That’s why I did that! Sincethey’re rich, they would certainly pay us heftily if we donated Kevin’s heart.” Everything Olivia did wasfor profit.

“I told you we shouldn’t have lied to him. We should’ve told him that Kevin is Ellen’s older brotherbecause if we did, he wouldn’t think that we lied to him. I can’t even bear to go outside now.” Connorglared at her.

“No one made you do it. I was just giving my suggestion, and you’re the one who took it seriously.” Sherefused to admit her mistakes.

“You’re… You’re a doom.”

“I’m a doom? Would you have decided to sign the papers without this ‘doom’ right here?”

When Connor heard that, he was immediately enraged. “Had we pushed that matter back a little,perhaps we would’ve gotten more money from the Presgraves!”

Stunned, Olivia realized that her husband was right. At that time, Kevin’s heart was Jared’s only hope!Maybe we could have gotten a better deal! Gosh, was I too eager?

“H-How would I have known that they were the richest family in the city?” She pouted.

On the side-lines, Selena grew frustrated while watching her parents argue, so she brought her phoneback to her room. After closing the door, she wondered about Ellen and Jared’s current status,prompting her to call her enemy.

Ellen had just finished her shower when her phone rang. When she saw it was a call from Selena, shehesitated before answering, “Hey.”

“Ellie, it’s me. How are you? Don’t you think of doing anything reckless!”

“I’m fine.”

“How’s your relationship with Mr. Presgrave? Do you hate him?” Selena probed.

The frowning Ellen remained silent.

Selena eagerly added, “Ellie, we’re your only family. If you’re down, you can always come by and stayat our house. We can help you get through this.”

Faced with Selena’s sudden enthusiasm, Ellen finally recalled what Connor and his family had beendoing all these years. She had been too preoccupied with the matter of Kevin’s heart, so Selena’s fakekindness triggered her realization of how selfish and greedy their family was.

“I’ll pass, but I heard that the Presgraves had given your family fifteen million as compensation. So, canyou ask your dad where my share of the money is and why he hasn’t given me any of that?” Ellen’svoice was cold as ice.

“What? Ellen, what are you insinuating? Do you think my dad deliberately kept your share away fromyou? You were a kid back then! Also, money comes and goes! My family is broke now.” Selena’s faceinstantly turned gloomy.

“Why did you guys keep me in the dark for so long? Why are you only telling me now that Kevin’s heartwas donated? As his sister, why don’t I know anything about that?” Ellen continued to question Selena.

“That… It wasn’t that my parents refused to tell you. They were just trying to look out for you! Theydidn’t want you to feel sad because of that matter, but we told you now, didn’t we?”

“Oh? Are you saying I should be grateful to you?” Ellen asked through gritted teeth.

“Shouldn’t you? Otherwise, what do you expect us to do? Our family is broke now anyway, so you can’tget any money even if you want to.” At the mention of finances, Selena remained undeniably sour.

“But you guys still have a house, a car, and investments. Regardless, your family has to give me half ofthe compensation!” By now, Ellen’s eyes were red. She did not need the money; all she needed wasjustice.

Connor’s family felt no guilt while spending the money they received from Kevin’s heart and had beenliving a glorious life for sixteen years, yet they never thought to visit his grave once. How could suchanimals have the right to spend that fund?

She would rather donate that sum to charity than let those ungrateful idiots take it.

“Ellen, do not try anything! I’m telling you to stop having any ideas about my family. We’re poor asbeggars! If you need someone to blame, you have the Presgraves for that! They didn’t even give usmuch back then! There were only fifteen million, and it’s been almost twenty years. Do you think that’sa lot of money?” Selena was flustered as she did not expect Ellen would blame her family.

Originally, she thought Ellen would amount to no threat without Jared’s backup, but she did not expectEllen to list her demand.

“Can you swear that every word you say today is true? Did your parents not get tempted by thePresgraves’ money and agree to sign the papers?” Ellen had regained her reasoning. With her uncleand aunt’s personalities, how could they not agree to surrender Kevin’s heart when the Presgravespromised them fifteen million?

“Of course, it’s real! The Presgrave Family has power and wealth, and they had their eyes set onKevin’s heart because he was the only one who could save Mr. Presgrave! Where are you now? Is hestill with you?”

“No.”

“Atta girl! I’d say, you should stay as far away from him as possible. He’s the one who stole yourbrother’s heart, after all.”

As soon as Ellen heard that, she immediately reprimanded Selena silently, Jared was seriously injuredand bedridden back then, and his life was also at risk. If Kevin learned about that before he passedaway and knew he could save a life, I believe he would certainly agree to it. He was a kind soul, afterall.

However, all she desperately wanted to know was whether Kevin’s heart was donated out ofPresgraves’ threat or an amicable agreement with Connor and Olivia. That, to her, was extremelyimportant.

“Ellen, if I were you, I would hate Jared and the Presgrave Family to death. Also, I wouldn’t wantanything to do with them anymore in my life. Would you agree?” Selena asked.

She wanted to hear Ellen utter anything to imply that they had the same enemy and that she did notwant anything to do with the Presgraves anymore.

“Why should I hate him? He was only ten back then and doesn’t know anything,” Ellen retorted.

Stunned, Selena was not expecting Ellen to be so rational, let alone hate Jared. “Ellen, you’re too kindand foolish. How can you still speak up for him? Yes, he has done nothing wrong, but his family is theculprit who stole your brother’s heart.”

“Please don’t say any nonsense that you can’t prove.”

“M-My mom told me that,” Selena quickly explained.

“If your parents were forced to agree, they shouldn’t have accepted the compensation, and theywouldn’t have sent me to Grandma after getting the money.”

Selena choked and said, “Anyway, I can’t do anything about it if that’s what you’re thinking.” After that,she hung up.

On the other hand, Ellen sat inside her room, re-evaluating the things she could not comprehend in herunreasonable state that afternoon. Now that she had calmed down, her thought process became morerational.

Selena didn’t tell me those things out of kindness. Her goal is to make me hate Jared. Also, UncleConnor’s call was targeted to push the blame onto the Presgraves so that he could justify swallowingthe fifteen million.

It was as though they had been forced to take the money rather than deliberately sell her brother’sheart out of greed for the cash.

Ellen came out to the balcony and saw the RV outside with its lights on; a tall figure could be vaguelyseen moving around in it. At the sight of this, she felt a knot in her stomach. He’s really staying here.Hearing the sound of a text message on her phone in the room, she involuntarily got back to her bedand saw the text message sent by Jared. It read, ‘Aren’t you gonna sleep yet?’

She let out a sigh and texted him back, ‘You should go back.’

The man was quite stubborn, though. ‘I’m not leaving. I’ll stay where you are.’

‘I don’t need you to care about me.’

‘I just want to care about my girlfriend.’novelbin

Ellen bit her lip. Not knowing how to define their relationship, she decided not to reply to the textmessage.

Just then, another text message beeped in. It read, ‘I’m watching you.’

Startled, she came out to the balcony with the phone in her hand and saw the man standing next to theRV and staring up in her direction. Despite the distance between them, she could vaguely perceive hissteady, intense gaze.

Another text message rang on her phone, and Ellen took a glance at it. It read, ‘Sleep early. See youtomorrow.’

She even saw Jared wave to her in the moonlight before blowing her a kiss. After being stunned for afew seconds, she returned to her room with her heart in turmoil.

Even though she was sleepy, she couldn’t fall asleep that night, as her mind was preoccupied with theman in the RV outside. She thought of lots of things, including how Jared had looked on the verge ofdeath at ten years old. She also wondered why she had chanced upon him in the first place. Had shenot gotten to know him, her uncle and aunt would never have told her the truth behind her brother’sheart donation. It was like there was an imperceptible force that led her to meet him and learn about allof this. Could her late brother’s spirit be guiding her through all of this?

In the master bedroom on the second floor, Lambert was holding a glass of red wine in his hand.Despite having a dressing gown draped around his shoulders, he wasn’t sleepy at all. Instead, he wasfeeling deeply depressed. Jared’s so protective of Ellen! That’s causing me trouble right when I get alittle interested in her. Seems like it’s not gonna be easy to steal her from him, eh?

When the sun rose from the east early the next morning, sparkling dewdrops were still clinging to theRV. Autumn had arrived, bringing a slight chill to the morning air.

The RV door was pushed open, and a figure stepped out from the inside. Jared stretched his limbs fora while; obviously, he hadn’t slept comfortably in the RV last night. He stared at the balcony on the thirdfloor with unblinking eyes, wanting to know if Ellen had gotten out of bed inside.

Stanley, his assistant, came over with a set of breakfast in his hand. “President Presgrave, here’s yourbreakfast.”

Jared only took the cup of coffee from him. Then, he pulled out a chair and sat down, drinking coffeewhile keeping an eye on the third floor. The autumn wind tousled his dark hair in the sun, but thewindblown hairstyle didn’t diminish the opulent and noble air he had about him in the slightest. Hismasculine and yet exquisitely handsome features were simply God’s masterpiece.

“It’s windy here, President Presgrave. Would you like to drink your coffee inside?” Stanley asked withconcern.

Jared replied, “No, it’s okay.” He was in high spirits; even the pedestrians staring at him and his retinuein astonishment from the road nearby didn’t affect his good mood at all.

As soon as Ellen opened her eyes, she dashed to the balcony to see Jared. Compared to last night,she could see more clearly during the day. Consequently, she saw him sitting there surrounded by abunch of people; not only that, he even waved to her, shouting, “Ellen!”

She let out a sigh. What on earth is he up to? Coming downstairs with a jacket draped around hershoulders, she stepped out of Lambert’s villa and came toward Jared’s RV.

Jared immediately stood up and dismissed Stanley and the bodyguards around him with a wave of hishand. He looked at Ellen with a pained look in his eyes, as though the lady had wasted away overnight.“Are you ready to talk to me?” he asked tenderly.

Ellen looked up. The sun shone on her pretty face, bringing out a kind of fragile beauty in her. A breezebrushed her dark hair away from her forehead and caressed her fair and pretty face, like a serenepainting that made one’s heart flutter.

Ellen looked up at him, asking, “You said… you only learned yesterday that my brother was the donor,right?”

Jared apologized, “Yeah, I only learned that yesterday. I didn’t know the donor back then was namedKevin Reiss until your uncle suddenly came asking me for money. Sorry, it was my fault for notnoticing.” Had he learned about this sooner, he would have shown her his gratitude already.

Ellen asked, “My uncle asked you for money again?” She was both surprised and kind of angry. Howcould Uncle Connor take advantage of my brother’s heart donation to keep asking for money?

“That’s right. He demanded about 15 million from me, saying he needs the fortune to pay off his manydebts. Ellen, I know they didn’t give you a red cent out of the 15 million that my family gave him

previously.” Jared’s heart ached terribly as he looked at her. He continued, “You should get at least halfthe amount.”

Tears welled up in Ellen’s eyes. Some memories were so unbearable to recall, she had to bury themdeep down. She remembered how Jessica had once run out of cash and had to turn to Connor and hisfamily when she got hospitalized for cold-induced pneumonia. Even though Connor had only givenJessica a mere 150 in the end, Jessica had told her at her bedside that she had to be grateful to himand repay his kindness in the future. Unbeknownst to them at the time, however, Connor and Oliviawere splurging everywhere and flaunting their wealth in front of their friends and relatives with themoney they had received for Kevin’s heart donation.

Now that she thought about it, she thought Connor and his family were not human. They were soheartless and cold-blooded that they didn’t deserve to be her relatives and elders at all. She recalledagain how Connor and Olivia had responded coldly when she borrowed money from them prior toJessica’s death. They were already so loaded, but they wouldn’t lend her a single cent more.

Feeling bitterly disappointed, she looked up at Jared, saying, “You’re right that I should get at least halfof my brother’s money. I want to get it back.”

Jared nodded. “I’ll help you with that. I asked the hospital director who signed the agreement with youruncle and his family back then, and he said there was no element of coercion or threat involved. Youruncle and aunt were your brother’s legal guardians at the time, and the agreement was signed withtheir consent, nor did my parents ever pressure them with their power and influence. Please trust me,Ellen; my parents are not this kind of people,” he said under his breath in hopes that Ellen wouldn’t getthe wrong idea about his family again. “Of course, I’m very sorry for using your brother’s heart. If youhave a problem with it, I can have it taken out and leave it at your disposal,” he added in a chokedvoice.

Ellen felt a catch in her throat; her eyes reddened. “What nonsense are you talking about? When did Iever ask you to take it out?”

Jared looked at her quietly. “I just hope that you won’t hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.” Ellen let out a sigh. “My brother was a kind person. I think he would’ve saved you,too.”

Jared strode over, held her hand, and placed it gently on his heart. “No wonder I felt kind of close toyou and wanted to protect you when I first saw you. Turns out this was because my heart came fromthe person who loved you most.”

Ellen couldn’t help shedding tears in silence as the person who loved her most tugged at herheartstrings.

As she felt the beating of the man’s heart, a large hand gently wiped her tears away. “I’m your brotherfrom now on. I’ll protect you and love you for the rest of my life.”

Ellen bit her lip and turned her face away with a slight blush.

Just then, someone hemmed loudly from behind. “Ahem!”

Ellen immediately withdrew her hand, whereas Jared darted a glance at the thoughtless person.

Lambert walked leisurely in their direction with his arms folded across his chest. “Ellen, I’ve madebreakfast. Let’s have breakfast together, shall we?” he said to Ellen.

Jared raised an eyebrow and reached out to grab Ellen’s wrist. “I’ve got breakfast here, too. She’sjoining me for breakfast.”

“I made breakfast myself,” Lambert retorted, implying that his breakfast was more precious.

“I’ll make breakfast for her every single day in the future, so why don’t you save your breakfast foryourself, Mr. Orey? She’s leaving with me now.”

Lambert countered with a frown, “Would anyone snatch a person like you do, Young Master Jared?Miss Reiss is my guest, and she has yet to say she wants to leave!”

Caught between the two men, Ellen found herself at a momentary loss for what to do.

“Pack your stuff, Ellen. We’re leaving now,” Jared whispered to her beside him.

Ellen broke free of his grasp before saying to Lambert, “Mr. Orey, thank you for putting me up last night.I’ll stop bothering you after this.”

“What? You’re leaving for real?!” Lambert asked reluctantly.

“I have something else to deal with, so I shan’t bother you anymore,” Ellen said to him.

“It’s nothing! We’re friends, after all,” Lambert replied with a chuckle just to spite a certain someone.

“Uh-huh. It’s a real pleasure to be friends with you.” Ellen smiled. Lambert really isn’t a bad guy, shethought.

Lambert’s smile broadened more and more at the sight of Jared’s darkening expression. “In that case,we should go out for coffee sometime.”

Ellen nodded. “That’s a great idea! Well then, I gotta pack my stuff first.” She darted a look at the manbeside her, only to notice his long face. I’d better pack up before anything else, she thought.

Lambert followed her back to the villa. After following her upstairs, he stood at the door to her room tokeep her company. “Ellen, have you two made it up already?” he asked.

“Something happened between us that has to be dealt with right now,” Ellen explained while puttingaway the clothes on her bed.

Seeing that she was going to make the bed, Lambert strode in and volunteered, “I’ll do it! You pack upyour stuff.”

Ellen replied somewhat embarrassedly, “No, let me do it instead.”

However, Lambert insisted on making the bed himself. For some reason, he felt protective towardEllen, who was really kind of everyone’s darling with her vulnerable beauty.

Ellen was grateful to him from the bottom of her heart. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re friends already, no?” Lambert said while making the bed dexterously. Then,seeing that she had packed her suitcase, he reached out and lifted it up for her, saying, “Let’s go! I’llwalk you downstairs.”

Ellen followed him to the door. After the door opened, he walked her all the way to the door to Jared’sRV while carrying her suitcase. “Here, I’m giving her back to you. But if you don’t cherish her, then don’tblame me for stealing her again,” he said.

Jared narrowed his eyes and replied, “I’m afraid you’ll never have the opportunity.”

“Wow! So confident, eh?” Lambert replied before winking at Ellen. “Goodbye, Ellen.”

Ellen watched the man stride into the distance. Before she came to her senses, a male voice drippingwith jealousy rang beside her. “How much longer are you gonna follow him with your eyes?”

Ellen withdrew her gaze and asked him, “Can you go with me to my uncle’s place?”

“Of course, I can.” Jared nodded before handing her suitcase to Stanley beside him. “Take this suitcaseto my house.”

Ellen was speechless for a moment. “I’m not going to your place.”

Stanley immediately picked up the suitcase, saying, “Got it. I’ll deliver it right away.” With that, hewalked toward his car and then left with Ellen’s suitcase before she could say anything.

Ellen felt both helpless and speechless as Jared got her into his car. As it happened, Jared also hadscores to settle with the Aguirres. After all, they had plotted to jeopardize his relationship with Ellen, notto mention how they had treated her back then.

Meanwhile, at the Aguirre Residence…

Selena dared not tell her parents about her phone call to Ellen last night. She feared that Connor wouldgive her a rap over the knuckles for being meddlesome, and besides, she also felt sorry for her mother,who was still unaware at this moment that her husband had another family outside their marriage.

On the other hand, Olivia was distressed over the fear that she would no longer be able to enjoy a lifeof luxury now that their family had run out of money. If she had to go out and work for a living, it wouldbe worse than killing her! “Connor, are we gonna get the money or not?” she asked Connor overbreakfast.

Connor was in an extremely irritable mood, though. He looked up and barked at her, “Go ask for themoney yourself if you want!”

Olivia couldn’t wait to ask for the money herself, of course. She was just in no appropriate status andposition to do so.

“Dad, stop barking at Mom, will you? We’re just anxious to get the money,” Selena said in an attempt toadvise Connor.

Much to Selena’s dismay, Connor vented his anger on her instead. “And you! You never showed anyimprovement despite all that money spent on you.”

Selena was stunned; the next instant, she was overwhelmed with disappointment. As expected, Daddoesn’t like me anymore. Only his son is the apple of his eye, huh? “Dad, you think it’s not worthspending money on me because I’m a daughter, don’t you?!” she answered back in a fit of pique.

Connor instantly looked at her in alarm. “What nonsense are you talking about?!”

“You’d be happy if I were a son, no?!” Selena asked again.

Seeing that the father and daughter were falling out again, Olivia said to Selena, “Just shut up for once,Lena! Your dad has never mistreated you over so many years.”

Connor looked at Selena. He couldn’t help feeling that her eyes were full of resentment, which filledhim with panic. Could she have found out about my affair?

Selena’s head drooped in bitterness; she felt that her family was no longer what it used to be.

Meanwhile, Jared’s car pulled up downstairs outside the neighborhood. Fearing that Connor and Oliviawould hit out at Ellen, he had two bodyguards go upstairs with them to protect her.

Ellen also got somewhat agitated after entering the neighborhood. She took a few deep breaths whilerecalling Connor’s behavior over the years, which really chilled her to the marrow.

Selena was just about to go out when she heard the doorbell ring, which surprised her. Who woulddrop by so early in the morning? she wondered. The instant she looked through the peephole, she wasshocked to see Jared. Jared’s here? She immediately checked her appearance before putting on a

smile that she thought was the most beautiful in order to greet the man. However, when she openedthe door, she realized that another person was standing behind him—Ellen.

She involuntarily turned pale with fright. Why is Ellen here with Jared? Haven’t they broken up already?She lowered her gaze and was shocked to see that Jared’s hand was holding Ellen’s. She couldn’t helpbut step back while looking at the couple in a panic. Then, she shouted toward the house, “Dad, Mom,we’ve got visitors!”

Olivia was clearing the table after breakfast, while Connor was getting ready to go out when they heardSelena’s cry. However, before they realized what was happening, they saw Jared leading Ellen by thehand into the house. They quickly exchanged a brief look, after which Olivia greeted the couple warmly,saying, “Hey! Young Master Jared, Ellie, what brings both of you here? Have you had breakfast?”

Selena wanted to close the door, but Jared’s two bodyguards suddenly stood at the door. As a result,she dared not close it and had no choice but to put on a sheepish smile.

Ellen looked at Connor and Olivia, then at the luxuriously furnished apartment. Her heart twinged badly.This was the life of luxury that they bought with her brother’s heart. Not only did they feel not an ounceof remorse about it, but they even enjoyed it as if they had deserved it.

Connor asked, “Ellie, why are both of you here together? Is there anything we can do for you?” Hisexpression was kind of strained. He couldn’t even bring himself to look Jared in the eye, because hewas too ashamed to face anyone for claiming that Kevin was his illegitimate son.

Suppressing all the anguish within her, Ellen took a deep breath, saying, “Uncle Connor, Aunt Olivia, Ionly came here for one thing. I can forget about the fact that you two donated my brother’s heart tosave Young Master Jared’s life, but please give me back 7.5 million of the 15 million that thePresgraves gave you back then. Please do it within three days, or I’ll see you in court.”

Before Connor and Olivia could speak, Selena exclaimed, “What? 7.5 million? Ellen, it’s not like youdon’t know what circumstances our family is in! How dare you ask for 7.5 million when my parents arealready broke?” She sounded as though Ellen’s request was very unreasonable in her mind’s eye.

Olivia couldn’t help but pretend to look troubled. “Ellie, we’re a family, so can’t we settle the issue ofmoney through discussion? How are we supposed to fork out 7.5 million for you in one go?!”

Ellen retorted, “How have you treated me over these years after getting so much money? The first thingyou did back then after getting the money was to pack me off to Grandma. She borrowed money fromyou guys when I fell seriously ill and got hospitalized, but you only gave her 150 despite having 15million! Have you lost your conscience? Are you two still human beings?” Tears of anger welled up inher eyes. She stared at this pair of so-called relatives, unable to believe that they had been soshameless.

Connor hung his head. At this moment, his conscience was gnawing at him like thousands of ants.Now that his conscience had finally returned to him, he held his head in his hands as tears suddenlysprang to his eyes. He apologized to Ellen in a choked voice, “I’m sorry, Ellie! I’m a wretch; I couldn’tbring myself to face you.”

Olivia turned to look at her husband. He’s admitting our guilt by reacting like this, no? She wouldn’tadmit her guilt that easily, though. She couldn’t help but say to Ellen, “Ellie, what are you talkingabout?! In any case, we’re your elders. We’ve been nice to you over the years, no?”

Jared’s hands clenched into fists as he looked on. Seriously, I’ve never seen such a shameless personbefore! He said coldly, “You two don’t deserve to call yourselves her elders at all.”

Olivia was speechless for a moment; after all, she dared not yell at the respectable young man. She letout a sigh and pretended to have her own reasons, saying, “You were still little back then, so how could

we dare to give you so much money?! We had no choice but to keep the money for you. Well, we got alittle greedy and failed to stop ourselves from spending the money, but the money’s really gone.”

Ellen argued, “Were you just greedy? You sent your daughter abroad to study and used the PresgraveFamily’s connections to your advantage, but what about me? You guys have long forgotten about me!Aunt Olivia, don’t you find it ironic that I had to thank you with overwhelming gratitude when you mademe wear hand-me-downs from Selena? You guys never treated me as one of your kin at all. You wereonly brushing me off like I was a beggar!” She really couldn’t forgive them for belittling her like that asshe recalled Olivia’s past doings.

Olivia’s face reddened with shame. Little did she think Ellen would point out her intentions back then soclearly. Indeed, she had given Ellen the hand-me-downs with a sense of superiority. At this moment,her cheeks were burning as though she had been slapped across the face.

This was Jared’s first time learning that Ellen had been treated like that. Clenching his fists again, hethundered angrily, “You guys really are a bunch of monsters!”

Selena couldn’t help but shudder in fright. Jared looks so scary at this moment!

Olivia replied, “You can’t say that, Young Master Jared. How could you be still alive had my husbandand I not signed the agreement back then? You should be thanking us for that!” She immediatelybrought up the favor they had done back then. It’s true that we’re indebted to Ellen, but we don’t oweYoung Master Jared anything!

Jared replied frostily, “I’m thankful to you guys for signing the agreement back then, but the Presgraveshave been kind to you guys over these years, so I consider the favor returned. From now on, Ellen isthe only person to whom the Presgraves will show our gratitude.”

“Then why should Ellen ask our family for money? Young Master Jared, can’t you just give her another15 million?” Selena said with a snort.

Ellen replied through clenched teeth, “Do you think I’m asking for money? I’m only seeking justice! Iwant you all to pay the price for everything you’ve done over these years!”

Selena’s face flushed crimson with anger. “How could you…”

Seeing that Ellen was only seeking justice, Olivia thought they would definitely be able to talk her intoletting them off if Jared was absent. “Ellie, we know we were wrong; we’re just getting what we deservefor being greedy. It was our fault for being ignorant over these years, so can you forgive us for that?Let’s talk this over nicely, shall we?” she asked brazenly.

“I don’t want to talk about this. If the 7.5 million doesn’t get credited to my account in three days, justwait until I bring a suit against you all!”

Thinking that her parents didn’t have to bear any responsibility, Selena asked with a raised eyebrow,“On what grounds can you sue my parents? They were under no obligation to take care of you. Youwere given to your grandma back then, no? Didn’t she take care of you at the time?”

Olivia chimed in, “That’s right, Ellie! Have you forgotten our kindness in fostering you back then? Youand your brother stayed with us for a year after your parents died, no?”

“Mom, what’s the point of you trying to reason with her? She’s nothing but an ingrate!” Selena said witha snort.

Jared was astonished; he had never seen such a shameless family before.