Chapter 44: I Can’t Do It (2)
Helena imitated Willis’s manner and nodded slightly at Susan, then picked up a Tiramisu and began to eat, lowering her head.
She didn’t bother to engage with Susan, not even with perfunctory responses.
Feeling wronged, Susan said to Willis, “It seems like Helena doesn’t like me.”
Willis raised his chin slightly and pointed to a seat across from them, “Go sit over there.”
Susan looked at him, hesitated, and reluctantly said, “Okay.”
As she walked to the opposite seat, her gaze lingered on Willis.
After Ryan and the others finished their socializing, they walked towards Willis and Helena.
When they were close, Helena stood up, smiled, and called out, “Dad.”
Ryan glanced at her indifferently, made a very light acknowledgement, and said to Willis, “Come with me to the study upstairs.”
Willis gave a slight nod, spoke gently to Helena, “Take your time to eat, eat whatever you want. Don’t feel restrained in your own home. If there’s anything, call me.”
Helena smiled, “Sure, you go ahead.”
As soon as Willis left, Susan approached with a wine glass, looking quite pleased, “So what if everyone in the Santana family likes you? Ryan likes me; I am the chosen one for the best daughter-in-law in his heart.”
Thinking of Ryan’s cold attitude towards her just now, Helena assumed Susan had something to do with it. After all, she often say the bad words like added fuel to the fire, and it wasn’t the first or second time.
Feeling uncomfortable, like she had swallowed countless flies, Helena tightened her grip on the cup and said coldly, “Are you done? If you are, please disappear from my sight immediately. Go wherever you want. Today is my mother-in-law’s birthday, and I don’t want to spoil everyone’s mood.”
Susan looked at the cup in Helena’s hand, recalling the last time she had thrown a thermos on her mother’s face. She instinctively felt a soreness in her nose, subconsciously touched her nose, and then turned away.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
Around nine o’clock.
Jenny came over and asked Helena, “Where’s Willis?”
Helena stood up and said, “Dad called him to the study upstairs.”
Jenny checked her watch, “It’s time to cut the cake. Go upstairs and call them.”
Helena smiled and said, “Sure, Mom.”
She lifted her skirt and went upstairs.
The second floor was extremely quiet, and Helena walked softly to avoid disturbing their conversation.
Arriving outside the study.
She raised her hand to knock on the door but heard Ryan’s voice from inside, “Susan is more suitable for you. I have been working with her father for so many years, and many businesses are inseparable from each other. If you two get married, it will greatly help our family business. On the way here, I subtly asked Susan, and from what she said, she really likes you.”
Helena’s heart skipped a beat. It felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water on her, chilling her from head to toe.
After a long time.
She heard Willis say, “Helena has been with me through my most difficult and hopeless times.”
Ryan sneered, “Money is all you need. There’s nothing money can’t solve. Three years ago, if you didn’t have money, she wouldn’t have married you. Over the years, you’ve given her so much money, bought a house for her family, helped her grandmother find a kidney source, covered all medical expenses for three generations of her family, and you’ve done more than enough.”
Willis fell silent for a moment and said, “The biggest difference between humans and animals is that humans have emotions.”
Ryan frowned, “You are a man. Men should not be immersed only in love and affection. The business world is unpredictable, with ups and downs. It’s safer to have two ships sailing together than a single boat. After marrying into the Varley family, if anything happens to the company, the Varley family can also lend a hand. What can Helena do?”
Helena stood quietly outside the door, like a once prosperous tree struck by lightning, now withered. She felt a deep and powerless sorrow.
Yes, what could she, a restorer of ancient paintings, do for the Santana group?
Different professions were like different mountains. She couldn’t help with anything.
But she didn’t leave. She wanted to hear what Willis had to say.
However, she waited for a very long time and didn’t hear his voice.
She laughed at herself.
She thought he proposed divorce because of lingering feelings for Susan. Now it seemed that it wasn’t just lingering feelings; there was another layer of reasons.
Helena turned and walked away. When she lifted her foot, she realized her legs were extremely weak.
As she supported herself against the wall, she struggled to make it downstairs. When she finally reached the bottom, Willis’s voice came from the study, “I’m sorry; I can’t do it.”
Unfortunately, Helena couldn’t hear it anymore.