After talking in a jovial manner with Ulmer, Mollie slowly shifted to asking the important questions.“What exactly happened? Were you there when it happened? Was that the reason you ran away?”She thought he had seen something horrifying like the dead bodies of his parents and sisters buried under the building blocks, covered in dirt. She couldn’t even imagine how heartbreaking that could have been for Ulmer.“You came to see me after that,” Mollie’s eyes were teary as she grabbed Ulmer’s both hands. “Why didn’t you tell me? Did you think I wouldn’t be able to bear it? Or did you think that Jamie and others were gonna quarrel about you staying here in this house?”Ulmer didn’t say anything.“Jamie asked the police what could have caused the accident,” Mollie said. “They are saying that the two cylinders in the house exploded, and then the fridge also exploded due to a short circuit. I still don’t get how a short circuit can destroy the entire house, including the pillars. Does that m
When Ruth entered the room with two plates filled with food, Ulmer and Mollie were playing snake and ladder together.She suddenly remembered her younger years when she played the same game with her grandmother.“Grandma, I brought the food,” Ruth said.Ulmer looked a little confused. “Why the two plates?”“Obviously, the other one is for you,” Ruth replied, not even calling him a brother. “Honestly, if it was up to my dad, he would starve you and bring some sense into you. He does that to me. I hate cleaning the house, so he not only made me clean the house but also the car. I vomited at the thought of washing dishes, but he made me not only wash the dishes but also clean the toilet. He’s a very strict and smart dad. He always has the excuse that he wants to raise me with principles that would make a proper housewife. You know why? Because I’m average at studies. So, he’s long decided that becoming a housewife is the best thing for me to do. If he thinks that way about me, then how w
Ulmer didn’t want to eat food made by Ivy. The bread wasn’t made by her, but it was still bought by her, so he didn’t feel like eating it.“Don’t let your hatred dominate you,” Mollie told him. “You might dislike them, but they are still family.”“Will they ever truly consider me part of their family?” Ulmer wondered.Mollie paused for a moment and said, “I’ll be frank since you managed to get a job. It’s always better to work on your own two feet instead of relying on others, even if it’s your own family members. Parents are the only people we could trust in my time, but nowadays, parents can’t be trusted, either. They are not leaving anything for their kids and are also using their kids and trying to keep them under control for as long as possible. The times have changed. It’s not wise to rely on others anymore.” She put the plate aside and put her hand on his shoulder. “Work hard at your job, and pray to God that he gives you a wonderful wife. A good woman will stick with you till
Jamie and Ivy were in the verandah, eating together in a relaxed manner while roasting their daughter for doing a half-assed job with washing the car.“Ben learned how to do it when he was four. He changed a tire when he was eight or nine,” Ivy was proudly talking about her one and only son whom she doted on a lot. “And look at you. Why are there still lines on the windows? You didn’t wash it with water in the end, did you? You are quite lazy, Ruth.”“Mom, brother can do a lot of things. I admit that,” Ruth quickly retorted. “But he can’t do some of the things that I can do. For instance, if I call my friends, they will come in hordes, but if my brother calls, I doubt even street dogs would come.”Ivy’s eyes reddened a bit, but she couldn’t quite refuse her daughter’s words. “That’s because he’s an introvert. He doesn’t talk much. He minds his own business, so he doesn’t have many friends. But you, on the other hand, steal money from my purse and your dad’s purse and go out with your
“Please let him use your bathroom.”They were not the words Ivy was expecting, but she reacted before anyone else did. “HUH? What do you mean by that?”The young man and the old man both were a bit surprised by her reaction.“We were passing by,” the young man still tried to explain it as quickly as he could. “My dad’s stomach started hurting. I think the chicken he ate is the case. We didn’t have time to go to our home as it is far. We don’t know this place well enough to look for a public restroom, so we stopped our car as fast as we could. And we ended up at your house. Please, let him use your bathroom. He won’t take along.”“I understand your issue,” Ivy casually replied. “But the bathroom is a personal thing to the house, where only the people of the house go in and come out. It’s not meant for outsiders.”The young man was a bit baffled by her response. He briefly glanced at the old man who was still frowning and clutching his abdomen. So, he had to ask again, but this time, he
Ivy was absolutely silent until the young man and his dad came out of the house, then thanked Ulmer and also Ivy and Jamie before leaving.The moment they left, Ivy opened her mouth.“You were declared dead, Ulmer. That’s why we sold that land after your house got destroyed,” Ivy quickly stated.“Who declared me dead?” Ulmer calmly asked her. “You?”Ivy frowned. “The police did.”“They won’t label a missing person dead unless they found the body, or do they?” Ulmer said. “Or did someone pay them money to do it?”“Are you saying that I gave them money to have you pronounced dead?” Ivy raised her voice. “If I was really that heartless, you wouldn’t be alive and talking to me right now!”Ulmer frowned in response. “Maybe, I’m still alive because you couldn’t find me?”Ivy gritted her teeth. “You really are despicable for thinking I’m a murderer. Why don’t you also say that I’m the one who planned your family murders? Why don’t you say that I’m also the one that killed your grandfather an
Ivy couldn’t even explain to Ben what had happened. What was she supposed to tell him? That she refused to let the multi-millionaire and his son into the house and didn’t even let them take a dump in the bathroom when they said they were in an emergency?Ivy wasn’t dumb. She realized that the father and son were probably testing Ben’s family before Ben came home.Jamie also understood that now.But it was too late to do anything as those two people had already left. Ivy didn’t make any good impression until the end, so she felt really bad right now. There was no way they would still be willing to give their woman to Ben after being humiliated.Because Ivy couldn’t explain it, Jamie took it upon himself and explained everything, though he did it in a way that made it look like Ivy was justified in what she did. However, in doing so, he had to use Ulmer as a scapegoat.“She was in a bad mood because of Ulmer’s arrival, and your grandma and your mom also quarreled a bit,” Jamie said. “Ot
Ben rushed into the bathroom. “What are you doing to my sister, you bast—”Ulmer sprayed the disinfectant in Ben’s face, seemingly out of reflex.“Kyaa!” Ruth screamed again, but in a very different tone this time.Ben, who was about to punch Ulmer, ended up falling toward him. Ulmer moved away, and Ben’s face was about to fall right into the toilet seat.Ruth’s eyes widened some more in that fraction of a second, but then Ulmer grabbed Ben’s shirt and pulled him at once.Ben moved back to the door, and he quickly wiped his face, but his eyes began to burn because of whatever Ulmer had sprayed at him. He quickly went to the sink and began to wash his face.Ivy and Jamie soon arrived there. “What’s going on?” Jamie looked at his daughter. “Why did you shout like that?”“Dad, he sprayed the toilet cleaning liquid on my feet on purpose!” Ruth quickly pointed at Ulmer. “And then brother came, and he sprayed it in my brother's face.”Ivy’s eyes gained a shade of red when she heard that. Sh